AN INTERVIEW WITH JOHN STOTT

Recently I came across an interview with John Stott, the great English preacher and writer on his life and ministry (80 Years Ago Today: The Conversion of John Stott, www.thegospelcoalition.org). In it he was asked about the state of preaching today. His reply was devastating – in two words: “Miserable, Abysmal”. He went on to say that preaching requires relating the ancient text of the Bible to the modern world. He recalled a conversation he had with two brothers who were raised in a Christian home and were now at university. They told him that they had abandoned their Christian faith because it was irrelevant to the modern world. It was a primitive Palestinian religion that had no application to their exciting contemporary world. Stott wrote a book on preaching entitled Between Two Worlds, relating the message of the Bible to today. But too many preachers either preach about the biblical text with no application of its message to their congregations or preach about the issues of the day without any biblical foundation.

In conservative evangelical churches there is a tendency for sermons to be a commentary on the biblical text with the exegesis of the theological terms but little or no application to the needs of the listeners. It is like listening to a doctrinal lecture about abstract ideas without considering the human condition. It is no wonder that people give up on the Gospel if all they hear in the pews is a repetition each week of theological truths about God, Jesus, the Cross, Salvation, Forgiveness and Heaven. What do these truths have to say about my life today? How do they relate to the purpose of my life, to my meaning, significance, value and happiness? How do I deal with guilt, conscience, my desires, my hunger for love and affirmation, my struggles and suffering, the evil in the world, my pain and loss of relationships, my loneliness? How can I find courage to face another day, to hope for the future, to overcome despair and depression? I long to hear a message that speaks to my present condition, to my heart, my worries, my concerns and brings me comfort rather than flying over my head.

Jesus Christ wants to personally relate to me where I am. He alone can give me an enduring sense of self-worth and personal significance because he assures me of God’s love. He sets us free from guilt because he died for us, from the prison of our self-centeredness by the power of his resurrection, and from paralyzing fear because he reigns over all the principalities and powers of evil. He gives us a new family in the community of the church that cares for us. He promises that history is neither meaningless or endless, for one day he will return to conquer, to destroy death and usher in his kingdom. One of the most fascinating of all the preacher’s tasks is to explore both the emptiness of fallen man without Christ and the fullness of Jesus Christ, in order to demonstrate how he can fill our emptiness, lighten our darkness, enrich our poverty, and bring our human aspirations to fulfillment.

If we fill our minds with the news of the day, with all the conflict and personal problems that beset the world, and the inability of our political leaders and material prosperity to solve them we will despair. But if we fill our minds with the hope of the eternal Gospel and discover how it applies to our lives we can be victorious over all the ills of this life.

Preacher, be faithful to the biblical text but also be aware of the human condition and apply its truths to the needs of your hearers. We are hungry for relevance, for medicine for our souls.

You can learn more about this topic from my book: JOHN STOTT:: A Summary of his Teaching, Published by Langham Global Library.