When I speak of my three-month journey to Scotland, I sometimes catch my­­self referring to the trip as “going home.” Although I had never been there previously, a semester off from Geneva College and in the Covenanter Theological Institute (CTI) in Airdrie was very much like going home.

Both my familial and ecclesiastical roots sink deep into the Scottish soil. However, Andrew Quigley, pastor at Airdrie RPC and head of CTI, intended far more for me than just a three-month renewal of my Scottish roots. Andrew designed the program to teach young men and women how to be active in the local church while maintaining an eternal perspective on the mission of the Church. For students at Geneva College, the semester at CTI seamlessly transfers credits and funds between the two institutions. This mutual relationship between Geneva and CTI provides a rather simple route to a life-changing experience.

Within the Reformed Presbyterian Church there is an aura that often surrounds the tales of the Covenanters. It is the sense of awe and respect that comes from considering the men or women who have loved a godly cause so greatly that life itself is forfeited willingly. Many Scottish Covenanters are the martyrs of the Reformed Presbyterian faith; their blood is the seed of our church (Tertullian).

Visiting that land marked by a history that has tasted the graciousness of God, I learned to see the kingdom of Christ and live for the kingdom. In the land of the Covenanters, I learned that it is the daily living for Christ and His kingdom that makes the difference. The Scottish Covenanters of old were not primarily concerned with dying for Christ, although many of them quit their lives in such a way. They were primarily concerned to live—every moment of every day—for Christ and His kingdom.

An eternal perspective such as that has long dwindled in Scotland. The passion and the flame have long since diminished into smoldering embers, at best. The mighty sword of the Spirit that once cut through the heart of Scotsmen is rusting in its scabbard as most of Scotland walks in the darkness of its absence.

Long ago, a group of professors, ministers, and bishops from Glasgow were led by Robert Leighton into the heart of southwest Scotland to reason with the people there. The poor farmers and fishermen of that area were suffering heavy persecution for refusing to accept Charles II’s rule over the Kirk. As the group of scholars returned, they reported their findings:

The people of the country came to hear us, though not in great crowds. We were indeed amazed to see a poor commonality so capable to argue on points of government and on bonds to be set to the power of princes in matters of religion; upon all these topics they had texts of Scripture to hand and were ready with their answers to anything that was said to them. (The Journal of Gilbert Burnet, Professor of Theology, Glasgow University)

So great was the knowledge of the Scriptures then; yet, in that same land today, few know more than the name of Jesus, and still fewer walk in a loving appreciation of that name. God, however, has a heart for Scotland. His kingdom is there, His Son’s bride is there; He will not forsake her. There is still life in the Church there and still some who long to see the kingdom flourish.

The Covenanter Theological Institute is founded on that assurance. In Airdrie, the Covenanter faith is not dead orthodoxy, but an essential element in the restoration of the creation. The CTI program was designed to equip its students for every good work, particularly those works that will build the kingdom of God. CTI is intended to prepare men for a life of ministry. That ministry is understood not as a 9-to-5, 5-day-per-week task, but a 24/7 devotion of one’s entire life to the nurturing of those in the faith and reaching of those outside the faith.

The program begins and ends with the worship of God. Each day begins with “family” worship, and each Lord’s Day is filled with worship. One who tastes the joy of the Lord, which is found and augmented most effectively in the corporate worship of Christ, will find it difficult to contain the expression of that joy.

Moreover, the program immerses its students in the life of the church. It must be realized that the daily grime of bruised knuckles and dirty fingernails, which inevitably comes with a life of ministry, cannot be taught in a classroom. The ability and wisdom to speak, in words and actions, as well as with silence, is not found in instruction or discussions, but only in experiencing the body of Christ as an organic reality. Therefore, students are constantly surrounded by the local church and its day-to-day activities.

An essential part of the local church’s life is the children. In CTI we were challenged with the task of helping lead a youth group of mostly unchurched children. These children, in so many ways, became my favorite part of CTI. Every Friday night, the fellowship hall would instantaneously erupt in noise and activity. Football (soccer to us Americans), snacks, and stories from the book of Luke filled the night, leaving all the leaders physically and often emotionally drained. The richness of the experience, however, was the ability to measure the grace of God in the changes of attitudes and behaviors. As I would present each story, I suffered through the constant interruptions. We had to plan only a 5–8 minute talk because that would inevitably require 10–15 minutes. For one discussion, however, when I presented the truth of their sin and told them that they had angered God and could in no way make Him happy, the room was silent except for one boy who whispered, “I cannae (cannot)?”

When we departed from the club our last Friday, we left a group saturated with our prayers and tears. We left as changed as they were. I do not know where those children are now, but I do know that I witnessed, with my own eyes, children being transformed. They hungered for the Bible and requested to take the Scriptures home. They hungered to learn more of Christ and began asking questions after the story. Significantly, the hunger they exemplified caused them to change the way they treated each other and the leaders, leaving us knowing we had taken part in the building of the kingdom.

Living for the kingdom is the purpose for which we were created, the purpose for which we were redeemed. For me, the CTI program was the catalyst to developing the eternal vision that demands the complete subjection of my whole being to the work of the kingdom of God. John Calvin once wrote, “Thus, each individual, by flattering himself, bears a kind of kingdom in his breast” (Institutes, III.VII.4). One of the fundamental elements of the Christian life, therefore, is the denial of that self-centered kingdom and the commitment to building Christ’s kingdom.

The difficulty is that I have so often treated my church as if it were my kingdom rather than Christ’s. That is to say, I give my resources to the church as if they were my resources and as if the church were part of my kingdom. CTI, however, has made it clear to me that the demand to build the kingdom of God requires me, not only my time and money. Material resources could never have reached the hearts of those children the way we did. I need to give of myself; and such a statement is not a metaphysical contemplation. I need to deny my kingdom and live, every moment of every day, for Christ’s kingdom.

The activities of which I speak are not foreign to anyone within the Church. Nearly all understand that the two primary methods of advancing the glory of our King and the dominion of His rule are discipleship and evangelism. First, the kingdom thrives and flourishes by increasing the citizenship of the kingdom, and second by increasing the degree to which Christ rules and exercises supremacy over each individual heart. The first effort, evangelism, brings the hearts and minds of men into subjection to the King, and the latter augments the love and service of those men for their King. The objective reality of these two is that evangelism and discipleship are not addendums to one’s Christian life, nor are they boxes on a checklist of righteousness, but rather they are the fundamental elements of a Christian’s daily life. The kingdom advances through evangelism and discipleship, and the advancement of the kingdom is to be the primary focus of the Christian’s attention. It is the primary focus of the Covenanter Theological Institute as it follows in the footsteps of the Covenanters.

The great joy of CTI is the ability to witness and take part in the building of Zion. There is the opportunity to learn how to stand in the gap and build the wall of God’s city, to lay the next stone for the kingdom as the Covenanters did, with their very lives.

“Encompass Zion, count her towers, and mark her bulwarks well. Consider ye her palaces. To sons her story tell. Because this God will be our God through all eternity; yes, even on through death itself our constant guide is He.”

—Psalm 48:12-14

(The Book of Psalms for Singing)