He is something of an enigma in the modern world. Brilliantly educated, culturally sophisticated, quintessentially British, and abundantly endowed with intellect, charm, writing skills, and speaking ability, he has become a champion of the religion of the common man. He is hailed as a hero of the Faith by people to whom the corridors of Repton, Oxbridge, Buckingham Palace, and Mayfair are only far off dreams.

He has commended Christianity, and a distinctly Evangelical form of it, to ordinary people all over the world. Next to Billy Graham’s, perhaps only a handful of Christian names are as well known among the nations as John Stott’s.

He was trained in the language of the classics and Medieval and Modern languages. He was an able cellist, a pacifist (he has since come to believe in the just war theory), an inveterate bird watcher, and a man of moderately leftist political views, but he is held in awe by millions of people who would probably find these interests eccentric and others downright troubling. While John Stott remains an Anglican churchman with decided views on the contemporary issues before his Church, he is unknown as such to thousands who regard him only as a thoughtful Evangelical with no particular denominational allegiance.