Intellect vs. emotion, conservative vs. radical, evangelism vs. social action, structure vs. freedom---how can believers hold these tensions together in respectful, biblical ways? Offering an evenhanded vision of Christianity, Stott advocates for a more mature discipleship that bears witness to Christ through faithful living in a complex world. Expanded to include an interview with Stott. 96 pages, softcover from InterVarsity.
Christians tend to polarize. Some have an intellectual faith, while others are more emotional. Some focus on structure while others focus on freedom. And some champion evangelism while others advocate for social action. John Stott's classic statement of balanced Christianity shows how we can hold these tensions together in biblical, faithful ways. Also includes an interview with John Stott with further reflections on the need for balance in contemporary evangelical Christianity.
John R. W. Stott (1921-2011) has been known worldwide as a preacher, evangelist and communicator of Scripture. For many years he served as rector of All Souls Church in London, where he carried out an effective urban pastoral ministry. A leader among evangelicals in Britain, the United States and around the world, Stott was a principal framer of the landmark Lausanne Covenant (1974). His many books have sold millions of copies around the world and in dozens of languages. Stott's best-known work, has sold two million copies and has been translated into more than 60 languages. Other titles include and a daily devotional. He has also written eight volumes in series of New Testament expositions. Whether in the West or in the Two-Thirds World, a hallmark of Stott's ministry has been expository preaching that addresses the hearts and minds of contemporary men and women. Stott was honored by magazine in 2005 as one of the "100 Most Influential People in the World" and was named in the Queens New Years Honours list as Commander of the Order of the British Empire. In 1969, Stott founded the Langham Trust to fund scholarships for young evangelical leaders from the Majority World. He then founded the Evangelical Literature Trust, which provided books for students, pastors and theological libraries in the Majority World. These two trusts continued as independent charities until 2001, when they were joined as a single charity: the Langham Partnership. Langham's vision continues today to see churches in the Majority World equipped for mission and growing to maturity in Christ through nurturing national movements for biblical preaching, fostering the creation and distribution of evangelical literature, and enhancing evangelical theological education.
"This book is thoughtful and thought-provoking. Any book that seeks to cause Christians to re-evaluate their rightness over other well-meaning believers is a blessing to the church."
"'Balance' for John Stott is not about a neutral middle. Instead, it is the vigorous act of faithful both/and living—frequently holding to two extremes rather than sliding to one or the other. This short book is a classic example of Stott's passionate desire to uphold an evangelicalism that does not fall prey to oversimplifications and immature stereotypes but instead displays and articulates a more mature discipleship. This approach, he argues, reflects the Scriptures themselves and enables the kind of thought, relationships and actions that bear witness to Jesus Christ in a complex world. Though first written for a different time, his words are still poignant and provocative."
"I read this book standing in a bookstore as a college student. When done I bought it, took it home, read it two more times over the course of the year, and then somehow I lost it—no doubt because I loaned it to a friend. In this book John Stott first opened my mind to the delightful joy of truths we cannot always resolve but to which we can commit ourselves in tension. Stott writes here of balance, and as a person he exhibited it. In your hands is one of the great tracts of twentieth-century evangelicalism. Savor it."
