A Little Something from Liam Garvie

With only eight days to the beginning of Resolve07 we are pleased to be able to introduce you further to Liam Garvie. He's answered some questions for us:

Describe the ministry context you find yourself in?
First of all, I have to say that I am humbled that Jesus should call me to be an Undershepherd in any church of which he is the head, but by his grace and by his energy I labour in the Word as Pastor of St Andrews Baptist Church, in Fife. This is my first pastorate and I am loving it!

St Andrews is a pretty amazing place made of people from all walks of life. There is, of course, a core of folks who have made St Andrews their home and SABC their church, but there is also a very transient element to the population and our congregation where people come to study or work for 3-5 years and often move on. This is viewed by many as negative aspect to the work of growing the church in St Andrews, but I love it because, the way I see it, I as a pastor and we as a church have an incredible opportunity to fill these folks with the glories of the Gospel, to equip them with his Word and then send them off to minister wherever God takes them.

What are your great passions in ministry?
I am passionate about many things in ministry but let me highlight a couple of things. First of all, I am passionate about the Gospel. I am still overwhelmed at the truth of Jesus’ coming, living, dying and rising in order to bring forgiveness for sin, justification through faith in Jesus, the removal of God’s wrath, and amazingly to apportion the righteousness of Jesus to me! That is nothing short of awesome for me! As one who has been loved much and forgiven much by God, this is my Gospel and this is what I proclaim. I try to do that by preaching this Gospel from the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 speaks of this Gospel and all that was fulfilled ‘according to the Scriptures’. That, for me, is a commendation from the Lord that the Bible is true, inerrant, right, and it is also a call to faithfully preach the Word that reveals Jesus.

What are the greatest needs of the local church?
Three things have been weighing heavily on my heart in my first year or so of ministry. Firstly, we need a return to biblical, expository preaching. Preaching in many places in the UK has become less about the Bible and more about stories and illustrations. It’s less about what God has to say and more about what the preacher wants to say! Big mistake! Honestly, the Church will shrivel up like an unwatered plant if we don’t get the living and active Word. So many people who sit in our congregations think they’re being fed well. Some are, but many are getting what I call slim-fast preaching instead of full-blown Christmas dinner preaching! Slim-fast bloats you up and make’s you think you’re full when you’re not. But Christmas dinner fattens you with the goodness of proper meat!

Secondly, there is a desperate need for a return to prayer, both individually and corporately. We hear people express shock that there is no longer any prayer in schools. Of course there isn't! If there's no prayer in most churches nowadays, why would there be prayer in schools? We need a return to a biblical understanding of prayer, where we look upon Jesus in particular realising that prayer was a habit for him, and he was the Son of God!!! If the habit of prayer was an important and constant feature of the life of Jesus, should it not become our habit too?

Thirdly (and briefly), we need a biblical understanding of the local church and the way in which we display God’s glory (I sound like a disciple of Mark Dever, I know), but I believe he’s right.

What areas do you see most often neglected in the church today?
I mentioned three areas in answering the previous question, but perhaps I could add that I detect a problematic neglect of any careful and intentional attempt to live as the people of God, a people who by our speech, life, love, faith and purity, provide a living parable of the Gospel. In many ways we fail to recognise that it’s not our jobs or our self-security that is most important in life. Rather it is our commitment to pursuing godliness for the glory of God.

Why does doctrine matter?
I think doctrine (the teaching of the church) matters first and foremost because it is essential for preserving the Gospel and teaching the Gospel. I would add to that the need for Scriptural doctrine, which I would differentiate from the doctrine of some church bodies in which their teaching is based on man-made tradition or indeed, misapplied Scripture. Studying Nehemiah recently has particularly reasserted to me the need to hold to the doctrine. I came to this conclusion after looking at the state of Jerusalem, walls tumbled down, gates burnt up, God’s people vulnerable and exposed. Nehemiah confesses that this is due to his people’s diversion from God’s instruction. Look what happened… devastation, not only of Jerusalem, but of the reputation of God. I believe Jerusalem then is a parable of the church in the UK today, the protective walls of the sufficiency of scripture, the centrality of the Gospel, expository preaching, prayer, have been poorly protected. When we drop our guard and fail to protect the most important doctrinal foundations of the faith, enemies infiltrate, and the end result is the same as Jerusalem’s… devastation, where people stand around the walls and laugh at God rather than marvel at the display of his glory. Thankfully, God demonstrates his grace by hearing Nehemiah’s prayer of repentance, which gives us hope that the rebuilding of the church can happen when his people set about holding to the teaching of his Word. Which is why I am humbled to be a part of Resolve07 which for me is living out this desire to ‘bring out the book’ (Neh 8:1) and fortify the walls of doctrine.

Do you, and if so why do you, think doctrine is dropping off the map of the church presently?
You’ll realise from reading the last question that to the large extent, I believe it is. Why is that happening? In my humble opinion, I believe it is because, in many areas, churches are looking for ways in which to grind down the message of Jesus in order to make it easier for people to swallow. Many seek to be culturally relevant (which is fine), but do so to the detriment of the Gospel and doctrine, some of which is left by the wayside. Yes the form of what we proclaim can change to some extent, but the content must always remain the same as it is in the Scriptures.

As a young pastor what are your ambitions for the church in Scotland?
Great question… My longing for the church in Scotland would never be expressed by anything that I write here. If only you could sense the wrenching of my heart as I contemplated this question. I long to see it plant itself again by streams of living water and flourish, displaying God’s glory to the nations.