A review by Bill Weimer of my book, JOHN STOTT: A SUMMARY OF HIS TEACHING, posted on Amazon.com.
“One of the most influential 100 people in the world” was Time magazine’s 2003 declaration about the late Anglican pastor, preacher, author, theologian, and worldwide church leader John Stott (1921-2011). His assistant minister (1967-1971) and life-long colleague – Ted Schroder – produced, not a biography (there are several) but an unparalleled summary of Stott’s teachings. “While Stott did not write a systematic theology, his theological approach was consistently biblical, evangelical, and comprehensive” (p. 1) – Schroder’s book is similar.
Stott’s expository sermons, Bible commentaries, and practical writings plus pastoral vision, mentorship commitment, and constant trips to encourage worldwide Christians and pastors are renowned. Yet I am convinced – as my wife and I were privileged to know Stott as members of his London congregation and volunteer workers with Schroder – that equally ingrained and influential in Stott’s Christian witness was his kind, unpretentious, and other-oriented interaction with everyone he met: believers, seekers, visitors, and skeptics. He embodied Paul’s words: “We were ready to share with you not only the Gospel of God, but our own selves as well” (I Thess 2:8, RSV).
Periodic snapshots of Stott’s gracious Christlike personality are nicely sprinkled in Schroder’s sixteen-theme synopsis of his Christ-centered teaching. Stott’s daily morning prayer is a self-effacing example for our approaching God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (p. 7), and Schroder reports “in prayer meetings he echoed Abraham, ‘I have been bold to speak the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes’“ (p. 34). “To become a channel of God’s power,” Schroder discloses after analyzing Stott’s brilliant Preacher’s Portrait (1961), “Stott believed there were two essential conditions: holiness and humility” (p. 76) that so characterized Stott and are applicable for every Christian. Stott’s getaways are described in Schroder’s final chapter: “He escaped when he could to his retreat at Pembrokeshire, Wales called ‘The Hookses’ [a small house he purchased and self-improved]… where he took friends and did most of his writing…. [His] ability to enjoy nature and be renewed by it, enabled him to relax and balance his life between work and leisure. While he churned out books by the dozens and spoke at numerous churches and conferences, he was able to find a diversion from work and time for relationships in his bird-watching trips and time at ‘The Hookses.’” (p. 139). Schroder’s concluding Epilogue recounts Stott’s perspective for life and death “expressed in a prayer he habitually said before preaching at All Souls Church: ‘Lord, may Your written word be our Rule – Your Holy Spirit our teacher – and Your glory our supreme concern. Amen.’” (p. 142).
Among Pastor Schroder’s sixteen published books, this is without doubt his magnum opus – A magnificent tribute honoring his pastoral mentor, preaching encourager, ministry colleague, and close friend. His keen analyses, lengthy source material quotes, 300-plus citations and endnotes, and exhaustive bibliographical references make this volume for Christians, pastors, students, and theologians an essential resource and succinct summary into the teaching of John Stott.
Bill Weimer, B.A. University of Florida, M.Div, and D. Min of Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, is a retired U.S. Navy Chaplain and Pastor of Mariner Sands Chapel, Stuart, Florida.
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