http://www.freechurch.org/index.php en patricia@macaulaycreative.co.uk Copyright 2012 2012-05-02T10:28:37+00:00 http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/find_a_free_church/ http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/find_a_free_church/#When:10:28:37Z A list of congregational websites, and you can download the current Year Book to find your nearest Free Church.The Free Church of Scotland has over 100 congregations in the UK. Each of these congregations belongs to one of our six presbyteries. You can find contact information for each Free Church of Scotland congregation by downloading our current Year Book here. Hard copies of the Year Book are available from the Free Church Bookshop for £4.50 (plus postage). To order a copy, please contact Charles Douglas on 0131 718 4141 or bookshop@freechurchofscotland.org.uk. Not all of our congregations have a website, but below are a list which do: Congregational Websites Aberdeen - Bon Accord Achiltibuie - Coigach Arran Ayr (Martyrs) Back Bishopbriggs Bonar Bridge & Lairg Cambuslang Cross Dingwall & Strathpeffer Dunblane Free Church Dundee - St Peter’s Dunfermline Dumfries East Kilbride Edinburgh - Buccleuch & Greyfriars Edinburgh - Leith Edinburgh - St Columba’s Elgin & Forres Falkirk Ferintosh & Resolis Fort William Fortrose Glasgow - Dowanvale Glasgow - Glasgow City Glasgow - Govanhill Glasgow - Partick Golspie Harris Inverness - Free North Inverness - Greyfriars & Stratherrick Kilmallie Kiltarlity Kingussie - Badenoch Kirkcaldy Knock Knockbain Livingston London City Presbyterian Church London - Cobham Presbyterian Church Nairn North Uist, Grimsay & Berneray Perth & Pitlochry Point Poolewe and Aultbea Portree Prince Edward Island Rosskeen Scalpay Sleat & Strath Smithton Culloden South Uist & Benbecula St Andrews Stornoway Tain Thurso Toronto Ullapool - Lochbroom 2012-05-02T10:28:37+00:00 http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/general_assembly_2012/ http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/general_assembly_2012/#When:09:58:49Z The resource page for the 2012 General Assembly.The Free Church General Assembly meets from Monday 21st to Friday 25th May in St. Columba’s Free Church, Edinburgh, and commissioners will hear and debate several reports covering various topics. You will be able to follow most sessions live on our web feed during the Assembly week, and there will also be daily updates on the website. Reports are available to download below, and the Assembly timetable is available to download by clicking here. 2012 General Assembly reports Assembly Arrangements Committee: Download the PDF here The Assembly Arrangements Committee makes the practical arrangements for the annual meeting of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland every May in Edinburgh. The Committee decides on the number of commissioners who are to attend from each Presbytery of the Church, and on matters like making arrangements for various functions held during the Assembly week. The report will be presented by convener Reverend Angus Howat. Board of Ministry: Download in PDF format by clicking here The Board of Ministry’s workload focuses on students for the ministry, probationers, ministers, and elders and deacons. It is expected there will be discussion on candidate selection and assessment, particularly how Kirk Sessions and Presbyteries can work better together on this matter. The report will be presented by chairman Dr Fergus Macdonald.  Board of Trustees: Download in PDF format by clicking here Over the past year, the Board of Trustees dealt with a variety of issues covering finance, policy, strategy, compliance and risk management. The Board has also continued to monitor the legal activities of the Free Church Continuing. This year’s report focuses on finance and spending priorities, with recommendations for a reduction in 2013 budgets and a project levy freeze for congregations. It will be presented by the Board’s chairman, Mr James Fraser. College Board: Download in PDF format by clicking here The role of the College Board is to oversee the operation of our Free Church College in Edinburgh. The college is the theological centre where students for the Free Church ministry, as well as others, receive their academic training. This year’s report notes the Quinquennial visitation, and states that the Board is seeking constructive input from the wider Free Church so the College can continue to provide an efficient and relevant service. The standard of teaching is again praised by the students and ministers alike, and it is also hoped that a successful appointment will be made to the chair of Systematic Theology, following Professor Donald Macleod’s retirement in 2010. The report will be presented by chairman Reverend Iver Martin. Committee on Church Practice and Procedures: Download the PDF  The Committee was appointed by the 2011 General Assembly as an advisory Committee comprising the membership of the Review of Disciplinary Procedures, extending its remit and changing its name to the Committee on Church Practice and Procedures. The role of the Committee includes the issuing of advice on matters of Church practice and procedure to Presbyteries and Kirk Sessions and to other Committees and Boards of the Church. The report will be presented by convener Reverend James MacIver. Committee on Psalmody: Download in PDF format by clicking here The Psalmody Committee is responsible for encouraging and developing the psalm-singing ethos in the Free Church of Scotland. The report notes that Psalmody resources continue to be popular within the Church, and the Committee is also keen to make its services available to congregations and precentors by way of practical workshops. The report will be presented by convener Reverend Finlay Mackenzie. Communications Committee: Download the PDF by clicking here The remit of the Communications Committee includes oversight of Free Church magazines The Record, Free and The Instructor, as well as the Free Church bookshop and the website. As well as covering these important communication outlets, the report also includes papers on same-sex marriage (by Reverend Alex MacDonald), universalism (written by Reverend Dr Iain D Campbell) and the London riots (by Reverend Dr John Nicholls). The report will be presented by convener Reverend Dr Iain D Campbell. Ecumenical Relations Committee: Download the PDF here The Free Church of Scotland continues to develop and maintain active prayerful interest in the work of the gospel in other denominations, with a particular interest in those churches holding to a Reformed persuasion. This year’s report from the Ecumenical Relations Committee includes a summary of discussions with the Associated Presbyterian Churches, as well as noting developments with other denominations. The report will be presented by convener Reverend Kenneth Ferguson. Home Missions Board: Download in PDF format by clicking here The Home Missions Board has a broad remit over the ministry of the Free Church of Scotland, including church development, planting, extension and youth work. The report lays out a number of challenges facing the Church, including the need for a reduced staff size and strategic cost-cutting measures. However, the Board suggests that the current economic situation may be a friend, not an enemy, and points to the early Christian church which thrived in a period of financial stress, no buildings and few paid workers. There is to be a discussion on church planting, and there will be news of a potential new church plant in Edinburgh. The report will be presented by chairman Reverend David Meredith. International Missions Board: Download the PDF by clicking here The Free Church of Scotland has several mission interests abroad, including Latin America, India, South Africa and Central Asia. The International Missions Board has begun a wide-ranging strategic review of its work, not only to come to conclusions regarding current activity but also to identify future opportunities in the light of the evolving shape of Christianity around the world. The report shares developments in theological education in Peru, Columbia and South Africa, commending it to the wider Church for prayer. The report will be presented by chairman Reverend David MacPherson, and there will be mission speakers on the Thursday evening of the Assembly too. Nominations Committee: Download in PDF format by clicking here The task of this Committee, as its name suggests, is that of bringing nominations to the General Assembly for the filling of vacancies in the various Committees and Boards of the Free Church of Scotland on an annual basis. A certain proportion of members of Committees and Boards reach the end of their period of service each year, and these need to be replaced by the Assembly. The report will be presented by convener Reverend James MacIver. Panel of Pastoral Advice: Download in PDF format by clicking here The majority of the Panel’s work is composed of informal conversations and contacts. As the natures of these are both sensitive and confidential they do not appear in print. The report notes that the addition of new members with greater expertise in pastoral counselling will further improve the Free Church of Scotland’s care of its ministers and families. The report will be presented by chairman Reverend Alasdair MacDonald. Personnel Committee: Download in PDF format by clicking here The personnel committee has responsibility for oversight of all matters relating to the working conditions of ministers (including stipend) and other staff members. The report will be presented by convener Mr Callum MacDonald. Quinquennial Review Committee to the College: Download the PDF The Quinquennial Review Committee to the Free Church of Scotland College was appointed by the 2011 General Assembly with the remit to review all aspects of the College’s performance. The Committee unanimously agrees that it is essential that the Free Church of Scotland continues to have its own College for the theological training of its future ministers and of persons engaged in other aspects of the denomination’s work and witness. It also recommends that the College Board appoint a committee to investigate some of the other matters raised in their report, such as the future role of the Principal. The report will be presented by convener Reverend Dr Malcolm Maclean. Special Committee on Praise: Download in PDF format here The Committee was appointed by the Plenary Assembly of November 2010, to investigate the provision of materials for sung praise in addition to the Psalms for the congregations who wish to use them. This fell into two parts: the provision of a list of hymns which conform to the finding of the Assembly and the provision of Scripture songs and paraphrases. The report will be presented by convener Professor Donald MacDonald. Study Panel: Download in PDF format by clicking here The Study Panel has been wrestling with the issues of marriage, divorce and remarriage, following David Instone-Brewer’s recent contribution to the matter. The Free Church of Scotland position is that of the Westminster Confession, which says the Bible allows for divorce in cases of adultery and desertion. However, the Panel – which stressed the Church should do all in its power to support, strengthen and honour marriage – believes Instone-Brewer is correct in suggesting that the Bible also allows for divorce in cases of neglect and abuse. The Panel has also included a section on same-sex marriage, outlining the Free Church of Scotland’s firm opposition to this proposed legislation. The report will be presented by convener Professor Donald MacDonald. 2012-05-02T09:58:49+00:00 http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/upcoming_events_in_the_free_church/ http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/upcoming_events_in_the_free_church/#When:08:33:16Z A brief diary of upcoming events in the Free Church of Scotland.Closing session for 2011/12 Free Church College term Friday 18th May - Free Church College, Edinburgh, 7.30pm The General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland Monday 21st to Friday 25th May - Edinburgh St. Columba’s Free Church, Johnstone Terrace Women for Mission AGM Thursday 24th May - Presbytery Hall, Free Church College, Edinburgh, 2pm Psalms for a Summer Evening Friday 8th June - Greenock Free Church, Jamaica Street, Greenock, 7.30pm East Kilbride Free Church 50th anniversary Saturday 9th June - East Kilbride Free Church, Blacklands Road, East Kilbride, 2pm Joint London City and Cobham congregational outing to the King’s Centre in Chessington Saturday 16th June - King’s Centre, Chessington (The day will include a presentation by Dr John Ross of the Southern Missions Support Group’s project to provide support for the Dumisani Theological Institute’s administrator, Shelley Lombard.) If you have an event that a Free Church of Scotland congregation or member is involved with, please get in touch by emailing: gordon@freechurchofscotland.org.uk 2012-05-02T08:33:16+00:00 http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/contact_us/ http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/contact_us/#When:07:35:13Z How to get in touch with the Free Church of Scotland offices. Whether it’s to ask the time of a service, about renting church halls or even just curious questions about the Christian faith, please do not hesitate to get in touch - we’ll always be delighted to hear from you and aim to respond as promptly as possible. Email: offices@freechurchofscotland.org.uk Phone: 0131 226 5286 Address: Free Church of Scotland, 15 North Bank Street, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH1 2LS Website: http://www.freechurch.org A list of congregational websites can be found by clicking here. 2012-05-02T07:35:13+00:00 http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/a_ray_of_sunshine/ http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/a_ray_of_sunshine/#When:20:24:05Z We are all creatures of habit, are we not? We put milk into our cups before pouring tea or check the rear-view mirror of the car before driving off (not for car safety reasons, just to make sure the hair isn’t too windswept!), we have our favourite music artists we listen to over and over again, we sit in the same pews in church, and we even go to bed on the same side each night. I’m no different to anyone else, but sometimes habit can get in the way of progress. Usually, at night, I need background noise in order to fall asleep, either the iPod playing softly or, more often than not, the BBC World Service. Why this channel? It’s simple enough - habit. I can recall my father listening to it when I was a child and the habit became ingrained, so now I find it hard to nod off without first hearing the dulcet tones of Neil Nunes proclaim, “And now, the Shipping Forecast”, followed by that wonderful tune, Sailing By. Once I know that no major hurricane or unforeseen weather disaster is going to hit the Hebrides in the next 24 hours, I can shut my eyes and sleep soundly (usually). Last night, I discovered I had left the iPod in the car. Now, normally, I would have thrown on a jacket and slippers, and braved the midges in order to have my musical interlude, but no excuses, I couldn’t be bothered. Having spent a good part of the day up a ladder with a hammer and bolster, I was just too tired to move, even to stretch over and switch on the radio. At first, I lay in a semi-comatose state, but gradually, the quiet silence of a Saturday evening in Gress began to speak to me. More than just the soughing wind, I heard the heavy sigh of a dog, the creak of wood as the house settled comfortably for the night, the quiet tick of a clock, the distant cry of a lonely seagull, the answering song of a grey seal and, eventually, the steady beat of my own heart. That night, I slept to the soothing melody of silence. Being quiet before God is like this - getting away from the noise and bustle of life, and allowing Him to speak to us. So many things intrude on our time and interfere with how well we can hear what our Father is saying to us. How many times do we kneel in prayer, end with Amen and, suddenly remembering an ‘essential’ task that remains undone, rush off without a backward glance? Would you go up to a dear friend, hold out your hand in greeting, but before they have time to respond, turn and walk away? We all need a reminder to be still and know that He is indeed God. Many times, He speaks loudest to us in the quiet hush, if only we have the faith to be silent and listen. My favourite verse in the Bible comes from Zephaniah: “The Lord your God is in your midst. A mighty one who will save, He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will QUIET you by His love”. 2011-06-29T20:24:05+00:00 http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/moderators_address_2011/ http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/moderators_address_2011/#When:10:21:25Z The Moderator of the 2011 Free Church General Assembly spoke on the subject: 'The Glory of Christ'. Rev. James Maciver, Moderator of the 2011 Free Church General Assembly, gave his opening address on Tuesday 24th, entitled, ‘The Glory of Christ’. The full text is found here: The Glory of Christ You can watch the Moderator’s Address here: stcolumbas.freechurch.org/news/the-glory-of-christ. 2011-05-20T10:21:25+00:00 http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/2011_assembly_reports/ http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/2011_assembly_reports/#When:09:02:31Z The Free Church General Assembly meets from 23rd to 27th May in St. Columba’s Free Church, Edinburgh. The Assembly will hear and debate several reports covering various topics. These are as follows:   Board of Trustees The Board of Trustees is the body which oversees the Free Church’s legal and financial affairs. The report covers ministers’ working conditions, including salaries and pensions, but focuses mainly on how well the new financial system, set up two years ago, is working throughout the church. It being the Board’s responsibility to ensure that the books balance, concern is expressed about last year’s financial shortfall. The report also covers legal items abroad, including the current action in respect of the Colegio San Andrés in Lima. It will be presented by the Board’s chairman, Mr James Fraser.  Board of Ministry The central responsibility of the Board is recognising candidates for the ministry, as recommended by their Presbytery. The Board is also responsible for supervising such candidates during their university and College training, as well as monitoring progress during their studies. The Board is further tasked, for the moment implicitly, by the General Assembly to review all applications to the Free Church ministry from ministers of other denominations. This report, given by Dr Fergus Macdonald, will give details of the committee’s actions over the past year. College Board The role of the College Board is to oversee the operation of our Free Church College in Edinburgh. The college is the theological centre where students for the Free Church ministry, as well as others, receive their academic training. The Board’s report briefly defends the existence of the college, before going on to mark the retirement of Prof. Donald Macleod from the chair of Systematic Theology. The Board reports that they have been unsuccessful in replacing Prof. Macleod; and, whilst he is willing to stay on temporarily, the fact that no one can be found at present to accept this position is a cause for concern. The report will be presented by Dr Iain D. Campbell. Communications Committee This report covers all aspects of publishing via our magazines: Free, The Record, The Instructor, website, as well as the Free Church Bookshop. The report briefly reports on all these aspects, as well as including three Public Questions papers. These are: Suicide (written by Robert Macleod) , Transhumanism (written by Roddie Rankin) and Sex Education in Schools (written by Murdo Macleod). The report will be presented by Rev. Roddie Rankin. Ecumenical Relations Report The Free Church continues to develop and maintain active prayerful interest in the work of the gospel in other denominations, with a particular interest in those churches holding to a Reformed persuasion. Our church is actively involved in the International Conference of Reformed Churches and continues to send delegates to support their ongoing work.  This year, the Ecumenical Relations Report will be presented by Rev. Kenneth Ferguson. Home Missions Report In many ways, this report is a snapshot of the breadth of our church’s ministry and outlines the huge challenges which we face within Scotland. The report covers church development, planting, extension, youth work, ministry to overseas students and other areas of home mission. The report attempts to address the challenges faced by congregations which are struggling, and the Assembly will hear proposals to establish team ministries in these and other areas in which our church is more scattered and small in size. The report is presented by Rev. Alex MacDonald. International Missions Report The Free Church has several mission interests abroad. In Latin America, we have been actively and prayerfully supporting our mission work in Peru and Colombia. In South Africa, our focus is on the Dumisani Theologial Institute, as well as the Free Church in South Africa. The Free Church in Central India has recently enjoyed a period of encouragement and strengthening. The recently established Martyn Project has seen a focus on mission work in Central Asia. These and other areas of interest will be reported by Rev. Iain MacAskill. The report will be given on Thursday, as well as mission speakers, as listed in the Assembly Programme. Study Panel - Divorce and Remarriage The study panel, led by Prof. Donald MacDonald, has been attempting to wrestle with the issue of divorce and remarriage, particularly in the light of David Instone Brewer’s recent contribution to the issue. This thought-provoking, comprehensive and detailed report is the result of much discussion into the criteria which justifies divorce and remarriage, and asks whether the circumstances given in the Westminster Confession are too restricted. This is a very challenging subject and will give rise to some interesting discussion. Psalmody Committee Although the Plenary Assembly in November 2010 gave liberty to congregations to include some items of praise other than psalms, the Free Church unreservedly continues to be a psalm-singing church. This committee is responsible for encouraging and developing our psalm-singing ethos. The report details the many areas in which God’s word as sung praise can be bettered as an integral part of our worship. The report will be presented by Rev. Finlay Mackenzie. All of the reports can be accessed (as they are available) here.   2011-05-05T09:02:31+00:00 http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/transhumanism/ http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/transhumanism/#When:08:41:15Z This article, by Roddie Rankin, is an extract from the Communications Committee report to the forthcoming General Assembly. The article appears in full in the report. This article, by Roddie Rankin, is an extract from the Communications Committee report to the forthcoming General Assembly. The article appears in full in the report. “Transhumanism” is not a word you will hear every day. However, if you try putting it into Google, you’ll get many more returns than for “Free Church of Scotland”. This shows, if nothing else, that there are bigger worlds than our own of which we may know nothing. Transhumanism concerns the future: what will it be like in technological terms? A few decades can radically alter the technology available and our relationship to it. Could Logie Baird or Graham Bell have imagined our world with its iPhones and SatNav? Where might our relationship with technology take us in the future? Science Fiction has been guessing this for more than a century. While some visions are bizarrely far-fetched, we remember that the future world is one about which we know as little as our grandparents knew about ours. The rate at which technology develops is dazzling. The only certainty is change. In some scenarios, this progress will increase exponentially. Breakthroughs associated with artificial intelligence may take the human race to unthought of levels. This is the realm of the Transhumanist. He sees technology increasingly modifying what it means to be human. We are now in charge of our evolution, he says, and we can redesign our bodies and minds to escape from the limitations of our present condition. The goal then becomes what he calls a “posthuman” state, where we play on a higher level. Consider the following scenario: Eve is a nine-year-old living in Inverness. ‘She’ will live forever. Her father owns a Model T Ford, which he lovingly maintains long past its original life expectancy. When Eve is fifteen, she will wonder why she can’t live forever, like the Ford. This seed thought will mature during her studies in Life Extension Technologies at the Google Multiversity and will lead her into research. She will pioneer, by auto-experiment, the implantation of computer chips, which monitor vital signs and organ function. This data will enable tailored real-time drug therapy, which will optimise her health and cognition. In 2040, she will receive gene replacement therapy, which will entirely remove any genetic predisposition to illness or ageing. In 2067, she will develop cancer. While it is treated, she will receive, by transplant, a vastly superior set of synthetic major organs. To eliminate further disease, repair-nanobots will also be injected into her bloodstream. A life threatening injury in 2090 will necessitate the transplanting of her brain into a machine body, with capabilities hugely superior to her former biological body. In her new, exhilarating cyborg existence, she will now interface with multiple sensory and super-consciousness devices, and participate in the over-class, served by unmodified humans. In 2147, her brain wiring will be uploaded to a newly developed deep-space craft. She - that is her cloned intellect and self-awareness - will become the craft. Her computer brain will vastly augment her intelligence. The cyborg will be ‘taken out of service’. The craft will depart from earth on a millennia-long trajectory to populate another part of the galaxy, manufacturing lifeforms using her onboard molecular assembler. She will narrowly miss the wholesale destruction of earth by a malevolent artificial super-intelligence. Eve will survive to create life in her own image. This is a typical transhuman conjecture. For sure, it relies on a continued process of development being possible and the avoidance of technological apocalypse. If you look in the right places, you will see scientists, futurists and philosophers discussing just such scenarios. Try these websites: http://www.hplusmagazine.com, http://www.ieet.org, http://www.kurzweilai.net, http://www.nickbostrom.com. Heady stuff. Maybe plain nonsense. But it is mightily influential and appealing to those who are working in many areas of technology, and in turn, to those advising governments on policy. Is there adequate debate about the desirability of ‘transhuman’ technologies? Probably not. Prof. Nigel Cameron writes: “From where I sit, I see nothing so significant as the rapid development of these technologies, and nothing so troubling as the near absence of healthy public engagement with their social and ethical implications”. When we think about technologies that may achieve transhuman goals, we are not talking, in the first place, about speculative possibilities. The technologies are already with us, at least in basic form. They are sometimes lumped under the rubric NBIC: nano, bio, info, cogno, and include cryonics, virtual reality, genetic modification, neuropharmaceuticals, nanotechnology, robotics, bionics and information technology. Transhumanism exerts a beguiling influence on its proponents. It dovetails well with the present consumerist, materialistic, individualistic and evolutionist ethos of our times. They view the body like a commodity, which they hope to trade in for a better model. Technology provides the means to realise dreams, whether these concern longevity, enhanced intellect, deliverance from suffering or uninterrupted pleasure. Put like this, it is a means of achieving salvation through human endeavour; of engineering humanity to ameliorate the effects of the Fall. Unsurprisingly, most transhumanists are agnostic, if not atheist. Their ideology sits snugly with the New Atheism. The future is humankind’s to conquer. A naive optimism concerning man’s moral nature, coupled with an ethical imperative to pursue perfection, gives transhumanism a pragmatic, compelling feel. What man wants, man shall have. Technology will yield contentment. Critiques Most commentators remain to be convinced that technology can usher in the utopia the transhumanist longs for. They dismiss the vision on the grounds that it is escapist, unrealistic, dehumanising, dystopian and dangerous. Far from birthing a Golden Age, the Brave New World that technology enables may be a nightmare. A few may benefit at the expense of the many, or the creations of science may usurp humanity entirely. Christians have concerns of their own. But before expressing these, we must remember that we are not Amish or Luddites, standing on a neutral sideline. I’m not chiselling this article onto a tablet of stone, nor will it be laboriously copied by hand and deposited in a monastic library. Who knows - it may even go viral on the web and spark a revolution in China! Whatever, it will enter the Matrix and become lodged among the heaving mass of 1s and 0s, which entirely govern our mode of living and melt the plastic of our brains. Yes, we participate as much as any other citizen of the 21st Century in the rapidly changing technoscape. We cannot assess technological trends from an outside standpoint. It is not like we are railing against immorality from a high place of purity. Christians, like everyone else, are both blessed and besmirched by the gadgets and possibilities of the present age. We do, however, believe in the sanctity of human life; the uniqueness and nobility conferred upon us as creatures made in God’s image. We acknowledge the wisdom of our Creator seen in the ‘very goodness’ of Mankind. But, with sadness, we recognise that our nature has been corrupted by sin, so that there are flaws in every human endeavour. Therefore, we cannot believe that our own ingenuity can raise us to the pristine level of Edenic bliss or higher still. Instead, we believe we must receive God’s fix for our flaws - salvation through Jesus Christ. This salvation purifies our nature and delivers unimaginable powers to our human bodies through the resurrection. Most importantly, it brings us back into joyful fellowship with the Heavenly Father and allows us to develop in the age to come according to His perfect plan. With this in mind, we must surely declare the following convictions in relation to technology and transhumanism: The wonder and glory of all of God’s creation, including homo sapiens. Our use of technology, like the rest of our activity, is something we do under the lordship of Jesus Christ. We affirm science, engineering and the development of technologies as God-given enterprises. Christians can bring realism to society’s view of technology. Human nature will frequently handle technology inappropriately. We reject the idea that technology should develop in an unbridled, unregulated manner, like a garden left to itself. Legislative control of technological development is essential. The motive for seeking a technology should be examined. The priority for applied technology is to increase equality, not to raise up a technological elite. The image of God in man must retain its integrity. Destructive experimentation on human life should be avoided and ways to achieve research goals which do not require this should be found. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only ‘technology’ which can guarantee a sympathetic and life-enhancing transformation of human nature. Societies are becoming increasingly dependent on technology. Devices and data are the cement that holds everything together. We are being changed and our humanity is being redefined by the products of technology. This presents specific challenges to Christians, who seek to live their lives in fellowship with Jesus Christ. Pastor Vermon Pierre echoes many when he calls for Christians, in recognition of the subtle dangers of technology, to major on the importance of: being physically present (e.g. in fellowship), when technology tends to us being only virtually present; self-forgetfulness, when technology fosters self-centredness; sustained, undivided attention to God and people. He encourages us to employ “techno-fasts”; words, especially God’s words. Technology gears us to the medium of images; gaining wisdom and understanding. Technology has exponentially grown our access to information in every category. Possessing this information is not the same as achieving good character. The church must find ways to relate to technology which harmonise humanity with the rest of Creation and with God. It is the tendency of transhumanism to corrupt our relationship with God, ourselves and the Creation, which presents its greatest challenge. May God help us to love His creation and our humanity as He does, and to serve Him with a view to the glorious consummation of that humanity. Then, when God’s purpose is complete, His people shall be “before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”  Revelation 7v15-17 For Further Reading: How to be a Christian in a Brave New World, Joni Eareckson Tada and Nigel M. de S. Cameron, Zondervan The Emerging Brave New World, Thomas A. Glessner, Highway Matters of Life and Death, John Wyatt, IVP Designers of the Future, D. Gareth Jones, Monarch Responsible Technology, Stephen V. Monsma, William B. Eerdmans The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis, Zondervan 2011-04-13T08:41:15+00:00 http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/reflections/ http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/reflections/#When:22:19:53Z We’ve had a few visitors at Chez Magz over the past few days and, thankfully, I was given enough notice to make sure the cushions were plumped, the floors swept free of dog hairs, and the windows and mirrors polished to a smear-free finish. It was while I was wiping the bathroom mirror I glanced up at my reflection and stopped. There was a time when I was young, fresh-faced and thought I was ‘it’ that I would spend hours in front of a mirror, in a rather narcissistic fashion, experimenting with makeup and hairstyles. Those days are long gone. Now, I see myself and wonder who is that middle-aged woman looking back at me? She certainly bears no relation to the image I hold of myself, where I am a perennial twenty-something. Where did all these ‘laughter lines’ come from? I mean, life can’t possibly be that funny. But, even though time may wait for no man (or woman), I have discovered that each age brings its own blessings. I may not be rich, but I have an abundance of love and friendship in my life, and that is worth more to me than all the goods money can buy.  Having said that…. life would be very dull without my camera… Whether it is my new digital SLR, an ancient model which still uses a ‘spool’, or the camera which comes with my mobile phone, I constantly keep my eyes open for a possible photograph; landscapes, flowers, the ever-present dogs and their antics, interesting faces, and even the patterns of clouds in the sky have presented me with interesting subjects to try and capture. One, in particular, remains my favourite. On a hill walk in Harris last year, I came across a scene of incredible beauty. A solitary hill clad in the autumn colours of burnt orange bracken stood against the background of a perfectly blue sky. In itself, it was altogether lovely. What made it truly spectacular was the perfect reflection in a still, clear loch which nestled beneath it.  Christ is altogether lovely to me. He is my first and last love. That does not diminish the love he has put in my heart for husband, children, friends and family; instead, he enriches it, feeds it, and makes it a gift to be cherished, treasured and not easily squandered. He needs nothing else to enhance His loveliness, for of and in Himself he is perfect, the Son of the Living God, our risen Saviour, our Advocate, our Elder Brother, our Alpha and Omega and yet….. every day, I see him reflected in the lives and faces of people I meet. His love shines in and through them. In the still river of their soul, I see His image reflected and the beauty of that image takes my breath away. You may look in a mirror and see lines, grey hairs and weary eyes, but if you have the love of Christ dwelling in your heart, you are and always will be beautiful. 2011-04-10T22:19:53+00:00 http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/gods_vision_for_the_church_1/ http://www.freechurch.org/index.php/scotland/articles/gods_vision_for_the_church_1/#When:11:50:54Z What is God’s vision for the church? As we ask that question, we are faced with many imponderables. One thing we do know, of course. The church is in safe hands: very safe hands. But beyond that, we know little. We don’t even know how much time is left to us. We’re living in the Last Days, but then we’ve been living in them since Christ came 2000 years ago and they will last till He comes again.By Donald Macleod | Published: March 10, 2011 What is God’s vision for the church? As we ask that question, we are faced with many imponderables. One thing we do know, of course. The church is in safe hands: very safe hands. But beyond that, we know little. We don’t even know how much time is left to us. We’re living in the Last Days, but then we’ve been living in them since Christ came 2000 years ago and they will last till He comes again. No one knows when that will be. The church may be still in her infancy and may last, on earth, for a million years. We simply do not know; and even if we did, we have not the remotest idea what such a future might hold. We can see only a few steps ahead of ourselves; and even then, only dimly. Keep our nerve First, surely, this is a time when we must keep our nerve. By every human criterion, the church in Britain is in a bad way. Observers constantly tell us that attendances are on the decrease. The church itself is in confusion. It is increasingly marginalised and irrelevant. In the face of these sombre analyses, it is tempting to press the panic-button and to resort to policies, which, in the long term, can be only destructive. Part of the difficulty is that we live in a market economy, where people instinctively turn to market solutions. The church, they insinuate, is merely a part of the entertainment industry, which has lost its audience; or it is like a commercial company, which is losing its customers and needs to diversify. It must do some consumer research and find out what people want. Let’s abandon traditional styles of worship! Abandon old-style preaching! Bring in musicals, drama, dancing, the Internet. Take a soft line on Christian ethics. That’s what consumers want. Go for the sound bite: the 30-second advert. All over the world, there are signs of Christian capitulation to this kind of market-driven analysis. But these options are not open to the church. We have clear Rules of Engagement. The Lord, the Head of the church, has told us what our business is. We are here to preach the gospel. We are here to care for the poor. We are here to worship God. It may be that men don’t find any of that attractive. They may want to worship a different kind of God or to do something other than worship; and we, of course, have to keep asking ourselves whether we are fulfilling our Rules of Engagement in the most effective way. But we have no right to tear up our Commission or to change our God-given product in favour of others which we think more marketable, or to abandon the activities assigned to us and concentrate on others which we think more promising. Even though our churches emptied to the point of extinction, we must remain true to our mandate. We have to contextualise, of course, and adapt to our own time and place. But we cannot change our core business: “Go! Make disciples of all the nations and tell every human being, `I have good news for you!’” A missionary footing Yet, keeping our nerve cannot mean simply remaining as we are. The church must be put on a missionary footing. In a way, this should not need to be said. We have always known, in the words of Alexander Duff, that Mission is the chief end of the Christian church. Everything we do in discipling our own people, organising our structures and elaborating our theology bears directly on our missionary responsibility. Yet it is easy to forget it; and sometimes the priority of evangelism is masked from us by the social conditions in which we operate. For centuries after the Reformation, we lived in what was officially a Christian society. Virtually every child was baptised. The whole nation accepted the Christian world-view. Schools taught the Bible and every child had some knowledge of its contents. Everyone received Christian burial. Public life, in Parliament and elsewhere, professed Christian values. All this dulled our sense of missionary obligation. When we thought of pagans, we thought of Darkest Africa or the great masses of India and China. These were our spheres of missionary obligation. But in the last hundred-and-fifty years, we have lost so much ground that we are now struggling in a sea of paganism. The tide of faith has ebbed and in its place, there has come, sometimes silently, sometimes fiercely, but always relentlessly, the flood of unbelief. Even in the Western Isles, so long immune to these forces, the signs of the ebb-tide are all too evident. At no point since the 6th century has Scotland shown such disregard for Christianity as it does today. And we are ill-placed to respond to it. In fact, we are no better organised for mission than Britain under Neville Chamberlain was organised for war. Here in Scotland, the church, since the days of John Knox, has been on a pastoral footing. Our primary concern has been to hold fast what we have. Evangelism has meant only fishing in the pool of unconverted adherents who came to our churches every Sunday. Now that pool has evaporated. Few attend church unless already driven by a marked degree of commitment. The uncommitted are no longer sitting in our pews. We cannot reach the people unless we go among them; and that means going outside our churches to where Britain really is. That implies, first of all, that the unchurched must be our priority. One of the best descriptions of the church is that it is the only society on earth which exists for the benefit of non-members. That may be a cliché, but the great merit of clichés is that they are true. The Great Commission didn’t say to the apostles, “Go and comfort your brothers and sisters. Go and give them great expositions.”  It said, “Go!  Make disciples of all the Gentiles.” We need to ponder that. We exist for the benefit of those who spend their lives in the public-houses, betting-shops and nightclubs of our land; those whose lives are spirals into addiction, despair and moral chaos; those who mock religion and spit on Christ. How can we make our meetings relevant to them? Too often, our only anxiety is what some prominent elder or some “mother in Israel” or some Christian bully will think of our proposals. If they’re offended, we drop them. Is it now time to apply a different set of controls: to assess our activities on the basis of their relevance to those who never attend church and have never heard the gospel? That means letting the world set the agenda. In that sense, we are reactive, not proactive. We are willing to be all things to all men, adapting to changed circumstances, in order to ensure that our message is heard by those who need it. Paul challenged the Corinthians as to what a stranger would think if he chanced into one of their meetings. Would he think they were mad? He didn’t allow them to say, “Oh! We can’t be governed by the feelings of outsiders!” That, said the apostle, is exactly what you must be governed by. That stranger, that chance visitor, is the most important person in the whole building. The problem faced by many churches is that the moment they take up some proposal to reach the unchurched, they immediately find huge obstacles placed in their way. Where do these obstacles come from? From the world? From atheists and humanists? From those they’re trying to convert? No! From fellow Christians! That is one of the saddest features of the church’s history in the last hundred years. We have so often let ourselves be held to ransom by fellow believers, who said, “If you evangelise like that, I’m going to disapprove! If you bring in a modern version of the Bible, I’m going to disapprove! If you replace pews with chairs I’m going to disapprove! If you replace the sermon with Bible Study, I’m going to disapprove! If you use Mission Praise, I’m going to disapprove!” It seems to me that D.L. Moody had the perfect answer to such intimidation: “I prefer the way I evangelise badly to the way you don’t evangelise at all!” The challenge we face, particularly if we are Christian leaders, is whether “for the sake of peace” we are prepared to deprive the world of the gospel. The Christian evangelist will invariably find that the greatest danger he faces is friendly fire. The church is brilliant at turning its missionaries into Inoperative Combat Personnel, casualties to frustration, discouragement and spiritual intimidation. Secondly, being on a missionary footing means that less and less of the church’s work will be done within its own buildings. We will need to go where the people are; and we will need to think very carefully about what we actually mean by preaching. One of the great watchwords of the Reformed churches is the primacy of preaching. Unfortunately, it is easily confused with something completely different: the primacy of the pulpit. These are not the same. In the New Testament, preaching is whatever vehicle we can use to put our message across. Jesus never had a pulpit. Sometimes He preached on a hill, sometimes from a boat, sometimes round a table, once at a well. Preaching does not necessarily mean a large, passive, receptive audience. Nor does it necessarily mean an elaborate structured discourse. These things are, of course, preaching. But when Jesus spoke to the woman of Samaria, that too was preaching. When he spoke to Nicodemus, that was preaching. When Philip spoke to the Ethiopian Chancellor or Paul to the Philippian jailer, that was preaching. Our four written gospels are preaching: perhaps the greatest preaching of all time. They were evangelism. They told the Good News. Preaching is whatever gets the gospel across. That is really the only criterion. That’s what we have to ask. Do our means of communication enable us to tell the story of God’s Son, born of the Virgin Mary, crucified under Pontius Pilate, raised again the third day? Are we delivering that message? As far as the New Testament is concerned, it is what is conveyed that matters, not how it is conveyed. We can put it in a structured discourse or we can put it in a tract or a conversation or a video or a book. We have to speak it where the world can hear us and challenge us, and even where it can heckle, blaspheme and contradict. Thirdly, being on a missionary footing means being faithful to the gospel. We hear a great deal about faithless ministers and faithless churches. No doubt there are such, though it should be our own faithlessness that troubles us, not that of others. But what is this phenomenon, so much spoken of among the Reformed? What is a faithless ministry? Some say there are faithless ministers who never preach about hell, election, sin or false ecumenism. No doubt that is lamentable; even, possibly, deplorable. But it is quite possible to preach every Sunday on death, judgement and eternity, on hell, sin and damnation, on the mysteries of election and on the solemnities of reprobation, and still be a faithless minister. A ministry without Good News is a faithless ministry. A ministry that doesn’t give hope to the wildest prodigal is a faithless ministry. A ministry that doesn’t major on the most incredible fact in the moral universe, the fact that God is love, is a faithless ministry. A ministry that boasts that it’s never preached on John 3:16 is a faithless ministry. We are not faithful to Christ’s Rules of Engagement unless we proclaim the promises of God; unless we tell every man and woman, and every boy and girl, “You can go to God in your rags, because that’s what the Prodigal Son did. Straight home! Just as he was, in the spiritual clothes he stood in! Only after he got home did he dress up, and then it was the Father who did it.” I don’t think for a moment that men and women find this easy to believe. Many preachers, unfortunately, do. Indeed, their starting point appears to be that modern man finds it all too easy to presume on the love of God and to believe in the forgiveness of sins; and the preacher’s task, conversely, is to contradict such dangerous teaching, knock such presumption out of men and confront them with the divine awesomeness, not with flabby notions of grace. Such attitudes, in my view, are heresy. They betray the gospel. As if God had left His church in the world to be a purveyor of darkness, an extinguisher of hope and a messenger of doom! As if our mission were to make men and women feel even worse about themselves than they already do! Is this what Jesus did? Is this the charge He gave us? Did He not tell us we are the light of the world: the only light it has? Did He not send us forth with the incredible message that God is love? Every tribal demon in the pantheons of Greece and Rome was an angry god, consuming sinners in hell and striking terror in the souls of all their devotees. None of these gods loved. None of them cared. None of them wiped away tears. None of them clothed prodigals or put shoes on their feet or rings on their fingers. A faithful church is a gospel church; a good news church; a hope church; a love church. It is a Christ-church: one that majors on the fact that God has taken our nature, shared our experiences, borne our sins and conquered death. Let us be faithful to that gospel. Going about doing good The first half of this article focused on the importance of putting the church on a missionary footing. It emphasised the Rules of Engagement given to us by Jesus and, in particular, the urgent obligation to present the multitudes outside our churches with the incredible message of the love of God. Now we have to move on to remind ourselves of something equally momentous: we cannot be on a missionary footing unless we are going about doing good. There is nothing new or radical in that. It goes back to Jesus Himself and every one of His disciples has to emulate Him in this respect. The responsibility is not confined to individuals, however. It falls equally upon the church as an institution. The church as a church has to go about doing good. It’s not simply a matter of providing pews and organising meetings, important though such things may be. Jesus went about and mingled, listening to people, meeting needs, practising compassion, showing sympathy and actively healing. The apostles healed. They cared. They remembered the poor. Their great modern successors did the same.  John Knox cared deeply about the poor. Thomas Chalmers gave himself heart and soul to the problems of pauperism in his Glasgow parish. General Booth sought to provide work, food and shelter for the thousands of London’s submerged poor. Spurgeon and Whitefield had their orphanages. These men didn’t simply preach. They were concerned for men’s bodies, as well as for their souls. They knew that there was no point in preaching to a drowning man. You had to throw him a life-belt. You had to meet men’s desperate temporal needs. You couldn’t simply be a church which listened to sermons. You had to be a community which went about doing good. What might that mean? Well, whatever else it means, it means that the church has to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. How often did Jesus defend the defenceless and speak up for those for whom no one else would speak! He spoke against the powerful and influential, not for them. He spoke for the publicans and sinners; for Samaritans and Syro-Phoenicians; for Roman centurions and fallen women. That is one of the greatest tests we can apply to the church. For whom is it speaking? Is it saying what everyone else is saying? Is it obsessed with political correctness? Is it baying with the mob against asylum-seekers? Is it speaking only on behalf of those for whom the media and the politicians are speaking already? Or can you hear it speaking for those for whom no one else is speaking? In Nazi Germany, when Hitler began to attack the Jews, the churches stood back and said nothing. They didn’t want to be involved. They didn’t want to meddle in politics. They couldn’t come down. They had to attend to their high calling: their meditation, their prayer and their preaching. They may even have said that expository preaching would solve everything. No one spoke for the Jews or the gypsies or the psychotics: not until the tiny sparks of harassment had become the fireball of persecution and Europe found itself engulfed in Holocaust. People tell us, of course, that there is no poverty in modern Britain. Something (the Welfare State, perhaps, but definitely something) has banished poverty. Certainly, if you organise your life properly and take a care where you walk (or drive), you need never see it. No one on your street is poor. But if you are the children of a single mother, an alcoholic who hasn’t signed on for three months and hasn’t received a penny, that’s poverty. In every city in Britain and every village in this island, such problems are within helping distance; but never so pressing that we can’t walk by on the other side, chanting a hundred pious reasons for doing nothing. But desperate reactive measures are not enough. The church has to throw the weight of its influence behind every force for good in the community. It is part of our ecclesiastical heritage here in Scotland that the church has never been concerned only with spiritual things. John Knox wanted a school in every parish and a university in every large town because he sought not only to save souls, but to civilise and moralise a nation. One of the most intriguing things about Chalmers’ mission in Edinburgh’s West Port in the 1840s is the bill for soap. They were teaching girls to take in washing, and thus provide themselves with a living. It seems a long way from John Seventeen and the Upper Room, but that’s where the needs were. The gospel has to descend to Lazarus’ sores. Any activity that offers the hope of raising the tone of a nation deserves our support. And we must do it from the bottom up. In the upper and middle levels of our society, there is affluence, education and security. In the basement, there is ignorance, squalor and violence. Our task is to raise the level of the basement. One of our biggest problems in the Scottish Highlands has been the church’s coolness towards all cultural activities. As a result, it became all too plausible to argue that there was nothing for young people between the pub and the prayer meeting. You turned to either religion or drink. The whole Common Grace area was lost. It is part of the prophetic role of the church to persuade government and community to care for the young. I don’t believe the church itself should be the provider of recreational and leisure facilities. But it should be an instigator and encourager of those responsible for making such provision. It should not be content merely to tell individual parents how to raise their families within their own homes. It should address the community of parents and urge them to take their collective responsibility seriously. We have to create not only child-friendly churches, but child-friendly communities. There is much in the realm of art and culture behind which the church should throw its weight; and there is much in all of these areas which deserves criticism. But where is the Evangelical criticism of literature and art? We have ignored it, when what it needed was Christian evaluation. We have been Protestant monks and nuns, making daily sallies into the world to earn our livings, but otherwise content to let it go to the dogs. Fellowship I want to focus briefly on one final area: fellowship. The church must be a real fellowship. In the New Testament, the whole idea of fellowship revolves around having things in common; and of course, the one great thing we have in common is Christ. We believe in Him. We love Him. We live by Him. We are united to Him. He is our common Saviour and Lord. We are His subjects. This Christ whom we have in common is the basis of all our fellowship; and that fellowship obviously cuts across all denominational barriers. There are many denominations (too many) in Stornoway, but there is only one church. There are many denominations in Scotland and many more in England, but there is only one church. There is only one Body of Christ in the whole world; and we are one, not on the basis of a common theology or a common polity or a common order, but on the basis of the miracle of the new birth and the wonder of adoption. God has made us all His own children. All those who call Him, “Abba!” are one. Out of this come other things. We love to get together, as people do who have common interests. The more we do it the better, but we shouldn’t imagine that it carries no risks. All social interaction carries risks. You can probably avoid all the pain in the world by avoiding relationships. I once heard an old Christian lady say, “The longer I live, the more I love the Lord’s people and the less I trust them!” I now know what she meant. But that shouldn’t make us hermits. We need the support, encouragement, admonition and rebuke of other Christians. We need to come together; simply to be together. We need to be part of a critical mass in which faith stimulates faith and launches it into explosive activity. If you’ve been hurt by some Christian group, don’t say, “I’m never again going to expose myself to being hurt by Christians.” We have to stick with the Lord’s people. They’re our people. They’re inseparable from Himself. But fellowship also involves caring for each other. One of the biggest changes in the Christian ministry in my lifetime has been the emergence of a specialist domain of pastoral counselling. Such specialists have their place, as do professional psychiatrists. But let’s remember that in the last analysis, every Christian is his brother’s keeper: not in some meddlesome way, interfering, prying and bossing; but really caring. Paul told the young church in Thessalonica that they had to take care for each other (1 Thess.5:14). They themselves had to warn the unruly. They had to comfort the feeble-minded. They had to strengthen the weak. He didn’t say, “If you see someone feeble-minded or weak, find a counsellor for him. If you see someone backsliding, go and get someone to admonish him.”  He said, “You do it. He’s your responsibility. Sort it out, before it gets serious.” Conclusion But what I yearn for, above all, is enthusiasm for the gospel. There is much talk of evangelistic methods. People want courses and debate techniques. But the greatest evangelist of all is a man or woman who loves the gospel: who so loves it and is so thrilled by it and so sure of it and so overwhelmed with gratitude for it that he simply cannot keep quiet about it. There is no course on any campus in the whole wide world that can give you that; or make up for it, if you lack it. One of the men to whom the Scottish Highlands owe most is the itinerant 19th century lay-evangelist, Finlay Munro. He wasn’t far removed from being a simpleton and in his later years, he suffered serious mental deterioration. But he knew the gospel, he loved the gospel and he couldn’t keep quiet about it. He was fully aware that the learned ministers despised him and that many, even of the godly, frowned on his quaint ways and bad grammar. But he wasn’t deterred. He trekked and trekked, sleeping in barns and preaching wherever he could gather an audience. Of course, the church couldn’t survive if it had nothing but Finlay Munros. It also needs its Augustines and Calvins. But I’m not sure that at this juncture in our history, it’s Finlay Munros we need: men of simple faith, but strong conviction; men of indomitable courage; men the world thinks mad. If I have one prayer above all, it is that God would give us an overwhelming belief that this gospel is true; an irresistible urge to preach it; and courage to keep on propounding it at every possible opportunity. 2011-04-09T11:50:54+00:00