STOP PRESS: It is now available here from Langham Literature, and will be on all usual distributors soon.
It came as a complete surprise to him, thankfully. But under the guise of a Langham supporters’ evening, a number of us gathered in central London to give Chris Wright a 70th birthday celebration that was as deserved as it was unexpected. There were various members of the Langham Partnership present, though inevitably, it was only practical for those with easy UK access. But it did coincide with the LP International council meetings, and so it was broader than it would otherwise have been.
Chris is that all too rare animal – a true scholar committed more to sustaining the health of the church (through scholarship) than his own career, not climbing the academic greasy pole or being closeted in an ivory tower. The sheer geographical range of contributors testifies to that fact, each with different stories (no doubt mainly untold) of the impact of Chris’s work on their lives.
I was very glad to contribute, though it was quite last minute and in fact based on a talk that I gave at a conference in Uganda back in 2003 when Chris was the main speaker. So there was a nice connection there. Having browsed through the specially written essays, though, it is fascinating in its breadth. In particular, it is good to see an obvious mission and OT focus reflecting Chris’s own interests. [I am amused by the nickname common in some circles to mark the resemblance to his namesake: if Tom is NT Wright, Chris ought to be OT Wright. Ho ho.]
The book doesn’t yet seem available for purchase, but I will put out an update as soon as it is. (It will be available in paperback and ebook from Langham Literature soon).
My colleague Ruth Slater took this final image: Chris with his senior LP colleagues and festschrift editors, Riad Kassis (Langham Scholars), Paul Windsor (Langham Preaching) and Pieter Kwant (Langham Literature)
