Editor’s Note: One of our semi-regular bloggers, Iain Campbell, pastor of the Free Church of Scotland congregation on the Isle of Lewis in northwest Scotland. This past week he attended – along with 1/3 of the ministers in the Free Church – a continuing education event (they call it ‘in-service’) at the Free Church College in Edinburgh. We will be posting extracts from his commentary on the event.

I am attending the Free Church College in-service course this week. A third of our ministers attend each year; the orientation is practical this year, with sessions on aspects of preaching and pastoral work.

The first session (Monday night) was taken by Rev Martin Allen, former minister of Chryston Church of Scotland, who spoke on the minister as a man of prayer. His four principles – quotations from his heroes which he then enlarged on, were:

(1) ‘Prayer is elemental, not supplemental’ (Eric Alexander)
(2) ‘Prayer can be taught and learned’ (Don Carson)
(3) ‘Prayer can be learned by praying – so pray’ (Derek Prime)
(4) ‘Preaching without prayer is like a sword without a cutting edge’ (Jonathan Edwards).

Martin’s talk was homely and experiential, drawing both on his reading and his personal experience. I am looking forward to the rest of the week.

Tuesday began with an excellent devotional session led by Rev Colin L. Macleod, Leith, who gave a talk based on the exhortation of Hebrews 10:22, ‘let us draw near to God’: we must draw near regularly, sincerely, confidently and seriously.

Thereafter the morning was led by Professor John Angus Macleod, who spoke at his first session on ‘Preaching through Galatians’, and encouraged us to consider what Paul’s motive in writing Galatians was, and suggested it was important to introduce the letter, to trace Paul’s thought in it, and to imagine the questions to which Galatians supplies the answers In his second session he gave an interactive workshop on the computer programme Bibleworks.

After lunch, Lynne Paterson of Tearfund Scotland spoke about Tearfund as a channel and resource for the church.

(Editor’s Note: Tearfund (The Evangelical Alliance Relief Fund) began in the 1960’s during the terrible famine in Biafra. (Cliff Richards did his first fundraising concert for the fund!) It has an independent board made up of evangelicals in the UK.)

She acknowledged the way in which the Free Church has supported Tearfund in the past, and introduced the current work and witness of Tearfund, beginning with Micah 6:8 – He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? This was an interactive session, requiring some small-group discussion. Not my favourite way of doing things!

One of the brethren mentioned how difficult it is to discuss third world poverty in Cambodia after enjoying a cooked breakfast, a substantial lunch and discussing buying expensive computer software earlier! But the reality of world poverty was brought before us, and the fact that the church is the answer to the prayers of those who are living in extreme poverty. One of the best quotations from this session: ‘What does love look like to a hungry person?’

The final session was led by Dr George Craig, an Edinburgh GP and Church of Scotland elder, who spoke about pastoring people with mental health issues. He gave a very helpful overview of depression and cognitive behaviour therapy, and the relationship between mental and spiritual issues.

It’s been a good and helpful day, but I am missing a theological input into the programme. I know that the School in Theology exists, but no matter how much practical training we get, our ministry is nothing without a constant grounding in our confessional theology. A paper on covenant theology or Christology would have been good today! And – while it is good to hear people from outwith our own denomination – we need to make more use of the excellent ministers, professors and theologians within the Free Church too.

(More to come in a later article.)

Iain Campbell is a native of the Isle of Lewis in northwest Scotland where he serves as pastor of the Free Church of Scotland congregation in Point. He also serves as Adjunct Professor of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary. This article first appeared on his blog, Creideamh ((pronounced ‘kray-jif’), Gaelic for ‘Faith’, and is used with his permission. http://creideamh.blogspot.com/