"All true Christian preaching is expository preaching," said John Stott, whose determination to open Scripture to thousands led an evangelical revival in Great Britain and influenced Christians worldwide through more than 60 years of preaching and writing. He died outside London at age 90 on July 27.

Benjamin Homan, president of John Stott Ministries, told the Associated Press in a phone interview that Stott's health had deteriorated sharply in recent weeks and he had been in severe pain: "His body was just wearing out." Stott's close friends and associates were at his bedside reading Scripture and listening to Handel's Messiah when he died in the afternoon, according to All Souls Langham Place, the church he attended as a child, then led as curate and rector after he was ordained by the Church of England in 1945.