Parliamentary Law -- 1/29

Parliamentary Law
Thursday 1/29/09
Adam Fike

Quaker/Brethren possible modification to Robert’s Rules:

1. Motion
When a person receives leading from the Holy Spirit, he should make a motion to present it to the board. The chair should then pause and ask for a moment of silent reflection to give the people present time to seek God on the motion.
2. Discussion
After the moment of silence, the chair should open the meeting for discussion. If a person has something to contribute to the motion, he should stand up and not speak until he is called on to speak by the chair. Only one person should speak at a time. Under no circumstance should the discussion become a debate. A humble, non-aggressive attitude should be retained throughout the whole meeting. One must feel led by the Holy Spirit to speak. He can disagree with the motion but should not argue or put down another’s views. If tensions in a discussion do arise, the chair should call for a reflective time of silence.
3. Full Consensus
After appropriate time has been allowed for discussion, the chair will state what he believes is the consensus of the group. If there is one brother against the motion, the chair should put down the motion because the group is not of one mind. If the group is in favor of the motion, he should then ask if anyone is being led against the motion. If everyone is in agreement with the motion, it is carried. If there is anyone against the motion, it is not carried. The chair asks for the group to pray and seek the Holy Spirit’s leading on the issue.

Problems
1. It would be extremely hard to make decisions, and the decisions that are made would take an excessive amount of time (especially if people were not in agreement). It is not a very efficient decision making process, especially in larger groups.
2. Some people could claim or be deceived that they are being led by the Spirit when they are not. One person could spoil a great idea or motion that would further the work of God in the church. It would be difficult to weed out the people who are trying to force their self-seeking ambitions on the congregation.
3. A person who has valuable input to the discussion may feel discouraged from sharing if he is scared that he does not have an adequate leading from the Spirit even if the input is God-honoring.