Norwich event will reflect on John Stott legacy 

The Norwich Diocesan Evangelical Fellowship (DEF) is set to host international speaker and author, Rev Dr Chris Wright, at an evening reflecting on the legacy of John Stott.

Wright, who is the International Ministries Director of Langham Partnership, will be the main speaker at the evening event entitled “Radical Evangelicalism: the Legacy of John Stott” It takes place on Thursday June 15, at 7.30pm at St Andrew’s Church, Eaton and all are very welcome.
 
Explaining the motivation behind the event, Anna Price, community lead at St Mary Magdalene in Gorleston and a member of the DEF committee said: “I recently read a blog article written by Rev Rich Moy.  In it, reflecting on the schism that occurred in what he called the “Evangelical Anglican River” over the last 60 years he said, ‘the heirs to John Stott split first over charismatic renewal in the 1960s…  by the 2020s, conservative and charismatic evangelicals in the Church of England barely knew each other and had little meeting grounds in common…. They could even look like two completely different types of churches’.”
 
Anna said: “Our hope is that Chris Wright helping us to reflect on the legacy of John Stott will mean that we might be able to reclaim something of the precious unity amongst evangelicals that John Stott embodied.”
 
Rev Rob Baker, Vicar of the Venta Group of Churches, and another member of the DEF committee, said: “I remember being at the New Wine summer conference in 2011 when the death of John Stott was announced, and being struck by how many people put up their hands to show they had read one of his books. He was an amazing example of unity amongst evangelical Christians, and so passionate for God’s Word, and for the lost and the least.”
 
Rev Paul Wilkinson, Senior Minister of Fountain of Life Network Church in Ashill, said: “John Stott was one of those rare theologians who was blessed with the great gift of condensing deep theology into simple, pithy statements that challenge our faith and deepen our walk with Christ. His work should fill our shelves and be a light to our feet.”
 
For those unfamiliar with the work of John Stott, the following offer examples of his profoundly helpful pithy statements:

• “I have sometimes called this ‘double listening’.  Listening to the voice of God in Scripture, and listening to the voices of the modern world, with all their cries of anger, pain and despair.” 
• “Saving faith is resting faith, the trust which relies entirely on the Saviour.” 
• “Social responsibility becomes an aspect not of Christian mission only, but also of Christian conversion.  It is impossible to be truly converted to God without being thereby converted to our neighbour.” 
• “The Spirit of God leads the people of God to submit to the Word of God.” 
• “The concept of substitution lies at the heart of both sin and salvation.  For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, whilst the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man.” 

All are welcome (lay or ordained) to be refreshed and refresh their vision for the sake of the wider church and for a lost world. Tickets are £5 per person and can be booked here. 
 
For further information, contact: Anna Price, member of DEF committee
t: 07746 498301 or e: anna.price@stmmgorleston.org.uk
 
Pictured above is Rev Dr Chris Wright.