Do you agree with John about the need to teach children spiritual truth? What lessons did you learn when you were younger, which lend strength to his argument? Christians in school can bring the gospel to friends who will not hear it in church. John felt it important for Christian children and teenagers to understand what they believe, so they can explain it. Do you feel you understand what you believe enough to talk about it with friends?
John Stott thought no Christian should ever go to war. He did not realize this is an issue on which Christians may disagree. What other issues can you think of where the Bible gives liberty for different views?
John did not become a member of the CICCU, as his father asked him not to. And when Mr Earnshaw-Smith invited John to be a curate at All Souls, Langham Place, he asked for time to consult his father, even though his father wasn’t a Christian. What can we learn from John about respect for parents?
John Stott showed unusual self-discipline from his days at school onwards. Are there areas of life where you could be more disciplined? Identify some goals with one or two friends who have read this story - and then encourage each other to reach them and maintain them.
If a large house on six floors came with your job, what would you do with it? What do you think of John’s plan for turning 12 Weymouth Street into a ‘Wreckage’?
‘If you don’t use something for more than a year, it means you don’t need it.’ This was John Stott’s very practical way of making decisions about what he should keep. What do you think of this way of making such decisions?
A pattern of investing in future leaders began to form in John’s life. He gave his best energies to speaking at university missions, writing books, working with others to shape The Lausanne Movement; founding and leading The London Institute and Langham Partnership International... Are we too impatient in wanting to see results quickly from what we do?
John Stott led the way in caring for the poor while he was at Rugby through the ABC club, then in the All Souls parish. He was thrilled to see the initiatives taken by Sergio and Hortensia Sánchez and Saúl and Pilar Cruz in Mexico, and Mercy Abraham in India. Are there projects you could do locally to care for the poor?
When Mercy Abraham wrote to Uncle John, she always included the words ‘A soldier of Jesus Christ’ beside her signature. What can we learn from Ephesians 6:10-20 and 2 Timothy 2:3-4 about being a good soldier of Jesus Christ?
Do you have a favourite story from this book? What is it and why?
