Dear Sir,
In recent years, en has followed closely the ongoing trouble in the Church of Scotland as a number of prominent evangelical congregations and many individual Christians have left. It has not been without much pain, both for those leaving and for those staying, with much acrimony on both sides. The late William Still said at Crieff years ago: ‘Evangelicals love to condemn!’ Alas, Scotland has learned the truth of these words in recent days.
William Still and his associates James and George Philip and Eric Alexander had a burden for the Church of Scotland (CofS) and the people in it. It was not easy for them because of the hostility in the denomination then against the Word of God and the gospel. They had no delusions about the CofS. William Still often referred to the 7,000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal (1 Kings 19.18) and James Philip on at least one occasion likened the CofS to the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 37! Despite their difficulties in the denomination, they contended for the faith (Jude 3) whenever there was opportunity and did so not least by their engagement in church affairs. In particular, James Philip was very highly respected in the CofS, culminating in his distinguished chairing of the church’s selection panel. He would have made a superb Moderator of the General Assembly, but that was a step too far for the denomination.
The current situation may be akin to that in the church at Jerusalem (Acts 8) where outstanding people (e.g the apostles) stayed, but other outstanding people (e.g. Philip) were thrust out by God, with hugely beneficial results for the spread of the gospel. Despite the exodus of evangelicals in recent days, if the gospel is preached in a church in Scotland today, I reckon the chances are that the church in question is in the Church of Scotland.
This is not an easy time for evangelicals in Scotland, either the leavers or the stayers. If you leave, then you lose your building, which is owned by the denomination. If you stay, you are constantly grieved by a disregard for much that you hold dear. We need to pray for each other and, thank God, that is happening more now. And we need to accept that if two Christians are given different guidance then it does not mean necessarily that one is right and the other is wrong. It is just that the Lord has different plans for them.
Yours sincerely,
