William Symington (1795-1862) on the Christian Ministry

The 2020 edition of the Reformed Theological Journal features an article by Stephen about William Symington’s views on the Christian ministry. The article is based on an address Stephen gave at the RP Ministers’ Conference in 2019, marking 200 years since Symington’s ordination in Stranraer. It draws particularly on ‘Charges’ Symington gave to both minister and congregation at the ordination of Stoneykirk man James M’Gill at Hightae, Dumfriesshire, in 1829, halfway through Symington’s 20-year ministry in Stranraer.

You can read the article as a PDF or in ebook formats here.

For a list of previous content about William Symington, click here.

In 2010, Stephen contributed an article to the same journal entitled ‘“Houston, we have a problem”: Thomas Houston, Covenanter and Evangelical’, based on his MA thesis.

Alexander Smellie: Stranraer man, Stranraer minister

Probably the third most famous man to minister in Stranraer after John Livingstone and William Symington, was Alexander Smellie (1857-1923). Generations of Reformed Presbyterians are familiar with his book Men of the Covenant, though Smellie himself was actually a minister of the Original Secession Church.

Smellie was born in Stranraer, where his father James was the Original Secession minister. When Alexander was seven his father accepted a call to Edinburgh. Smellie struggled with a lack of assurance until an encounter with the evangelist D. L. Moody in 1874. A fellow minister commented that ‘through an American evangelist, God spoke to a Seceder boy’.

After completing his theological training, he received a call from the Stranraer congregation in November 1879 and was ordained on 10th March, 1880. His ministry ‘left its impression not only upon the congregation, but upon the community’. We’re told that four characteristics marked his ministry. It was devotional (‘the outflow of a spirit that was careful to keep itself in touch with God and which gave a high tone to the whole service’), evangelical (‘he left his hearers in no doubt about his view of the way of true life’), intellectual (‘old truths were spoken new…he ever kept himself well acquainted with modern trends of though in religion, philosophy and science, and so was able to present the truth in its bearing upon them’) and literary.

His ministry in Stranraer lasted until 1896, during which time he became a regular contributor to the Original Secession Magazine. Eventually he moved to London to edit The Sunday School Chronicle for two years, before returning to Scotland to minister in Thurso and then Carluke. In London he once walked 35 miles to fulfil a preaching engagement rather than use public transport on the Sabbath. He was a regular speaker at the Keswick Convention, as well as similar gatherings elsewhere: Crieff, Dundee, Glasgow and Portstewart. One report of his Keswick Bible Readings in 1919 said: ‘We saw the Lord Jesus as we had never seen him before - more beautiful and loving; and, like Thomas, we could only fall at his blessed feet in adoration and exclaim, “My Lord and my God”’. An example of one of his sermons can be read here.

The University of Edinburgh conferred upon him an honorary Doctorate of Divinity in 1908. The Scotsman described him as ‘one of the best expository preachers of his day, an exceptionally well-read man, and endowed with a rare, happy saintliness’.

J. D. Douglas comments in the Dictionary of Scottish Church History & Theology that ‘Smellie always had the vision of “a re-united Evangelical and Presbyterian Church in Scotland” and retained cordial relations with those in other churches’. This included J. P. Struthers - RP minister in Whithorn and Greenock. Smellie contributed to an issue of the RP Witness marking the centenary of Struthers’ birth, where he described Struthers as ‘extraordinarily tender and unselfish and generous and hopeful for other people, even the most disappointing and feckless…one of the most Christlike men I have known’.

An early Keswick Convention

Smellie died in 1923 following a long illness, having been long predeceased by his only daughter, to whom he dedicated Men of the Covenant - ‘a child whom God leads in green pastures and beside still waters’. His elders in Carluke noted that his last public act in the congregation had been to administer the Lord’s Supper.

After his death, his friend Graham Scroggie commented: ‘He was, perhaps, the greatest devotional writer of his generation…he was read in all sections of the Christian Church, and was loved as widely as he was read’.

His many other books included a biography of Robert Murray M’Cheyne, and a book of daily meditations, In the Hour of Silence. His former congregation in Stranraer had been dissolved shortly before his death and the building on Sun Street sold; since 1922 it has been a Masonic Lodge.

Update: Smellie’s memorial stone, courtesy of Scottish Reformation Tours:

Update 2: A picture of Smellie himself, which accompanies an account of his preaching by Alexander Gammie in Preachers I have heard

An Ordinary Pastor

In his introduction to Sunday evening’s sermon, Stephen mentioned Rev. John Tweed, an RPCNA pastor who passed away last week. John served as interim pastor in Stephen’s home congregation during the summers of 2007 and 2008 when they were without a minister. There is also a connection to Scotland, as John’s father was the minister of the Glasgow congregation for a few years, until the outbreak of WWII meant he had to return home.

John and Alta Tweed pictured outside Faughan RPC in 2007

Rev. Kyle Borg, who preached in Stranraer in January, wrote a tribute to John the day that he died entitled ‘John H. Tweed | An Ordinary Pastor’. You can read it on the Gentle Reformation blog.

Kyle writes ‘Today, Jesus has tended another one of his sheep through the pasture of this life and into eternity’ - and on Sunday evening we saw how we can be confident that that will be true of us as well.

Global Day of Prayer for RP Ministers

The Reformed Presbyterian Churches of North America, Ireland, Scotland and Australia have agreed to appoint the Lord’s Day, 6th October 2019 as a day for united prayer in all our congregations that God would raise up men to serve as pastors and missionaries. This is a keenly felt need in each of our denominations and it is a wonderful expression of our unity in the Gospel that we can join with one another in a day of prayer that will span the globe.

The RP Global Alliance have produced prayer points which highlight the number of churches currently without pastors in each country, along with the number of men currently being trained for ministry in each place. These numbers include the Japanese Presbytery, which is currently under the oversight of the RPCNA. You can read the prayer points here or download a PDF version here. Prayer points are also available in French and Spanish.

Banner of Truth Conference 2019

Stephen was one of 17 RP ministers who attended the Banner of Truth Ministers’ Conference, held in Stafford from Monday-Thursday this week. The theme of the conference was ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit’.

Rev. Edward Donnelly (retired minister of Trinity RPCI and Principal of Reformed Theological College when Stephen trained there) was attending the conference for the 50th time, and gave two addresses on the theme ‘The Spirit of Life’:

One particular highlight was hearing Lindsay Brown speaking about Mission. The first of his two talks was particularly encouraging as it highlighted what God was doing in many countries around the world:

It was also encouraging to hear global updates from men ministering in different countries around the world - some who have faced physical persecution - and to be able to pray for them in their work.

Videos of the rest of the talks are available here, and a list of previous recordings, dating back to 1962, can be found here. The video below is of the 300 men present singing Psalm 46:

The theme for next year’s conference will be ‘Communion with God’. One of the speakers will be Robert McCollum (one of Stephen’s best men, and pastor of Newtownards RPC). Robert spoke twice at this year’s Banner Youth Conference, which was held last weekend. You can watch his talks below: