Parson Brown

For the good folks at Westminster RPC in Prairie View, you might especially be interested in Dr. Wayne Spear’s lecture on the Lord’s Supper (from RP2008 at Calvin College). He criticizes the practice of weekly communion. While I do think that the theological arguments for weekly communion are strong, I also think that there are valid practical arguments against the practice, which need to be considered by RPs. For example, there is something to be said for the wisdom of trying not to diverge too widely from the mainstream liturgical practices of the denomination. Since most of our churches still practice a fairly infrequent observance of the Lord’s Supper, a congregation where weekly communion is practiced won’t look or feel much like an RP church. Is it safe to be “on the fringe” of the church?

This question touches on the whole matter of Reformed Presbyterian identity–a matter which I ponder frequently. What does it mean to be RP? Are we just psalm-singing OPs or PCAers? I don’t think so, but too often that seems to be our approach. Thus, I find that, for various reasons (including our “peculiar” worship practices), former members of Westminster RPC find it rather easy to move their households to a church of another denomination. In other words, our liturgy (which is fairly peculiar for the RPCNA) does not help our members to gain a sense of “being Reformed Presbyterian”.

Of course, many today would scoff at this whole notion of denominational loyalty. I know that the RPCNA is not alone in this struggle over denominational loyalry; it’s on the wane across the board. Most American evangelicals would probably argue that our loyalty is simply to Christ, not to a denomination. But how many better ways are there to demonstrate our loyalty to Christ, practically and visibly, than by remaining loyal to a particular branch of Christ’s body, through thick and thin? Which would make for greater Christian maturity–remaining loyal to a denomination, or changing denominations as the mood strikes you or as adversities confront you?

So, in this season of retrospection for me, I wonder whether we moved too quickly at WRPC to institute weekly communion. Especially for a congregation separated ethnically from the Covenanter heritage and separated geographically from other RPCNA congregations, maybe we weren’t the best candidate for “peculiar” liturgical practices. Perhaps we just compounded our problem of isolation.