Anglican evangelist, biblical scholar John Stott dies

By ENS staff, July 28, 2011 [Episcopal News Service] Anglican evangelist, author and biblical scholar John Stott died July 27 in England.

Stott, 90, retired from public ministry in 2007. He spent his retirement in the College of St. Barnabas, a residence for retired Anglican clergy in Lingfield.

"The death of John Stott will be mourned by countless Christians throughout the world. During a long life of unsparing service and witness, John won a unique place in the hearts of all who encountered him, whether in person or through his many books," said Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams in a statement posted online.

"He was a man of rare graciousness and deep personal kindness, a superb communicator and a sensitive and skilled counselor," Williams said. "Without ever compromising his firm evangelical faith, he showed himself willing to challenge some of the ways in which that faith had become conventional or inward-looking. It is not too much to say that he helped to change the face of evangelicalism internationally, arguing for the necessity of 'holistic' mission that applied the Gospel of Jesus to every area of life, including social and political questions. But he will be remembered most warmly as an expositor of scripture and a teacher of the faith, whose depth and simplicity brought doctrine alive in all sorts of new ways."

New York Times columnist David Brooks once wrote (quoting Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center) that if evangelicals chose a pope, they would likely select John Stott.

As a principal framer of the 1974 Lausanne Covenant, a defining statement for evangelical Christians, Stott was at the heart of evangelical renewal in the United Kingdom for more than half a century. In 2005, he was honored by Time magazine as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World," according to a press release issued by his publisher, InterVarsity Press.

John Robert Walmsley Stott, CBE, was born April 27, 1921, in London to Sir Arnold Stott, a physician, and his wife, Emily. His father was an agnostic, while his mother was a Lutheran who attended church at All Souls, Langham Place. He converted to Christianity at Rugby School in 1938, and after finishing there he went on to study modern language at Trinity College, Cambridge. After earning double firsts in French and theology, he transferred to Ridley Hall Theological College, Cambridge, and was ordained as an Anglican priest in 1945. Stott became a curate at All Souls Church (1945–1950) and then rector (1950–1975). He resigned as rector in 1975, although he remained in the church and was appointed "rector emeritus." In 1974 he founded Langham Partnership International (known as John Stott Ministries in the United States), a ministry that seeks to equip "majority world" churches for mission and spiritual growth, the release said.

Stott authored many books, including Basic Christianity, The Cross of Christ, Christian Mission in the Modern World, Your Mind Matters, and The Birds, Our Teachers. Stott was also the New Testament editor and a major contributor of the "Bible Speaks Today" commentary series, the release said.

"There are a few, a very few, who deserve to be called a prince amongst the people of God. John Stott was one such," said Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen, in a tribute posted online.

Stott's full biography is available here.