John Stott dies at 90
July 27, 2011
JOHN R. W. STOTT CBE (1921-2011)
Time Magazine named him alongside Nelson Mandela and Bill Gates in its “most influential people” list of 2005. He was once described by Billy Graham as the “most respected clergyman in the world today”. And his leadership of the evangelical movement helped move it from a rather narrow-minded fundamentalism after the Second World War, to the fastest growing section of global Christianity it is today. John Stott, the former Rector of All Souls Church, Langham Place, London, and one of the most significant Christian leaders of the 20th century, died on 27th July 2011 aged 90. The work of Langham Partnership International (LPI, or John Stott Ministries in the USA) is perhaps his major legacy to the world Church. This strategic threefold initiative, now under the direction of Christopher J H Wright, works to strengthen the Church in the Majority World by (i) training preachers, (ii) funding doctoral scholarships for the most able theological thinkers so they will be equipped to teach in their country’s seminaries, and (iii) providing basic libraries at low-cost for pastors. John Stott’s own considerable royalties were all ‘recycled’ into the production and distribution of theological books for the global south.
John Stott’s remarkable ministry spanned the whole second half of the twentieth century, and even in his 80s he was making an impact on the twenty-first. John Stott was well known as a man of considerable intelligence and humble integrity. In his time at All Souls Church and in the various causes he was involved with, he contributed a renewed confidence, graciousness and intellectual strength to evangelicalism. Alongside Billy Graham, John Stott was a significant player in the Lausanne Movement which promotes worldwide Christian evangelism. He largely crafted its two major documents, The Lausanne Covenant (1974) and the Manila Manifesto (1989). George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, commented “John Stott’s contribution to developing a balanced evangelical faith and to a biblically rooted Anglican communion is probably without parallel in our generation.”
Classically evangelical, Stott emphasized the need for personal conversion, the authority of Scripture and the centrality of Jesus’ death for sinners. But he also emphasized the need for the Christian mind and stood against anti-intellectualism. Though a life-long evangelist, he refused to limit Christian engagement with the world to evangelism alone. He was passionately committed to the moral and social dimensions of the biblical gospel, including justice for the poor and the care of creation. David Brooks, New York Times columnist, wrote “To read Stott is to see someone practicing thoughtful allegiance to Scripture.”
He pioneered and advanced the renaissance of biblical expository preaching – that is, a method of preaching which follows the sequence of the text as it is given in a particular book of the Bible – throughout the evangelical world. John Stott asked that donations following his death might be given to the Langham Partnership, which he founded and which seeks to raise the standards of Biblical teaching and preaching around the world.
John Stott was the author of some 50 books, his farewell volume, The Radical Disciple, being published in 2010. His most significant books include Basic Christianity, The Cross of Christ, and Issues Facing Christians Today, along with many volumes in The Bible Speaks Today series. “His books have challenged and nourished millions of Christians into a balanced and thinking biblical faith,” said Chris Wright, Langham Partnership International Director. “His legacy through the global impact of the two organisations that he founded, Langham Partnership International and the London Institute of Contemporary Christianity, is incalculable.” John Stott, who never married, is the subject of two major biographies, one published in two volumes by Timothy Dudley-Smith in 1999 and 2001, and the other, a more popular narrative, by Roger Steer, in 2009. Both are published by IVP.
“For the vast majority of people whose lives he influenced profoundly,” said Chris Wright, “he was simply ‘Uncle John’ – a much loved friend, correspondent, and brother, to whose prayers we will never know how much we owe. Like Moses, he was one of the humblest men on the face of the earth, and yet at the same time he was one of the truly great leaders God has given to his people. He was, for all of us who knew him, a walking embodiment of the simple beauty of Jesus, whom he loved above all else.”
The list of movements and institutions he strengthened can be found in the biographical pages at www.langhampartnership.org and further information at the memorial website, www.johnstottmemorial.org.
Press release from Langham Partnership International
The Micah Mandate is a Christian-based public interest advocacy ministry that seeks a transformation of our nation through justice, mercy and humility.
July 28th, 2011 at 1:42 pm
I have heard his preaching and teaching and the consistent character is one that is simple, clear and concise, and bible-based. I have met the man once, for perhaps a couple of minutes, and came away impressed by his lack of airs, his ability to focus on me at that moment despite the many who have already spoken to him and many more waiting in line. And finally his leadership in making sure that bible-based thinking continually challenge contemporary life issues and vice-versa is low-key but tenacious. Wonderful man of God who achieved much for Him without being loud and abrasive.
July 28th, 2011 at 4:52 pm
First, in my formative years (till this day), God blessed me with his books which opened up the highway for my thinking and attitude to Christian faith and life (no matter how far short my learning may have been). Then, God blessed me with his presence and expository preaching in the Lausanne Congress 1974 and IFES assemblies which helped me focus on God’s word which serves as the foundation of all that I have been involved and engaged with in Christian service (again despite my personal limitations). Then, God blessed me with his presence and daily conversations and interactions with him when I coordinated his preaching mission in Malaysia. In all of these experiences, Uncle John shone through with the graciousness, humility, faithfulness, equanimity and humanity of a true person of God. Thank you, Father, for granting us the life, mind and presence of such a one like him!
July 29th, 2011 at 12:12 pm
I think the first of John Stott’s writings which I read were two Scripture Union booklets. One was about Christ’s Great High Priestly prayer, the other about how to do my daily quiet time.
I also recall being given Basic Christianity and being told (I was abroad at the time) that a dentist in Malaysia bought lots of copies and taught people the faith using it – I met Dr David G many years later.
Then I read – and taught – Understanding the Bible, which made a profound impact upon me. This passage helps explain the man and his influence:
“Salvation is far more than merely the forgiveness of sins. It includes the whole sweep of God’s purpose to redeem and restore mankind, and indeed all creation. What we claim for the Bible is that it unfolds God’s total plan.
It begins with the creation, so that we may know the divine likeness in which we were made, the obligations which we have repudiated and the heights from which we have fallen. We can understand neither what we are in sin nor what we may be by grace until we know what we once were by creation.”
His was a broad faith, one shaped by his apprehension of the Kingdom of God, not just the narrowness of human needs. Thus his focus on mission.
I went on to devour many of his commentaries, and was especially helped by his book on preaching, Between Two Worlds: at a time when I was struggling to prepare sermons. I was greatly encouraged by his introductory words:
“I confess that in the pulpit I am often seized with ‘communication frustration,’ for a message burns within me, but I am unable to convey to others what I am thinking, let alone feeling. And seldom if ever do I leave the pulpit without a sense of partial failure, a mood of penitence, a cry to God for forgiveness, and a resolve to look to him for grace to do better in the future.”
I was gripped by his Issues Facing Christians and the Cross of Christ.
I am glad for the life of John Stott, and I know He is getting his reward now – though that was never his goal.
Every page of every book of John Stott makes it plain that the only goals he cared about was God’s. John Stott was a humble servant of a master whose own defining characteristic was humility – and never-compromising activity in partnership with God.
I am glad to have the opportunity to publicly tell of my indebtedness to him and to express my gratitude for such a servant.