Month: February 2011

UPDATE on Rev. Kenneth Stewart: Pastor resigns over the issue of Exclusive Psalmody…

The Rev. Kenneth Stewart of Dowenvale Free Church of Scotland

I haven’t seen any other official reports of this, but the Hebrides News is reporting the following:

“Well-known Free Church minister Rev Kenneth Stewart is quitting the Free Church over the controversy to introduce hymns and music into worship services. Rev Stewart – a fierce critic of the hymn-singing move  – has resigned his post as a minister and would also sever his links with the denomination. Crucially, the North Uist-raised preacher is not expected to lead a split in the church nor encourage his congregation to follow him though he will highlight his own reasons for going.   He is expected to seek a new home as a pastor in another Scottish Presbyterian church. His actual departure date has not been revealed.”

The full report can be found here.

The Rev. Kenneth Stewart was one of the ministers who objected to the recent ruling of the Plenary Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland that will allow the use of hymns and musical instruments in the denomination. Rev. Stewart’s objection can be found here in a previous post. 

Recently, I found a fairly detailed report of the proceedings by the Rev. Peter Wallace, an OPC minister who attended the Plenary Assembly. It can be found here.

“…there are no doubt millions of church members who regularly use uninspired hymns and instrumental music in worship, who have never even thought of asking the question ‘Are these practices Scriptural?’ “

“2. They (the Nature of the Distinctive Principles of our Church) are based on the authority of Scripture. (First Term of Communion; Confession of Faith, I.6, first sentence). It is useless to discuss these principles with any person who does not accept the supreme authority of Holy Scripture for faith and life. That politics, religious worship, social affiliations, etc., must be controlled by the authority of Scripture, not by human preference or customs, is a new idea to many people. Many people in various denominations today have no really vital conviction of the authority of Scripture. They are not in the habit of examining problems in the light of Scripture. For example, there are no doubt millions of church members who regularly use uninspired hymns and instrumental music in worship, who have never even thought of asking the question “Are these practices Scriptural?” Most people just act according to custom without independent thinking and without asking any questions.”

a selection from The Nature of the Distinctive Principles of our Church, J.G. Vos

posted recently at the Old Light Covenanter blog here