I once heard John Stott observe that in the United States pastors had offices, whereas in the U.K. they had studies. Given his dry British wit, I understood this observation to be a bit of a reprimand. (At least, it felt that way if I ever slipped up around him and talked about my “office.”)
But now Uncle John (as he asked to be called) has been one-upped. Gordon MacDonald recently told me that when the late Richard John Neuhaus went to visit Pope John Paul II, he was left to wait outside the Pope’s private chapel. “Hmm,” thought Neuhaus, “Protestant churches give their pastors an office; British church’s give their clergy a study; but the Roman Catholic church gives their leader a chapel.”
What would Uncle John say?