ONE of Scotland's most outspoken ministers and Christian commentators, who almost died in hospital three years ago, has been named the next Moderator of the Free Church.
Rev David Robertson, minister of Dundee St Peter's Free Church and director of the Solas Centre for Public Christianity, will take up the role at next May's General Assembly.
He has a reputation for not being afraid of controversy, repeatedly trying to engage the likes of "celebrity atheist" Richard Dawkins in debate. At the Faclan Book Festival on Lewis in 2012, he claimed Dawkins had done Christians a favour by writing The God Delusion as he knew people who were converted to the Christian cause by reading it.
Mr Robertson, 52, takes over as moderator at a time when his church is bucking the national trend with increasing support, some of it in the form of those leaving the Church of Scotland over the issue of gay ministers.
There are now 107 congregations, while attendance at Sunday services stands at 12,812, up marginally on 2012/13 from 12,639.
But the new figures do not include recently affiliated Church of Scotland's groups such as Stornoway High, Kirkmuirhill, New Restalrig and Tarbert.
Mr Robertson said: "It is an honour and a privilege to be able to serve in this way, especially at such an exciting time for both the Free Church and Scotland. We are a growing and developing church, reversing the trend in a society which is becoming increasingly secularised and in a nation which is seeing significant changes.
"My hope is the Free Church will continue to bring the good news to all the people of Scotland and beyond and that the Lord will use us as salt and light to help his people, of whatever denomination, and to see Scotland return to its Christian foundations."
At 24, Mr Robertson's first charge was Brora Free Church, in Sutherland, in 1986, before he accepted a call to Dundee in 1992.
When he arrived at St Peter's, the church had eight people, but now attracts 200 worshippers.
Three years ago Mr Robertson was given a 50-50 chance of survival by doctors in Dundee's Ninewells Hospital.
After collapsing in a pool of blood outside his church following a wedding, the St Peter's minister spent nine weeks in hospital.
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