SAET Blog

John Stott Posts

  • July 27, 2011 by Matthew Mason

    Him we proclaim

    Doubtless many things will, rightly, be said and written in praise of John Stott in the coming weeks. But it will only be right, and only truly honouring to the man himself if, in honouring him, we primarily seek to honour his Saviour. I’ve just discovered a fine short article on Stott by David Brooks, written a few years ago, which contains this lovely paragraph:

    When you read Stott, you encounter first a tone of voice…

    It is a voice that is friendly, courteous and natural. It is humble and self-critical, but also confident, joyful and optimistic. Stott’s mission is to pierce through all the encrustations and share direct contact with Jesus. Stott says that the central message of the gospel is not the teachings of Jesus, but Jesus himself, the human/divine figure. He is always bringing people back to the concrete reality of Jesus’ life and sacrifice.

    That’s quite a first impression to make.

    Categories: General | John Stott | Matthew Mason

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  • July 27, 2011 by Matthew Mason

    John Stott (1921-2011)

    Today, John Stott departed this life to be with his Lord. For those of us who remain this is a great loss; for him it is incomparable gain.

    Few Christian leaders in the past century have had anything approaching Stott’s influence, as an evangelist, a preacher, a leader, and a man of God. Utterly committed to the local church, he was a leader on a global scale. Tirelessly devoted to discovering the message of the Scriptures, he was convinced that Christianity must be contemporary or die. Unashamedly intellectual, he was a man of deep prayer who loved Jesus and loved people. (The only time I met him (for two minutes) with great generosity he warmly encouraged my desire to be both a pastor of people and a theologian.)

    Stott himself was the most significant evangelical pastor-theologian of the twentieth century, and because of his influence on me it’s never seemed strange to want to be both a pastor of a local church and a theologian. As a new Christian, aged 20, I was confused by the cross. I’d been taught that because of Jesus’ death, my sins were forgiven, but how did it work? Seeking an answer, I went to the university library and typed “Cross, Christ” into the catalogue. In God’s kindness, the first search result was Stott’s The Cross of Christ. It was the first book of theology I ever read, and it changed my life. Within weeks, his exposition of the Sermon on the Mount was the first biblical commentary I ever read. A year or so later, Issues Facing Christians Today was the first book of ethics. Careful, deep, lucid, pastoral, nuanced, charitable to those with whom he disagreed, and above all biblical, Stott remains for me a model pastor-theologian. God be praised for his life and ministry.

    Categories: Anglican | General | John Stott | Matthew Mason

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