“Who will go for us? And I said, “Lord, I’ll go! Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8 NLT).

Do you know the story of “The St. Andrews Seven”???

Surely a golf story, right? Could it be Old Tom Morris, Harry Vardon, Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods? Or maybe it is a term for when all goes wrong on the 17th hole’s Road Hole Bunker at St Andrews.

But no. This story is barely a golf tale, even though it all starts in St Andrews- exactly two hundred years ago. It is a missionary tale that history has forgotten.

Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847) was a St. Andrews professor who inspired six of the brightest students in Scotland to be Missionaries to India. “The St. Andrews Seven” is a reference to Chalmers plus the six lads. The story is told well in “The St. Andrews Seven” (1985, Piggin and Roxborough, www.BannerofTruth.org). You should read it.

In 1824, the St. Andrews University Missionary Association was formed after the six boys agreed with a Chalmers quote: 'Only one thing seemed to matter: to discover God's will and do it'.

Robert Nesbit (1803-1853), John Adam (1803-1831), Alexander Duff (1806-1978), William Mackay (1807-1865), and David Ewart (1806-1860) all left for India between 1827 and 1834. All served and died in India, except for the inspirational 18-year-old John Urquhart (1808-1826) who died before he could get on a ship. Certainly, the famous William Carey (1761-1834) was already in India and got the missionary ball rolling. But the Scotland/India connection was critical.

This story is personal for Sue and me. We fell in love with both Scotland and India in the 1980’s. Indeed, after my first trip to Scotland in 1983, I went through five years of thinking I should maybe be a ‘missionary’ to Scotland. And after our 1989 mission trip to India, I started thinking the same thing about India. Many trips since then to these diverse nations have formed friendships that have lasted a lifetime. Even now, not a day goes by without a thought and a prayer for both Scotland and India.

We especially love Fishhook International which works exclusively in India (www.fishhook.org). I can tell you from personal experience that Indian graveyards are filled with thousands of Scottish missionaries!! One of the greatest missionary movements in history started with the St. Andrews Seven.

But Golf almost sidetracked the mission to India! When Thomas Chalmers arrived in St. Andrews in 1823, the golf bug bit the popular professor.

“It is true that, since the 15th century, St. Andrews has boasted the world’s most famous golf links. In his early days at St. Andrews, Chalmers played golf almost daily...”

Indeed, golf has always been a potential distraction for men of God and students: “In the five years that Chalmers was at St Andrews (1823-1828), he received many letters from parents, anxious about their sons and the fatal charms of the common room and golf course. Such fears were not baseless.” Choosing between God and golf should not have to be such a tough decision, but in Scotland it seems to be a constant.

But thank God, many decades of Scottish missionary fervor were saved when “Chalmers came to his senses and quit golf! He gave it up on the grounds that it weakened his capacity for study.”

Now, having been thankful that Chalmers quit golf and maybe saved missionary endeavors to India, it is an interesting side note that the Calcutta Golf Club was formed in 1829 (while all this missionary fervor was in full force). It is the second oldest golf club formed outside Britain. The title of Royal was added to the club in 1912 when the King visited Calcutta. My imagination runs wild thinking that perhaps the enthusiastic young Scottish missionaries from St Andrews may have been tempted to see what the Links of Calcutta was all about.

So, fast-forward with me to today. Sue and I are in Scotland right now for seven weeks. We beat the Alabama heat every summer by trying to be ‘missionaries’ in the north of Scotland. We will make a quick visit to St Andrews later this month. But………. my heart stays sad.

St Andrews is no longer a mission-sender. It is a mission field. They do not send missionaries. They need missionaries.

The faith of John Knox (1514-1572), John Wesley (1703-1791), Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), and famous golfer Old Tom Morris (1821- 1908) is a distant memory. The Church of Scotland’s website opens with a massive section about all the “properties for sale”. Every single denomination of Christian faith in Scotland is either extinct or in historically serious decline.

In the latest Scottish census, a clear majority of people said “No Religion”. Even a nominal Christian faith is disappearing- maybe a good thing in some ways. In 2023, a Muslim was elected First Minister of Scotland. My personal guess is that true followers of Jesus Christ in Scotland would be less than one percent.

I will write more on this later, but the national elections were this week here in Great Britain. An Atheist defeated a Hindu to become the new Prime Minister.

Not exactly the “good ol’ days” of Catholic queens like Mary burning Protestant reformers at the stake. Or the few Christians left in Scotland separating and dividing over every possible minutia of disagreement. Indeed, the more I have pondered the issue of religion in the UK, and Scotland in particular, I think that No Religion may be better than Bad Religion. I stay confused.

So, the 1824 version of ‘The St. Andrews Seven’ went to India.

Now, the 2024 version of ‘The St. Andrews Seven’ may need to come to Scotland. Could that be you?

I know that sounds crazy… but hey, here is a more reasonable idea.

Royal Calcutta Golf Club (Established in 1829)

Golf communities are environments that need missionaries. For example, my golf club is Steelwood. So, I am now looking for “The Steelwood Seven”, to join together as missionaries. I feel the same way at Brora and Royal Dornoch in Scotland where we go each summer. A few months at Royal Calcutta might even suit me. I bet they need missionaries there! Golf missionaries- I like the idea!

I finish with a William Carey quote that seems to fit. “I’m not afraid of failure. I’m afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter.” ME TOO!