Pastor Andy Stanley is forthright about the difficulties of character development in his six part series "Character Under Construction." He says that it is easy to want other people to have character, but hard to work on personal character development. The free podcasts give Biblical examples and scriptural support for Christians who are looking to develop a character that is reflective of God's will.
Character Education Through Christian Education
The "Character Under Construction" series is taught by Andy Stanley, who is the founder and senior pastor of North Point Ministries. Like many churches that offer online sermons, the character development podcast was recorded during church services. People are heard laughing and responding to the sermon, and there are local references.
It is not necessary to be a Christian to follow the podcasts, and Pastor Stanley frequently explains things for people who might be attending church for the first time. Now that many people attend church online, it makes sense that these online sermons could be listened to by new church goers, and this series is inviting and easy to listen to and follow. It is helpful to have a Bible ready for some passages, and Youversion is a free Bible app that can be used while listening to the podcasts on an iTouch or iPhone.
Character Under Construction Series Overview
The series has six podcasts that are available to download through iTunes, and they should be listened to sequentially as they build upon each other. Each podcast is about 40 minutes long.
- In "Character Under Construction: Laying a Foundation," Pastor Stanley preaches that people need pray for courage and wisdom to develop character. This podcast was released June 28, 2010.
- "Character Under Construction: Built to Scale" is focused on how to develop character based on specific Biblical examples. It is particularly welcoming to people who have strong Christian foundations but are ready to look at well-worn Bible stories in a new way. It was released July 12, 2010.
- In "Character Under Construction: Clocking In," Pastor Stanley uses Romans to show how by working with God, people can have spiritual renewal and develop Christian characters. It was released July 27, 2010.
- The lesson of "Character Under Construction: Demolition" is that people should work for long-time character development by "taking off the old attitudes and old mindsets." It was released on August 9, 2010.
- After "Demolition," it is time for "Character Under Construction: Reconstruction." Stanley talks the lies that people believe in order to get what they want. He stresses importance of learning scripture to have strength in the face of temptation. It was released on August 23, 2010.
- The final podcast was released on September 7, 2010. "Character Under Construction: The Punch List" focuses on how by learning the truth, people can learn to open their lives to God's will and help their characters develop into becoming someone who shines God's light.
"The Punch List" is a little difficult to follow at times because there is a reference to a handout that is not available with the podcast.
The timelessness of Andy Stanley's teaching in "Character Under Contruction" becomes apparent in part 4, when he begins to use anachronistic references. He talks about getting a taped version of the sermon, and he mentions that sometimes there is a social pressure to become "women of the nineties." Those are among the few clues that although the podcast was released between June and September, 2010, they were recorded years ago. The sound quality is excellent, and the messages are relevant and helpful.
Publication Information
"Character Under Construction" is performed by Andy Stanley. It is produced by North Point Ministries. The series was released on iTunes every two weeks between June 28 and September 7, 2010.
Alex Sharp - Alex Sharp is a teacher who has been keeping Suite101 readers up to date with the latest in audio- and e-book gadgetry since 2008.
