The jest sometimes circulates synod meetings: Everything has been said, but not everyone has said it. A presbytery sometimes gets so far into the details that it forgets the topic of discussion. Church sessions sometimes look imploringly at each other, wondering: Do we really need to move and second this? Can we just do it by consent?

Tolerating the seemingly tedious procedures that govern our meetings has more value than merely teaching us patience. Reformed churches have rules of order because Paul tells us that “all things should be done decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40 ESV). Our God loves order and we should be orderly.

When Henry Martyn Robert was a cadet at the West Point Military Academy in 1863, he was asked to chair a committee meeting for his local church. It was a disaster. So, for the next decade, as Robert rose through the ranks of the U.S. Army, he made studying parliamentary procedure his hobby. In 1876, he published his Pocket Manual for Rules of Order. Since then, Robert’s Rules have undergone numerous revisions and become an American standard for orderly meetings.

The stated purpose of General Robert’s rules is “to enable assemblies of any size, with due regard for every member’s opinion, to arrive at the general will on the maximum number of questions of varying complexity in a minimum amount of time and under all kinds of internal climate.” In other words, these rules allow societies to follow an efficient process that maximizes the consent of all parties by preserving the will of the majority and the voice of the minority. This balance brings order to debate and decision-making.

Although Robert’s Rules has become synonymous with parliamentary procedure and orderly church meetings, the reality is that very few faithfully follow the guidelines and no one in the RPCNA is obligated to do so. Synod adopted rules of order in 1874, two years prior to General Robert’s first publication. They were slightly amended in 1907. Presently, Robert’s Rules makes only one appearance in our Constitution, on page D-30, where it is cited as a source for better understanding the term “executive session.”

In our Directory for Church Government, chapter 8, entitled “Rules of Order for a Meeting of Synod,” there is a detailed summary of our parliamentary procedure. It borrows heavily from General Robert but does not claim his work as authoritative. Robert’s Rules, or our own versions of them, are more like guidelines than straitjackets; they help us to keep focus and to keep moving.

The value of orderly meetings is worth a closer look. For example, when Paul tells us that “all things should be done decently and in order,” he is actually referring to a worship service in which individuals come with their own desire (1 Cor. 14:26). He gives a set of rules for decency and order: Let people speak one at a time (vv. 27, 29, 31), except for the women (vv. 34-35) or those who have a message in a foreign language but no interpreter (v. 28). They should stay silent. Paul provides two reasons for this orderliness: because we are capable of self-control (v. 32) and God likes peace not confusion (v. 33). Conducting our affairs properly is so important to Paul he adds that those who do not honor this system should not be allowed to participate (vv. 36-38). If you won’t play by the rules, then you can’t play!

We are not required by Scripture or our Constitution to use Robert’s Rules, and most of us don’t know them well enough to use them very faithfully anyway. We simply borrow from their perspective and procedure to conduct our affairs decently and in order. We do this because we value each other’s thoughts, feelings, and voice. We want to hear others and honor them for their insight and counsel (Rom. 12:10). We recognize that with many advisors our plans are established for success (Prov. 15:22; 20:18) and such plans require deliberate diligence, not haste (Prov. 21:5). Churches, and especially church courts, recognize that in order to give voice to all their members and yet still obtain a wise and timely decision, all things must be done decently and in order.

We also believe that Jesus Christ, as King and head of the church, governs our meetings by the power of His Holy Spirit. Our rules are but tools to help us make decisions that are in accord with His will. The plurality of elders, deliberating, debating, and deciding, decently and orderly, strives to discern the mind of the Spirit and the will of Christ (Acts 15:28).