Letter from Australia 127 – Is the Free Church being Renewed? Some lessons from the General Assembly….

Letter from Australia 127 –

Brothers and Sisters,

As promised last week – here is this week’s letter – looking at the Free Church General Assembly. I hope it will prove helpful to those of us in other contexts as well.   But before that lets return to the Church of Scotland.   The response to last week’s letter was fascinating.   There were those who reacted positively and interacted – even with criticism.  But there were the usual complaints about me not being loving, kind etc for saying that the Church of Scotland was dying.  I think it is unkind and unloving not to tell the truth.   And I am not the only one.  The Times had an extraordinary article which made things far worse than I did – Let me quote some of it:

“Church ministers who fail to raise enough money are liable to lose their jobs and see their congregations dissolved as part of drastic cost-cutting measures, after warnings that the Church of Scotland will become “virtually extinct” within a decade.

For centuries the Kirk has been one of the country’s most powerful and influential institutions, with about one in four Scots being members in the late 1950s.

Since then, the number of worshippers registered with the church has fallen to 245,000, with just 68,000 regularly attending Sunday services — about the same as a single international rugby match at Murrayfield.

In order to stem a funding deficit that has grown to £6.5 million, the Kirk is planning to close about a third of its churches and sell off hundreds of places of worship.

At the church’s recent general assembly, members were told that it was “at a tipping point in terms of its financial viability” and that further radical measures were required.

Congregations that cannot generate sufficient revenue can be closed down and their ministers told to find work elsewhere under “painful” new plans, which have been approved.

Smith also informed members that the centuries-old church policy of allowing ministers to have secure life tenure, which could be ended only by misconduct or death, would be scrapped.

Rosemary Goring, a former editor of Life and Work, the church’s magazine, which will cease publication after almost 150 years as part of cost-cutting measures, believes the Kirk is facing an existential crisis.

“For years the general assembly has been warning about the Kirk’s mounting financial problems, but I’ve never heard such grave and urgent concern as now,” she said. “With only five months’ worth of reserves to fall back on and relying on contributions from a fast diminishing and ageing membership, its decline has been calamitous and there are no signs that it can be turned around.

“The escalating closure and union of churches, the plethora of church buildings for sale and the great uncertainty facing ministers’ employment all point to an institution approaching breaking point.”

She added: “Some of us are beginning to wonder if it can survive this crisis and are contemplating what Scotland will feel like if it does not. Such a scenario would once have been unthinkable.”

https://www.thetimes.com/article/9d4305ec-a61a-4ad9-ac29-267ab52620ce?shareToken=c7c6bbd70f1df5229c7c8505eb3e3baf

The spin from the Assembly was appalling.  Either people were not aware of what was happening and like lemmings they just kept heading to the cliff edge – or they were aware and were pretending that this was all about renewal and a new beginning.

But let’s turn to the Free Church Assembly.

Free Church of Scotland

 

Of course, as a former moderator of the Free Church, and someone who served in it for 33 years as a minister, it is difficult to write about the Free Church Assembly objectively.  The trouble is that if you are too positive then some people think you are having a go against other churches – like the C of S – but if you are too negative others think that you have a grudge against your former church.  Well – I’ve never been very good at pleasing people so let me just make my observations – and you can take them as you please through your own filter!

In general, this year’s Free Church Assembly was the most positive, encouraging and uplifting of any I have seen in the past 30 years.  There was a sense of life, vitality, growth, warmth and gospel fellowship.   It was almost unrecognisable from 25 years ago.  A financial surplus – new ministries and churches –an openness to others – the rural ministry initiative – and a superb moderator – there was so much to be thankful for – I was sorry not to be a part of it.  It was also good to see former students, members etc now taking an active part in the national denomination.

In the early 1990’s I remember putting a proposal to the Free Church Assembly that we should plant 1 new church per year for the next ten years.  It was strongly opposed – as being somewhat fanciful and unrealistic.  Nonetheless my motion passed.  The late great Prof Douglas MacMillan took me aside afterwards and congratulated me on getting it passed – but then added – nothing will happen – they will just ignore you.   He was right.  At this year’s Assembly we heard that 17 of the proposed 30 new churches by 2030 were already underway – changed days!  That made my heart sing….

But….and there always has to be a but.. there are warning signs as well.

• The Assembly ran the danger of being boring, beige and bland. Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t want to return to the ‘excitement’ of the 1990’s where you never knew where the next libel or fama was coming from.  But there is something unhealthy about an Assembly which is so managed that the only real debate was about calling something evil (of which more later).
• Be careful of bureaucracy. Presbyterianism is a great system – because it is biblical.   But when it goes wrong it really goes wrong.   It is far too easy for amateur lawyers and professional bureaucrats/managers to make it in a stifling, rather than an enabling organisation.  One of the best speeches at the assembly was that of Derek Lamont – who warned about making simple things complex -citing as an example the 17 pages of regulations on vacancies.   The General Assembly should not be micro-managed – and the General Assembly should not micromanage the church.  Derek warned that a growing bureaucracy is about control.  He was right – just look across the road to see what happens when the bureaucrats take control.
• Don’t close The Record. As a former editor I guess I have a particular perspective but the announcement of closing The Record, the denominational magazine of the church, is short sighted.  With the Church of Scotland magazine, Life and Work, closing there is an opportunity for the Free Church to step into the gap.    The magazine provides a useful insight into the Church – and a helpful insight into the wider world for those in the Church.   The irony is that The Record will be closed, not because of a lack of finance, but because they can’t find an editor.  I could recommend at least two potential candidates.  Whether they would want to do it is another matter!  Perhaps the Church needs to ask why there is such reluctance?  My suggestion would be that this is partly due to the lack of support the editor gets, the continual criticism and a wrong belief (as stated in the Assembly) that ‘all print media is struggling’.   This latter point is demonstrably not true – The Spectator for example is thriving – as are some other quality publications.    The Free Church should seize the moment and produce a quality Christian magazine – in print and online – for the whole Church in Scotland.
• Beware of relying too much on one outside source for support. One of the changes that strikes me about the Free Church is how reliant it has become in some areas on the US Church.  Just as the C of S seems to be becoming more and more influenced by the PCUSA so the Free Church seems to be becoming more and more influenced by the PCA.     Again, don’t get me wrong.  I am not opposed to outside or American involvement.  I was after all the first person to bring over MTW missionaries from the PCA and I was the MTW team leader in Scotland for a couple of years.  I think of great American imports like Ken Larter and Bob Akroyd – although it is interesting that these two came from the US to Scotland with other purposes in mind and were converted here.   We could do with many more like them.  And I have worked with some fine MTW missionaries.

There are great advantages and blessings in having our American brothers and sisters come and help us.   But there are also great disadvantages.  The first and most obvious is the old adage that he who pays the piper calls the tune.  This is particularly important in US evangelical culture.  It costs a considerable amount of money for a US missionary family to come to Scotland – and the church at home wants to see some results.

• It is important that the Free Church has a thriving theological seminary. But we need to be careful not to put all our eggs in the one basket.  The college (ETS) exists to serve the church, not the other way round.   I have seen what happens in other places where a seminary needs to justify its own existence and so continually expands and provides an ever-widening source of training.  This is not de facto a bad thing – but it can lead to a seminary doing things that are more about preserving their own existence, rather than serving the denomination or the wider church.   On balance I think the move from having lecturers who had been serving ministers to a more academic approach has been a little unhelpful.

I also thought it was unwise to mock RT Kendall for recent advice where he does not recommend seminary – by pointing out that he has a couple of degrees.  https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1WTC2ioC7y/.  That does not make him a hypocrite.  It is perfectly possible to do something and later on in life regret that you have done it.  I don’t agree with RT on his advice for potential ministers re going to seminary.  I think it is important that they do so.  But I do think his warning about not actually having the experiential knowledge of the bible and prayer is enormously important and should be taken more seriously.  I have seen far too many men (and women) who think that having gone to college they are fully equipped for the work of ministry.  It’s no wonder that so many make shipwreck.

In a way it reminds me of my father.  He was an experienced pigman – having worked with pigs for many years.  But one year he got a new manager – a young man who had just come out of agricultural college and who had been taught the latest techniques.  One in particular my dad warned would not work and would be cruel for the pigs.  But the young man was an expert.  He had been trained.  My dad had never been to college.  What would he know?  He knew pigs.  Suffice it to say the young manager was a disaster and my dad ended up having to shoot several sows because they became so damaged.   A college degree does not give you experience.  Or mean that you are qualified.  It will help – but only if you have the humility to know that you don’t know.

• In this regard one warning coming from the Assembly – and I think recognised by it – is the upcoming lack of ministers. There is no point in having a great training college if we don’t have the students to train.     Nor is there much point in training people who do pastoral ministry for a few years before heading off to pastures new.    The Free Church is about to lose some of its major leaders in the past two decades – the likes of Derek Lamont, Neil MacMillan and David Meredith will be hard to replace.    There are some welcome signs of new blood in the leadership – but some have yet to go through the heat of battle….and many more are needed.  One aspect in my latter days in the Free Church which concerned me was the number of ministers and elders who did not finish well.    There were a lot of casualties.  May the Lord send out many more leaders into the harvest field.
• Manses – perhaps one small reason that some may hesitate to take up the call are the finances and the housing situation. I find it incredible that in the modern age the Free Church seems to be holding on to the view that ministers should not own their own homes.  The theory behind that is all well and good – as long as you have somewhere to put the minister and his wife when he retires.   Unless you already own a home, you will struggle to get retiral accommodation.   The days of suitable council housing are long gone.  I hope this policy will be rethought.  Another problem with the manse policy is that some men, who are not suitable for ministry, end up staying in the job because they have nowhere else to go.  Lets be more rigourous in our ministry selection – and lets pay our ministers properly.
• We should take more care who we invite to speak as guests. The representative from the Dutch Reformed churches was, to say the least, ‘inappropriate’.  Apart from the implied rebuke about the lack of unity (in contrast to the two Dutch churches who have got together), the fact that he stated that there were two biblical approaches to homosexuality, was shameful.  It was also very unDutch – (they are usually so logical) – in that it failed to see the illogicality of stating that two direct opposites cannot both be biblical.  At that point someone should have graciously pointed out the error of the Dutch churches and urged them to repent of them.  Unity at the expense of heresy is not worth it.
• It was good to see one of my favourite elders bring up his favourite subject of climate change. I don’t agree with him, but I think it is entirely appropriate that he raised the subject.  I just wish there had been some discussion on this important subject.  This is way more important than asking churches to look at the environmental impacts of individual communion cups!     I don’t agree that others will judge us on this issue – and even if they did whose judgement are we most concerned about? – those who think that the world is about to end unless we get Net Zero? – or those who are concerned about the environmental damage being caused by pursuing a pointless and unattainable goal?    The Church needs to have better discussions about these subjects.
• Speaking about evil in the public square – this is such an important subject – that I will leave it to next week.

I am thankful for what I observed.  But there was something missing.  I cannot quite work out what.  Maybe a spirit of repentance?  Maybe a lack of reality about the seriousness of the situation that the church faces?  Maybe a certain degree of complacency?  I don’t know.  I can’t quite put my finger on it.  But be that as it may, I plead with the Lord to continue to renew and refresh the Free Church (and other faithful biblical churches in Scotland) and I hope and pray that he will grant a spirit of repentance and renewal to all the brothers and sisters involved,

See you next week,

David

Letter from Australia 126 – The Church of Scotland goes Woke….and Broke…

The Free Church General Assembly – Has the Free Church Plateaued?