Here we carry an edited version of William Still's last sermon as the minister of Gilcomston South Church of Scotland. The reading was Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders from Acts 20.
Of the innumerable things I could say on reflection upon 52 years of life and work here, a certain structure needs to emerge: first to deal with practical things, then theological, and third, personal.
No greater transformation can be envisaged than that of this congregation from 1945 to 1997. And yet, there have been few categorical upheavals; just a sense of always being on the move, which has always stemmed from the initial stimulation of prayer, its first mover. The three stages I will refer to later are too profound to be characterised merely as congregational, fellowship, and family, but they cover the ground of the transition from the one sort of association to the other.
It is only, of course, in the context of the constant comings and goings of a people on the move that the major upheavals took place, but only a long-term strategist would have been able to see where innumerable seemingly petty changes were leading. I therefore leave it at that, and go on to deal with what theologically turned that pathetic but determined little congregation of 1945 into the fellowship it eventually became.
Consistent ministry
My upbringing was under Methodist and Salvation Army influences, and it took many years for the strong Reformed influence of Iain Murray of the Banner of Truth to prevail over my largely Arminian background.
Meantime, the sense of fellowship in learning to know and love the Lord was growing from the early defeats of the 1950s, working with far fewer people, to achieve something spiritual which, by 1960, became tied up with my own personal life and coincided with a much wider demand for the ministry to students. It turned out that the late 60s, the 70s, and the first half of the 1980s proved to be the most widespread of the travelling years, so that on looking back it was difficult to see how a consistent ministry could have been carried out at home while one travelled so much. But it is all on the record.
However, since older age largely prevented travelling ministry, concentration upon the cultivation of the local fellowship, always changing, grew stronger; and it was in the midst of that experience that the closeness of bonds between the active personnel of the congregation became more that of a family than of a fellowship, a marked feature of which became a co-operative spirit which ensured that there were always dedicated people ready to fall into the shoes of those who for one reason or another moved out.
Several striking features of the ministry fall to be mentioned here. The emphasis on exposure of evil and the works of the devil have been a constant theme. There is also the work among children. Slowly and painfully I learned what I would call its 'skills' by putting the children back into the church with their parents as part of the family of God.
As to Christian doctrine, as I said, I was brought up under Methodist and then Salvation Army influence, and it took a number of years to turn me from Arminianism to Reformed doctrine and practice. However, this prevailed and contributed not a little to the simplifying of congregational structures which is almost a unique feature of our work: few would go as far as we in reducing the activities of the congregation largely to family aspects.
Three dimensions
The main feature of the work through the years, however, has been the establishment of the doctrine of the three dimensions of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This emerged early as is seen by the age of the book, Towards Spiritual Maturity. It contains the truth that there are three distinct dimensions of the Cross of Jesus, and its unfolding soon led to developments in Bible teaching which began to have effect on people's lives. The fact that Jesus died to bear the punishment of all our sins is a whole world of truth, and a fundamental one, too. The second dimension of Christ's death unites the believer with him in an indissoluble incorporation of death and resurrection which is permanent and complete on its own level. The third dimension is Christ's victory over Satan and the powers of evil. I have long maintained that only believers informed of these distinctions are adequately equipped to serve the Lord.
The essence of life
It has been the latter two dimensions of this truth which have dominated my thinking throughout the ministry simply because the death and life of Jesus Christ are the essence of our Christian life; so that anything less than an abiding awareness of this living relationship with him is totally inadequate to live the Christian life.
But nothing can equal the thrill of being in such fellowship with the crucified and risen Jesus Christ in the everyday things of life; and it is this which, when it is fully realised, creates and fosters the family feelings which are the essence of the life of the Christian congregation. This, until we receive the bodies which correspond with it and will transform it completely, will be the essence of daily life here below.
There is little more to say, except that to stand here for the last time as minister of this congregation is more momentous to me than I can take in. And yet, all being as it has been, it feels so natural to be doing this now that it causes me no embarrassment, and will enable me to descend these steps with a sweetness of spirit and a thankfulness to God and man which will continue to overflow the horizons of my mind. God bless us all.
