As pastor of John Calvin Presbyterian Church, our leadership team and I have recently begun a conversation about our current church structure and the practice of conducting a bylaw review, which has inspired me to focus this month’s “Spotlight on Polity” on Bylaws; what are they, and why are they important? Since coming on as Stated Clerk, every so often I receive a question regarding something the Book of Order seems to be silent on. For example, “How many people are required to be on the Session?” “What is the required quorum for a Session?” Or a frequent one, such as, “How much notice is required for a Congregational meeting, and how soon must the business material be made available?” If you were to search through the Book of Order on these types of questions, you won’t find much except for the occasional “The Synod, Presbytery, or Church will provide for their own rule.” For some, this may be a source of frustration, but from my perspective, this is actually a positive in our polity. For anyone who was around before the 2014 “New Form of Government,” you’ll remember that the Book of Order used to be much thicker than it is now. When the domination introduced the “New Form of Government,” it was an affirmation that not one size fits all, and that each of our Synods, Presbyteries, and Churches were unique to their own context and given much more freedom on how to govern themselves. Bylaws are one such way we do this.
According to Robert’s Rules, an organization’s Bylaws are one of the most important documents any organization can have, and second only to an organization’s Charter. Bylaws comprise the fundamental rules that define an organization. They can’t be changed without advanced notice of proposed changes and must be approved by the body of the organization by a majority 2/3 vote. The Bylaws cannot be suspended as a whole, though some of the rules contained in them may if they are provided for as such. Additionally, an organization cannot pass any new rules or policies that are in direct contradiction of the Bylaws.
So, what should your Bylaws contain? According to Robert’s Rules, the items that need to be included in an organization’s Bylaws are 1. Name: Bylaws should always include the official title of the organization. 2. Object: The object is essentially a purpose statement that gives identity to the organization and declares what things the organization is called to do. Like
many things in the Bylaws, it is recommended that this be more broad than specific; the more detail a Bylaw gives, such as lists, etc., as whatever is not listed is understood to be excluded. 3. Membership: This section should describe types of membership, as well as their voting rights. This should be one of the easier sections, since our types of membership are defined by the Book of Order. 4. Officers: Again, this should be one of the easier sections, as officers and Sessions are generally outlined in the Book of Order; however, it is important to include this information along with qualifications, duties, a nominating/election process, term limits, and a process to fill vacancies. 5. Meetings: as Presbyterians, it goes without saying the importance of naming the details regarding meetings and the calling there of, however, this is a section where the Book of Order and Roberts Rules gives a lot of freedom to our respective councils, and therefore, the process for having meetings, stated or special called, falls the council to identify the specific rules to include dates, quorum, notice, and distribution of materials. 6. Executive Board(s): for churches, this would be the Session, and/or if incorporated, the corporate board. This section should outline the body’s authority and responsibilities, which, again, the Book of Order provides much of this information; however, churches and other councils are free to modify to fit their own situations as long as it is in line with the Book of Order and Robert’s Rules. 7. Committees: Bylaws may include any standing committees the organization needs, such as the Nominating Committee required by the Book of Order, and best practices would be to include a Personnel, Finance, and Property Committee as well. Deacons may also be included here should the Church have need of them. Other communities, Churches often use such as Worship, Christian education, etc., could be included here, or provided for in a Manual of Operations (more on this later). Many smaller churches can no longer sustain the committee structure common of our larger churches, so they may need room to be creative. 8. Parliamentary Authority: Bylaws should always include what type of Parliamentary Process they follow for reference, as there are more options than just Robert’s Rules; however, sorry Presbyterians! We don’t get to choose, as the Book of Order declares on our behalf that we use Robert’s Rules. Yet, each church/council should still acknowledge this in their own Bylaws, since we know not everyone is an eager reader of the Book of Order. 9. Amendment: as the Bob Dylan song reminds us, “the times, they are a-changin’.” Bylaws should always include a process for amendments or changes as needed to keep up with the changing times. Again, Councils are free to create their own special rules; however, if not specified, Robert’s Rules stipulate advanced notice and a 2/3 majority vote.
An organization may also include additional sections or rules, such as the process of voting or other things deemed important to a particular congregation or session, as long as it’s in line with the Book of Order and Robert’s Rules, as previously mentioned. A reminder, though, that the more specific an organization is in its Bylaws, the more it possibly limits itself in adhering to them. A general recommendation is that Bylaws should be more of a broad outline of the organization’s structure and rules, and complemented by a more detailed Manual of Operations that gives life to the specifics outlined in the Bylaws.
Lastly, the best practices say that Bylaws should be regularly reviewed and revised. Sometimes an organization comes upon a natural need to revisit its bylaws. Such was the case for John Calvin Presbyterian Church, noticing that the size of the Session and Committee structure no longer fits the life of the Church. In any case, I would encourage our Presbytery and each of our churches to at least read through their Bylaws together annually, so everyone is familiar with them. I would also encourage an official review and revision of the Bylaws at least every few years to stay current with the times. God is not static, nor are our communities and world, and therefore the documents that identify and govern an organization should not be static either. Remember, as Presbyterians, we are called to “Ecclesia Reformata, Semper Reformanda.” We are reformed and always reforming in everything we do. Until next time, stay decent and in good order!
Rev. Dr. Brandan Eddy
Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy Stated Clerk
Pastor of John Calvin Presbyterian Church