Lynne, tell us a little about yourself and your background.
Home for me is Glasgow, although I have lived and worked in cities across the UK. I first made a commitment to follow Jesus through a Scripture Union group run in my school. I was 13 at the time, and have been trying, by God’s grace, to faithfully walk out that commitment ever since. Having moved quite a lot in life; I’ve been a Presbyterian, Anglican, Baptist and Pentecostal! I’m now a member of Hope Church, which is independent. That church background certainly helps me appreciate lots of different perspectives about faith.
Over the years, I’ve been involved in church in several ways, from leading small groups to singing in worship teams. I also spent a few years on the leadership team of what will always feel like my ​‘home home’ church, Elim Christian Fellowship in Paisley.
In terms of work, I spent the first part of my career working in the head office of Royal Mail, having joined as a graduate trainee. It felt like a calling and a mission field for me, and I spent many years working and praying with other believers for our colleagues to come to know Jesus. Prior to my role at the Evangelical Alliance, I worked at Tearfund for 15 years in several different roles.
Outside of work, I am on the board of 24 – 7 Prayer in Scotland and serve on the Transforming Scotland committee as part of the Maclellan Foundation Scotland.
You have been working at Tearfund for the last 15 years, what were some of the things you were involved in during your time there and what are some of the things you learnt?
My first 10 years there were as the head of Tearfund in Scotland. My role was to lead the team to engage supporters in praying, giving and taking action to help tackle the root causes of poverty through the church. I had the privilege of taking several groups of leaders and donors from across Scotland to experience this first hand, and have been forever changed by seeing the power of local churches working together to see their communities transformed.
For the last five years I have been the head of prayer at Tearfund. This has involved shaping our spiritual rhythms and practices as an organisation and engaging more supporters to be praying for Tearfund’s work. The highlight of this role has been exploring the richness of bringing people together for prayer and worship from so many different cultures and church backgrounds.
As the new head of the Evangelical Alliance in Scotland, what most excites you about the missional opportunities across that nation?
I’ve been inspired for years by the example of Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians. In the early 18th century, Zinzendorf offered refuge on his estate in Germany to people who were fleeing from parts of what is now the Czech Republic because they were being persecuted for their faith. A new village called Hernutt was formed, but there was a lot of division between the groups of Christians who had come from several different church traditions. Zinzendorf was pained by this and laboured for unity based on the cross of Christ. As the believers set aside their differences and committed to love one another, God fulfilled His promise of Psalm 133 and, at a church communion service, blessed them with an outpouring of His Spirit. Prayer watches were set up to maintain the sense of God’s tangible presence among them, and they continued to pray around the clock for 100 years. A few years into this prayer watch, they started to send passionate missionaries to different parts of the world to preach the good news of Jesus. Some even sold themselves into slavery in order to reach the slave communities.
I hear a lot of people using the example of the Moravians, typically highlighting their 100 years of 24-hour prayer, or their sacrificial missionary endeavours. I don’t hear many people talking about the role that unity played in this; a unity that led to the empowering presence of the Spirit, that led to persevering prayer, that led to gospel being shared among the nations. That’s a vision for unity across the church that I can get behind!
More than a decade ago, I stood on the steps of the church in Herrnhut where that communion service was held and the Spirit moved in power, and prayed for God to do it in Scotland. I want the whole thing for us; the unity, the presence of God, the persevering prayer and the gospel being preached in power. That’s what excites me!
What are you looking forward to getting stuck into as you start your new role at the Evangelical Alliance as head of Scotland?
I have this recurring image in my mind as I step into this role. I’m in a small sailing boat travelling at speed across the water with a strong tail wind. The sense I have from God is that my job is to discern where the wind is blowing and steer in that direction. And I say that as someone who is, by nature, a compulsive planner. So what I am looking forward to is doing a lot of listening; to the staff team, to members, to leaders across the nation, to the broader church, and most importantly, to the voice of God. Then to take all that listening and learning and work as a team to see how we think God is leading us to invest our time and energy in the coming years.
How can our members support the work of the Evangelical Alliance across Scotland and what are some of your prayer points for that nation and leading the team there?
Top of my list in terms of prayer is for that listening and discernment process. Please pray for God to give us His vision and heart for the nation, and for wisdom to see how the Evangelical Alliance can best serve that vision in the coming season. My top prayer for the nation is the cry of the Moravians as they set out on their missional journeys, many never to return; that the Lamb would receive the reward of His suffering in Scotland.
