John Stott

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John Stott

John Robert Walmsley Stott, CBE (born 27 April 1921) is a British Christian leader and Anglican clergyman who is noted as a leader of the worldwide evangelical movement. He is famous as one of the principal authors of the Lausanne Covenant in 1974.

Stott was born to Sir Arnold and Emily Stott. Sir Arnold Stott was a leading physician at Harley Street and an agnostic, though his wife was a Lutheran church-goer. While at Rugby School in 1938, John heard Rev. Eric Nash ('Bash') give a sermon entitled, "What Then Shall I Do with Jesus, Who Is Called the Christ?" Later that evening Stott decided to commit his life to Jesus Christ; some months later he felt a call to the ordained ministry.

Stott studied modern languages at Trinity College, Cambridge where he graduated with a double first in French and Theology and then transferred to Ridley Hall Theological College (also of the University of Cambridge) so he could become ordained as an Anglican vicar. He was ordained in 1945 and went on to become a curate at the Church of All Souls, Langham Place from (1945-1950) then as rector (1950-75), and as Rector Emeritus since 1975. He was appointed a Chaplain to Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom (1959-1991) and an Extra Chaplain in 1991. He received a CBE in the new years honours list, 2006.

He has written over 40 books, including Basic Christianity and The Cross of Christ, and he founded the Langham Partnership International (known as John Stott Ministries in the U.S.) in 1974 and the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity in 1982 of which he is now the honorary president. Stott is an avid birder, and has taken numerous trips in many different countries to observe and study birds, as well as writing a book about them—The Birds Our Teachers: Biblical Lessons from a Lifelong Bird Watcher.

In a November 2004 editorial on Stott, New York Times columnist David Brooks cited Michael Cromartie of the Ethics and Public Policy Center as saying that "if evangelicals could elect a pope, Stott is the person they would likely choose."

[edit] Bibliography

Timothy Dudley-Smith, John Stott: The Making of a Leader: A Biography : The Early Years Dowener Grove: InterVarsity, 1999. The authorized biography of John Stott.
Timothy Dudley-Smith. John Stott: A Biography of the Later Years. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2001. The authorized biography of John Stott.
Books by John Stott