Robert’s Rules for Church Struggles

[Revised 7/31/06, 9:06 a.m.]

This blog is about fair debate in church struggles. In case you are looking for an easy way out from church, yes, professing Christians struggle with each other over the direction of their church-bodies. In the best of situations, we are still sinners with limited knowledge and the way forward is not always clear.

There are other cases of struggles between clashing worldviews with in a single church body. The issues couldn’t be any deeper. This is a battle for the soul of a church and is fought partly in legislative assemblies of various sizes using parliamentary moves. It is also fought by witness, preaching, teaching, personal encouragement and prayer.

Ephesians 6:11,12—”Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (English Standard Version). The author of this call, traditionally the Apostle Paul, says we do “wrestle” against “cosmic powers over this present darkness,” “against the spiritual forces of evil….”

Those who smugly say among themselves, “Oh please, come off it,” reveal the struggle as well as anyone. So I hold to the title of the blog until someone can give me a better synonym.

You may wish we could always operate by a peaceful method of consensus, guided by shared ideals, but it’s debatable whether that is really ideal. Gen. Robert himself recognized that “a requirement of unanimity or near unanimity can become a form of tyranny in itself” (RONR-10th, P. XLIV). In the most loving, unified groups, people have different ideas of the way forward. Hearty debate is a good thing; it brings new ideas into a group. A fair method of parliamentary procedure is the best way for all views to be heard, to a point of voting for or against a proposition, without paralysing a large decision-making body.

Robert’s Rules of Order is the most used standard for parliamentary procedure.

This blog is not about the ordinary uses of Robert’s Rules. Buy the current official edition of the book (accept no substitutes; see my tab on Books). I’ll give a bibliography elsewhere of helpful introductions, but Robert’s is the book to get.

This blog is about the fair use of parliamentary procedure in a church dispute. It can be adapted to any organization, but I wanted the title to catch the eye of church leaders.

Fair is fair. I’m not looking to give liberals or conservatives “a leg up.” I’m for a level field of debate and struggle, if it comes to that. Let ideas and principles have their day and not be buried by unfair parliamentary moves. It is my hope that real Christians will show their faith by graciously allowing full discussion by the minority.