Baptist Union of Scotland

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The Baptist Union of Scotland is the denomination of Baptist churches in Scotland.

Baptists first arrived in Scotland with the armies of English republican Oliver Cromwell in the 1650s, but they did not survive for long, partly because of their association with Cromwell (who was generally not welcomed in Scotland), but more especially as a result of strident and often violent opposition instigated and inspired by the Church of Scotland and the Parliament of Scotland which it controlled. Baptists later emerged in the 18th century - in 1750 at Keiss, where the leader was William Sinclair, and then in Edinburgh in 1765 under the leadership of Robert Carmichael and Archibald McLean. This movement came to be known as the Scotch Baptists, and like other Scottish Protestant Christians of the time they were very conservative and adopted the opinions of a particularly strict form of Calvinism. Somewhat later, a different form of Baptist witness emerged, this time influenced by the Haldane brothers, James Haldane and Robert Haldane who arrived in Scotland in 1808. This group came to be known as English Baptists, and were distinguished from the Scotch Baptists by their more moderate and less Calvinistic attitudes. After overcoming initial hostilities, these groups were able to unite in 1869.

The Baptist Union of Scotland was founded in 1869 with 51 churches in its membership, which represented almost 4000 members. There are currently 172 churches in the Union, with around 14,000 members. The Baptist Union of Scotland is headed by an executive core team comprising Revs Bill Slack, Andrew Rollinson, and Andrew Scarcliffe, together with Messrs Norman McNeish and Gary Smith, and Dr Kenneth Stewart. Rev John Greenshields is the only other full-time officer. These leaders are responsible for the development of strategic initiatives and oversee the work of the Ministry and Mission Resource teams, as well as providing administrative support to local churches. The Union's main function is to service the churches, and to examine and accredit its own ministers. However, not every church that adopts the label 'Baptist' is part of the Baptist Union of Scotland.

Unlike some other denominations the Baptist Union has no control over the beliefs of a local congregation, membership requires only agreement to a a very basic summary of their faith. Baptists lay stress on the responsibility of each local church to govern its own life and affairs. and the activities / beliefs of one church can be very different to another. This can lead to confusion and embarrassment for the Union, as in the case of Mike McCurry (referee), minister at Mosspark Baptist Church in Glasgow, whose extramarital sexual affair brought the church into disrepute, but because the local church had no problems with it, the Union was unable to exercise any disciplinary role over the matter - something that seemed extraordinary to observers in the wider public.