Why A Church Constitution? January 18, 2016
Today our elders are publishing a new church constitution for our members and friends to examine, pray over, and discuss with the elders over the next couple months. If this new governing document meets with strong approval from our congregation, on March 6 the elders will bring a formal vote to adopt it; and, if the Lord wills, we will begin to function under it on May 15. All of this (and much more) is laid out in a cover letter which we’ve attached to the printed copies of the new constitution, available beginning today.
But first, we should ask ourselves: Why does our church need a constitution anyway? After all, none of the churches in the Bible had them.
First, we want to ensure that everything in our church is done “decently and in order,” as Paul directed the church in Corinth (1 Cor 14:40). A constitution provides a mutually agreed upon explanation of our purpose for existence, requirements for membership, structure of governance, standards for leadership, and procedures for business.
Second, we intend for our constitution to preserve the unity of our church by outlining key areas of doctrinal agreement and general methods of operation. Sometimes people resist manmade church documents with the objection that they tyrannize the conscience and infringe upon soul liberty. But we believe our constitution honors conscience and liberty by making plain what we believe and how we operate to anyone who wants to know, right at the outset of our relationship together.
Third, closely connected to the reason above, a constitution offers clarity to those inside and outside the church about who we are, what we believe and value, and how we operate. As a public, legal document, our constitution is an unapologetic declaration of our church’s first principles of purpose, belief, and practice.
Fourth, a constitution provides a measure of security for our church against dangers both within and without. From within, the constitution makes it impossible for a single person (or even a small handful of people) to alter fundamental aspects of our identity like our purpose, core beliefs, or governance structure. From without, a constitution protects us against lawsuits over decisions we might make about whom we admit into membership, whom we remove, or to whom we offer our services. Given how dramatically the landscape of religious liberty in America has changed over the last few years, we need a constitution which can serve us effectively in this way.