John Stott has been a very influential writer and thinker for me. The first book of his I read was Basic Christianity, a short explanation of the reason Jesus came and the simplicity of the Gospel. I’ve read other books he wrote, but none has shaped my thinking more than his book The Cross of Christ which is a treatise on the various facets of the atonement, explaining all that Jesus accomplished for us in his death. I found out that Stott died this week after a long and fruitful ministry in the church of England. I found this blog about his life and it intrigued and challenged me. I guess this short description of his life challenged me because it reminded me so much of Jesus’ words in Mark on servanthood, receiving and loving children, an on the last being first in the Kingdom of God.