After family members as well as several news outlets called him out for selling his recently deceased grandfather Charles Stanley’s personal memorabilia, Matt Brodersen Sunday issued an apology for his actions.
Despite the apology, however, Brodersen continued the sale of Stanley’s personal things on eBay saying, “People already started bidding on the items and I don’t want to take that opportunity away from them to get those items. So yes, I’m gonna leave the auction up. There’s like a day remaining of time. So, if you want to get those items, you better hurry.”
In an update to the story, The Christian Post reported that some of Stanley’s personal items Brodersen sold have been returned to the late pastor’s family “thanks to the efforts of an anonymous buyer.”
When the bidding closed last week, Stanley’s engraved pocket watch had sold for $2,375 with 63 bids, while a 13×13″ square picture of the pastor closed at $3,650 with 40 bids.
In this video, Brodersen admitted his actions in selling Stanley’s memorabilia were “disrespectful,” but made veiled excuses for his behavior.
“I would like to apologize,” Brodersen said. “This is just how crazy and a whack job I am. I did not even realize that this was going to make people upset. I have some issues, some mental health problems; I’m a little disconnected from reality.
“When I put my grandpa’s stuff on eBay, I was just thinking about myself. I was thinking about bills I had to pay, and I kind of rushed and had an adrenaline rush and just decided to throw these items on eBay as fast as possible because I was thinking about me, me, me, and, ‘can I get some money please so that I can pay my bills.'”
Brodersen said that many people he loves, people he cares about, people who are close to him, “have pointed out that this is disgusting behavior.” Viewers on YouTube have also made that point to him without question.
“My family was pretty upset,” he said. “It was disrespectful.”
Among those who were upset with Brodersen’s behavior was his uncle, Charles Stanley’s son, Andy, the senior pastor of North Point Church in Alpharetta, Georgia.
“My uncle Andy Stanley begged me to take that stuff off of eBay, begged me to take the auctions off of eBay,” Brodersen said. “My mom called me and said, ‘You take that stuff down right now.’ My sister, she was mad at me as well. So yes, everybody in my family was pretty upset with me and disappointed with my actions.”
A legendary minister of the gospel, Charles Stanley, the founder of In Touch Ministries, passed away at 90 on April 18. Soon after he began auctioning off his grandfather’s items, Brodersen began to receive a great amount of backlash.
Brodersen said that family, friends and some of Stanley’s employees were given the opportunity to go through his belongings and look for items they would want to keep, including clothes and various knickknacks.
Among those items was a pocket watch with Stanley’s initials engraved.
In his first video posted days later after he began the auctions on eBay, Brodersen showed no remorse saying, “So, I don’t really have shame in selling some of his stuff.”
In his second video Sunday, Brodersen said the way he “worded things” in his initial video was “disrespectful.”
Brodersen said he admits that he “needs help.” He says Jesus can and will forgive him and that he will repent of his mistakes.
“I don’t claim to be perfect,” he said. “Just because you get saved by Jesus doesn’t mean you are perfect. We actually have to keep growing after that. It’s not like you get saved by Jesus and all of a sudden you never sin again. It’s like we have to recognize where we screwed up, and then we have to keep growing. And so, here I am to do that in front of all of you. I’d like to be a good example if I can.”
At the end of the video, prayed asking God to cover him with the armor of God: “I pray that I could get past this and everyone else would too,” he said.
Shawn A. Akers is the online editor at Charisma Media.
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