JOHN STOTT: The Making of a Leader
By Timothy Dudley-Smith
IVP. 513 pages. . ? ring IVP
ISBN 0 85111 757 0
We owe a vast debt to John Stott and his work. The preaching and writing of the Rector Emeritus of All Souls, Langham Place in London, has, under God, been one of the most powerful and gracious influences for good on the whole post-war evangelical church worldwide.
This is the first volume of the official biography and takes the story, decade by decade, up to the end of the 1950s. In the foreword, the author, quoting G.M. Trevelyan, explains his approach. Personal and temporal proximity make assessment of a subject difficult so the chief function of official lives is 'to supply material for judgment rather than to pronounce judgment'. With full access to John Stott's letters, diaries and papers, Bishop Timothy has provided a clear, eloquent, entertaining and thoroughly professional piece of work. This is a treasure house of insight and information.
We are guided from John Stott's home with his Harley Street physician father, to the joy of conversion at Rugby School, through the trials and tensions of being a pacifist ordinand in Cambridge during the World War II years, into the full flower of the evangelistic ministry at All Souls and the English universities, and deep involvement with the first big Billy Graham missions to Britain which made such an impact. The author gives beautiful brief sketches of historical background and key characters we meet along the way as well as providing penetrating analysis of the endeavours and issues of the day.
The work of E.J.H. Nash among public schoolboys through whom John Stott was converted is especially noteworthy, as is the controversy surrounding evangelicalism which arose with regard to the 1950s' Billy Graham missions. Both Stott and Graham saw the need to address the gospel to the conscience as well as the mind in university missions.
It is a fascinating read, taking us back to a long-lost era of sports jackets and grey flannel trousers, but when evangelicalism was far more clear-minded and uncompromising. There is much here from which a new generation could benefit.
