John Robert Walmsley Stott CBE (27 April 1921 – 27 July 2011)
was an English Christian leader and Anglican cleric
who was noted as a leader of the worldwide Evangelical movement.
He was one of the principal authors of the Lausanne
Covenant in 1974. In 2005,Time magazine ranked
Stott among the 100 most influential people in the world.[1]
Stott was born in London to
Sir Arnold and Emily Stott. Sir Arnold Stott was a leading physician at Harley Street and
an agnostic,
while his wife was a Lutheran churchgoer who attended the nearby Church of
England church, All Souls, Langham Place. Stott was sent
to boarding school at eight years old—initially prep school at Oakley Hall.[2] In
1935, he went on to Rugby School.[3]
While at Rugby School in 1938,
Stott heard the Reverend Eric Nash (nicknamed
"Bash") deliver a sermon entitled "What Then Shall I Do with Jesus, Who Is Called the
Christ?"[4] After
this talk, Nash pointed Stott to Revelation 3:20, "Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to
him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Stott later described the
impact this verse had upon him as follows:
"Here, then, is the crucial
question which we have been leading up to. Have we ever opened our door to Christ?
Have we ever invited him in? This was exactly the question which I needed to
have put to me. For, intellectually speaking, I had believed in Jesus all my
life, on the other side of the door. I had regularly struggled to say my
prayers through the key-hole. I had even pushed pennies under the door in a
vain attempt to pacify him. I had been baptized, yes and confirmed as well. I
went to church, read my Bible, had high ideals, and tried to be good and do
good. But all the time, often without realising it, I was holding Christ at
arm's length, and keeping him outside. I knew that to open the door might have
momentous consequences. I am profoundly grateful to him for enabling me to open
the door. Looking back now over more than fifty years, I realise that that
simple step has changed the entire direction, course and quality of my life.[5]
Stott was mentored by Bash, who wrote a weekly letter to him,
advising him on how to develop and grow in his Christian life, as well as
practicalities such as leading the Christian Union at his school.
Stott studied modern languages
at Trinity College, Cambridge where he
graduated with a double first in French and theology. At university, he was
active in the Cambridge
Inter-Collegiate Christian Union (CICCU), where the executive
committee considered him too invaluable a person to be asked to commit his time
by joining the committee.
He registered as a conscientious objector.
After Trinity he transferred to Ridley Hall Theological College, Cambridge, to
train for ordination as an Anglican cleric.
Stott was ordained in 1945 and went on to
become a curate at All Souls Church, Langham Place (1945–1950)
then rector (1950–75).[6] This
was the church in which he had grown up, and in which he spent almost his whole
life, apart from a few years spent in Cambridge.
While in this position he became
increasingly influential on a national and international basis, most notably
being a key player in the 1966-67 dispute about the appropriateness of
evangelicals remaining in the Church of England. In 1970, in response to
increasing demands on his time from outside the All Souls congregation, he
appointed a vicar of All Souls, to enable himself to work on other projects. In
1975 he resigned as Rector, and the then vicar was appointed in his place; he
remained at the church, and was appointed "Rector Emeritus".
In 1974 he founded the Langham Partnership International (known as John Stott Ministries in
the US), and in 1982 the London
Institute for Contemporary Christianity, of which he remained
honorary president until his death. Following his chairmanship of the second National Evangelical Anglican
Congress in April 1977, the Nottingham statement was published,
which claimed, 'Seeing ourselves and Roman Catholics as fellow-Christians, we
repent of attitudes that have seemed to deny it'.[7] This
aroused controversy amongst evangelicals at the time [8]
Stott announced his retirement
from public ministry in April 2007 at the age of 86. He took up residence in
The College of St Barnabas, Lingfield,
Surrey, a retirement community forAnglican clergy
but remained as Rector Emeritus of All Souls Church.
Stott died on 27 July 2011 at
the College of St Barnabas in Lingfield at 3:15pm local time. He was surrounded
by family and close friends and they were reading the Bible and listening
to Handel's Messiah when he peacefully died.[9][10] An
obituary in Christianity Today reported that his
death was due to age-related complications and that he had been in discomfort
for several weeks. The obituary described him as "An architect of
20th-century evangelicalism [who] shaped the faith of a generation."[10] His
status was such that his death was reported in the secular media. The BBC referred to him
as someone who could "explain complex theology in a way lay people could
easily understand".[11] Obituaries
were published in the Daily Telegraph and
the New York Times.[12][13]
Tributes were immediately paid
to Stott by a number of leaders and other figures within the Christian
community:
"The evangelical world has
lost one of its greatest spokesmen, and I have lost one of my close personal
friends and advisors. I look forward to seeing him again when I go to
Heaven." (Billy Graham)[10]
"The death of John Stott will be mourned by countless Christians
throughout the world. During a long life of unsparing service and witness, John
won a unique place in the hearts of all who encountered him, whether in person
or through his many books. He was a man of rare graciousness and deep personal
kindness, a superb communicator and a sensitive and skilled counsellor. Without
ever compromising his firm evangelical faith, he showed himself willing to
challenge some of the ways in which that faith had become conventional or
inward-looking. It is not too much to say that he helped to change the face of
evangelicalism internationally, arguing for the necessity of 'holistic' mission
that applied the Gospel of Jesus to every area of life, including social and political
questions. But he will be remembered most warmly as an expositor of scripture
and a teacher of the faith, whose depth and simplicity brought doctrine alive
in all sorts of new ways." (Rowan Williams,Archbishop of Canterbury)[14]
Stott's funeral was
on 8 August 2011 at All Souls' Church. It was reported that the church was full
with people queuing for a considerable time before the service started.[15]
A memorial website remembrance book attracted
comments from over 1000 individuals.[16] Memorial
services for Stott were held at St Paul's Cathedral, London; Holy Trinity Cathedral, Auckland, New
Zealand; St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney,
Australia; College Church, Wheaton, Illinois, United
States; St. Paul's Bloor Street, Toronto, Canada; as well as in cities across
Africa, Asia and Latin America.[17]
Stott has had considerable
influence in evangelicalism. In a November 2004 editorial on Stott, New York Times columnist David Brooks cited Michael
Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center as saying that "if
evangelicals could elect a pope, Stott is the person they would likely choose."[18]
He wrote over 50 books, some of
which appear only in Chinese, Korean or Spanish, as well as many articles and
papers.
One of these is Basic Christianity (ISBN
0-87784-690-1), a book which seeks to explain the message of
Christianity, and convince its readers of its truth and importance.
He was also the author of The
Cross of Christ (ISBN
0-87784-998-6), of which J. I. Packer stated,
"No other treatment of this supreme subject says so much so truly and so
well."[citation needed]
Other books he wrote include Essentials,
a dialogue with the liberal cleric and theologian David L.
Edwards, over whether what Evangelicals hold as essential should be
seen as such. In 2005, he produced Evangelical Truth, which
summarises what he perceives as being the central claims of Christianity,
essential for evangelicalism.
Upon his formal retirement from
public engagements, he continued to engage in regular writing until his death.
In 2008, he produced The Anglican Evangelical Doctrine of Infant
Baptism with J. Alec Motyer.[19]
An introduction to his thought
can be found in his two final substantial publications, which act as a
summation of his thinking. Both were published by the publishing house with
which he had a lifelong association, IVP.
·
In 2007, his reflections on the life of the church: The Living
Church: Convictions of a Lifelong Pastor.
·
In January 2010, at the age of 88, he saw the launch of what would
explicitly be his final book: The Radical Disciple. It concludes
with a poignant farewell and appeal for his legacy to be continued through the
work of the Langham Partnership International.
Stott played a key role as a
leader of evangelicalism within the Church of England, and was regarded as
instrumental in persuading evangelicals to play an active role in the Church of
England rather than leaving for exclusively evangelical denominations. There
were two major events where he played a key role in this regard.
He was chairing the National Assembly of
Evangelicals in 1966, a convention organised by the Evangelical Alliance, when Martyn Lloyd-Jones made an unexpected call
for evangelicals to unite together as evangelicals and no longer within their
'mixed' denominations. This view was motivated by a belief that true Christian
fellowship requires evangelical views on central topics such as the atonement
and the inspiration of Scripture. Lloyd-Jones was a key figure to many in the Free Churches,
and evangelical Anglicans regarded Stott similarly. The two leaders publicly
disagreed, as Stott, though not scheduled as a speaker that evening, used his
role as chairman to refute Lloyd-Jones, saying that his opinion went against
history and the Bible. The following year saw the first National Evangelical Anglican
Congress, which was held at Keele
University. At this conference, largely due to Stott's influence,
evangelical Anglicans committed themselves to full participation in the Church
of England, rejecting the separationist approach proposed by Lloyd-Jones.[20]
These two conferences effectively fixed the
direction of a large part of the British evangelical community. Although
there is an ongoing debate as to the exact nature of Lloyd-Jones's views, they
undoubtedly caused the two groupings to adopt diametrically opposed positions.
These positions, and the resulting split, continue largely unchanged to this
day.[21]
Stott was appointed a Chaplain to Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in
1959[22] and,
on his retirement in 1991, an Extra Chaplain.[23] He
was appointed a Commander of the Order of the
British Empire (CBE) in the New Year Honours 2006.[24] He
received a number of honorary doctorates, as well as a Lambeth Doctorate of Divinity.
Stott publicly espoused the idea
of annihilationism, which is the belief that hell
is incineration into non-existence,[25] rather
than everlasting conscious torment (the traditional Evangelical approach). He
was not dogmatic about this position, but held to it somewhat tentatively,
insisting only that it be accepted as a legitimate evangelical option:
"the ultimate annihilation of the wicked should at least be accepted as a
legitimate, biblically founded alternative to their eternal conscious
torment."[26] This
led to a heated debate within mainstream evangelical Christianity: some writers
criticised Stott in very strong terms while others supported his views.[27] Stott
also supported the ordination of women deacons and presbyters, although he did
not believe they should be in positions of headship.
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