From time to time the Reformed Presbyterian Church reviews its constitutional documents, and revises and updates them to better fit Scripture and the need of the time. We call them our “subordinate standards” because, as the products of fallible men, they are subordinate to the infallible Word of God. They are necessary as a summary of biblical teaching and a basis for fellowship, but sometimes are in need of correction, improvement, or addition. Synod approved a new Book of Discipline in 2003, and a new Directory of Public Worship in 2010.

In 2005 Synod appointed our committee to prepare a new directory. We were not the first to be given the task; another committee worked on it in the 1990s. The old directory, written in 1945, contained considerable material that does not directly pertain to worship, such as directions for the Cradle Roll Department, the Young People’s Society, and instruction to pastors on such matters as how to conduct visits and what to read at home. Meanwhile, it did not contain any suggested order for funerals, and its mention of a second or evening service was so fleeting as to be almost invisible. For these reasons, at least, there was a desire among many members of Synod for a new directory.

In the early part of the 2000s a different committee of Synod, responding to a challenge to exclusive psalmody, studied the theology of worship, eventually producing a paper entitled, The Worship of the Church: A Reformed Theology of Worship. Synod adopted this paper as a “position paper” and made it available at ReformedPresbyterian.org. It is an excellent paper and is worth careful study. But position papers have no formal place in our system of church government, so this good work was in danger of being lost if not incorporated into our standards in some way.

The new directory was prepared with the help of the old directory as well as the Worship of the Church paper, the original Directory for the Publick Worship of God agreed upon by the Westminster Assembly in 1645, and various other sources. Each chapter was brought forward at various Synods. Suggestions and critiques were made at Synod. The chapter occasionally was withdrawn for a day while the committee worked to improve it, and then brought forward again in revised form to the Synod and approved. The last chapter was approved in 2009, at which point the session of every RPCNA congregation individually voted on each chapter (a procedure called “going down in overture”). Each chapter was approved, so the new directory was declared the law and order of the church at the Synod of 2010.

The first thing that is new about the new directory is that it is a directory of public worship, not a directory of worship in all its forms. Correspondingly, along with the elimination of non-worship related items, the new directory also does not address family or individual worship. Public worship is what sets the RPCNA apart at this point in history, and Synod had come to an agreement on public worship by adopting the position paper.

The directory does provide a suggested order for funeral services, and, without requiring any particular kind of second or evening service, does reinforce the old Reformed custom of morning and evening worship by reminding elders of their role in helping the congregation keep the Sabbath Day holy.

The suggested new funeral order is not mandatory, but one example may show the usefulness of including it. One current pastor, when he arrived at his first pastorate at age 25, in his first week in town found himself in charge of the funerals for an elder and an elder’s wife. He was not even formally ordained and installed until a couple of weeks later. He would have been greatly helped had a suggested order of service been readily available to guide him.

The new directory also makes provision for Canadian customs regarding weddings (reading the banns—that is, publicly announcing an engagement) and provides guidance for our Japanese congregations in mourning the dead with unbelieving relatives, but not praying to or for the dead or compromising our allegiance to Christ. As more Buddhists and Hindus move to North America, these helps will become more useful on the North American continent as well.

Second, the theological focus of the new directory has shifted from the human soul as it worships God, to God being glorified as His assembled people lovingly praise Him. Nothing said in the old directory about worship and the soul was incorrect or unhelpful, but the new directory’s focus is more in line with the Bible’s emphases: We worship God to glorify God, and we worship together to show our love for Him and one another. Also new, or at least more explicit, are the twin insights that the church meets with God in accordance with the covenant of grace, and that worship is a dialogue between God and His people. When you approach worship with these two ideas in mind, the reasons for the various parts of public worship become clearer.

The directory suggests an order of service that forms a dialogue based on the covenant of grace. First comes the call to worship, in which God calls us to worship Him. We must begin here, because if God did not call us, we would neither have the permission of the King to enter His presence, nor the ability to do so. Then comes the Prayer of Adoration. Here we respond to God’s call by coming into His presence reverently. Next comes a psalm, with which we show our joy at meeting with the King. God then speaks to us again through an Old Testament reading, to which we respond with a psalm or a prayer confessing our sins, and receiving the King’s pardon. God speaks through a New Testament reading, and we speak to God from our hearts in a prayer of intercession, making our requests known to God with prayer and petitions. God then speaks to us at length through the Scripture and the sermon, and we respond with a psalm and our tithes and offerings. Finally, through the benediction God has the last word, a gracious word of blessing that sends us out of His presence in peace. This dialogue can only occur because of the covenant of grace. Because God graciously calls us to meet with Him as His forgiven and adopted children, we can stand before Him and make our requests known to Him. Only through Jesus are we forgiven and adopted.

Many American evangelical churches have essentially three steps in their worship: music, sermon, and altar call. This procedure reflects the frontier revival meetings of the United States, and those shaped by it tend to equate worship with the music. The worship of the universal church through the ages, however, embodies the dialogue outlined above, a dialogue made possible by the covenant of grace. The whole dialogue is a loving conversation in which Savior and saved tell one another of their love. And we worship God with every part of the service, because we worship God as much by listening to Him as we do by speaking or singing to Him, just as in marriage we love our spouse at least as much by listening as we do by speaking.

There are a few items in the new directory that may affect your church’s worship. The original Westminster directory prescribed that the minister read the Scripture and lead in prayer. Our old directory was unclear, though when it was first written the minister was probably assumed to be the one reading and praying. In keeping with the RPCNA two-office view (our ordained offices are elder and deacon, not minister, elder, and deacon), the new directory prescribes that an elder lead in prayer, meaning either the pastor or a ruling elder, while noting that ordinarily the pastor takes the lead in conducting the service. The Scriptures are either read by an elder, or by all the assembly together in unison or responsive reading.

Because less knowledge of Christianity can be assumed in today’s less Christian culture, there is more suggested introductory instruction to explain baptism and the Lord’s supper. If an infant is being baptized, there is further instruction to explain the grounds for infant baptism. In addition, the language used during the Lord’s supper has been modified to include only whatever has clear and direct biblical warrant. That is, the phrase “a sacramental act symbolizing…” has been eliminated. Also, as Jesus did not directly command that we take, bless, and break the bread, now at each step we simply say, “following His example and ministering in His name” rather than “following His command and example.” There is no change in the new directory regarding the contents of the communion cup. The new directory strives for continuity with our old directory in this regard.

It is good for all of us to know why we do what we do in worship, and so the directory encourages the practice of briefly explaining the reason for each element of worship from time to time. Along these same lines, we encourage you to read through the new directory of worship, either alone or in a small group or Sabbath school setting. Scriptural supports for the directory can be found in The Worship of the Church: a Reformed Theology of Worship, and in the Westminster Larger Catechism.

Your committee (Pastor Matt Kingswood, Elder Alan Noell, Pastor Anthony Selvaggio, retired RPTS Professor Wayne Spear, and Pastor John Edgar) enjoyed writing the directory and praise God for its adoption. We pray it will be beneficial to you individually and to your congregation. Most of all, we pray God is glorified as we worship Him together in Spirit and in truth.

—John Edgar has been pastor of Elkins Park, Pa., RPC since 2002. He served as member and chairman of Synod’s Committee to Revise the Directory for Worship.