Quotes from Andy Stanley

Leaders are not always the first to see an opportunity. They are simply the first to seize an opportunity. It is the person who seizes the opportunity who emerges as the leader. But fear has kept many would-be leaders on the sidelines, while good opportunities paraded by. They didn't lack insight. They lacked courage.

God will always nudge us in the direction of kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.16 When in doubt, max those out.

We know when we are misemployed. We know when our talents and efforts are being misappropriated. What we don't know is how open our supervisors are to hearing about it. As a result of this assignment we made some significant changes that brought about better alignment for the entire staff. Furthermore, we stumbled upon a new tool by which to uncover what our people were thinking and feeling.

Ministry makes people's faith bigger. If you want to increase someone's confidence in God, put him in a ministry position before he feels fully equipped.

Leaders are not always the first to see the need for change, but they are the first to act. And once they move away from the pack, they are positioned to lead.

You can't lead without taking risk. You won't take risk without courage. Courage is essential to leadership.

Before I draw people's attention to a solution, I want to make sure they are emotionally engaged with the problem. If the text answers a question, I dare not go there until everyone in the audience really wants to know the answer.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

Love fills the gaps. Love reduces the friction created by our limited insight, knowledge, and judgment-inhibiting experiences. There is much I don't know. There are things I'll never understand. But my ignorance does not impede my capacity to put others first.

Your heart didn't arrive at its present condition overnight. It won't become healthy overnight either. You can't overcome in an instant the effects of years of blockage caused by guilt, anger, greed, and jealousy. Adopting new habits of the heart is a process, but it's a process that will yield some immediate results.

The key to this approach is refusing to stand up and speak until you know the answer to two questions: •  What is the one thing I want my audience to know? •  What do I want them to do about it?