Who ought to read scripture in public worship?

by Brad Isbell

THE READING OF SCRIPTURE IN PUBLIC WORSHIP is an essential, though undervalued, part of worship for confessional presbyterian churches, whose greatest distinctive (aside from their eponymous form of government) is their doctrine of worship. Reading is an element of Reformed worship, meaning it cannot be omitted and must be done properly.¹ The Westminster Divines understood this and evidently they believed that the weightiness and importance of public scripture reading meant that not just anyone could do it:

Is the Word of God to be read by all?

Although all are not to be permitted to read the word publicly to the congregation, yet all sorts of people are bound to read it apart by themselves, and with their families: to which end, the holy Scriptures are to be translated out of the original into vulgar languages.
- Westminster Larger Catechism 156

For 300 or more years after John Knox began reforming the Scottish church, all presbyterians understood that trained, ordained men (or those being trained) ought to read scripture in public worship services. This fact is obvious to any fair-minded student of ecclesial history. There have been no presbyterian Shakers or Quakers…at least not until recently.² So it must be that either our forbears were wrong or that things have changed.

We do love our Scottish Presbyterian Forbears

IT’S A RARE WEEK when I don’t receive a message from someone in the conservative Presbyterian and Reformed world reporting a practice that the scandalized sender has witnessed in a NAPARC³ church. Often the report is of females reading scripture or leading some other part of worship, such as the call to worship, confessions, “pastoral” prayer, distributing Lord’s Supper elements—pretty much anything except sermon and benediction. Unsurprisingly, these reports usually concern PCA churches—unsurprising, I say, for two reasons. First, the membership of the PCA makes up about two-thirds of the 600,000 members in NAPARC churches, so there are proportionally more PCA churches to, well, do stuff. Second, there is simply more diversity of practice (i.e., doing stuff) in the PCA. This diversity of practice, some will aver, is because of the diverse geographical and cultural contexts that PCA churches and church plants inhabit compared to their stodgier NAPARC cousins. Missional faithfulness, some will say, requires contextualization, and contextualization requires adjustments. But the question may be asked: What is the real (or first) context that ought to govern practice in a presbyterian church?

I would argue that the primary and governing context of a confessional, constitutional presbyterian church is…the confessional, constitutional presbyterian church and her standards. Church websites often extol a congregation’s unique “DNA,” but all presbyterian churches in a given denomination have the same DNA: their biblical (not to say biblicist) confessions and constitutions. Such a presbyterian church ought not be so “outward-facing” (a popular concept) that it turns its back on its confessional-constitutional core. Nor should it be pharisaically legalist…but more about that below.

The Fifth Commandment enjoins us to honor our fathers and mothers, and the Westminster Standards apply the commandment to the honoring of our betters and our elders more generally. As presbyterians who stand on the shoulders of five centuries of churchmen in our tradition, the principles of the Fifth Commandment imply that we should consider what our faithful fathers in the faith found in the scriptures and passed on to us.⁴

The PCA Historical Center has done helpful work which allows us to trace the mind of the presbyterian churches on the matter of public scripture reading. This is the Historical Center’s data, presented in reverse order (compared to the original article) with bolding added:

The Directory for the Publick Worship of God; agreed upon by the Assembly of Divines at Westminster, 1645, III-1 & 2
Reading of the word in the congregation, being part of the publick worship of God, (wherein we acknowledge our dependence upon him, and subjection to him,) and one mean sanctified by him for the edifying of his people, is to be performed by the pastors and teachers.
Howbeit, such as intend the ministry, may occasionally both read the word, and exercise their gift in preaching in the congregation, if allowed by the presbytery thereunto.

PCUSA, 1786, DfW, 2d Draft
The reading of the Holy Scriptures in the Congregation, is a part of the public worship of God; and ought to be performed by the Ministers and Teachers.

PCUSA 1789. DfW, III-1
The reading of the holy Scriptures, in the congregation, is a part of the public worship of God, and ought to be performed by the ministers and teachers.

PCUS 1894, III-1
The reading of the Holy Scriptures in the congregation is a part of the public worship of God, and ought to be performed by the minister or some other authorized person.

PCUS 1925, Directory for Worship, III-1
The reading of the Holy Scriptures in the congregation is a part of the public worship of God, and ought to be performed by the minister or some other authorized person.

PCA 1973, Part III - The Directory for the Worship of God, III-1,
Continuing Presbyterian Church 1973, Proposed text, DfW, III-1,
PCUS 1933, Directory for Worship, III-1 [§310]
The reading of the Holy Scriptures in the congregation is a part of the public worship of God, and should be done by the minister or some other authorized person.

In 1975 when the PCA approved revisions to the old Directory for Worship inherited from the PCUS they dropped the “authorized” from the above passage, so the non-binding chapter of the Directory (BCO 50-2) now reads:

50-2. The reading of the Holy Scriptures in the congregation is a part of the public worship of God and should be done by the minister or some other person.

Why the word “authorized” was dropped is unknown…as far as we (don’t) know. The minutes do not reflect the work on changes made. In the end, it doesn’t matter for two reasons. First, this section of the worship directory is not “constitutional” or binding. Second, the principle remains: Some “other” person is not “any” person. Worship is under the authority of the church session which suggests that whatever happens in worship has been authorized (one way or another) by the session. What is established is the principle that not any and every person should read scripture in Lord’s Day worship. “Some other” does not equal “any other.”

But why does who reads matter? While chapter 21 of the Confession (see note 1 below) places the “reading of the Scriptures with godly fear” first among the essential, ordinary elements of Reformed worship, Larger Catechism Question and Answer 155 asserts that the reading is a matter of spiritual life and death:

Q. 155. How is the word made effectual to salvation?
A. The Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching of the word, an effectual means of enlightening, convincing, and humbling sinners; of driving them out of themselves, and drawing them unto Christ; of conforming them to his image, and subduing them to his will; of strengthening them against temptations and corruptions; of building them up in grace, and establishing their hearts in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation.

THE READING AND PREACHING OF THE WORD ARE OF SAVING IMPORTANCE. But more than that they are connected—the former serves, assists, and supports the latter. A preacher friend related one of his professors’ way of stating the importance of how and by whom the scripture is read in public worship. The professor (who was also a preacher) said that if someone other than himself read the pre-sermon scripture passages then the sermon would have to be at least five minutes longer. Why? This man (and many others) would contend that much is gained when the preacher himself or some other trained man (elder or theological student) reads the scripture “with godly fear” and with understanding. So why would a session want someone else to read the scripture in public worship?

THE DESIRE TO BE INCLUSIVE so that everyone in the congregation can see themselves reflected and represented “up front” must be part of the reason that some would have unordained or untrained persons read the scripture. If representation is the goal, then having women read makes sense since they usually make up at least half of any congregation. The idea of representation is important, but mere demographic, ethnic, or gender factors shouldn’t be determinative. Rather, God’s ordained elders and ministers represent God to the congregation and the congregation (in public worship) to God.⁵ They read on God’s behalf. Bullinger’s Second Helvetic Confession⁶ says “the preaching of the Word of God is the Word of God.” No Reformed churches dispute the importance of preaching, but all need to remember that the reading of scripture is so connected to the preaching that they are nearly one and the same thing. Preaching is giving the sense of scripture and applying it. Part of “the sense” of it is surely communicated in the reading. If preaching is important, then reading is important; if who preaches is important, then who reads is important.

A note on context: As we said earlier, the governing context for the what and how of worship is the church’s constitution and confessional standards—the things that bind one presbyterian church to another in biblical bonds of trust and love. The context many church leaders seem to be more sensitive to is the broader egalitarian culture or some very specific local cultures. In many places and in many demographic contexts the tenets of Reformed worship and presbyterian church government are inconvenient, being at odds with the lived experience of many moderns who find their way into our worship services. Teaching and translating are difficult and slow. Bending as much as possible (without breaking) towards cultural preferences may seem an easier course.

FINALLY, PHARISAICAL LEGALISM…though maybe not the kind you expect. We think of the Pharisees as scrupulous, persnickety lawkeepers who also added their own self-serving laws. The charge of Pharisaism is often cast at anyone scrupulous (or more scrupulous than yourself) about the Law or the laws of the church. But there’s another form of Pharisaical legalism which involves just keeping the letter of a law while violating its spirit altogether. “There’s nothing in Westminster Standards or BCO that prohibits so-and-so from reading scripture passages in our worship service, so he or she can!” That’s one approach or, at least, an ethos. But is it the best one? And is a whosever will approach to “who may read” the best for the ministry of the word and for the church?

I hope I have demonstrated from presbyterian history and the standards that who may (or ought to) read scripture in public worship is severely limited by the words and implications of our standards and even sanctified common sense. And I hope PCA officers will consider that our fathers in the faith may have been right about these things.

Here’s my discussion with three PCA pastors on this topic:

Audio here.

1. Larger Catechism 21-5: The reading of the Scriptures with godly fear, the sound preaching and conscionable hearing of the Word, in obedience unto God, with understanding, faith, and reverence, singing of psalms with grace in the heart; as also, the due administration and worthy receiving of the sacraments instituted by Christ, are all parts (i.e., elements) of the ordinary religious worship of God: beside religious oaths, vows, solemn fastings, and thanksgivings upon special occasions, which are, in their several times and seasons, to be used in an holy and religious manner.

2. This thread links to a Wikipedia article about the history of women preachers (and such) in the USA. You’ll note that first women-leading-worship presbyterians were the revivalist (maybe) 4-point Calvinist Cumberland Presbyterians.
https://x.com/presbycast/status/1752734041353163156?s=20

3. North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council, made up of a dozen or so conservative, confessional denominations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Presbyterian_and_Reformed_Council

4. Bearing in mind Westminster Confession of Faith 31-3: All synods or councils, since the Apostles’ times, whether general or particular, may err; and many have erred. Therefore they are not to be made the rule of faith, or practice; but to be used as a help in both.

5. Preface to the PCA Book of Church Order:
Jesus, the Mediator, the sole Priest, Prophet, King, Saviour, and Head of the Church, contains in Himself, by way of eminency, all the offices in His Church, and has many of their names attributed to Him in the Scriptures. He is Apostle, Teacher, Pastor, Minister, Bishop and the only Lawgiver in Zion. It belongs to His Majesty from His throne of glory to rule and teach the Church through His Word and Spirit by the ministry of men; thus mediately exercising His own authority and enforcing His own laws, unto the edification and establishment of His Kingdom.
Christ, as King, has given to His Church officers, oracles and ordinances; and especially has He ordained therein His system of doctrine, government, discipline and worship, all of which are either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary inference may be deduced therefrom; and to which things He commands that nothing be added, and that from them naught be taken away.

6. https://www.ccel.org/creeds/helvetic.htm