Stuart Olyott

I have recently been reading Stuart Olyott's book Something must be known and felt and last Monday (June 8 2015) led a discussion group on the book up at the John Owen Centre. We were a good number (about eight). I had been a little nervous as although I'm a big fan of Dr Olyott I found myself disagreeing with things he says in this book quite a bit. We are a fairly diverse group and I thought maybe someone would have been more enthusiastic than I am. As it turned out we were pretty uniform show more in our reaction. We all agreed that this book or something like it needed to be written and we did accept that it goes some way to setting out some of the things we think are being forgotten. However, we were also agreed that this is not quite the book we have been waiting for. The book is written in a fairly generalised way not wanting to get bogged down in detail and ends up making sweeping statements and assertions that are hard to substantiate (for example, the idea that Luther was clearly mistaken and taught that the Word does it all). No-one was entirely happy with the Edwardsean understanding of the soul and none of us were happy with the penultimate chapter about the prayer of faith. So, a flawed book but inching towards some sort of a defence of Calvinistic Methodism or Experiential Calvinism, whatever you want to call it. show less

Some few preachers learn how to preach on their own. Most of us need help and so we turn to books on how to preach. When one of the finest expository preachers of his generation puts pen to paper and lays out a theory and a method for preparation and preaching, you would be a fool to ignore it. Stuart Olyott is very prescriptive in this little book and few will want to follow every jot and tittle of what he recommends, although it would do no harm to try. Most will want to adapt what he show more teaches here and work out their own pattern. However, until his method has been examined and absorbed, you are needlessly putting yourself on the back foot. Get the book; read it; read it again and then implement its teaching, as best you know how. Who knows what good might come if more ministers were willing to do that. show less

Really good commentary unpacking in an understandable way the book of Daniel, including the difficult second half! Very helpful.

Concise & simple, but surprisingly substantial — just as the author’s preaching. A surprise was a section on ‘unction’, complete with ‘scare quotes’, as the author confesses the name is not adequate, and endorsement of revivals: I would like to learn more about pastor Olyott’s views on that.