At All Souls Church, John Stott has had a pastoral ministry in the heart of London since his ordination in 1945. His international ministry, through writing and speaking, is also justly famous. Less known is the ministry of Langham Partnership International (John Stott Ministries in the U.S.), which he started to serve majority world Christians. lpi particularly encourages biblical preaching by offering study books for pastors and libraries, by inspiring biblical preaching movements, and by offering doctoral scholarships for evangelical scholars who will commit to teaching in their home seminaries. All these grew out of Stott’s personal involvement as he tirelessly traveled the world. “As I approach the end of my life,” Stott says, “my passion is to promote the ministry of Langham Partnership International and so to see the Word of God faithfully expounded in the pulpits of the world.”
In 2001, Stott chose Chris Wright, an Irishman, to take over leadership of the fast-growing lpi organization. “I believe that Chris is God’s man to carry this work into the next generation,” Stott says. Wright is a Cambridge Ph.D. in Old Testament who spent five years teaching in India and then eight years leading All Nations Christian College, a school dedicated to training in cross-cultural mission. Like Stott, Wright is an Anglican clergyman, a preacher who loves to travel the world, an author of serious but accessible books on Scripture and theology, and a birdwatcher. Unlike Stott, a lifelong bachelor, Wright has a wife and four children.
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This article is a sidebar to today’s lead article, “Evangelism Plus: John Stott reflects on where we’ve been and where we’re going.”
Langham Partnership International has more information on Chris Wright and his writings.
Previous Christianity Today articles on John Stott include:
Basic Stott | The wisdom of evangelicalism’s premier teacher on gender, charismatics, leaving the Church of England, the poor, evangelical fragmentation, Catholics, the future, and other subjects (Jan. 8, 1996)
Why Don’t They Listen? | John Stott on the most pernicious obstacles to effective world evangelism (Sept. 5, 2003)
Pottering and Prayer | As John Stott turns 80, he still finds weeds to pull, birds to watch, and petitions to make. (April 27, 2001)
The Quotable Stott | Reflections on the occasion of John R.W. Stott’s 80th birthday. (April 27, 2001)
An Elder Statesman’s Plea | John Stott’s ‘little statement on evangelical faith’ reveals the strengths and limitations of the movement he helped create. (Feb. 7, 2000)
Guardian of God’s Word | The amazingly balanced, wise, biblical, and global ministry of a local pastor, John Stott.” (September 16, 1996)
Articles on Stott from Christianity Today sister publication Books & Culture include:
WWJSD | The global ministry of John Stott. (March/April 2002)
Basic Christianity—with an Oxbridge Accent | John Stott and evangelical renewal. (Sept./Oct. 2000)
Christianity Today‘s other articles on its 50th anniversary include:
Where We Are and How We Got Here | 50 years ago, evangelicals were a sideshow of American culture. Since then, it’s been a long, strange trip. Here’s a look at the influences that shaped the movement. By Mark A. Noll (Sept. 29, 2006)
Sidebar: ‘Truth from the Evangelical Viewpoint’ | What Christianity Today meant to the movement 50 years ago. (Sept. 29, 2006)
One Reader’s Thoughts on Christianity Today‘s 50th Anniversary | After five decades of reading, I’ve clipped far too many articles. (Oct. 12, 2006)