Hello my name is Peter J Gordon. I am married to Debbie and we have a son called Rodrick who is autistic. I have two fantastic kids from my first marriage, its great when I see them. I also have four step kids with 2 having special and learning difficulties which are a major challenge at times. I am a member of the Helensburgh & West Dunbartonshire Ramblers which gets me out on the hills and I am also with the Glasgow Triathlon Club which is fantastic and great fun.
My wife Debbie has been a born again believer since December of 1991. Her walk with the Lord has had it’s up’s and down’s but in the past 5 years it has grown and become much deeper and personal.
The major influence in my life was my Granddad was an amazing man and in many ways I wanted to be like him. I used to watch him and I wanted to be just like him and have what he had, I think I was about 7 that I asked the Lord into my heart, I never knew what salvation or repentance was, and in all honesty it was an emotional thing and their was no change in my life, I didn’t have what my granddad had where he had a real relationship with Christ and knew Him personally as Lord and Saviour. He knew the Lord and had a committed life of prayer and devotion to the Lord. He had a glow about him. It’s so hard to describe but he got it by doing what we called “the books” which was the family get together. Every morning and evening my Granddad prayed, read a chapter of the old testament, then a Psalm then a chapter of the new testament and finished with prayer. He did this every day with dedication. He took time to meet with the Lord and making sure his family were blessed too.
As a child I was brought up by going to Gospel Hall meetings up in Perth where Jack Hay and John Campbell had a old wooden hut and preached for weeks on the Rannoch Road up in Letham, Perth. These were instrumental days of my life and so glad my mother took me to these meetings where seeds of the Gospel were planted.
In later years I enjoyed the fellowship and ministry at Perth Knox Free Church where the Rev. David Patterson and Rev. Duncan MacLeod gave strong bible based sermons, even under there preaching I was convicted but never truly repented. I had no real passion for Christ and no love or hunger for the Bible I was still drinking, living in sin and I could tick of most of the abominations in Romans 1: 29-32, I was in a real mess.
It was when I was online looking at a website called Sermon Audio I found the ministry of the Free Presbyterian Church and listened in to Ian Paisley’s services and found Dr. Alan Cairns by what I thought was a mistake. It was early 2005 and I was listening in regularly to Dr. Cairns and week after week the Holy Spirit was convicting me through his preaching. It was like I was in a boxing ring, on the ropes with punch after punch and then one blow I was on the floor and realised I was a sham before God, I had sinned against Him all my life and I needed to repent and totally turn around from my sins forever. In these moments the scales fell from my eyes and I felt years of tension fall away. I felt a confidence and assurance that now if I die I know the Lord will take me into glory with Him. Now I have a great faith in Christ and know what its like to know him as my personnel saviour and the walk and talk with Him every day.
In 2005 my relationship with the Lord changed and I felt a desire to be baptised I felt of the need to be baptised, to show publicly to the world, proclaiming my faith in Christ that I was born again and to testify my identification with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. On the 01-10-2005 I was baptised at Luss on Loch Lomond. At the time I was baptised a crowd from a church wedding came out and witnessed it.
Alistair Begg of Parkside Church held the Basics 2007 Conference for pastors. This is where I saw a man called Edward Lobb preaching. During that conference Edward gave an interview and spoke about Cornhill Scotland at Glasgow’s Tron Church… the big church on Buchannan street near Queen St station. I came home, searched online for it and sent an email requesting more information. After a lot of prayer the Lord led me to apply for a place on the ministry training course. I was thankful to be accepted on the course and began a years training there in September of 2008 under the guidance of two experienced ministers Bob Fyall and Edward.
A major embarrassment I feel in my life and has frustrated me is getting a proper Degree in Theology, I am dyslexic though I haven’t been properly diagnosed but I am waiting for the right time to go about getting assessed. I have tried for many years through open learning to try and get a degree but my dyslexia is a major barrier in essay writing and in all aspects even in note taking and retaining information. The great thing about Cornhill Scotland is that it gave me the tools to preach practically even though I have to work deeply hard and my wife is great in sorting my grammar and the way I have laid things out. If anyone knows of any Bible Colleges out there that are dyslexic friendly, that can help me please contact me.
