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A great way to focus on what God intends his church to be, while all the time keeping in view the reality, so that we can grasp the changes that need to be made
The church lies at the centre of God's purpose. Christ gave himself 'to purify for himself a people that are his own'.
But when we think about church, there's the tension between the ideal and the reality. The former is beautiful: God's special treasure, the covenant community, a haven of love and peace. The latter? A motley rabble needing constant rebuke and exhortation.
Here we focus on the ideal, on what God intends his church to be, while all the time keeping in view the reality, so that we can grasp the changes that need to be made.
| Contributors | John Stott, Tim Chester |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 9781783599240 |
| Format | Paperback |
| First published | June 2019 |
| Dimensions | 129mm x 198mm x 9mm |
| Weight | 0.13 kg |
| Language | English |
| Pages | 112 |
| Publisher | IVP |
Vintage Stott, with all that that implies. As usual, we find him digesting and deploying a wide range of material with a symmetry matching that of Mozart, a didactic force like that of J C Ryle, and a down-to-earth common sense that reminds one of G K Chesterton. This is really a pastoral essay, a sermon on paper aimed at changing people... an outstandingly good book.
...an expository treat... Bible-based and well researched, intimate and magisterial in style. Passionately calm and generous to a fault, a beautifully written contribution to what Stott calls 'BBC':'balanced biblical Christianity'.
Technology has enabled more voices to clamour for our attention than ever before, while at the same time, people’s ability to listen carefully seems to have deteriorated like never before. John Stott’s speaking and writing was renowned for two things in particular. He taught us how to listen attentively to God in order to live faithfully for God, and he to modelled how listen to the world sensitively in order to communicate God’s purposes intelligibly. He taught us to listen. That is why it is such a thrill to see The Contemporary Christian carefully revived in a new format as this series for a new generation of readers. As we read, may we listen well!
I was ten years into my ministry when The Contemporary Christian was published. I had already heard John Stott deliver some of the material in lecture form, but to have it in print was a real asset. It was a masterclass in presenting and applying the balanced biblical Christianity for which John Stott was renowned. It was extremely perceptive with its call for double-listening, and it was intensely practical, especially in the chapters on preaching and pastors. It was also unusually personal for John Stott, with his poignant appeal for 'young Timothys' which was penned as he celebrated his statutory 'three score years and ten', after which, he said, 'every new day is a bonus which I receive gratefully from God's hand.'
I am so glad that these timeless truths are now to be made available to a new generation of 'Timothys'.
