Atlanta megachurch pastor Charles Stanley dies

First Baptist Atlanta, the church where Charles Stanley served for more than 50 years, said that he died peacefully Tuesday morning as he slept at his home. He was 90 years old.

Who was Charles Stanley? The pastor said he first learned the importance of consistent prayer as a newspaper delivery boy. He delivered newspapers before the sun rose, and his fear of the dark led him to talk to God. Stanley wrote more than 60 books, including the devotional Every Day in His Presence. He also founded and hosted the Christian broadcast program In Touch Ministries, which widely aired on radio and television. Besides leading thousands of people at First Baptist Atlanta for decades, Stanley was president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1984 to 1986. In 2000, Stanley and his wife of 45 years, Anna, divorced after several years of separation. After the divorce, their son, Andy, left First Baptist Atlanta to start his own megachurch, North Point Community Church. As a hobby, Charles Stanley enjoyed landscape photography, traveling widely and using his photos as sermon illustrations.

Dig deeper: Read Denny Burk’s column in WORLD Opinions on how megachurch pastors are taking positions of “studied ambiguity” on LGBTQ issues.