One of my favorite things about Book Study is the opportunity to read literature I likely wouldn’t have picked up on my own, and being totally blessed by it. Unity and Diversity: The Founders of the Free Church of Scotland by Sandy Finlayson is one such book.

This easy-read collection of ten biographical sketches gives an overview of the life and ministry of ten men the Lord used to strengthen His Church, and advance the Gospel in the late 19th century. They include: Thomas Chalmers, Robert Candlish, William Cunningham, Hugh Miller, Thomas Guthrie, James Begg, Andrew Bonar, John Duncan, Alexander Duff, and John Kennedy.

One of the things I appreciated most about this book is how the author dealt honestly with the characters of these men – not painting them in such a way as to be idolized, but conceding when they were wrong, and emphasizing instead the unity in their diversity, particularly, their insistence on God’s Word as the final authority in all things.

Awkward mannerisms, personal pride, strained relationships, early deaths of spouses and children, even depression leading to suicide – these church leaders were not immune to the same things the devil seeks to destroy the Church with today.

It is a reminder, as Psalm 146:3 says, to “put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help,” but like these men, to have the God of Jacob for our help, and our hope in the Lord God “…which keepeth truth forever.” (v. 6)

Another important application the author draws from Free Church history is that “a church that puts a priority on pragmatics rather than principle has lost its way and ultimately will become irrelevant.” (pg. 291)

“For them that honor me, I will honor,” (1 Samuel 2:30) is the confidence and comfort of principled undershepherds who seek to proclaim this truth to a lost and dying world:

“Jesus Christ died, the just for the unjust to bring us unto God. This is a truth, which, when all the world shall receive it, all the world will be renovated… It is this doctrine, which is the lone instrument of God for the transformation of our species.” (Thomas Chalmers)

I’d highly recommend Unity and Diversity: The Founders of the Free Church of Scotland by Sandy Finlayson to anyone interested in 19th Century Church History. (Highschool age and above.)

With the anniversary of the Protestant Reformation happening at the end of this month, now would be an excellent time to read about these more modern reformers, and take encouragement from the way the Lord continues to preserve His Church throughout all generations, often using weak and foolish vessels to accomplish His purposes.