The Langham Logic, as it was articulated by John Stott, was too compelling for me to ignore. I first heard it expressed in 2008, as the rationale for the ministry of Langham Partnership:
God wants His church to grow up;God’s church grows up through God’s word;God’s word comes, primarily, through preaching.And so the question to ask is ‘how can we raise the standards of biblical preaching?
I am a believer. Under God’s hand – and at His direction – I am quite content to give my life for this cause. But that must be Langham Logic 2.0 because yesterday I encountered a longer, fuller and earlier version in Ian Shaw’s chapter, ‘John Stott and the Langham Scholarship Programme’ (in this volume, 314-5).
God wants his church to grow into maturity in Christ.Nothing leads people into this Christian maturity like the Word of God.The Word of God reaches people mainly through faithful biblical preaching.Biblical preaching/teaching are the primary God-appointed responsibility of pastors.Pastors catch (or lose) their vision for preaching in the seminary (theological college).The seminary exerts its influence on students primarily through its teaching staff.Seminary teachers need to combine academic excellence with personal godliness.
Later, ‘We long to see the world’s seminaries staffed by godly evangelical scholars, so that the world’s pulpits may be occupied by faithful preachers of the Word of God’ (John Stott, in 1998; see also here).
In their most consecrated form, they are ever so strategic.
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| With Chris Wright and John Stott – in Sydney, in 2002 – on Stott’s final visit to Australia. |
About Me
the art of unpacking
After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.
Recent Posts
John Stott was the first one to help me see the tension in Jesus’ teaching on salt and light. They are pictures for how his disciples are to live in society. Salt pulls them in, keeping them involved. Light holds them back, keeping them distinctive. Being light responds to ‘the danger of worldliness’, while being…
Just when I thought that it could not be possible to have another first-hand account of the impact of John Stott’s life (d. 2011), along comes this book by his close friend, John Wyatt. I am always ready to learn more about John Stott, but also about friendship. It fascinates me. It keeps coming up…
Reading stories to grandchildren over Christmas reminded me again of how powerful they can be. They are so compact and simple in presentation, and yet so clever in construction. There are just so many features at work in an effective story. It is some years since I taught narrative preaching, but when I did I’d…
