In tribute to the late John Stott, we link not one of the many articles of tribute that has appeared since his death yesterday but an article from 2004 by David Brooks of the New York Times. Brooks captured Stott's contribution to Christianity in SWNID's generation as well as we've ever seen it done.
As a sometime visitor to All Souls Langham Place, where Stott preached next door to the BBC's studios, and as an admirer of every aspect of his ministry, we add this tribute. In our view, Stott was one of the first to realize that Great Britain, Europe, and North America had entered a post-Christian cultural condition. He led first his church and influenced many others to articulate the Christian gospel in ways that were clear, accessible and appealing to a post-Christian audience, and without sacrificing any aspect of historic orthodoxy. We believe that when the history of Christianity in our lifetime is written centuries from now, Stott will be noted as crucial to the church's survival and revival in lands where once it had been predominant but then had become marginalized.
2 comments:
I highly recommend Brooks' "Modesty Manifesto" - a podcast, detailing society's lurch from self-effacing to self- indulged. Sobering
Nicholas Kristof has borrowed all of Brooks's good points to write his column this week. Nice job, Nick!
Post a Comment