TRIBUTE TO JOHN STOTT, 1921-2011
It is with great sadness that I have just heard the news of the passing of a lower luminary, John Stott. As it turns out, Rev. Stott passed away just 6 months after my own father, being very close to the same age. It is a hard year.
I had the high privilege of meeting Rev. Stott on two occasions – once in Portugal, and once in Ukraine. I also later visited his church, the All Souls Church in London, but he was away.
On the first occasion, I was honored to be his chauffer from the Word of Life camp in Portugal, taking him into the city to catch his plane. My buddy Tom Hudson and I teamed up on him and even recorded the conversation to “pick his brain” on a number of hot topics of the day. he responded, as always, with grace and balance – much to the chagrin of us young, hot-headed theologians.
I also came to find out that he was a huge birding fan, and one of the founders of the Atocha project in the Algarve of Portugal. We enjoyed taking our sons there to observe the snaring and tagging of birds winging their way from Africa to northern Europe. This was close to John Stott’s heart.
In 2003, we were called away from Portugal to Ukraine, and we had just started planting a new church when John Stott came to speak at the Odessa seminary. I was thrilled to meet him again, to have our disciples meet him, and to have his blessing in this way on the new emerging churches in the former Soviet Union.
Some have even called him a sort of “Pope of the Evangelical church”[1], although I’m sure that greatly displeased him. He was a humble man, deliberate, clear and direct, but tactful. His clear writing not only played a part in my own life, but influenced the way I preach. It was always Christ-centered, with an appeal to both head and heart. We may not have his great gifts, but may we all leave behind such a legacy of faithfulness and humility!
Rev. Stott even came to speak in the room where our brand-new Presbyterian church was meeting, and posed for a picture with the young Ukrainian leaders we were discipling. They are now serving actively in Ukrainian churches, so the baton has passed. May we not drop it before passing it on to others!
No, John Stott was not a Pope. But he most certainly was a representative of Christ on earth – as we all should be. Thank God for the certain hope of the Resurrection and Life everlasting! I think I’ll preach about that on Sunday….
- Rev. Clay Quarterman, PCA, Odessa, Ukraine
