Iain Donald Campbell was born on 20 September 1963 on the Isle of Lewis to John Norman Campbell and his wife Lily Maciver. Campbell had two sisters, Margaret and Alma. Campbell attended the Nicolson Institute, a school on Lewis, before studying at the University of Glasgow, where he graduated with First Class Honours in Arts in 1985. He then pursued theological studies at the Free Church College and the University of London, again graduating with First Class Honours as a Bachelor of Divinity. He studied for a PhD at the University of Edinburgh and was awarded his doctorate in 2001. A version of his thesis, on George Adam Smith, was subsequently published in book form. Campbell married Anne Macsween Davidson, born in 1962 and also from the Isle of Lewis, in 1984 in Stornoway. They had three children together: Iain, Stephen, and Emily. His first pastoral position was at Snizort Free Church on Skye, which he commenced in 1988. In 1995, he moved to the Free Church at Back on the Isle of Lewis. Finally, in 2009, he became minister of Point Free Church, also on Lewis. In 2012, he served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland. Campbell wrote about 17 books on topics related to Christianity, including Bible studies and doctrinal teaching, mostly published through Christian Focus Publications and Day One Publications. He also contributed to Tabletalk magazine published by Ligonier Ministries. At the time of his death, in addition to his ministerial role, he was vice-chairman of the board of Edinburgh Theological Seminary, editor of The Record, the monthly magazine of the Free Church of Scotland, and an associate editor of Foundations, a theological journal published by Affinity. He was also an Adjunct Professor of Church History at Westminster Theological Seminary, helping to deliver their London-based courses.
Death
Campbell died on 28 January 2017 at the age of 53, by suicide. An early obituary, written by long-standing Free Church minister Donald Macleod, and published two days after Campbell's death, suggested Campbell was experiencing pain which may have affected the balance of his mind, but did not elaborate further. An early report stated that Campbell's wife, Anne, had discovered emails on his computer and accused him of having several extra-marital affairs with members of his congregation. Two later stories in the Sunday Times, on 12 March 2017, presented a slightly different version of events. They stated that the initial reports were not correct and that Campbell had confessed his infidelity to his wife before taking his own life. She then found the emails on Campbell's computer.
Published work
Engaging with Keller, Evangelical Press, 2013-07-17,
The People's Theologian: Writings in Honour of Donald Macleod, Mentor, 2011-05-20,
Risking the Truth: Handling Error in the Church, Christian Focus, 2009-05-20,
