Below is my summary of a recent discussion that the Session at RMPC had regarding the inclusion of a greeting time during the worship service. The questions at hand are, “Is it biblical? Is it God-centered? Is it appropriate?” I reiterate here that this is my summary of the discussion. Individual Session members may want to clarify or add to what I have written. Here is my summary of our reasons for continuing to include a greeting time in the middle of our worship service.

1. Corporate worship by definition involves elements in which our vertical relationship with God and worship of him find expression in the horizontal relationships we have within the covenant community.
2. Greeting others within the body of Christ is a biblical mandate. However, Scripture does not mandate that this only take place in the context of worship.
3. Care should be taken by all attendees to greet and welcome all with whom they come in contact on Sunday morning. Again, this should not happen only in the context of the worship service and it could even more fruitful if it occurred before or after the worship service.
4. Care should be given in all greetings before, during and after the worship service to not allow our greeting to become idle chatter. The well-being of the saints should be at the heart of any questions asked and the knowledge of the grace of God should be at the heart of any prayer or blessing we extend.

The Session wants to emphasize that the purpose of our greeting each other–which ought to be reflected in the content of our greetings–is the exaltation of God and the edification of the saints. We want to encourage worshipers to keep the greeting worshipful through ‘other’ focused greetings and to purposefully and intentionally seek out those who are new.