Preface
P R E F A C E
For forty years and more I have been fascinated and challenged by the early chapters of 1 Corinthians. They have cast their spell over me. I believe they have a special message for church leaders today, whether ordained or lay, whether their ministry is in the world or in the church.
So I have sought to expound these chapters in a variety of contexts: in conferences for clergy and missionaries in North
America, Romania and Papua New Guinea; at the biennial conference of FEET (The Fellowship of European Evangelical
Theologians); and at meetings for student leaders and theological students in Germany, Poland, Kenya, Argentina and Costa
Rica. I have also been privileged to take these chapters for the biblical expositions at the Keswick Convention in the north of England, first in 1962 and then again nearly forty years later in
Basic Christian Leadership the millennium year, I hope with a greater degree of insight and understanding than previously.
In preparing these expositions for a wider public, I have found the text extraordinarily relevant to Christian leaders in the contemporary world.