Stephen Charles Mott (born April 9, 1940) is a teacher among

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

, focusing on the teaching and academic study of

social ethics Macroethics (from the Greek prefix "makros-" meaning "large" and "ethos" meaning character) is a term coined in the late 20th century to distinguish large-scale ethics from individual ethics, or microethics. It is a type of applied ethics. Macroeth ...

since the early 1970s.

Education

He has a BD degree from Wheaton College,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. He also received a Ph.D. degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, where he studied under

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

scholar

Krister Stendahl Krister Olofson Stendahl (21 April 1921 – 15 April 2008) was a Swedish theologian, New Testament scholar, and Church of Sweden Bishop of Stockholm. He also served as dean, professor, and professor emeritus at Harvard Divinity School. Life ...

and social ethicist

James Luther Adams James Luther Adams (November 12, 1901 – July 26, 1994), an American professor at Harvard Divinity School, Andover Newton Theological School, and Meadville Lombard Theological School, and a Unitarian parish minister, was the most influential t ...

Professional career

He is an ordained minister in the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

and served as

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of Christian

Social Ethics Macroethics (from the Greek prefix "makros-" meaning "large" and "ethos" meaning character) is a term coined in the late 20th century to distinguish large-scale ethics from individual ethics, or microethics. It is a type of applied ethics. Macroeth ...

at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in

South Hamilton, Massachusetts South Hamilton is a postal address assigned to ZIP code 01982 by the Postal Service and is part of the town of Hamilton, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S ...

for over 20 years. When he started teaching in the early 1970s, the courses he offered at Gordon-Conwell were unique across all evangelical theological schools in any English-speaking countries at the time. In 1995 he left his teaching position and became pastor of Cochesett United Methodist Church in

West Bridgewater, Massachusetts West Bridgewater is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,707 at the 2020 census. History West Bridgewater was first settled in 1651 as a part of Olde Bridgewater. The town separated from Bridgewater, M ...

, from which he retired in summer 2005. Since his retirement, he has served part-time as a volunteer with the Essex County Community Organization, as well as being part of the Leadership Team of Christians Supporting Community Organizing, president of the James Luther Adams Foundation, and on the Board of Directors of North Shore Community Action Programs.

Other works

In 1973 he was one of the signatories of The Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern. He served as president of the James Luther Adams Foundation until February 2022.

Books

His most notable books are ''Biblical Ethics and Social Change'' (Oxford University Press, rev. ed. 2011

982 Year 982 ( CMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Emperor Otto II (the Red) assembles an imperial expeditionary force at Taranto, and proceeds along the gulf coas ...

and ''A Christian Perspective on Political Thought'' (Oxford University Press, 1993). ''Biblical Ethics and Social Change'' has been used as a text in over 100 university courses.

Personal life

Mott is a son of a church minister. He was married to Dr. Sandy Mott, a professor in the School of Nursing of Boston College, until her death in 2021. They have three children.James Luther Adams Foundation website
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mott, Stephen Charles 1940 births Living people 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American Protestant theologians 20th-century American Methodist ministers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American theologians 21st-century American Methodist ministers American evangelicals American male non-fiction writers American religious writers American United Methodist clergy Harvard Divinity School alumni Methodists from Massachusetts Methodist theologians Methodist writers People from West Bridgewater, Massachusetts Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni