The Southern Presbytery’s Colloquium provides an opportunity for fellowship with like-minded believers from different congregations and denominations and this year’s event did not disappoint. Twenty-three ministers, elders and men from four different countries met at Knightswood on 31st January and were served a variety of papers which were both instructive and very practical.

Unity and Uniformity was the theme of a paper by Rev. Graeme Craig. That there is but one visible catholic Church is a teaching of Scripture expressed in Chapter 25.2 of the Confession of Faith. In dealing with the unity of the Church Mr Craig showed that it is not only a fact, but it needs to be pursued. The oneness of the visible Catholic Church is expressed in the idea of the baptism, church membership, ordination and discipline of one Church body being readily received by other Church bodies. They are all part of the one vast empire of Christ and there should be a longing for unity. One of the means for pursuing and maintaining unity is for there to be uniformity in doctrine, worship, government and discipline. This lay behind the Solemn League & Covenant of the Second Reformation and became a reality when the broken Church of the covenanting era was reunited in the Revolution Church of Scotland. As well as showing how true uniformity in the aforementioned areas aids unity, warning was given regarding four unscriptural types of uniformity which undermine true unity. These were not theoretical matters and present real opportunities and challenges for churches today.

The Question and Answer session following Mr Craig’s lecture.

There followed a paper from Rev. Trevor Kirkland entitled Thoughts On Preaching. He began by highlighting the sort of preachers the Church does not need today, which were described as the cheerleader, storyteller, entertainer, systematician, psychologist and confessionalist (in other words, it’s all about me). Because such preachers essentially provide no real preaching, they draw the Church back to darkness of pre-Reformation days. There then followed a summary of the Reformed view of preaching and what good preaching is like. It must have priority in Church life and in the believer’s personal life. Preaching must be purposeful, with authority (which comes from the Word, not the preacher), plain and accessible and contain plenty of application. The goal is that the truth itself, not the preacher’s eloquence, persuades people. True preaching opens up the Word which becomes a blessing to preacher and hearer. Here was much food for thought and plain advice, often backed up with examples and suggestions from the past.

The day concluded with a paper from Rev. Andrew Allan on Evangelism. In dealing with the subjects of evangelism, he noted that we must begin with self. We must ensure that we ourselves know the Lord. The best type of evangelism is personal where, through personal contact with friends, neighbours, work colleagues etc., we are able to share the truth. Indeed, home evangelism must not be ignored – surely our heart’s desire is to see our loved ones saved. Various means of acceptable “mass evangelism” were also noted, such as door-to-door visitation, open-air preaching and tract distribution. Although the message must be the whole message of the Gospel, people must not be given everything at once. Above all, Christ, not self, nor church, must be the centre of the message. Many apposite and helpful insights were given. While there may be joy in seeing results, there also ought to be joy in the work. The paper closed with a reminder that the power of evangelism is from God. Thus, we must give ourselves to prayer. Having spoken of evangelism, the great need is to do it and in that Mr Allan is an example to us all.

All in all it was a most profitable day. Recordings of all the addresses will be found on Partick FCC’s SermonAudio page. D.V. next year’s Colloquium will take place on 30th January 2027.

Pictured are some who attended the Colloquium.