BOA ACTION: Substitute motion to refer to BOB and staff to bring a motion to the BOA, with power to act, following review of legal issues.
GCRCC Status: forwarded for April 2011 BOA action
Introduced by: Mark Adams, North Central Conference
Written by: Mark Adams
Related to Paragraph(s) #: 4070 D, 5020, 6250 B
Whereas:
Community decision making, led by the Holy Spirit, which provides direction for the church as a whole is core the the practice of the Free Methodist Church, and has Scriptural roots (Acts 15) and contemporary boundaries (e.g., Roberts Rules of Order), and;
The Discipline requires voting procedures to both elect its leaders and confirm majority decisions, and;
Distance and cost to gather many groups in local churches, conferences and the denomination may at times be prohibitive to timely and efficient decision making, and;
Modern voting practices have allowed for electronic and e-mail voting and balloting (e.g., Roberts Rules, 10th ed.; Berleant and Lin, Roberts Rules of Order for E-mail meetings, Computer, 26.11, 0/07/06), and;
For an organization to allow for electronic balloting it is best practice to make such a provision in its by-laws:
Therefore, be it resolved:
Portions of the the Discipline which call for group voting be amended to allow for electronic balloting for decisions making at local, conference and general church levels where such balloting is agreed to by 2/3rds of those eligible to decide, and where the balloting process continues to follow the spirit and principles of the Discipline, local church and conference standing rules.
Does the resolution have a direct relationship to the vision and mission of the Free Methodist Church?
Yes.
How will the proposed change help us accomplish our vision and mission?
More efficient decision making utilizing contemporary technology and communications tools, and may pave the way for broader participation by people on the “fringe” or by lay leaders who find distant meeting requirements a significant hindrance to participation when this conflicts with their professional pursuits.
The Resolutions Committee rates this resolution as:
(B) Recommended – worthy of review
Comments:
The North Central Conference understanding of ABC was A meriting review on the floor of the conference, B meriting review by the appropriate subcommittee of the BOA. NCC recommended B level resolutions have this in mind.
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