For the 19th-century Church of Ireland minister, see Robert James M'Ghee

Robert James M'Ghee

Robert James M'Ghee was a Church of Ireland clergyman and anti-Catholic polemicist. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin.In the 1830s he mounted an extensive campaign of public speeches denouncing the Catholic Church in Ireland's perceived attempt to promote the work of Belgian theologian...

.

Robert McGhee was a prominent Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

 minister who championed the evangelical

Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...

 movement in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 throughout the second half of the 20th century. He was a signatory of the Manila Manifesto

Second International Congress on World Evangelization

The Second International Congress on World Evangelization, often called "Lausanne II" or "Lausanne '89" was held in Manila.The conference is noted for producing the Manila Manifesto, a renewed and expanded commitment to the Lausanne Covenant, an influential document in modern Evangelical...

 and was nominated for the position of Moderator

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

The Moderator of the General Assembly of Church of Scotland is a Minister, Elder or Deacon of the Church of Scotland chosen to "moderate" the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every May....

 several times. He was head of the Church's Board of Social Responsibility (one of the Church's six councils, and the largest voluntary provider of social care in Scotland) during the 1980s.

Background and education

McGhee was born in Port Glasgow

Port Glasgow

Port Glasgow is the second largest town in the Inverclyde council area of Scotland. The population according to the 1991 census for Port Glasgow was 19426 persons and in the 2001 census was 16617 persons...

, Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...

, on 29 July 1929, the first son of Robert McGhee (who had set up various missions and Sunday Schools in some of Glasgow's most deprived areas) and Catherine Hawthorn Ferguson. He served two years in the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 before training as an accountant

Accountant

An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...

. In 1954 he went up to Glasgow University to study Divinity

Divinity

Divinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...

 and took his BD

Bachelor of Divinity

In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies....

 from Trinity College, Glasgow

Trinity College, Glasgow

Trinity College, Glasgow, Scotland, is the Church of Scotland's College at the University of Glasgow. It provides special supervision of candidates for the ministry through a Principal and a College Council...

. Here he was influenced by William Barclay

William Barclay (theologian)

William Barclay was an author, radio and television presenter, Church of Scotland minister, and Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism at the University of Glasgow.-Life:...

 and was a contemporary of Revd Douglas Alexander, father of Cabinet minister Douglas Alexander

Douglas Alexander

Douglas Garven Alexander is a British Labour Party politician, who is currently the Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in the shadow cabinet of Ed Miliband. He has held cabinet posts under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, including Secretary of State for Scotland and...

 and Leader of the Scottish Labour Party Wendy Alexander

Wendy Alexander

Wendy Alexander is a Scottish politician and the former Member of the Scottish Parliament for Paisley North. She held various Scottish Government cabinet posts and was the leader of the Labour Party group in the Scottish Parliament from 2007-2008...

.

Ministry

He was ordained in Port Glasgow and inducted to Pultneytown St. Andrew’s Church

Pulteneytown Parish Church, Wick

Pulteneytown Parish Church is located in Argyle Square, Pulteneytown, Wick, Caithness, Scotland. It is a congregation in the Church of Scotland....

 in Wick

Wick, Highland

Wick is an estuary town and a royal burgh in the north of the Highland council area of Scotland. Historically, it is one of two burghs within the county of Caithness, of which Wick was the county town. The town straddles the River Wick and extends along both sides of Wick Bay...

, Caithness

Caithness

Caithness is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area of Scotland. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is...

 in 1959 as 9th Minister of Wick. After a successful merge with another local church he was minister of Wick St. Andrew’s and Thrumster Church from 1961-66. From 1966-72 he was 1st Minister of Mayfield and Easthouses Church in Dalkeith

Dalkeith

Dalkeith is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the River North Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540...

 outside Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, before moving finally to Falkirk

Falkirk

Falkirk is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies in the Forth Valley, almost midway between the two most populous cities of Scotland; north-west of Edinburgh and north-east of Glasgow....

, as 8th Minister of St. Andrew's West

St. Andrew's West

St. Andrew's West Parish Church is the largest church in Falkirk, Scotland, founded in 1843 and situated in the town centre on Upper Newmarket Street and known for its conservative evangelical preaching, aligning itself with the Forward Together group and the Evangelical Alliance...

 Parish Church. During his time in Falkirk he was appointed President of the Scottish Evangelistic Council (1982–85), Convener of Community Care (1977–85) and then Convener of the Board of Social Responsibility of the Church of Scotland (1985–89). As Convener he visited Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

 as part of the International Christian Federation Conference for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Addiction, and also toured the Holy Land. As Convener he was responsible for the reports presented to Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...

 after her notorious Sermon on the Mound

Sermon on the Mound

The Sermon on the Mound is the name given by the Scottish press to an address made by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland on 21 May 1988...

 in 1988, which were interpreted as a rebuke to her speech.

He also served as Chairman of the Lord’s Day Observance Society of Scotland

Lord's Day Observance Society

Day One Christian Ministries is a Christian organisation based in the United Kingdom that lobbies for no work on Sunday, the day that many Christians celebrate as the Sabbath, a day of rest — a position based on the fourth of the Ten Commandments.Originally founded in 1831 as the Lord's Day...

 (1970–74) and Moderator of the Presbyteries of Caithness (1964–65), Falkirk (1983-83) and the Synod of Forth (1985–86). In 1991 he was appointed Chairman of the Glasgow Council for Billy Graham’s

Billy Graham

William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr. is an American evangelical Christian evangelist. As of April 25, 2010, when he met with Barack Obama, Graham has spent personal time with twelve United States Presidents dating back to Harry S. Truman, and is number seven on Gallup's list of admired people for...

 Scottish crusade.

Dr. McGhee made various television and radio appearances, often presenting "Late Call

Late Call (TV programme)

Late Call was Scottish Television's version of "The Epilogue", presenting five minutes of religious thought late at night.It was parodied by Rikki Fulton in the comedy show Scotch and Wry where it was named "Last Call". His character, "Reverend I.M...

" on ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

, and was one of the most frequent speakers at the General Assemblies

General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body[1] An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland, A Gordon McGillivray, 2nd Edition .-Church courts:As a Presbyterian church,...

, taking a conservative

Conservative Christianity

Conservative Christianity is a term applied to a number of groups or movements seen as giving priority to traditional Christian beliefs and practices...

, evangelical

Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...

 stance on theological issues. He was also on the Editorial Board for CH4 (the fourth Edition of the Church Hymnary

Hymnbooks of the Church of Scotland

Decisions concerning the conduct of public worship in the Church of Scotland are entirely at the discretion of the parish minister. As a result, a wide variety of musical resources are used...

). He was awarded an honorary

Honorary degree

An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...

 Doctorate of Divinity. He was the nomination of the Church's powerful evangelical wing for the position of Moderator

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

The Moderator of the General Assembly of Church of Scotland is a Minister, Elder or Deacon of the Church of Scotland chosen to "moderate" the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every May....

 on several occasions, but was unsuccessful.

Dr. McGhee died on 18 March 1996 in Stirlingshire

Stirlingshire

Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling is a registration county of Scotland, based around Stirling, the former county town. It borders Perthshire to the north, Clackmannanshire and West Lothian to the east, Lanarkshire to the south, and Dunbartonshire to the south-west.Until 1975 it was a county...

, of cancer. At his funeral the church was overflowing with over 1500 mourners, and he was buried in Falkirk Cemetery. The Very Revd Sandy McDonald

Alexander McDonald (Moderator)

Dr. Alexander "Sandy" McDonald is a retired minister of the Church of Scotland.Dr. McDonald was born in Bishopbriggs, Scotland in 1937, the son of Jessie Helen Low and Alexander M. McDonald. He worked in the timber industry in the 1950s, prior to National Service in the Royal Air Force...

 (father of Doctor Who

Doctor Who

Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

 actor David Tennant

David Tennant

David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...

) preached at his funeral. Dr. McGhee's family donated hundreds of theological books which were part of his private collection to the University of Glasgow. A stained glass window of St. John

John the Evangelist

Saint John the Evangelist is the conventional name for the author of the Gospel of John...

 was erected in his memory in St. Andrew’s West Church, and a new residential street built in 2005 in central Falkirk, McGhee Place, was named after him.

See also

• General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
  General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
  The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body[1] An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland, A Gordon McGillivray, 2nd Edition .-Church courts:As a Presbyterian church,...
  
  
• McGhee Family