Balanced Christianity - Couverture souple

I read this book standing in a bookstore as a college student. When done, I bought it, took it home, read it two more times over the course of the year, and then somehow I lost it - no doubt because I loaned it to a friend. In this book John Stott first opened my mind to the delightful joy of truths we cannot always resolve but to which we can commit ourselves in tension. Stott not only writes here of balance, but as a person he exhibited it. In your hands is one of the great tracts of 20th century evangelicalism. Savour it. --Scot McKnight, Northern Seminary

'Balance' for John Stott is not about a neutral middle. Instead, it is the vigorous act of faithful both/and living - frequently holding to two extremes rather than sliding to one or the other. This short book is a classic example of Stott's passionate desire to uphold an evangelicalism that does not fall prey to oversimplifications and immature stereotypes but instead displays and articulates a more mature discipleship. This approach, he argues, reflects the Scriptures themselves and enables the kind of thought, relationships and actions that bear witness to Jesus Christ in a complex world. Though first written for a different time, his words are still poignant and provocative. --Mark Labberton, president of Fuller Theological Seminar

Christians tend to polarize. Some have intellectual faith, while others are more emotional. Some focus on structure, while others focus on freedom. And some champion evangelism, while others advocate social action. John Stott's clear-headed and classic statement of balanced Christianity shows how we can hold these tensions together in ways which are biblical and faithful.

This edition includes an interview entitled 'Life in the Spirit of Truth' between Roy McCloughry and the author.