John W. Kennedy (15 August 1819 – 28 April 1884), usually known as John Kennedy of Dingwall or simply Dr Kennedy at the popular level, was a Scottish minister of the

Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland may refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), seceded in 1843 from the Church of Scotland. The majority merged in 1900 into the United Free Church of Scotland; historical * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), rema ...

. He was minister of just one church, in

Dingwall Dingwall ( sco, Dingwal, gd, Inbhir Pheofharain ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest cast ...

, for forty years from his ordination in 1844 until his death.

Biography

Kennedy was born in

Killearnan The Black Isle ( gd, an t-Eilean Dubh, ) is a peninsula within Ross and Cromarty, in the Scottish Highlands. It includes the towns of Cromarty and Fortrose, and the villages of Culbokie, Jemimaville, Rosemarkie, Avoch, Munlochy, Tore, and Nor ...

and studied at

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Abredonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Universi ...

. He was converted in 1841, after he had already started training for the ministry, and shortly after the death of his father,

John Kennedy of Killearnan John Kennedy (1772 – 10 January 1841) was a Scottish minister of the Church of Scotland who served at Killearnan from 1814 until his death. Biography Kennedy was born in Kishorn in 1772, and studied at King's College, Aberdeen. He was license ...

. Kennedy was licensed to preach by the established

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

in September 1843, but then joined the Free Church, being inducted into the newly formed congregation at Dingwall in February 1844. He married Mary MacKenzie in 1848. Kennedy became the leader of the

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

Evangelicals Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

. According to John Noble, "Christ was the centre and sun of his preaching." Alasdair J. Macleod argues that Kennedy "emphasised personal piety, self-examination of religious experience, and theological orthodoxy." Kennedy championed

exclusive psalmody Exclusive psalmody is the practice of singing only the biblical Psalms in congregational singing as worship. Today it is practised by several Protestant, especially Reformed denominations. Hymns besides the Psalms have been composed by Christians ...

and the doctrine of limited atonement, and was opposed to confessional revision, union with the United Presbyterian Church (which eventually occurred in 1900),

disestablishmentarianism Disestablishmentarianism is a movement to end the Church of England's status as an official church of the United Kingdom. Anglican disestablishment Irish church The campaign to disestablish the Anglican Church of Ireland began in the 18th century ...

, and instruments in worship. He also spoke against the

higher criticism Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text". While often discussed in terms of ...

William Robertson Smith William Robertson Smith (8 November 184631 March 1894) was a Scottish orientalist, Old Testament scholar, professor of divinity, and minister of the Free Church of Scotland. He was an editor of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' and contributo ...

and what he called the "hyper-evangelism" of

Dwight L. Moody Dwight Lyman Moody (February 5, 1837 – December 26, 1899), also known as D. L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher connected with Keswickianism, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massa ...

. In 1861, Kennedy wrote ''The Days of the Fathers in Ross-shire'' and in 1866 ''The Apostle of the North'', a biography of John Macdonald. He was granted an honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

degree by the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

in 1873. Kennedy was allied to

Hugh Martin Hugh Martin (August 11, 1914 – March 11, 2011) was an American musical theater and film composer, arranger, vocal coach, and playwright. He was best known for his score for the 1944 MGM musical ''Meet Me in St. Louis'', in which Judy Garland ...

and

James Begg James Begg (31 October 1808 in New Monkland, Lanarkshire, Scotland – 29 September 1883) was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly 1865/66. Life He was born in the manse at New Monkla ...

in theological causes. He was also friends with

Charles Spurgeon Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 – 31 January 1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, among whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers". He wa ...

, who after Kennedy's death said of him, "True as steel and firm as a rock, he was also wonderfully tender and sympathetic." According to John Macleod, "the great Puritans had no more eminent successor in the Scottish ministry in the 19th century."

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

*
John Kennedy of Dingwall
" lecture by W. J. Seaton *
Kennedy, John, (of Dingwall)
at Reformed Books Online {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, John W. 1819 births 1884 deaths 19th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland Alumni of the University of Aberdeen People from the Black Isle