The Worldwide Church
The Worldwide Church
We have heard how the Australians wanted Uncle John to be Archbishop of Sydney. The Aussies didn’t give up, and they tried again in 1981. John Stott talked with his small group of advisors. He met with the group regularly. ‘Our Australian brethren have written again about my becoming a bishop,’ he told them. Please let me know honestly what you think.’
John had already given the matter much prayer. He was deeply committed to the Anglican Church. If he accepted, he would become a member of the Lambeth Conference. This is a meeting of all bishops and archbishops from the whole Anglican Church around the world. It is at Lambeth that direction is set and priorities decided. He would be able to speak into these discussions.
He was glad of the chance to discuss the matter with these old friends. They were advisors, but they were more than that. John called the meeting AGE. It stood for ‘Accountability Group of Elders’. Uncle John placed himself under their leadership. He didn’t want to be a free-floater who made his own decisions. That can lead to bad mistakes, where we think we have discerned God’s will, but we haven’t. ‘There is wisdom in the counsel of many advisers,’ (Proverbs 11:14) John often reminded himself. He would follow the direction of AGE.
‘John, you would be badly missed here if you went,’ they said. ‘And what about your new big idea?’ John Stott’s new idea was The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity. His friends were right. It probably did need him in London to get it off the ground. So he wrote back to his good friends in Sydney, and again graciously declined their invitation to become a bishop.
The London Institute was to open its doors the following year. John gave much time to explaining his dream for this when he travelled.
‘I’m inviting some of the best young Christian leaders from around the world to come to London for ten weeks,’ he began. ‘We’ll begin each day with Bible teaching. Then we will look at how to apply the Bible to some of the toughest questions in the world.’
John had enjoyed conversations with students in Christian Unions on all six continents. He had sharpened their thinking, and they had expanded his. Soon these students would be graduates in the working world. In his mind’s eye as he spoke, Uncle John could see their faces. He had got to know some of them quite well, but they did not know each other. In The London Institute they would meet each other. His young Latin American friends would meet his Asian friends; his European friends would meet his African friends. He was looking forward to it with a great sense of anticipation.
Uncle John always thought globally. ‘Christ gave gifts to his Church to share,’ he would say. ‘The Church in each continent has been given different insights into scripture.’ Through seminars, and discussion over meals, these insights would be shared.
‘Could we arrange to meet?’ John asked Robin Wells. ‘It would be good to see you again. And I have an idea I’d like to discuss with you.’ They sat over a cup of tea in John’s flat, as he outlined his hopes for The London Institute. ‘I very much want to see UK students and young graduates drawn in,’ John said.
One of Robin’s favourite phrases was ‘iron sharpens iron’ (Proverbs 27:17). He loved to help to sharpen students’ thinking, so that they thought more clearly and more biblically. The Institute would do this in an international context. Robin warmed to John’s idea, and took it to his staff and student leaders. Everyone was on board.
The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity opened in 1982, and moved very soon to St Peter’s Church, Vere Street, where it is still to be found, just a minute’s walk from Bond Street tube station. It now offers some of its courses online. The London Institute helps Christians to think biblically about their work, and about politics and about society. It stands as another part of Uncle John’s legacy.
In 1985 Frances once again opened a letter with a crest on the envelope. This time it was from 10 Downing Street. The letter invited John Stott to become Bishop of Winchester. He was now sixty-four years old. Frances sensed she knew how he would respond. And she was right.
In one way it is surprising that it took so long for John Stott to be approached for a See (as a Bishop’s area is called) in Britain. But in another way it is not surprising. John was a prominent evangelical leader. It could be uncomfortable to have him in discussions, as he would always want to be led by the Bible.
Should he accept? Again he sought advice from friends. By now, he and his friends felt that his life was set in another direction. Once more he declined.
* * *
John Stott travelled around the world for over fifty years. That may sound very exciting. Indeed it is exciting, and a great privilege to see many countries. But it is also demanding. When you travel from West to East, you land in a country with your ‘body clock’ several hours out of sync. This is called jetlag. Jetlag can last three or four days at least. It’s difficult to get to sleep, and then you wake up very early, while your body clock catches up with the actual time in the new country. Travelling from North to South (for example Europe to Africa) does not bring jetlag, but you still lose a night’s sleep, unless you can sleep on a plane, which is not so easy in economy class. This is where John Stott travelled, unless he got a free upgrade. Economy class saved a lot of money, and if others were covering travel costs, he did not want to burden them with extra expense.
When Uncle John was eighty-four years old, he received an invitation to visit China again. He raised it with his group of advisors. The Church in China was growing very fast, as it still is now. It was clear he would love to go. ‘Only if you have a medical doctor travelling with you,’ said John Wyatt, his long time friend and medical advisor. John thought and prayed about this. A few days later he surprised an old friend with a call.
‘Hello, Jonathan West speaking,’ said his friend in Oxford, as he picked up the phone.
‘Hello Jonathan. It’s John Stott here. I’m phoning to ask a huge favour.’ John had known Jonathan West since he was a schoolboy at Bash camps and had preached at Jonathan’s wedding to Virginia.
John outlined the situation. ‘I retired more than ten years ago,’ Jonathan said, ‘and I’m no expert in Asian fevers. But I’d love to help.’ The Wests were mission-minded Christians; John was well aware that Jonathan had retired years earlier, but he also knew his old friend would bring spiritual encouragement as well as good medical advice.
‘So you’ll come! That’s what I hoped you’d say!’ said John. ‘It’s going to be a busy trip. I want to introduce Chris Wright to the Chinese. Chris is taking over from me as leader of Langham Partnership.’
John Stott went on to explain who else would be travelling with them. ‘We’ll be five altogether. As well as Chris, we’ll have Mark Hunt from America, and David Cansdale, George Cansdale’s son. He is Chairman of Langham Partnership now.
‘We fly first to Shanghai, then get the train to Nanjing,’ he continued. ‘Then we’ll come back to Shanghai and fly to Hong Kong, then home.’ John was beginning to get frail, but he was like Caleb and wanted to serve and to minister for as long as the Lord gave him strength. With Jonathan’s agreement, John could now confirm the plans.
We know a lot about Uncle John’s travels, as he wrote a diary. His visits were always tightly-packed. In the airport lounge, as he was about to fly to another country, or fly home, he took the chance to get out his pen and record events and impressions. He had done this for years. When John’s parents were alive, he sent these notes to them, so they could catch up on what he had been doing. Then his parents would put them into a new envelope, and send them to Frances Whitehead. Frances read them, and passed on news to friends of how their prayers had been used. Then on John’s return, the notes would be ready for their third use – a report for All Souls Church. John’s diaries stretched to 150-200 pages every year.
The diaries included descriptions of people John met, of any birdwatching he managed to squeeze in, and of food and culture, films and books. They show clearly his two major priorities: students and pastors. John knew he couldn’t do everything. He had to make choices. Apart from writing and preaching, he chose to invest most of his time in students and in pastors, as they in turn would invest in many others.