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Constitution of Carolina
Baptist Association
Bylaws
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We, the messengers of cooperating Baptist
churches in Henderson, and parts of Buncombe and Polk Counties, North
Carolina, propose to establish and maintain the principles of a district
association consistent with this constitution.
The name of this body shall be "Carolina
Baptist Association, Inc."
To aid churches in their obedience to the
Great Commission, and, seeking direction from the unchanging God in a
constantly changing world, it shall be the purpose of Carolina Baptist
Association, Inc. to help churches cooperate with koinonia in missions,
evangelism and growth projects they cannot do alone. The Association
shall be a resource center for training and equipping church workers to be
more effective in performing their duties. The Association shall
encourage cooperation in the denomination for the advancement of God's
Kingdom.
SECTION 1 Carolina Baptist
Association, Inc. shall be composed of messengers from cooperating member
churches.
SECTION 2 The Association shall be
sole judge of its membership and may receive churches, or reject churches
according to its Constitution and Bylaws.
SECTION 3 Churches who want to join
the Association may apply to the Membership Committee. Upon the
committee's recommendation to the Association, a church may be received
under watch-care for a period of one year during which the church shall
have all the rights and privileges of membership except that members may
not vote nor hold office. After a satisfactory relationship for one
year, the church can be received into full membership.
SECTION 4 A church may withdraw
from the Association by transfer of letter to another or by an official
request to have that church removed from the membership role.
SECTION 1 Carolina Baptist
Association, Inc. shall meet regularly on the fourth Tuesday evening in
April from 7:00 through 9:00 p.m. at which meeting general officers shall
be elected, and on the fourth Tuesday in October, from 4:00 p.m. through
9:00 p.m. each year.
SECTION 2 Special meetings may be
called for specified purposes by the Moderator of the Associational
Council provided that two weeks notice is given to member churches
SECTION 3 Messengers shall be
elected annually by each member church. In addition to the pastor,
one messenger for each fifty (50 members of the church may be elected
provided that no church shall have less than three (3) nor more than ten
(10) messengers. The names of messengers who attend and register
during the annual associational meeting shall be listed in the minutes.
Each church is autonomous. A
church does not instruct its messengers how to vote, and no church is under
the authority of the Association in any way. All relationships are
cooperative.
SECTION 1 The general
officers of Carolina Baptist Association shall be a Moderator, Vice
Moderator, Clerk, Treasurer and Historian.
SECTION 2 General officers
shall be elected at the spring meeting by a majority vote for candidates
presented by the Nominations Committee or from the floor. All
nominations must be with the prior consent of the nominee. They shall
serve for one year beginning at the close of the fall meeting and ending at
the close of the next fall meeting. The Nominations Committee
report shall be published in the newsletter before the election.
SECTION 3 (a) A
Parliamentarian shall be appointed by the Moderator to serve during his term
of office.
(b) If the office of
Moderator becomes vacant, the Vice Moderator shall become Moderator for the
remainder of that term. Other vacancies in associational offices shall
be filled by the Association on recommendation by the Nominations Committee
or from the floor at the next appointed associational meeting, with the
prior consent of the nominee.
(c) A moderator shall not
serve more than two terms in succession
SECTION 4 The major
divisions of work: Missions, Church Development, Pastors Council,
Family Life and others, as determined by the Association, shall be
coordinated by councils. Each council chair shall be nominated by the
Nominations Committee or from the floor, with the prior consent of the
nominees, to serve for a year beginning at the close of the fall meeting and
ending at the close of the next fall meeting.
SECTION 5 (a) A program
director shall be elected in April for: Baptist Men, Church Media,
Discipleship Training, Music, Seminary Extension, Stewardship, Sunday
School, WMU, VBS and other organizations which may be added by the
Association. Nominations may be presented by the Nominations Committee
or from the floor with the prior consent of each nominee, for term of three
(3) years, beginning January 1 after election. Vacancies may be filled
in like manner.
(b) The program directors
will serve three-year terms beginning in January following election, but
they will be responsible for planning the program and budget for each of the
years under their direction.
(c) Each director will
select workers for that area and present them to the Association for
approval.
Three Trustees shall be elected to
single rotating terms of three years. It is suggested that one of the
three be a lawyer. Nominations may come from the Nominations Committee
or from the floor with the prior consent of each nominee. The
expiration date of each Trustee's term of office shall appear by his name in
the Associational Minutes.
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| Article VIII - Board of Directors |
Carolina Baptist Association, Inc. shall
function as a corporation. The Director of Missions shall serve as
president of the board composed of the Trustees and the Treasurer.
The Treasurer shall serve as secretary of the board.
| Article IX - Executive
Committee |
The Carolina Baptist Association
Executive Committee shall be composed of the Associational Officers,
Council Directors, Program Directors, Trustees, Director of Missions
(ex-officio), chairs of all standing committees and the persons holding or
representing the following positions in each member church: Pastor,
Sunday School Director, Discipleship Training Director, WMU Director,
Baptist Men Director, Music Director, Youth Director, Senior Adult
Director, Single Adult Director and Chair of Deacons. The Executive
Committee shall have the authority to act for the Association between
sessions as limited by the Constitution and Bylaws. It shall meet
regularly in January and July. A quorum shall consist of those
present at regular meetings and called meetings with two weeks notice to
all member churches.
| Article X - Associational Council |
The Associational Council shall consist
of the Moderator, Vice Moderator, Clerk, Treasurer, Council Directors,
Chair of Finance Committee, and the associational staff members
(ex-officio). The Associational Council shall function in an
advisory capacity for planning, promoting, correlating and reviewing the
total associational program, to include, but not be limited to the long
range planning for the association. Any meeting of the Associational
Council shall be deemed official if a minimum of five (5) voting members
are present. The Council sub-committee, consisting of the Moderator,
Vice Moderator, Clerk and Treasurer, shall serve as a standing personnel
committee. The Council shall meet prior to each meeting of the
Association.
SECTION 1 Standing Committees.
Members of all standing committees shall be elected from nominees by the
Committee on Committees or from the floor, with the prior consent of each
nominee, to rotating terms of three (3) years beginning in January after
election. Members concluding their terms of service will be required
to wait one year before serving on the same committee. The Committee
on Committees is encouraged to attempt to enlist people from all the
churches so that participation is distributed among all cooperating
churches. The standing committees shall be: Constitution,
Evangelism, Family Enrichment, Finance, Membership, New Work, Nominations,
Ordination, Senior Adult Enrichment, Single Adult Enrichment and Youth
Enrichment.
SECTION 2 The following committees
shall be appointed by the Moderator at least thirty days before the spring
meeting: Committee on Committees, Committee on Enrollment, Committee
on Resolutions, Committee on Pastor/Church Relations, and Committee on
Place and Preacher.
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Bylaws of Carolina
Baptist Association
Top |
I. PARLIAMENTARY RULES -
Parliamentary procedures shall follow Robert' Rules of Order.
II. ASSOCIATIONAL YEAR - The
associational year reports shall cover September 1st through August 31st.
The fiscal year shall be January 1st through December 31st.
III. DUTIES OF OFFICERS
SECTION 1 The Moderator shall
conduct meetings in keeping with the Constitution and Bylaws. The
Moderator shall chair the Executive Committee and serve as ex-officio
member of all standing committees. He shall appoint the following
committees at least thirty days before the spring meeting: Committee
on Committees (seven persons), Committee on Resolutions (three persons),
Committee on Place and Preacher (five persons), Committee on Enrollment
(five persons), Committee on Pastor/Church Relations (three persons) and
parliamentarian.
SECTION 2 The Vice Moderator shall
preside in the absence or at the pleasure of the Moderator. The Vice
Moderator shall be vice chair of the Executive Committee and chair of the
Associational Council.
SECTION 3 The Clerk shall work with
the associational staff to see that minutes of the meetings of the
Association, Executive Committee and Associational Council are kept in
proper order. The Clerk shall supervise the distribution of report
forms six weeks before they are due in the associational office, the
preparation and distribution of printed copies of the digest of these
reports, the preparation and distribution of the annual book of minutes,
and the preparation and preservation of accurate records.
SECTION 4 The Treasurer shall work
with the associational staff to see that all funds of the Association are
received, banked and disbursed properly according to the policies and
instructions of Carolina Baptist Association.
SECTION 5 The Historian shall work
with the associational staff to see that historical data on the
Association and its cooperating churches is collected and preserved.
A written report shall be presented at each fall associational meeting.
IV - DUTIES OF
COMMITTEES
SECTION 1 The Committee on
Committees shall be composed of seven members appointed annually by the
Moderator. It shall perform duties set forth in Article XI, Section
1 of the Constitution. It shall recommend a member of each committee
to serve as chair. It shall present a list of nominees to the
association at the fall meeting. It shall also recommend persons to
fill vacancies that occur between semi-annual meetings to the association
at the appropriate meeting.
SECTION 2 The Committee on
Constitution shall be composed of sex members elected to rotating terms of
three years. It shall study any proposed changes in the Constitution
and make necessary recommendations to the Association.
SECTION 3 The Committee on
Enrollment shall be composed of five members appointed by the Moderator.
It shall work with the office staff to prepare for and direct the
enrollment of messengers at each of the semi-annual sessions.
SECTION 4 The Committee on
Evangelism shall be composed of nine members. It shall seek to
encourage effective evangelism among the cooperating churches in
cooperation with the denominational departments of evangelism. It is
encouraged to plan and conduct the annual associational evangelism rally.
Additional plans must be approved by the Association.
SECTION 5 The Committee on Finance
shall be composed of nine members including the Treasurer. The
Committee shall consider all needs, requests and financial resources to
propose an annual budget to the Association. The Committee shall
also recommend plans for raising funds to meet the budget. The
committee shall be responsible for the oversight of the financial
obligations of the Carolina Baptist Association. The committee shall
be consulted concerning needs and expenditures that go beyond the scope of
the approved budget. It shall appoint an auditor to audit the
Associations' financial records annually or at the request of the
Executive Committee.
SECTION 6 The Committee of
Membership shall be composed of three members rotating terms of three
years. It shall perform the duties stated in Article III, Section 3
of the Constitution. It shall also seek to establish better
relationships with non-active churches.
SECTION 7 The Committee on New Work
shall be composed of six members elected to rotating terms of three years.
It shall seek to determine the need for new work to meet the needs of each
community. It shall assist churches in starting new work including
language missions. It shall report to the Association during
semi-annual sessions or the Executive Committee meeting.
SECTION 8 The Committee on
Nominations shall be composed of nine members appointed to rotating terms
of three years. It shall nominate a person for each general office
of the Association, Associational Officers, Council Directors, Program
Directors, Trustees and a representative for each appropriate
denominational Institution and Agency. All nominees must have given
permission before they are nominated at the spring meeting. To fill
vacancies between semi-annual meetings, this committee shall present a
nominee to the association at the next Executive Committee meeting.
A list of nominees shall be printed in the Carolina Baptist News to inform
the churches before the election.
SECTION 9 The Committee on Order of
Business shall be composed of the host pastor, Moderator, Clerk and Music
Director. Working with the associational staff, it shall prepare a
printed program for the semi-annual meeting and distribute copies to
program personnel and pastors at least 30 days in advance. The
committee shall present the program for adoption by the Association and
manage any adjustments.
SECTION 10 The Committee on
Pastor/Church Relations shall be composed of three members appointed
annually by the moderator, and the Director of Missions. At least
one pastor and one layperson shall be on the committee at all times.
A. When requested by a pastor or a
church, this Committee shall seek to help define relationship problems and
to help the church find its own solutions without making any
recommendations publicly.
B. This committee shall meet only
when a request for its service has been made.
C. The services of the Committee
may be requested only by a pastor, or an elected official with the consent
of the church/
SECTION 11 The Committee on
Ordination shall be composed of six members. When requested by a
member church, it shall assist with examination and ordination of a
candidate for the Gospel Ministry.
SECTION 12 The Committee on Place
and Preacher shall be composed of five members appointed by the moderator.
It shall seek and consider amenable churches and persons to recommend
places for the semi-annual sessions of the Association and a person and
alternate to preach the annual sermon for the next year.
SECTION 13 The Committee on
Resolutions shall be composed of three persons appointed by the moderator.
Its report shall be presented at each semi-annual meeting.
V - DUTIES OF COUNCIL
CHAIRS
SECTION 1 The chair of each council
shall assist the program directors and/or committee chairs in that
council.
SECTION 2 The Council Chair shall
secure a report from each program director and committee chair in the
Council and make a summary report to the Associational Council annually.
SECTION 3 The Council Chair shall
serve on the Associational Council to help coordinate the total
associational program.
SECTION 4 The Council Chair shall
work with program directors and committee chairs to develop budget
requests for use by the Committee on Finance in preparation of the annual
associational budget.
VI - TRUSTEES
The Board of Trustees shall fill the
legal requirements of the State of North Carolina for Carolina Baptist
Association, Inc. to hold title to all its property. It shall handle
all legal matters as directed by the Association.
VII - DIRECTOR OF
MISSIONS
SECTION 1 The Director of Missions
shall be elected upon the recommendation of a duly appointed search
committee by the Association in semi-annual meeting or by the Executive
Committee between meetings. The term of office shall be until
terminated by mutual consent or at the official request of either party.
SECTION 2 The Director of Missions
shall have general oversight of the work of the Carolina Baptist
Association, Inc. cooperating with all the elected associational officials
and the leadership of the cooperating churches. The Director of
Missions shall be an ex-officio member of all committees, councils and
organizations of the Association.
A. Salary and benefits shall be
determined by the annual budget of the Association.
B. Vacation time shall be two weeks
each year without carry over. Additional time off may be granted for
just reasons by the Associational Council and/or the Executive Committee.
C. The Director of Missions is
allowed up to three weeks of revival meetings and two weeks of
denominational work outside the Association each year. Any
additional time must be approved by the Associational Council and/or the
Executive Committee. The number of revival meetings within the
Association is not limited.
D. The Director of Missions shall
serve the churches of the Association without charge. However,
voluntary honoraria or personal gifts are left to the discretion of the
churches.
E. More than twelve days sick leave
per year must be approved by the Associational Council and/or the
Executive Committee.
F. The Director of Missions shall
not serve more than three weeks as interim pastor or pulpit supply in any
church in a given year without the approval of the Moderator or Vice
Moderator of the Association.
G. The Director of Missions shall
respond to requests by churches for help in securing a pastor.
H. The Director of Missions shall
provide leadership in planning and conducting Associational events.
I. The Director of Missions shall
encourage churches to participate in the Cooperative Program.
SECTION 3 Anything relating to the
Director of Missions which is not covered under Bylaw VII must be
determined by the Associational Council and/or the Executive Committee.
VIII - ANNUAL REPORTS
Committee and program reports to be
printed in the Book of Advanced Reports, except for history and
statistics, must not exceed three hundred (300) words.
IX - COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Upon the recommendation of the Committee
on Committees, chairs of associational committees may succeed themselves.
X - FAMILY LIFE COUNCIL
The Family Life Council shall be composed
of the Council Director and the chair of the Family Life Enrichment
Committee, the Singles Enrichment Committee, the Senior Adult Enrichment
Committee, the Youth Enrichment Committee and other enrichment committees
approved by the Associaitonal Council and/or the Executive Committee.
AMENDMENTS
Amendments to the Bylaws may be made at
any Annual Meeting of the Association when presented in writing at an
Executive Committee prior to the semi-annual meeting and at said meeting
and approved by a majority of the messengers present and voting.
(Revised 10-22-02)
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