John Stott - a life well lived
John Stott was one of the world's foremost evangelical leaders of the 20th Century. Born in 1921 in London, he found faith in the Anglican Church as a teenager and went on to become Curate and Rector of All Souls, Langham Place from 1945 to 1975. Stott is credited with leading the post-war resurgence of the British evangelical movement. As well as inspiring generations of evangelical within and beyond the Church of England he worked in partnership with Billy Graham in his groundbreaking UK missions from the 1950s onwards. He has written over 50 books including 'Basic Christianity' which remains a classic introduction to the core beliefs of Christian faith. After retiring from his position at All Souls, Stott continued to exert enormous influence on global Christianity. He was instrumental in framing the 1974 Lausanne Covenant and was involved in training church leaders in developing countries around the world. He was not afraid of controversy, publicly clashing with the Free Church leader Martyn Lloyd-Jones in 1966 on the future of Evangelical Anglicanism. He was also criticised by some evangelicals for affirming an annihilationist view of hell. Those closest to him will remember him as "Uncle John" a spiritual mentor and radical disciple of Christ. He remained celibate his whole life, lived modestly, and poured royalties from book sales into the work of raising up church leaders in developing countries. Stott died on 27 July 2011, surrounded by friends praying and reciting Scripture and listening to Handel's 'Messiah'.
Check out Premier Radio's John Stott tribute page
Christianity features written by John Stott: The Age of Dependence (January 2010) Read Books by John Stott (selected reviews): The Radical Disciple Read The Grace of Giving Read The Bible Speaks Today Read
Try before you buy? To see a free preview edition of the June 2011 issue of Christianity magazine, click here!
