School in theology
The Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) held its annual School in Theology from 10-13 September at Carronvale, Larbert. About thirty men attended including brethren from Northern Ireland, Wales, Ghana, Sri Lanka and South Korea. It was an encouraging and profitable time. The lectures were of a high standard and gave rise to edifying and warm-hearted discussion.
The first paper was given by John MacLeod (Portmahomack) on Islam. He presented a challenging picture of a militant religion with 30 million adherents in Europe today. Gavin Beers (Ayr) spoke on ‘Preaching from Lamentations’. We were reminded of our duty as Christians to weep over the judgements our sins have brought upon us.
John J. Murray spoke on ‘The influence of Moody and Sankey on the church in Scotland’- a complex subject raising difficult questions concerning the theology and methodology of these two popular American evangelists. The best evangelism begins, we were told, with the doctrine of God.
A stirring lecture was given on ‘William Wilberforce and the Abolition of Slavery’ by Barry Galbraith (Rathfriland). Maurice Roberts gave a paper on ‘Eldership in the New Testament’ and Ian MacNaughton spoke comprehensively on ‘The covenant of works’.
The final address was given by Jeff Ballantine (Bangor) on ‘Right relationships with God and men’. He turned what looked like a prosaic subject into a pot of golden advice for use in time to come.
In the missionary session we were challenged by Phil Steed of OMF to consider the opportunities in China, with its 1.3 billion population. Devotions were taken by Dewi Higham (Cardiff), who reminded us of our urgent need for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
The above lectures are on tape or CD (contact: 01349 882908 or andrew@andrewallanphotography.com). For information on next year’s School contact 0141 620 3983 or murray.johnjames@googlemail.com).
