It’s now five years to the day since author, pastor and evangelical leader John Stott died, aged 90. A suitable moment to take stock and reflect. What is the lasting legacy of this mild mannered, quietly spoken, English gentleman?
It is tempting to survey our current vibrant evangelical scene and find little trace of his influence. We now have an evangelical culture that is excited by church planting. We look to organisations like The Gospel Coalition, Acts 29 and The Gospel Partnerships as centres of thought, networking and leadership. Organisations that have, to my knowledge, no organic connection with Stott’s life and ministry. When I hunt for sermon recordings to listen to on long car journeys, or for part of my research, my mind turns first to Tim Keller, Vaughan Roberts or Mike Reeves, rather than the older sermons in the All Souls library by Dr Stott. We might be tempted to think that his ministry is no longer a force to be reckoned with.
We’d be wrong.
The fingerprints of John Stott’s life are everywhere on the evangelical scene if you have eyes to see. Let me pick out three.
1. Worldwide Christianity
When Time magazine listed the 100 most influential people in the USA in 2005, American politicians headed the list. But this softly spoken English clergyman came in at no 82. Writing about him, Billy Graham said:
“In the early '60s, John created the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion. From the outset, it offered training scholarships in the West to potential future leaders in Asia, Africa and South America—many of whom took up high positions when they returned to their own countries. Today they are in charge of church movements with millions of members; John's work is a significant factor in the explosive growth of Christianity in parts of the Third World.”
The fingerprints of John Stott’s life are everywhere on the evangelical scene if you have eyes to see.
The continued growth of the gospel in Africa, Asia, Latin America and elsewhere has been profoundly impacted by John Stott’s vision, drive and the continuing work of the Langham Partnership—particularly the Langham Preaching scheme — an organisation he founded which continues to play a massive role in the co-operative development of the work of the gospel throughout the world.
2. Expositional preaching
Much of what we know, love and consider to be the gold standard of expositional preaching today is the result of John Stott’s example and work. Evangelicalism was prone to “blessed thought” talks or pietistic sermons. Stott modelled a different way of preaching and teaching that became the norm: careful, systematic applied Bible teaching that connected properly with contemporary culture. I first heard him speak when I was a young Christian attending the Greenbelt festival. He seemed out of place among the hip and trendy young people in attendance. But what a breath of fresh air he was. In a tent with teenagers and young adults lolling around on the grass, he started to speak—and the change in the room was palpable. Unbidden by him, people sat up, opened up their Bibles and started to think.
The current generation of senior ministers all grew up on a diet of John’s preaching and teaching at conferences, and at university missions. They followed the pattern, and have passed it on to the next generation.
3. His published writings
John Stott’s books were, and are, models of simplicity, clarity and careful thought. Not just the better-known classics like The Cross of Christ, but less well known books as well. I read Christ the Controversialist as a younger Christian, and it was deeply impactful on me, while Basic Christianity remained on my bedside to be read and re-read every year. Understanding the Bible shaped my view of Scripture—and many were introduced to a rigorous and intellectually honest understanding of the Bile through his commentary volumes in the Bible Speaks Today series.
I only ever spoke with “Uncle John” once. We were publishing a book for The London Men’s Convention, and Dr Stott was both a speaker and a contributor to the book. During the proofing stage, I dutifully sent him a copy of his chapter and asked for comment. The phone on my desk rang a few days later and I heard his highly recognisable voice on the other end. In crisp, clear tones, he instructed me in several very nuanced corrections and additions to the text of his article. It was clear that he had spent a long time considering not only the impact of what he wanted to say, but how people might possibly misconstrue his points.
Undoubtedly, there are many other ways in which we still experience the impact of this godly life: evangelical unity, engagement with culture, a passion for intelligent and urgent evangelism. So many of the things we count as part of our evangelical heritage can be traced back directly to the energy and wisdom he applied to making these things central.
Ask a group of young Christians today who John Stott is, and many of them would say: “I don’t know.”
I suspect that John would be deeply happy.
To celebrate John’s life, writing and ministry, we are offering a special deal. Buy any John Stott book with 30% off for the next week (while stocks last, excludes commentaries and ebooks).
Join the conversation and comment below. You can also like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, subscribe to our YouTube Channel, and download The Good Book Company App straight to your phone or tablet.