Into the china shop that was late-eighteenth century Scottish
Presbyterian Moderatism came two charging bulls, revivalists James and Robert
Haldane. In an era of social, political and
spiritual change, they saw Scotland as gospel-starved and took action. Despite external opposition and schism and their
own stubbornness and naïvity, Robert and James left a strong Evangelical
legacy. They trained and sent itinerant
preachers, established preaching centres, and were the primary founders of the
Congregational and Baptist movements in Scotland. The account of their ministry provides
valuable lessons on the importance of innovation, preparation, and harmony for
twenty-first century Christian leaders.
James Alexander Haldane (1768-1851), orphaned son of James Haldane,
was born in Dundee and raised with his brother Robert by their grandmother; he
enrolled at Edinburgh University in 1781 before becoming a sailor. He married in 1793, and while in Portsmouth
in 1794 was influenced by Independent minister David Bogue towards a vital
Christian faith. James quit sailing and
settled in Edinburgh where several clergymen and ironmonger John Campbell
discipled him. After joining Charles
Simeon on a preaching tour of Scotland in 1796, James and two friends embarked the
next year on their own similar tour, taking affirmation from the Great
Commission and the blessing of minister David Black.[1] They preached in barns, village halls and
fields to crowds of up to 6,000 people and saw multitudes respond, with forty
conversions following in Wick alone.[2] Seeing a great need for gospel preachers, in
1798, James, Robert and some Edinburgh laymen formed the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel at Home (SPGH) in order to organize and support itinerants and catechists. However, the Established Church felt
threatened by '...the perceived hostility of the Haldanes to ecclesiastical
establishments...', owing not least to James initial habit of critiquing
ministers' sermons during his missions.[3] Despite condemnation by the Church of
Scotland General Assembly regarding the work of unqualified itinerants, the
Haldanes carried on; James was ordained pastor to the new Edinburgh Circus
Tabernacle congregation in 1799. Envisioned
as a mission alongside the Kirk, it actually became one of the first
Congregational churches, growing quickly from twelve to over three hundred
members and beyond; in 1801, Robert built a new Tabernacle seating three
thousand. James continued summer
preaching tours while he and his colleagues worked towards recovery of an
apostolic model of local church.
However, his efforts to implement weekly communion, mutual exhortation
in Sunday services, and a plurality of elders were not welcomed by every
Tabernacle member.
The movement ground to a halt in 1808 when James Haldane shocked
his followers by embracing believers' baptism.
Though Robert and two hundred of James's church members followed him in
this, those who did not, left. The
Edinburgh Tabernacle was reduced by two-thirds, and associated churches across
the country split or sided with Baptist, or, more often Congregationalist
(paedo-baptist) parties. Nevertheless, James
continued in ministry, serving the Edinburgh Tabernacle for a total of fifty
years, becoming secretary of the Scottish Baptist mission society in 1830, and writing polemically in defense of truth.[4] The respect he earned in his career was
demonstrated at his funeral, where over six hundred clergy and members of
various churches turned out and people lined the streets and windows in a rare
show of tribute to any private individual.[5]
James's brother Robert Haldane (1764-1842) was born in London; he worked
under his uncle in the navy, then married and settled in 1786 at his inherited
home, Airthrey Estate. He was intrigued
by revolutionary politics but, influenced by David Bogue of Gosport and William
Innes of Stirling, embraced an evangelical faith in 1795 which reset his life
course. Putting his estate for sale, he
attempted a mission to Benares. This
goal was blocked by the East India Company, so Robert focused his energies on Scotland,
helping form the SPGH in 1798. With the vision
to send itinerant preachers throughout Scotland, Robert organized a seminary in
1799, initially headed by former Establishment minister Greville Ewing. By the time of its closure in 1808, the
seminary had trained over three hundred itinerant ministers, many whom later
became pastors. Besides building the
Edinburgh Tabernacle in 1801, he bought or built others in Glasgow, Dundee, and
various towns and villages. The SPGH
also printed and distributed thousands of tracts and Bibles until 1804 when the
new Bible Society took on this responsibility.[6] All the work of SPGH was financed by Robert
Haldane, who from 1798 to 1810 invested GB 70,000 in gospel work. By sheer numbers, the endeavor was effective:
from 1800 to 1807 Independent churches grew from fourteen to eighty-five in
number.[7] This growth plateaued at the schism in 1808.
In the ensuing years, Robert taught at seminaries in Geneva and
Montauban, helping ignite the continental Réveil revival movement; he combated
the Bible Society's inclusion of the Apocrypha, helping shape the content of
today's English Bible;[8]
and he wrote extensively, being best known for his apologetic for Scriptural
inspiration and his commentary on Romans.[9]
By examining the themes of innovation, preparation and charity in
the Haldanes' careers we can observe vital lessons for twenty-first century
ministry.
The Haldanes believed the church was ineffective at saving souls,
so they implemented a new approach to ministry.
Taking the Great Commission and the blessing of their friends as a
mandate, they adapted English evangelical models to propagate the gospel. They ignored ecclesial power structures by
empowering laymen as Sabbath School instructors and itinerant preachers. The novelty of lay-led meetings announced by
the beating of a drum was accompanied by a powerful work of God bringing
revival to communities. To create a
venue for ongoing mission and follow up, the Haldanes set up massive
Tabernacles, George Whitfield style.
Answering the need for educated itinerants, they bypassed the
Establishment-run university system and started a seminary, taking a cue from
English Independents. The Haldane team
achieved this despite concerted opposition by the Established church and
magistrates from the very outset. The
fruit of this effort was scores of converts and dozens of Independent
churches. Additionally, the
movement awakened greater zeal in other
religious bodies and ultimately helped place more evangelical ministers in the
Established church.[10]
When church leaders of today see limited effectiveness in the face
of great gospel need, they must be prepared to lay down past ministry models,
learn from fruitful ministries, and innovate for their contemporary context. Sometimes the only way to overcome the
inertia of an entrenched, ineffective model is to start something entirely
new. Innovators need to prayerfully seek
contemporary, gospel-faithful answers to searching questions: How do we gain an
audience for the gospel? How do we
structure church life to empower and release lay ministry? How do we effectively train leaders? How do we structure ministry for long-term
stability and adaptability?
Innovators need conviction, courage, humility, and flexibility, and a
willingness to become all things to all men for the sake of the gospel (1 Cor.
9:19-23).
Successful innovation requires preparation. Though the Haldanes set up a rigorous
seminary program for the preparation of itinerant ministers, it is evident that
James and Robert themselves lacked preparation: they developed their
ecclesiology on the fly and made amateurish leadership blunders.
Meeks and Murray observe, 'While they were expeditious organizers,
they entered Evangelical circles without a firm theological foot-hold. Their understanding of the Scriptures, and
especially of the New Testament, developed as they proceeded...'[11]. James's early focus at the Tabernacle was
on mission, not church order; the immediate results developed on a weak
foundation.[12] In time, 'The original lack of interest in
forms and organization [gave] way to a self-conscious insistence on apostolic
propriety.'[13] Their
biographer observes the issues which came up: the frequency of the Lord's
supper; public mutual exhortation by members; the plurality of elders; the mode
of collection.[14] Being theologically unprepared, the Haldanes
stumbled over secondary issues.
The Haldanes lack of theological preparation overlapped with their
leadership deficiencies in the areas of people skills and foresight. They tended to rigorously impose their own
developing ecclesiology on the church, lacking the skill to assess the relative
weight of an issue, the ability to consider the legitimacy of opposing viewpoints,
and the grace to allow divergence on secondary matters.[15] With maturity, James may have navigated the
outworking of his Baptist convictions with a keen eye to the ongoing unity of
the movement he had founded, and prevented schism. Instead, 'Somewhat naively both brothers
believed that they should be able to state their views plainly and then work
through their application in the life of the church.'[16]
The Haldanes came by their lack of preparation honestly. They were unapprenticed laymen; they were
part of a reactionary movement; they were blazing a trail in uncharted
territory: some mistakes were inevitable.
Perhaps what they needed to mature was slower ministry growth over time,
yet the movement grew with exponential speed, due in no small part to Robert's
singular generosity. Rev. Dr. Lindsay
Alexander of the Scottish Congregational Union assessed the result of Robert's
investment: 'The influence, however, thus exerted was rather from
without than within... and the consequence was, a show of flower and fruit much
greater than the plant, when left to itself and to ordinary influences, could
sustain.'[17]
The Haldanes are a reminder that today's innovative leaders need
adequate preparation. Leaders must take
the time to establish both themselves and those they lead on a firm theological
footing, sorting out primary, secondary, and distinctive doctrinal issues from
the outset. Especially when charting new
territory, leaders must resist the urge to build fast and instead must create
space for reflection. They should glean
insights from the tradition they are building on, even if much is to be left
behind, and they should reflect on the missionary and leadership insights of
the Church's primary leadership manual, the book of Acts. When facing a great dilemma or opportunity,
they should draw back and gain perspective from counselors both ahead of,
beside and behind them. Leaders who
would innovate with lasting effect must prepare.
Additionally, leaders must exemplify love. 'By virtue of his wealth and talents,
[Robert] Haldane occupied a pivotal position in the revival of evangelical
Calvinism within Scotland,'[18]
but great wealth and talent were not always accompanied by great personal character. Likewise, because controversy abounded,
Lovegrove must qualify, 'However, [James] Haldane was essentially a practical
Church leader rather than a controversialist.'[19] The Haldanes were part of the wider
Evangelical movement in Britain and in that respect exemplified a unity that
transcended denominational boundaries, welcoming into the pulpit Anglicans,
Baptists, and Independents.[20] But with regard to the Established church,
their own members and colleagues, and outside ministers with whom they
disagreed, the Haldanes regularly lacked grace.
The SPGH's itinerant work offended the Kirk by its very nature: as
a new evangelistic movement, it overturned norms, exposed the church's
missional deficit, and attracted political suspicion. James added insult to injury by his early
itinerant practice of attending the morning service at the Kirk and critiquing
the sermon at the SPGH meeting in the afternoon. No wonder the Established church felt his aim
was to alienate members from their ministers.[21] Not only Establishment outsiders but
Haldanite followers suffered from their leaders' lack of charity. Lovegrove comments on the Haldanes' lack of
accommodation to parishioners and colleagues: 'In their quest for purity of
order the innovators showed that they were prepared to jettison any realistic
chance of harmony for the sake of adherence to the letter of Scripture.'[22] Sadly, when the movement split, rather
than seizing the opportunity to bless seceding fellowships, Robert called in
their building debts and closed the Glasgow seminary. In fact, James and particularly Robert fell
out with many people in their lifetimes.
Robert's authoritarian personality, his financial embeddedness and
control in many of the tabernacles, and his tendency towards personal criticism
in controversies made him a difficult person for many to work with.[23]
While today's innovative leaders may unavoidably cause offence,
they do not need to be offensive. 1
Corinthians 13 must shape our understanding of faithfulness and success:
without love, our work is nothing.
Leaders must undergird every activity with godly character and
generosity of spirit. The maxim, 'In
essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity',
should inform our responses to controversy.
Leaders must take steps to ensure than money and power are not centred
on an individual but stewarded by shared leadership, and that they are utilized
not for control or personal agenda but for the display and advance of the
gospel. They will know we are Christians
by our love (John 13:35).
Robert and James Haldane were used by God to bring revival and a
fresh expression of the church to Scotland which endures to this day. They overcame incredible opposition and broke
new ground nationwide. Their courage, innovation
and sacrifice provide a model and inspiration to spearhead fresh gospel work
today. Yet the Haldanes and the movement
they founded foundered in ways that should give us sober pause. Their failures warn us of potential pitfalls
and serve as a mirror in which to evaluate our own ministries. Their goal to please Jesus alone and to bring
people to him is their greatest legacy and one to which leaders of today should
aspire.
[1]
Alexander Haldane, The Lives of Robert and James Haldane, 154
[2]
Ibid, 190
[3]
John MacIntosh, Church and Theology in Enlightenment Scotland,
209
[4] Edward Irving, Thomas Erskine, Thomas Chalmers, and Ralph Wardlaw
were among those he debated in print.
See D. W. Lovegrove, 'Haldane, James Alexander', in Nigel M.de S. Cameron, ed., Dictionary of Scottish Church History & Theology,
385
[5] As described by a unnamed newspaper referred
to in A. Haldane, 693
[6]
Kenneth Brownell, "Robert and James Haldane and the Quest for
Evangelical Union", 8-9
[7] Ian Shaw, Churches, Revolutions, and
Empires: 1789-1914, 80
[8]
According to John Macleod, cited on book jacket of A. Haldane, op.
cit.
[9]
The Evidence and Authority of Divine Revelation (1816), The
Authenticity and Inspiration of the Holy Scriptures Considered (1827) and Exposition
of the Epistle to the Romans (3 vols, 1836-39).
[10]
A. Haldane, 352; Percival Waugh,
"The Converging Streams" in Geo. Yuille, ed., History of the
Baptists in Scotland, 59
[11] D. E. Meek and D. B. Murray, "The Early
Nineteenth Century" in D. W.
Bebbington, ed., The Baptists in Scotland, 32
[12] Deryck W. Lovegrove,
"Unity and
Separation: Contrasting Elements in the Thought and Practice of Robert and James Alexander Haldane" in Michael W. Casey and
Douglas A. Foster, eds., The Stone-Campbell Movement: An International
Religious Tradition, 523
[13]
Ibid, 537
[14]
A. Haldane, 358
[15]
Brownell, 10-11
[16]
Ibid, 12
[17]
Cited in A. Haldane, 362-3
[18]
D. W. Lovegrove, "Haldane, Robert" in Nigel M.de S. Cameron, ed., Dictionary of Scottish Church History & Theology, 386
[19]
Lovegrove, "Haldane, James Alexander" in Cameron, p. 385
[20]
Lovegrove in Casey and Foster, 522
[21]
Ibid, 523. His stark critique of the very concept of a
State church in 1820 is no less condemning, see James Haldane, Two Letters
to the Rev. Dr Chalmers, on his proposal for increasing the number of churches
in Glasgow (1820).
[22] Lovegrove cited in Brownell, 13
[23] Brownell, 14
