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Godly AmbitionJohn Stott was one of the most prominent and influential evangelical leaders of the 20th century and remains so even after his death in 2011. Alister Chapman’s biography Godly Ambition: John Stott and the Evangelical Movement is an excellent source for information about the author and theologian.

Previously, I shared one of the more interesting stories from the book (a confrontation between Stott and his friend Billy Graham). I was able to interview Chapman about that incident and more from his biography.

Trevin Wax: Your title implies that Stott combined two things that many believe incongruous: godliness and ambition. Do you believe this was a worthy endeavor and do you believe he succeeded at both?

Alister Chapman: If ambition means seeking one’s own glory, then no, I don’t think it’s a worthy endeavor. If it means seeking to use one’s God-given gifts to the utmost, then yes, absolutely. That is, however, a hazardous pursuit. And that’s what Stott found.

He was motivated by a desire to see the church flourish, but he also knew that human motives are complex at the best of times. Sometimes his ambition was godly, sometimes not.

Was he successful? In the final analysis, that is not for me to judge. But I do think that he is a good model of a person who went after God full-bore, and therefore someone worthy of emulation.

Trevin Wax: Stott is often described as one of the most important church leaders from Great Britain in the past century, and yet many in England have never heard of him. How did Stott go from being a London pastor to a worldwide evangelical leader?

Alister Chapman: There were three keys. The first was his successful evangelistic missions at Oxford and Cambridge, which led to numerous invitations from groups overseas connected with the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students.

The second was his relationship with Billy Graham, forged during Graham’s 1954-55 missions in London. Graham came to see Stott as the best intellectual cornerstone for the global evangelical movement he wanted to create, with Stott playing key roles in congresses such as the one at Lausanne in 1974.

Finally, Stott set up a series of trusts designed to serve the church beyond Western Europe and North America, using the royalties from his books to provide books for pastors, education for budding theologians and biblical scholars, and seminars that taught others how to preach the Bible. Those trusts continue their work today as the Langham Partnership.

Trevin Wax: Stott made some shifts in emphasis and position over the length of his career. Why were these shifts important (and strategic) regarding his influence on evangelicalism?

Alister Chapman: The most important shift in Stott’s career was to embrace social action as a legitimate and indeed necessary part of the Great Commission. He was not the first to say this and many evangelicals were unconvinced by his arguments. Nevertheless, his advocacy of this position was important for a developing social conscience in many evangelical churches from the 1970’s.

Trevin Wax: You recount Stott’s interactions/debates with two well-known evangelical leaders: Billy Graham and Martin Lloyd-Jones. What precipitated these discussions, and why were they important?

Alister Chapman: The heated debate with Martyn Lloyd-Jones came first, in 1966. The two men clashed over ecclesiology at a meeting in London when Stott understood Lloyd-Jones to be calling evangelicals to leave theologically mixed denominations such as the Church of England. In a back-handed compliment to Lloyd-Jones, Stott felt the need to state his opposition to Lloyd-Jones’s position right after Lloyd-Jones had spoken.

This was certainly a major, public falling out between two of British evangelicalism’s key leaders. But its significance was minor for everyone apart from those who followed Lloyd-Jones into a separatism that became a theological wilderness. It was certainly not the end of a robust, Reformed voice in mainstream English evangelicalism.

The other disagreement that you mention took place between Stott and Billy Graham in 1975. Evangelical leaders from five continents met in Mexico City to discuss the future of a movement that had begun at the Lausanne congress the preceding year.

Graham opened proceedings saying that he thought the focus should be on evangelism. Stott demurred, saying that because Lausanne had emphasized social action, the new organization should too. He then threatened to quit if Graham’s position prevailed.

Cue lots of agonized discussion and wordsmithing in an attempt to reach a compromise. Graham came out looking gracious and humble; some thought Stott had been manipulative. The result was that social action was part of the Lausanne movement, but Graham eventually tired of the ruminations and declarations that Stott loved so much, and started a rival set of conferences that focused exclusively on evangelism.

Trevin Wax: Imagine a biographer in 2113 writing about John Stott’s life and legacy. What aspects of his legacy do you believe will still be felt a century from now?

Alister Chapman: People will still read his books, in the same way that some still read Handley Moule’s commentaries—a historical treat for the well informed. He will be in the pantheon for groups connected to the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, such as InterVarsity, but his name will have largely faded from view.

Even today, claims for his importance in the development of global Christianity need to be tempered by the sheer diversity of that movement and the way that growth among Pentecostal and charismatic churches has overshadowed the growth of those more closely connected to Stott. His life and ministry have not helped to shape an era in the way that, for example, Charles Finney’s did. Even today, few in the pew know of him.

Every historian knows, however, that the remembered and the influential are not always the same. Most will not know his name, but the enormous inspiration he provided to countless pastors to preach the Bible with great care and attention will continue to touch churches worldwide.

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