His influence was simply titanic. I will always think of him as a Christian statesman and as a preacher above all–KSH.
His influence was simply titanic. I will always think of him as a Christian statesman and as a preacher above all–KSH.
Oh my!
May the LORD bless him and keep him; the LORD make His face shine upon him and be gracious to him; the LORD lift up His countenance upon him and give him peace.
A great servant of Christ, now with his Lord. How much he enriched the Body of Christ!
Amen! A great witness for Christ!
The [url=http://www.amazon.com/John-Stott-Making-Leader-Biography/dp/0830822070/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311793274&sr=8-1]first volume[/url] of Timothy Dudley-Smith’s two-volume biography provides wonderful background for understanding Stott, All Souls, Langham Place, and the Evangelical community to which Stott ministered for more than sixty years.
Simply, Wow. I met him a few times in the 90’s here in the States. One of the contemporary Saints indeed
The best expository preacher I have heard.
Also, a dedicated birdwatcher and great photographer. In a house full of bird books, his is one of our favorites.
Speaking of RIP, this is what Dr. Stott said about that:
[blockquote]One of the most searching tests to apply to any religion concerns its attitude to death. And measured by this test much so-called Christianity is found wanting in its black clothes, its mournful chants and its requiem masses. Of course dying can be very unpleasant, and bereavement can bring bitter sorrow. But death itself has been overthrown, and ‘blessed are the dead who die in the Lord’ (Rev. 14:13). The proper epitaph to write for a Christian believer is not a dismal and uncertain petition, ‘R.I.P.’ (requiescat in pace, ‘may he rest in peace’), but a joyful and certain affirmation ‘C.A.D.’ (‘Christ abolished death’).
—From “The Message of 2 Timothy†(The Bible Speaks Today series: London and Downers Grove: IVP, 1973), p. 39.[/blockquote]
So be it for you, Dr. Stott, good and faithful servant of Christ.
This great and humble man helped my ministry many times on four continents. What a loss! But what a legacy!
A giant–may he rest in peace, and sing with the angels. Prayers for his family, too.
It was his humility and patience I most admired.
I will miss him.
He was the Bible teacher at Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship’s triennial Urbana Missionary Conference on quite a few occasions – I attended four of them in the 60’s and 70’s and he spoke at them all. It was incredible – the passion and lucidity with which he spoke were amazing. However, I did not appreciate his expository talks at first. After the first conference I was at (1967), I remarked to our IV Staff worker, “I do not see what was so great about that. All he said was what the Bible says.” To which Bill replied, “You try it some time.” I later did – and my appreciation for his teaching grew enormously.
I am now ordained almost 30 years – and the more I preach, the more I appreciate what Stott did as a Bible expositor – depth of insight, knowledge of the circumstances, grasp of the original language, and above all a depth of love for the Lord and his Word were all present in abundance.
I had a chance to meet him several times, and even to ask his advice – and he was a warm and compassionate listener and gave thoughtful replies which I valued and heeded.
He will be deeply missed – thank heaven he has left a wonderful legacy of books and students to continue to bless God’s Church.
A giant in the church.
So many achievements. Arguably, his skirmish with Martyn Lloyd Jones was one of the most influential, leading to a major shift in evangelical thinking – to remain en masse in the Church of England.
But it was his many teaching trips to many countries and over a lifetime that I think laid the foundation for evangelical resilience today.