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

Thanks to Scotrail I arrived late for the devotional session, so listened to the second half of Colin’s address from the corridor (I was in the corridor, you understand!). Colin continued his exposition of Hebrews 10, stressing the importance of always looking to Christ for our repentance and our salvation.

Thereafter we had a brilliant morning with Rev Tom Houston, who spoke on a topic he has thought and written about over many years of ministry: preaching on Bible characters. Tom has been a pastor in Scotland and in Nairobi; he has headed up the work of the Bible Society and has been involved in the Lausanne movement.

His first session was a talk on the importance of Bible characters; their stories always impinge on our own and our hearers. We must preach with attention to the capacity of our hearers. Tom suggested taking 1 Cor 10:11 as our grid: ‘these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.’ We must pay attention to what happened in the lives of these characters, and apply the lessons by telling the Bible story.

In the second session we were split into groups and given a character of Scripture, with a view to making a presentation of a sermon outline on the character. Ours was Timothy; we first thought that this was a very slender topic, with not much to find; but then we started cross-referencing Timothy in Scripture, and learned a lot about how we prepare for sermons and an accumulated an amazing amount of information on Timothy at the same time – a series of sermons on Timothy is already in the planning!

In the afternoon Professor Donald M MacDonald, former Professor of Practical Theology at the Free Church College, spoke on Pastoral issues and the spectre of Euthanasia. Donald was a major contributor to the recent debate at Holyrood on end of life issues, and it was good to hear him speak.

The day finished with two presentations – one on Campaigners from Liz Warren-Corney, the Scottish Development Officer of Campaigners (Para-church youth ministry http://www.campaignersscotland.co.uk) [Editor’s note: the original URL (link) referenced is no longer valid, so the link has been removed.] and one from Donald Forsyth (a partner in a leading accounting/consulting firm in Scotland) on learning from the business community.

A stimulating day, the best part of which was getting ideas on how better to preach. I need all the help I can get!

(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/

I have served five terms on the CE/P Committee and was a member of the search committee that hired Charles Dunahoo, who remains in that office.

I have served four terms on the Board of Directors of Great Commission Publications and was on the search committee that hired Tom Patete, who remains in that office.

Although it had been my intention not to seek election to another General Assembly committee, a number of men in my Presbytery and other PCA leaders who are also close friends have strongly encouraged me to return for one more term on CE/P (from where one gets elected to GCP Board) to provide the ‘corporate memory’ that and I have gained and to used this experience to lead both groups through soon-to-occur transitions.

In addition to service on these two committees, I have also served the church in the following ways.

Member of original Standing Judicial Commission, as an officer and co-author of SJC Handbook.

Member of Nominating Committee, serving a term as Chairman, and primary author of the NC Handbook.

One directly elected term and two terms as CE/P rep on the Administrative Committee.

Served one more eleven Committees of Commissioners, including election as Chairman of CoC on Mission To The World (3rd GA), as well as twice as Chairman of Bills and Overtures and once as Interchurch Relations.

Served as Stated Clerk of Mid-Atlantic Presbytery (prior to J&R), New River Presbytery and Blue Ridge Presbytery for a total of 16 years.

Served as Moderator of Central Georgia Presbytery and Northeast Presbytery, as well as convener of the first meetings of James River Presbytery and Blue Ridge Presbytery.