John McMillan was the first Reformed Presbyterian minister. Born in 1669 and ordained in the Church of Scotland in 1701, he quickly began calling for the restoration of the Solemn League and Covenant, which the church had rejected in the 1680s. Because he refused to submit to his presbytery, he was deposed in 1703 for his intransigence and rebellion, but he continued preaching as before. Because he had rejected the church, he believed that its discipline was illegitimate.

McMillan’s positions were similar to the remaining “Covenanters,” so he joined them in 1706. Since 1689, they had had no ministers, but finally they could have full worship services. However, because they were scattered throughout southern Scotland, McMillan had to travel ceaselessly to serve his flock. Only one other man joined him, John McNeil, who had been licensed by the church but never ordained. Together, they trained ruling elders and prospective future ministers; but, without another minister, McMillan could not form a presbytery or ordain anyone to the ministry. Once McNeil died in 1732, McMillan was on his own.

In 1743, an Associate Presbyterian minister, Thomas Nairn, joined the Covenanters. Together, he and McMillan created the Reformed Presbytery and quickly began ordaining their trainees. Finally the Reformed Presbyterian Church was established, but McMillan continued his labors until his death in 1753.

McMillan’s legacy was that of transforming a disordered lay religious movement into a regular church. He was publicly thought of as the movement’s leading light, even far away and long after his death. The early RP settlement at Ryegate, Vt., was called “McMillanite” in the 19th Century.

At this writing, Martin Williams is the newest Reformed Presbyterian minister, having been received by the Australian presbytery at its meeting on May 11. He is a professor at the Reformed Theological College (RTC) in Geelong, teaching New Testament and Greek. Dr. Williams and his wife, Joy, are members of the Geelong congregation.

Dr. Williams previously served as a Presbyterian missionary in the Republic of Cameroon, and he has been a part of the Reformed Churches of New Zealand (RCNZ). When he moved to Australia to teach at the RTC, he joined the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia (CRCA). However, the CRCA is more “contemporary” in its worship style than the RCNZ, and the Williamses eventually began worshiping with the Geelong congregation. Earlier this year, they became members at Geelong, and he successfully applied to join the Reformed Presbytery.