Towards a Manifesto of the F C C (Constitutional)

Following the disastrous decisions of the Free Church General Assembly in May 1999 and the Commissions of Assembly in June and October 1999 it looks increasingly likely that we will be forced to dissociate ourselves from the Majority Free Church. If that is the case, people are asking what sort of church would we be. Our enemies mock us and try to paint us as wild extremists and fanatical conservatives. Our longing, however, is to have restored to us the Church which we have known and loved ever since we were born-again. Our concern is to rid the Free Church of the harmful beliefs and practices that have become current in the last four or five years. In today’s Free Church there are those who wish to change the Church into something new and very different but we are not prepared to go down that road. We love our Free Church heritage. We love its doctrine, worship and discipline. We appreciate the holy life which has characterised its members. We will remain standing on the Constitution of the Free Church and claim the right to be identified as the true Free Church of Scotland. The ten points given below describe the sort of Church which we envisage. For the purpose of this article we call it the “Free Church (Constitutional)” as over against the “Majority Free Church”.

1. STABILITY
We will build a stable Church on the sure foundations of Scripture
The Majority Free Church has become an unstable church which appears to be building on the shifting sands of human opinion and the desire for change. There is a great concern to be popular with the world. This unstable atmosphere and environment is detrimental to spiritual health and growth. Many, disillusioned with the Majority Free Church, are leaving to join other denominations.
The Free Church (Constitutional) will build on the tried and tested foundations of Scripture in order to provide a stable and healthy environment for spiritual development.

2. CLARITY
We will have a clear and unambiguous public testimony
The Majority Free Church is a Church which is committed on paper to the Westminster Confession of Faith but frequently denies that commitment in practice. Also, the desire to be popular, ecumenical and politically correct has resulted in a muffled and confused voice when faced with the sins of the day. Some are ashamed of our Church’s traditional beliefs. The Free Church College is now obliged to teach Reformed Theology in dialogue with other contemporary theologies which can only lead to less certainty and the destructive inroads of modern theology.
The Free Church (Constitutional)’s office-bearers will give an unqualified commitment to the Westminster Confession of Faith. Our evangelism, Church magazines, web-site, youth work and youth camps will be consistent with that commitment. We will speak clearly, publicly and fearlessly about moral issues to the Scottish public and the government. We will train our ministers in the clear and solid Reformed Theology of the Westminster Confession of Faith. We will be more concerned to please God than to be popular with the world.

3. PURITY
We will worship God as directed by Scripture
The Majority Free Church now tolerates uninspired materials of praise in some of their public services which they choose to designate informal, children leading in public worship, concerts and drama in our youth work, and in one case even advocated spontaneous dancing in public worship.
The Free Church (Constitutional) will worship God only as He lays down in the Scriptures. This will involve the unaccompanied singing from the Book of Psalms to the exclusion of all uninspired materials of praise and musical instruments. Our worship will be simple and spiritual. Our evangelism, publications and youth work will be consistent with this commitment.

4. MORALITY
We will have high standards of morality in the ministry and the membership
The Majority Free Church has an increasingly lax attitude to standards in the Christian life. Dances, pop concerts, and night clubs seem to be regarded as acceptable recreation for young Christians. Ceilidhs are organised in Church halls and at youth camps. It is not surprising that more and more young members are falling into immorality. Free, the young people’s magazine, promotes Christian athletes who compete on Sundays. Even some of their ministers are happy to spend part of the Sabbath Day watching sport on television.
The Free Church (Constitutional) will aim at the highest standards of holiness of life for all members but especially for elders and ministers. The ten commandments, applied in a relevant way, will be a summary of our rule of life. We firmly believe in Christian liberty but within the bounds defined by Scripture and our Confession of Faith.

5. UNITY
We will unite and involve the whole Church
The Majority Free Church is a seriously divided Church, and a church that is divided against itself cannot stand. There is widespread suspicion and mistrust. Attendance at communion seasons is at an all-time low, as is attendance at the various conferences. Too much control has been centralised in Edinburgh and this has alienated many gifted people in the remoter areas who believe that they are being denied the opportunity to use their God-given talents for the good of the Church.
The Free Church (Constitutional) will work tirelessly to promote the blessings of true Christian unity and fellowship. We will encourage mutual support of our congregations at communion seasons. We will resist centralising administration and will distribute influence and control throughout the Church, restricting “committeeism” in order to return the power to the Presbyteries of the Church.

6. SIMPLICITY
We will speak and write and communicate in an understandable manner
The Majority Free Church has become guilty of idolising the intellectual at the expense of the spiritual. The Monthly Record has become an academic journal and is pitched at a level above the understanding of most. The Courts of the Church have become forbidding arenas in which many are afraid to speak for fear of being humiliated by the experienced operators. The Free Church College has surrendered a large measure of control to Edinburgh University in order to be able to confer degrees on its students.
The Free Church (Constitutional) will encourage the serious study of theology but in a way that can be understood by the majority rather than an elite minority. Our Church magazine will be pitched at a practical and popular level. The Courts of the Church will be open, friendly and brotherly where no one need fear being embarrassed or ridiculed. We will not sacrifice our independence from secular institutions in order to give our students degrees. Our ministerial training will aim to produce not merely academics, but spiritual, godly and loving evangelists, teachers and preachers.

7. EQUITY
We will administer discipline in a just and fair manner for all
The Majority Free Church today is increasingly being characterised by grave injustice. Serious complaints concerning doctrine and morality have been repeatedly made against one particular individual. However, no consideration of any charges made against him has been allowed in any Court of the Free Church - Presbytery, Synod or General Assembly - despite repeated attempts in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999. The only disciplinary offence that remains in the Free Church seems to be to raise complaints about that particular individual. The charge of contumacy has been used as an arbitrary offence to destroy proper disciplinary procedures.
The Free Church (Constitutional) will be characterised by justice applied impartially, consistently and without respect of persons. The Form of Process and the well- tried procedures of our fathers will be used in discipline. Individuals will have the right to call whatever witnesses they require and to use whatever documents they wish in their own defence. They will be given the time they need to adequately defend themselves and the right to appeal to a superior Court. Women or children who make complaints about any minister will receive a fair hearing.

8. CHARITY
We will love one another and evangelise the lost
There is very little love in evidence in the Majority Free Church. Ministers call fellow ministers “hard-liners”, “conspirators”, “liars” and “ayatollahs”. There is increasing persecution of the righteous as can be seen in the punishment meted out to a minister who at the 1999 Assembly spoke out against the wickedness and hypocrisy which he perceived in the Assembly. This persecution can also be seen in the attempts to keep a godly young man out of the Free Church ministry despite his Presbytery and the Training of the Ministry Committee supporting his application. The Majority Free Church has become increasingly isolated from Reformed Churches throughout the world who have become wary of the direction in which we are going. Despite professions to the contrary, there appears very little true love for the lost and desire for their conversion. There is far too much emphasis on numbers and success and doing things to be seen of men. Little consideration is given to the fact that those who profess faith could be deceived and perish.
The Free Church (Constitutional) will treat everyone with respect. We will love our enemies as well as our friends. We will not indulge in name-calling even of those who disagree with us. We will not persecute those who faithfully point out our faults. We will encourage godly young men who are called to the ministry. We will work enthusiastically to develop relations with other Reformed Churches and Christians. We will devote ourselves to missions at home and abroad. We will give ourselves wholeheartedly to evangelising the lost to the glory of God alone.

9. GENEROSITY
We will give sacrificially to the needy
The Majority Free Church has spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on maintaining a centralised administration in Edinburgh.
The Free Church (Constitutional), in accordance with New Testament Christianity, will keep overheads to an absolute minimum in order to maximise the amount of money we can use in mission work and distribute to the poor and needy at home and abroad.

10. FAMILY
We will build our Church around families
The Majority Free Church has moved away from the Reformed emphasis on covenant families. There is too much separation of young from old and too big a generation gap created.
The Free Church (Constitutional) will follow the God-appointed emphasis on family religion. Our preaching, our magazines, our conferences and our camps will all be family-oriented and will aim at the nurture and support of Christian families.

Any comments or questions please E-Mail me or Rev William Macleod the Editor.

[Back to Reformed Christian Pages][Back to Free Church Foundations]