iGod

John Stott - a small tribute to a great pastor, theologian and author

Former vicar of All Souls Langham Place in London, and a key leader among evangelicals worldwide, John Stott died at 3.15pm yesterday (27 July) in his retirement home at St Barnabas College.

He was surround by family and close friends. They were reading the Bible together and listening to Handel's Messiah before slipping away in his sleep.

John leaves behind a massive legacy. Much has already been writen in the last 12 hours about the man, so I feel my own small contribution here will be extremely poor by any standards.

However, I can still fondly remember him coming to our college in the early Nineties and speaking at Chapel. Being theological students he expected much from us and only spoke from his New Testament Greek. Incredible! It was one of the few times I can even remember that happening. I just sat there colouring in the pages of my Good News BIble. But he was not a dry academic scholar, he was a man who was in love with the Lord, more than the words he studied.

For over seventy years he has remained an influential and redoubtable figure on the landscape of post-war Christianity, often arguing for the place of Bible-based faith among his Christian Liberal colleagues when at times he was a lone voice.

He had the most amazing skill to reason and articulate at a level most could people could understand, he did not just write for fellow scholars. The simplicity of his well-crafted arguments showed the depth of his studies. They came with such confidence. He depature has surely left a gaping hole in our lives. However, we do have the most amazing library of books left behind penned by him over the years.

Doug Birdsall, executive chairman of the Lausanne Movement, put his global influence in context: "John Stott impacted the church around the world in many ways.  Perhaps his greatest contribution was to articulate clearly and to defend robustly the evangelical faith which he always understood to be biblical faith, grounded in the New Testament.  Evangelicalism was to Stott an expression of historic, orthodox Christianity...

"Everywhere John Stott travelled to teach, he encouraged 'double listening'. This was a listening to the voice of the Spirit of God through his Word, and listening to the voice and the needs of our broken world."

A memorial website has already been set up at http://www.johnstottmemorial.org/

Well done, good and faithful servant. Enjoy eternity with the one that saves.

ASD

 

 

 

 

A nice quote - closer to God

A great little quote from my friend Steve over at Verve and Verse. 

We are closer to God when we are asking questions than when we think we have the answers.

~ Abraham Joshua Heschel

ASD

Our church has just begun its third annual Summer of Love campaign. This is our own particular response to serving one another and our community with love and kindness while we take August off from Sunday services.

During the process of planning I have been reflecting on the personal sacrifce that has to be made to make something like this actually work.

In essence, it needs us to be willing to put ourselves out a bit. We are great at talking up this stuff, sharing past stories, but at the end of Summer it will either happened or not.

To that end, I like what Steve Sjogren has to say about it:

It’s all about doing the work, not talking about the work.

Leaders aren’t leaders until they lead.

Writers aren’t writers until they write.

Worship leaders are so until they bring others into worship.

Evangelists are only evangelists when they evangelise. Connect with the Lost.

Don’t just talk. Do the work. Start today.

 

As ever, Steve cuts to the chase. Guess we had better listen to him and start then!

ASD

"Don't panic!"

Recently the family and I decided to go to Bressingham Steam Museum. Well, actually when I say “we” it was my wife and I and the rest of the family had to comply. However the small voices of mutinous dissension were minimised at the back of the car, largely thanks to their iPods and Nintendo DS.

Bressingham is a great place to visit not least for Father’s Day. But beyond the working steam engines there is something you are not expecting – a Dad’s Army museum.

Having grown up on a staple diet of Dad’s Army comedy I can’t begin to tell you the fond memories it brought back. The kids, of course, had little respect for walking around the hallowed replica sets of Jones the Butcher or Captain Mainwaring’s office, but we forgive them.

Throughout the exhibition there was plenty of wartime memorabilia, but one of the posters particularly caught my eye. It read, “Morale: How to play your part.”

Today it is hard to, perhaps, understand the nation’s mood back then in such dark and desperate times. Anything we may feel today as a nation is pathetic in comparison such as, dare I say, Andy Murray losing Wimbledon. No, really.

Even though we are not at threat from the skies or the seas, there are other things that bring us together.

Take the steep rising costs of fuel, energy and food, along with cuts to local government services. They are undoubtedly starting to take their toll on most households. And life isn’t set to get any easier in the short term either. All these things can start to affect the nation’s mood, but as Corporal Jones would say. “Don’t panic!” It’s time to pull together.

When I looked at the wartime poster more closely I was surprised at what I read.

Firstly, it calls us to “Forget about yourself and help your neighbour.” Secondly, “Be a rumour stopper. Face the facts, don’t exaggerate. Faith, confidence and cheerfulness are as contagious as fear, depression and grumbling.”

But then the poster goes onto to say something really quite boldy, “The secret of steadiness and inner strength is to listen to God and do what he says. God speaks to the heart of every man and woman who is prepared to listen and obey. His voice can be heard wherever you are - in the home, in the factory, in the air-raid shelter, in the first-aid post.”

Now, be honest, you weren’t expecting that, were you?

But it is the last paragraph that really got me: “A British general who has fought two world wars said this: Telephone wires might be cut, wireless stations destroyed, but no bombardment can stop messages from God coming through if we are willing to receive them. To listen to God and obey him is the highest form of national service for everybody everywhere.”

Quite something, eh? When our spirits take a bashing God encourages us to turn to Him to be lifted up.  Morale in the dictionary is defined as being positive, confident, disciplined and willing to do tasks. Not to dissimilar to what it is to be a Christian.

St Paul the apostle writes to the first century Church that we are to be full of deep joy and hope. Also, we can receive a peace that ultimately only comes through his son Jesus Christ. It takes someone who is bigger than the situation to help us get perspective.

Whether our ongoing worries are about money, our job or whatever, we have a loving God that can help lift morale, so why don’t you try praying?

Meantime, if you do have any financial worries you might like to know that we have a team of trained Money Coaches available who are able to offer practical advice and support. Speak to our church office today (details on the Churches Services page). We’re happy to be of national service.

ASD