{"id":10797,"date":"2023-04-24T11:10:44","date_gmt":"2023-04-24T15:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=10797"},"modified":"2023-04-25T08:28:43","modified_gmt":"2023-04-25T12:28:43","slug":"charles-stanleys-grandson-shares-his-grandfathers-words-that-saved-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2023\/04\/charles-stanleys-grandson-shares-his-grandfathers-words-that-saved-him.html","title":{"rendered":"Charles Stanley’s Grandson Shares His Grandfather’s Words That Saved Him"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Charles Stanley\u2019s grandson is looking back on how his grandfather\u2019s words saved him from suicide and how Dr. Stanley\u2019s lifelong dedication to faith comforted him during his challenging life. Despite growing up in a family absorbed in ministry, Matt Broderson hasn\u2019t had a leisurely walk in life. Becky, his mother, is Dr. Stanley\u2019s only daughter, while Andy Stanley, the famed Atlanta pastor, is his uncle.<\/p>\n

Broderson told The Christian Post, \u201cA few years ago, while living in Los Angeles, I was struggling with drugs and alcohol and deep depression. I blew all of my inheritance money. I was suicidal. I called my mom and said, \u2018I\u2019m not doing well. I\u2019ve failed. I was thinking about killing myself.\u2019\u201d In the pits of his depression, Broderson said he got a call from his granddad that changed his life.<\/p>\n

Broderson recalled, \u201cHe said, \u2018I don\u2019t want to talk to you very long on the phone. I just want to ask you one question: Why don\u2019t you give Jesus another try?\u2019 I don\u2019t remember exactly what happened after that, but it meant the world to me. I just started crying and crying after that phone call, and I decided I didn\u2019t want to die.\u201d To millions worldwide, Dr. Charles Stanley, who died last week at 90, was an influential pastor, author and broadcaster. Stanley founded In Touch Ministries and served as the senior pastor at First Baptist Church Atlanta. He was also the former president of the Southern Baptist Convention.<\/p>\n

However, to Broderson, Stanley was \u201cGips,\u201d his God-fearing, wise grandfather who was the same in the pulpit and behind closed doors. He said, \u201cMy grandfather was so genuine and authentic. Every conversation I had with him, every phone call, were like little snippets of his sermons, not because he was preaching at me, but because that\u2019s who he was. He was the real deal. Always meditating on God\u2019s word, always reading his Bible, always staying up to date on current news and thinking about it in relation to the Bible.\u201d<\/p>\n