The 2012 General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland opened Monday night in St Columba’s Free Church in Edinburgh.

Reverend James MacIver, the retiring Moderator, opened with worship and preached on Luke 5: 1-11 examining Simon Peter’s experience when Jesus told him to let his nets down for a catch.

Mr MacIver encouraged commissioners to take heart from Simon Peter’s response – despite him being a fisherman and Jesus a carpenter, Simon Peter was willing to lay aside his own expertise in obedience to Christ.

He concluded that God’s method using God’s word is always successful, arguing that the Free Church need not fear in spite of “a hostile world to the Gospel, humanistic philosophies and minority campaigning groups”.

Mr MacIver also led the Assembly in prayer as ministers and elders remembered the family of the late Reverend Kenneth Macleod, Thurso.

The assembly then voted to elect as their new Moderator, The Reverend Dr. Iain Campbell, a native of the Isle of Lewis in northwest Scotland where he serves as pastor of the Free Church of Scotland congregation in Point.

Dr. Campbell holds an M.A. from the University of Glasgow (1985); A Dip.Th. from the Free Church College, Edinburgh (1988); a B.D. from the University of London (1988); a M.Th. from the Central School of Religion , London (1997) and a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh (2001). He previously served as Minister, Snizort Free Church of Scotland, 1988–1995; Back Free Church of Scotland, 1995–2009. He began his service at Point Free Church in 2009.

He served as a Lecturer at Lews Castle College, 2004–2006 and currently serves as an Honorary Chaplain, Western Isles NHS Board, 2007– ; Chairman, Free Church College Board, 2008-; and beginning in 2009, as an Adjunct Professor of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary. He blogs at Creideamh ((pronounced ‘kray-jif’), Gaelic for ‘Faith’

Upon his election, Dr. Campbell said he “counted it a great honour to be called to this chair and occupy this office”.

Information from the Free Church website was used for this story. [Editor’s note: the original URL (link) referenced in this article is no longer valid, so the link has been removed.]