From 20-22 May, I attended the synod of the Free Scottish Church (FCS) meeting at the same time as the synod of the Free Scottish Church continuing (FCC), both in the beautiful city of Edinburgh.
Opening meeting FCC
After a flight with a hefty delay, I decide to attend the FCC opening as my residence is almost next door to the Liberton Kirk. The way of interacting with each other is not only modest but also good spirit. There is something formal about the way meetings are conducted and strongly reminiscent of the way things are done in 'the Court'.
We sing Psalm 135 together about the service of God's servants in the Lord's house. There is a benevolent inspiration in the singing. The opening is on Isaiah 43, verses 1 and 2. The brethren are urged in the opening address to trust in God's presence in the Spirit of grace and His work. When the church is in dire straits, it always has to do with being more Jacob than Israel. Israel we are by virtue of the promise, Jacob remains our old nature that continually goes against the will of God. The speaker points to the cross where God gave His Son for Jacob's sake. The blood of the Lamb cleanses us and makes us Israel from Jacob. In his contribution, he points to the cross of Christ as the only Source of salvation.
It is recalled that the Lord has called two brothers to the service. They are in training
to serve. We may see that as a movement of God towards us, in Scotland, God continues to be His
Building church.
Moderator election
Following this, the moderator (chairman) of the meeting is elected. By the oldest member, he is
presented without too much embellishment. Nobody really seems surprised and out of the wings steps
Brother John MacCallum emerges who appears to be blessed with an even softer voice than his
predecessor. The clapping on the benches by way of assent soon gets used to it. When the words
sound 'as in the print' you are supposed to ravage the old benches with appropriate force.
Apparently, these have been bravely resisting for years. The oldest one of the banks is clattering
the loudest as he gave several boards a free hand.
That the FCC is acting conservatively should come as no surprise. From the records (both from the acta, and
From the reports of the various committees), it appears that, as if by reflex, people are reverting to what was once
was. The church where we meet is a beautiful building. Cold, though; the boiler appears to have started its pension negotiations that morning at a tactical moment.
Agenda and reception
The first session is mainly devoted to establishing the legality of the meeting and going through the agenda. All sorts of thanks follow to those who took care of a lot of paperwork. It is clear that the FCC does a lot of work with little manpower.
After this first day, we are invited to a meal that is actually a kind of reception for and from the moderator. He sits at the head of the table. Three people are given the floor. They speak in a way that is less familiar to us. They speak in praise of the moderator and share with the assembly what a great role he has played in their spiritual development. At the same time, they make incredible fun of him through all kinds of anecdotes. The humour that goes hand in hand with good spiritual life has something pleasant about it. I like the contribution by Alister McCallum, the moderator's son who is a pastor himself.
Second day of session
On the second day, the moderator starts with a reading from Revelation 20, followed by a penetrating prayer for the conversion of the people of Israel so that the last seals can be broken.
The moderator then recalls that the FCC is still in existence after 20 years, even though opponents had thought they would be around for less than 10 years. He lists a long list of blessings, the most notable of which is that they have their own seminary where young pastors are trained. From the very first meeting, they set up a mission committee in 1998. That still exists and it does good work, especially in Africa.
There are concerns, especially about the size of the church. People are leaving the church and because of old age some are dying. The question remains why God is not blessing us with more conversions.
The moderator asks those present to humble themselves before the Lord because we are full of self-righteousness. We too easily set ourselves above other churches as if we with orthodox theology and consistent worship. But God hates that attitude, He loves those who bow to His grace and are not lukewarm. That requires a constant call to God and sincere repentance from materialism and entertainment culture.
The moderator calls for faith and an optimistic eschatology.
Invariably, in relation to the other churches, the term 'purity of worship' comes up. By this is meant that only the psalms are to be accepted as inspired songs and not the verses of the Magnificat or the hymns of praise from Philippians 2, for example. Moreover, the psalms must be sung without any musical instrument accompaniment.
In the evening, they talk about the work initiated for the young people. I am impressed with the catechesis programme followed by the young people.
- There is a clear learning line from 3-16 in which the focus is to lead young people to Jesus.
- In addition to the catechism, people learn entire sections of the Bible by heart. This starts with Psalm 23 at age 3 to Isaiah 62 at age 16.
- Moreover, there is a competition every synod period. Young people are challenged to take part in a quiz in which you have to show how well you know the Bible. The winners in the various age categories reported to the Assembly with their entire families. They will be honoured and receive a nice gift as encouragement.
The great emphasis on the expectation of Israel's conversion is striking. The FCC and the FCS have good contacts with Christian Witness to Israel. I spoke at length with its director Richard Gibson. His work is impressive. There are plans for campaigns in Scotland's major cities, as we saw recently in Amsterdam.
FCC speech
During the meeting, I was given the opportunity to speak. My speech was well received and the moderator asked to convey 'ecclesiastical greetings' to our churches. He expressed hope that on the issue of women and ministry, the CGK 'will stand firmly by the Word of God'. He seriously warned against the Church of Scotland route where the opportunity for women was first optional for churches and then became mandatory which ultimately left the conservative churches severely disadvantaged.
Session day FCS
On Wednesday morning, I travelled on by bus to the FCS. The synod meets at St Columba's church in Edinburgh. What a beautiful city Edinburgh is. It breathes history and at the same time you sense that people at the meeting are struggling with that rich history. There is much guilt regarding the emptying of churches. An old brother tells the microphone that when he was a student he preached to 1,000 people and that now 50 people already feels like a 'full church'.
At the meeting, the FCS talks about establishing schools and funding them. There is a deep conviction that it is better to start a school on a Christian basis, rather than a
start a new church. Better to hold meetings in the schools themselves. Children cannot do without Christian education.
The atmosphere at this synod is goosey different from what we met at the FCC. I found the hour of prayer at the beginning of the day impressive. No fewer than 12 brothers were given the floor to say a prayer. This was interrupted three times by a Scripture reading. The Scripture reading in turn gives food for prayer. The FCS synod is a nice reflection of the churches. It includes several young brethren. The bookshop also looks a lot healthier and more versatile than what the TBS is peddling at the Liberton Kirk.
A red line at the FCS meeting is the lack of manpower and volunteers. It raises the question of whether too many balls are being held high for the amount of work that people would like to do. A little prioritisation wouldn't hurt.
Furthermore, the brethren are meeting about the appeal process. In Scotland, the IRA is a lot simpler and less complete. The incompleteness and lack of transparency of the decision reached is a constant problem. The idea is to work more with a court in which judges listen to dispute and reach a judgment. The discussion is about whether an appellant is allowed to bring a lawyer to these hearings. What is called the church order with us is called the bluebook here. The name alone proves to be an ongoing source of jokes.
Speech FCS
At the end of the day, the 'order of the day' follows. I am invited to address the Assembly. Kind words are given in reply. It appears that in the practice of cooperation, the focus is mainly on the English-speaking countries, but they do not want to forget the contacts with the Dutch churches. I find it striking that David Miller (evangelist) explicitly pleads not to let the liberated churches fall into cooperation. He points to the unity of the church as a missionary condition above all kinds of small(er) differences that separate Christians too easily.
