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John Stott and you
Friday 23 November 2007
I have been invited by IVP Books to write a new shortish, and we hope popular, biography of John Stott. If you have some recollection of John Stott, Rector Emeritus of All Souls Langham Place, international speaker, author and chaplain to the Queen, some perspective on him, or can recount something about his life, I should love you to get in touch with me via this website.
Some of the guiding principles which will guide me as I attempt to tell the story of his life are as follows:
1 The attractiveness of biography as a genre for a book. We are all born into this world with some advantages and some disadvantages. If well told, the story of how we capitalise on the advantages and cope with the disadvantages in our lives rarely fails to engage the reader. A biography has a natural structure with a beginning, middle and ending: it should be a natural “page-turner”.
2 However every biography has its limitations. None of us totally understands what makes us tick as individuals ourselves – so how can we hope to convey in a biography what has made another person tick?
3 In the light of this, I think the best the biographer can do is to tell as attractive, honest and engaging story as he can. I would like to try to recreate a series of scenes so that the reader can feel that he or she is there – hearing the sounds, visualising the scenery, sensing the atmosphere, understanding the tensions. I will keep my own comment or reflection to a minimum: let the reader draw his or her own conclusions. I would however aim to weave into the story some of what I see as the best insights from John Stott´s books and preaching.
4 I do see John´s life as a living advertisement for Christ. He will, I expect, protest about this when I meet him again in a few weeks after a gap of ten years. However I must say that his integrity, consistency, humility and simplicity of lifestyle are a testimony to the power of Christ to save, to keep and to use. In these days when men like Richard Dawkins are placing a debate about the existence of God in the heart of the public arena, the most powerful argument for God is surely a life well lived in His service.
I look forward to hearing from you. If I use your contribution, you will have earned a complimentary copy of the book!
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