Very excited to announce that the first two episodes of our new podcast THE STOTT LEGACY have aired.
I meant to do this last week but I’ve been juggling plates. So now you’re in time to get the second episode!
We’ve been plotting this for over a year because 2021 marks the centenary of John Stott’s birth. During the next 12 months, I’m going to be chatting with individuals from around the world, from all kinds of backgrounds and cultures, about how their lives have been impacted by John Stott. This will include both those who knew him and were mentored by him, as well as those who never met him but still found him an important part of their life’s journey. Appropriately enough, episode 1 is with one of the former category; episode 2 of the latter.
It should be stressed that this is not designed to be some kind of hero-adulation, as if John Stott was the perfect leader or thinker or preacher. He was none of those things. So where people have disagreements or criticisms, we will discuss those. But what is undeniable is that along with perhaps Billy Graham and C. S. Lewis, John Stott was one of the most influential English-speaking voices in the global church.
Episode 1: Gottfried Osei-Mensah
Gottfried is a Ghanaian by birth, but a global Christian by conviction. He worked in university student ministry in Ghana, then as a pastor in Nairobi, Kenya; and from there, he was asked by John Stott and others to become the first director (soon to be renamed General Secretary) of the Lausanne Movement that grew out of the 1974 Congress.Â
We had a lovely conversation and he certainly doesn’t sound like someone in his late 80s! It was fascinating to hear his account of how he first came to Christ at an English-run boarding school in colonial Ghana, worked in the oil industry, and had to navigate the challenges of a mixed-race marriage, amongst other things.
Episode 2: Dr Russell Moore
While I was in the USA last month (for my DMin studies) I had a week in Nashville – and it is there that I’ve met Russell Moore a couple of times. He has a unique voice in the American public square – always gracious and friendly, but also thought through and consistently logical. You can find out more about him at his website here.
But when I spotted his Instagram feed on the day after the Capitol in Washington DC was stormed with a photo of Uncle John, I knew we had to get him on the podcast. He was very gracious in giving his time and had had some fascinating things to say.
Please subscribe to the podcast through any of the normal channels (Apple Podcasts, Google, Podbean etc etc). And if you would like to review it that might be great too!
Huge gratitude to my Langham UK&I colleague, Vic Marsay, who’s done an amazing job of editing and polishing these episodes. Wouldn’t have been able to do it without her!
We are developing a website to accompany the series with photos and links. Early days but you can find it here: johnstott.org/podcastÂ
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