TheOldCourse
Puritan Board Sophomore
Not all church innovations are wrong. Many innovations—changing from songbooks to a projection system, for example, or creating fellowship events during the week—don't change the elements of worship. Yet speaking personally, I find it easy to get grouchy about such things when I believe the church is not worshipping the way I believe (my Bible-based convictions, not my personal preferences) the church should be worshipping. And I end up with, in effect, an attitude better described as a fault-finding principle.
Does that explain things better?
Granting, for the sake of argument, that projection vs. songbook is a circumstantial aspect of worship and thus left to prudence, it doesn't seem that small group ministry is analogous. I doubt that you would argue that projecting hymnody or psalmody is edifying in itself in distinction from reading it in a book. You seem to be contending, however, that small groups promote spiritual vitality which means they cannot be circumstantial. If we are to view them as compatible with the RPW we either have to defend them (or their constituent parts) as being commanded by Scripture or not as actual worshipful acts and therefore part of the common life of the Christian. But both defenses would have significant implications for how they are done. Perhaps a case may be made either way, but you seem to be both contending for them as part of the worship of the Church and as not requiring clear warrant from Scripture. This, to me, seems counter-confessional.