Essentials
John Stott's Preaching: his Method and his Message
- Written by: Peter Adam
We have good reason to thank God for John Stott.
Here I focus on his preaching, both method andmessage.
PREACHING METHOD
John visited Australia in January 1965, and this visit—one of many—had a profound effect on Australian preaching.1 He gave Bible studies on 2 Corinthians at the CMS Summer Schools in several states in Australia. Much Australian preaching at that time was on 'a text', that is, on an individual verse from the Bible, often without much regard to its context. In his Bible studies John Stott was demonstrating the obvious value of preaching from a passages of Scripture, and from consecutive passages of Scripture. His example had a profound impact on Australian preaching.2 One person who was profoundly affected by this change in preaching style was Sydney evangelist John Chapman, who reflected this way on Stott's influence:
'Prior to that, I had tended to get an idea from a passage and leap all over the Bible supporting the idea from other parts so that the people I taught knew the "idea" but not the passage from which it came or how that passage fitted into some overall argument from the Scriptures … He provided a model for expository preaching that I could copy and make my own.'3
Read more: John Stott's Preaching: his Method and his Message
John Stott's Fellow Workers
- Written by: Julia Cameron
Julia Cameron
John Stott, one of the most productive leaders of recent times, had an unusual capacity for hard work, a gift for focused concentration, and a constant sense of being 'dissatisfied'.1
The fruit of his work, and of his ideas, was multiplied, in human terms, through four means: (i) his fellow workers, (ii) his industry, (iii) his instinctive sense of strategy, and (iv) his unique symbiotic relationships, especially with IFES2 and the Lausanne Movement. There was, for him, a porous line between friend and fellow worker. We look here at his fellow workers, glancing at the networks which extended his ministry.3
Stott's global ministry first rested on a team of two, himself and his secretary, expanding eventually in 1980 into a team of three. They called themselves 'the happy triumvirate' after Charles Simeon's use of the term for himself and his curates.4 But let us not rush ahead.
Abrahamic and Apostolic: John Stott in his Centenary Year
- Written by: Chris Wright
Chris Wright is the Global Ambassador & Ministry Director, Langham Partnership International
'I am a great believer,' John Stott would often say, 'in the importance of BBC. Not the British Broadcasting Company, nor Bethlehem Bible College, nor even Beautiful British Columbia. But Balanced Biblical Christianity.' In my own assessment of John's life and ministry I suggest a biblical balance of Old and New Testaments by saying that the scale and scope of John Stott's significance within the global church has been both Abrahamic and apostolic.
ABRAHAMIC
John Stott was Abrahamic in two ways, of which the first is the most obvious.
Read more: Abrahamic and Apostolic: John Stott in his Centenary Year
Bible Study: 2 Corinthians 5:1-10
- Written by: Natalie Rosner
What’s Camping got to do with Eternity?
2 Corinthians 5:1-10
Natalie Rosner
I wasn’t aware until recently that John Stott gave Bible Studies on 2 Corinthians in 1965 at the Anglican Church Missionary Society Summer Schools in several states in Australia. So, it’s with some trepidation that I share the framework and reasoning behind a recent sermon I preached on 2 Corinthians 5:1-10.
This is a passage with an inbuilt metaphor: our current bodies as an earthly tent, and our future bodies with Jesus in the new creation as ‘a building from God, an eternal house in heaven’ (2 Cor 5:1). Because this metaphor is so effective in helping to both understand the passage and apply the passage to our own context, it shaped the structure and theme of my sermon. The sermon was titled ‘What’s camping got to do with eternity?’ and had three sections as outlined below.
Women, Leadership and Evangelism
- Written by: Robyn Claydon
Robyn Claydon
A personal account of the growing recognition by John Stott and the Lausanne Movement of the gifting and acceptance of women in all aspects of Christian leadership in the task of world evangelisation
When it was decided to hold a second International Lausanne Congress in 1989 in Manila, a 10-person Planning Committee was set up to work on every aspect of the Conference. Each person represented a different part of the world and I was invited to join the Congress Committee representing Australasia. Nine men and I worked closely for five years in what was a challenging, exhilarating and spiritually enriching experience. John Stott, who had been the Chief Architect of the Lausanne Covenant that came out of Lausanne 74, was asked to be the Chief Architect of what was to become the Manila Manifesto.
Editorial Winter 2021
- Written by: Stephen Hale
John R.W. Stott
John Stott was born in London on 27th April 1921. In honour of the centenary of his birth date we have produced this special edition to reflect on the remarkable ministry of the Rev Dr John Stott. It is hard to think of any other figure who has had a more profound impact on evangelical Anglicanism as well as global evangelicalism than John Stott. Indeed as Michael Cromartie quipped, ‘if evangelicals could elect a pope, Stott is the person theywould likely choose.’
Although many of us never met the man, he still profoundly impacted us. My first contact was via his classic little book Your Confirmation when, at 14, I was doing confirmation classes. It would be lying to say it had a great impact on me at the time! In 1975 I was there when he delivered the Bible Studies on Ephesians at the AFES National Conference in Bathurst. Each session was captivating and gave me a whole new perspective on understanding Scripture. I can still visualise the Conference and was thrilled when the print version emerged as God’s New Society. During my time at Moore College, I had a case of second year blues and had a mid-year holiday in Tasmania. I read I Believe in Preaching year holiday in Tasmania. I read I Believe in Preaching by Stott and came back fired and up and back on track. One could go on and on from CMS Summer Schools to Lausanne Congresses, to papers and many books. One way or another John Stott has impacted many of us in profound and deeply personal ways.As the founder of EFAC, it is fitting for EFAC Australia to honour him with this special issue of Essentials. I want to acknowledge the help of Peter Adam and Mark Juers in dreaming up the list of articles and to each of the contributors for writing such an inspiring set of articles.
Bishop Stephen Hale Chair, EFAC AUSTRALIA and EFAC GLOBAL
Essentials 2021
- Written by: Chris Appleby
To look through the collection, see the article list on the left.
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