Biography of John Stott for children and children-at-heart

---

Some younger readers in London chose the book for their book club.  For any who are reading it in a similar way, the following questions could be useful:

Eight questions to ponder

1. Do you agree with Uncle John about the need to teach children spiritual truth? What lessons did you learn when you were younger, which lend strength to his argument? Uncle John felt it important for Christian children and teenagers to understand what they believe, so they can explain it. Do you understand what you believe well enough to ‘make a case’ for it?
2. John Stott thought no Christian should ever go to war. He did not realize this is an issue on which Christians may disagree. What other issues can you think of where the Bible gives liberty for different views?
3. Uncle John did not become a member of the CICCU, out of honour for his father, who asked him not to. And when Mr Earnshaw-Smith invited John to be a curate at All Souls, Langham Place, he asked for time to consult his father, even though his father wasn’t a Christian. What can we learn from Uncle John about respect for parents?
4. John Stott showed unusual self-discipline from his days at school onwards. Are there areas of life where you could be more disciplined? Identify some goals with one or two friends - and then encourage each other to reach them and maintain them.
5. ‘If you don’t use something for more than a year, it means you don’t need it.’ This was John Stott’s very practical way of making decisions about what he should keep. What do you think of this way of making such decisions?
6. A pattern of investing in future leaders began to form in Uncle John’s life. This is seen in where he gave his best energies: speaking at university missions, working with others to shape the Lausanne Movement; founding and leading the London Institute and Langham Partnership International – and writing books. Are we too impatient in wanting to see results from what we do?
7. John Stott led the way in caring for the poor while he was at Rugby School through the ABC club, then in the All Souls parish. He was thrilled to see the initiatives taken by Sergio and Hortensia Sánchez and Saúl and Pilar Cruz in Mexico, and Mercy Abraham in India. Are there projects you could do locally to care for the poor?
8. When Mercy Abraham wrote to Uncle John, she always included the words ‘A soldier of Jesus Christ’ beside her signature. What can we learn from Ephesians 6:10-20 and 2 Timothy 2:3-4 about being a good soldier of Jesus Christ?

Reviews to be added as they arrive.