The Church (God's Word for Today)

“Vintage Stott, with all that that implies. In it, 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 us of G. K. Chesterton. It is really a pastoral essay, a sermon on paper aimed at changing people . . . an outstandingly good book.”

“Every church should buy a copy, every church bookstall should stock it, and every minister should read it!”

“I am delighted that a new generation will now be able to benefit from this rich teaching, which so helped me when it first appeared. As always with John Stott, there is a wonderful blend of faithful exposition of the Bible, rigorous engagement with the world, and challenging applications for our lives.”

“Technology has enabled more voices to clamor 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 too modeled how to 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!”

“InterVarsity Press is doing a very good thing by bringing John Stott's The Contemporary Christian back into print—slightly modernized, helpfully rearranged, and broken into short, reader-friendly books. The result is a boon to a new generation of readers who will greatly benefit, as many have before, from Stott's thorough grounding in Scripture, unusual help for living the Christian life, and perceptive interaction with the contemporary world.”

“I have long benefited from the work of John Stott because of the way he combines rigorous engagement of the biblical text and careful engagement with the culture of his day. The God's Word for Today series presents Stott at his very best. This series displays his commitment to biblical authority, his zeal for the mission of the church, and his call to faithful witness in the world. Stott's reflections here are a must-read for church leaders today.”

“Imagine being a child overwhelmed by hundreds of jigsaw puzzle pieces—you just can't put them together! And then imagine a kindly old uncle comes along and helps you put the whole thing together piece by piece. That is what it felt like reading John Stott's The Contemporary Christian. For those of us who feel we can't get our head around our Bible, let alone our world, he comes along and, with his staggering gifts of clarity and insight, helps us step by step to work out what it means to understand our world through biblical lenses. It's then a great blessing to have Tim Chester's questions at the end of each chapter, which help us think through and internalize each step.”

“In my formative years as a young Christian, I was acutely aware of the fact that I faced many challenges to Christian thinking and behavior. Few writers helped me understand how I should respond to these challenges and think and live as a Christian as much as John Stott did. The challenges of faithfulness to God's way are more acute and complex today than when I was a young Christian. In these little books you find the essence of Stott's thinking about the Christian life, and it is refreshing to read again and see how relevant and health giving this material is for today. I'm grateful to InterVarsity Press and to Tim Chester for making Stott's thinking accessible to a new generation.”

“It is always refreshing, enlightening, and challenging reading from the pen of John Stott. I am totally delighted that one of his most significant works will continue to be available, hopefully for more decades to come. The way Stott strives to be faithful to the Word of God and relevant to his world—secularized Western society—as the locus for the drama of God's action is exemplary, especially for those of us ordained to the service of the church in our diverse contexts. I highly commend the God's Word for Today series to all who share the same pursuit—listening intently to God's Word and God's world, hearing and obeying God.”