Thoughts on Alexander Henderson

Today the weather in Scotland is not so conducive to getting out and about, as there is a wet snow falling here in Dundee. It is not sticking, and we have the promise of better weather after today, so today I am taking it easy, and decided that I would do some posting on one of my favorite figures from Scottish church history, the Rev. Alexander Henderson (1583-1646). Henderson, who is largely forgotten in Scotland now, was probably the most significant Scottish Reformer after John Knox. Born in the region of Fife, Henderson was born into the Church of Scotland in a time when there were tensions between the Church of Scotland and King James VI (who would later become King James I of England, thus uniting the thrones of the two kingdoms of Scotland and England. James the VI and I, as he is often called, is the same King James who ordered a translation of the Bible, the KJV).

James wanted to impose bishops on the Church of Scotland, and did so, as he wanted to control the church, much in the way that the Kings and Queens of England were able to do to. This created a lot of tensions within the Church of Scotland, as it was Presbyterian in its government. So in 1612, as a young man, Alexander Henderson became the minister of the church in the town of Leuchars and was placed there by the Archbishop of St. Andrews. However, the people of Leuchars did not want Henderson to be their pastor, because they had no say in his appointment (a violation of Presbyterian principles). Thus, on the day he was to be installed, Henderson had to enter the church through a window, as the doors had been locked to him! Henderson became pastor, and slowly began to win the hearts of the people of Leuchars. 

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(The pictures above are from the church in Leuchars where Henderson was pastor. His name is fourth on the board of pastors. The church building has had a lot of changes made to it over the centuries, so only the front portion of the church is a part of the building as it stood in the 17th century, and there was not tower at that time).

Some time after Henderson settled in as pastor at Leuchars, he got word that the great preacher Rev. Robert Bruce, of Edinburgh, would be preaching at a nearby parish, in Forgan, just a few miles from Leuchars. Henderson wanted to hear Bruce, but there was a problem. Bruce was a proponent of the Presbyterian form of church order, and openly opposed the role of bishops (and the king, for that matter) intruded on the church. Henderson was at that time satisfied with having bishops. But Henderson went to hear Bruce anyway, slipping into the back of the church so that he would not be seen. (The ruins of that church, where Henderson heard Bruce, are pictured below.)

When Bruce entered the pulpit to preach, he read from John 10: "Verily, verily I say unto you, He that entereth not in by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up another way, he is a thief and a robber. But he that goeth in by the door, is the shepherd of the sheep." Given how Henderson had entered into the church in Leuchars (not by the door, but by "another way"), he was convicted.  After further study, he changed his position in the struggle, and became a proponent of a Presbyterian order for a church over which Christ alone was King, and not the king of the nation. 

Soon, Henderson was one of the leaders and spokesman for the Presbyterian side. In time, he would be called to St. Giles Church in Edinburgh, where he would lead in the "Covenanter" cause. In the year 1638, a "National Covenant" was issued in Scotland, vowing that Christ alone was the Head and King of the church. Henderson was one of the drafters of this document. The circumstances leading to this document (the attempt of King Charles I-the son of James-to further try to make himself the head of the church) led to open warfare between the King and Scotland, which in turn led to the English Civil War. 

Henderson was one of the four Scottish representatives who went to the Westminster Assembly, from which came the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Shorter and Larger Catechisms (which are still maintained by Presbyterians around the world as our doctrinal standards, under the authority of Scripture).  [Below from left to right: plaque in St. Giles Cathedral, in memory of Henderson's ministry; the copy of the National Covenant which Henderson signed; St. Giles Cathedral from the outside.]

Henderson died in August of 1646 from "Marsh Fever," or what we would call malaria. Malaria was a real problem even in northern Europe and Britain in past times. 

Henderson was a brilliant theologian and churchman, committed to the Reformed faith. He was capable of changing his mind when confronted with the truth.  All Presbyterianism owes a debt to Henderson for his willingness to take a stand and put everything on the line. 

Below left to right: Henderson's academic gown, his grave at Greyfriars Kerkyard in Edinburgh, and a plaque about him.