{"id":13340,"date":"2023-08-09T12:05:49","date_gmt":"2023-08-09T16:05:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/?post_type=resource&#038;p=13340"},"modified":"2023-08-09T12:05:49","modified_gmt":"2023-08-09T16:05:49","slug":"replant-reality-the-bible-vs-the-bylaws","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/replant-reality-the-bible-vs-the-bylaws\/","title":{"rendered":"Replant Reality: The Bible vs The Bylaws"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Replant\/Revitalization Reality:<\/strong> Changing the bylaws may make the decision process more streamlined, but heart change within the congregation aligns the decisions with the work of the Spirit.<\/p>\n<p>Shortly after beginning in my role as a Replant catalyst, I was introduced to a brand-new replant pastor at a state convention gathering. He had been at his new post for just a few weeks. I loved his enthusiasm and boldness.<\/p>\n<p>There is nothing quite like the passion of a minister just beginning the renewal work in a local church. He had plans for worship, outreach, congregational visitation and, of course, the bulletin. But what he offered as his No. 1 priority for initiating change was certain to cause pain \u2013 both to him and those under his watch.<\/p>\n<p>He, being there only a handful of weekends, was poised and ready to bring up the need to change the bylaws.<\/p>\n<p>I get it, I really do. In &#8220;we vote on everything&#8221; congregationalism, you are certain to have battles and scuffles&#8217; about things like worship service orders, Sunday school curriculum, d\u00e9cor, bulletin boards and spending money for building needs, even when policies are clear regarding repairs that are sorely needed.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than bog down the congregation with the administration of ministry, a renewal pastor wants to mobilize them for missional ministry. Streamlining the decision-making processes seems like a no-brainer.<\/p>\n<p>In certain situations, the church bylaws make decisions cumbersome and downright difficult:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What happens if you lack a quorum on a cold winter\u2019s night and are unable to take a vote to approve a much-needed piece of equipment?<\/li>\n<li>What if you discover that the Committee on Committees and the oft-roadblocking and power-bloc-maintaining Nominating Committee have both adopted an adversarial posture toward pastoral leadership?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Your first thought could be that something must change. That something is the bylaws.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few cautions, if that thought is at the forefront of your mind:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The bylaws have been present in the church longer than you have. They carry more authority than you do.<\/li>\n<li>Some of the guidelines were written to protect the congregation from snap decisions and powerfully persuasive pastors.<\/li>\n<li>Longtime leaders view pastors who want to change the guiding documents as a threat to organizational stability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Hear this wisdom from Proverbs: &#8220;Do not stealthily move back the boundary lines staked out long ago by your ancestors.&#8221; (Prov. 22:28, The Message)<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em>Let the reader understand, I am not saying bylaws are on the same level as Holy Scripture, nor should they never be changed. Some of them should. Here is my point: knowing when and how to change bylaws is a major key to maintaining trust within the congregation and them being responsive to your leadership.<\/p>\n<p>Let me offer a few suggestions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Seek to understand why a bylaw exists and be willing to dialogue about its effectiveness for promoting the mission of the church. This is an advanced and necessary pastoral skill.<\/li>\n<li>Change the church&#8217;s discipleship culture as you seek to change its decision-making processes.<\/li>\n<li>When you face resistance, choose peace, if the main issue is a matter of preference. If there is a process issue hindering mission, push forward, but do so citing the ways ministry is being stymied rather than propelled. Seek a compromise for the sake of the gospel.<\/li>\n<li>Gently instruct the body that the Bible should always supersede the bylaws in congregational deliberations.<\/li>\n<li>Train the congregation to adopt the mindset of the Jerusalem council in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Acts%2015:28&amp;version=ESV\">Acts 15:28<\/a>, \u201cIt seemed good to us and the Holy Spirit.\u201d Note that the bylaws are fundamentally insufficient in their guidance for some decisions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What if you have already stepped on the landmine of suggesting the bylaws be changed?\u00a0 Simply own it and call a truce. Establish dialogue, love and disciple those who are enraged and calling for drastic action.<\/p>\n<p>I pray that calmer heads and patient loving hearts prevail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Replant\/Revitalization Reality: Changing the bylaws may make the decision process more streamlined, but heart change within &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/replant-reality-the-bible-vs-the-bylaws\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Replant Reality: The Bible vs The Bylaws<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13341,"template":"","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"channels":[],"topics":[53],"languages":[],"class_list":["post-13340","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_type-article","topics-replanting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.0 (Yoast SEO v24.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Replant Reality: The Bible vs The Bylaws - Church Replanting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/replant-reality-the-bible-vs-the-bylaws\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Replant Reality: The Bible vs The Bylaws\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Replant\/Revitalization Reality: Changing the bylaws may make the decision process more streamlined, but heart change within &hellip; 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