The weekend news brought two pieces of information that were hard to hear.
First, was the announced retirement of John Stott, a great teacher of Scripture, an excellent example in ministry and a humble disciple of Jesus Christ. I credit Stott’s writings with having some of the greatest effect on my understanding of faith and ministry. I did not always agree with some of his conclusions on lesser matters, but his book, The Cross of Christ, might be one of the best works on the truth of Christ’s subtitutionary atonement ever. I have often required his book (now updated), Basic Christianity, as required reading for baptism or church membership. I think he spoke in chapel at my seminary every year I was there. It was about the only chapel service where the entire seminary community would attend. I pray God blesses him greatly in retirment and that he finally finds the time to do the bird-watching he has always loved.
HT: Justin
The second item was significantly harder to hear, though maybe not unexpected, was the news that Robert Webber has gone to be with the Lord after a battle with pancreatic cancer. I met him while I was planting a small church in a rural area when he offered a Blended Worship seminar to the pastors in the region. After graduating from seminary in the midst of the worship wars, I thought I knew what comprised blended worship. Was I off the mark! Webber re-opened my eyes to the beauty of the Great Tradition in worship as God’s people are led to respond to God’s grace in the liturgy through word and sacrament. I had seen some of that growing up in the Episcopal Church, but Webber put it all together for me after I had left. His work on merging the ancient with the future in the church continues to influence my ministry. I pray that his family will know the strong, everlasting arms of God underneath them and be wrapped in His infinite love during these difficult days.
An updated announcement on Robert Webber is here.
