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GOVERNANCE & MINISTRY
by Dan Hotchkiss
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What Bylaws Should and Should Not Say
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Excerpt
Digital Content Writers India on Unsplash Most bylaws should say less than they do. They’re full of advice about how officers and other leaders ought to do their jobs. Some of this advice is good, some bad, but almost none of it belongs in bylaws. Bylaws are mostly about power. They should say how people get into positions of authority, which of them gets to decide what, and how leaders will be held accountable for what they do. Bylaws are part of a hierarchy of documents that control what can happen in an organization. Above them are laws adopted by the government—for instance, tax codes and nonprofit corporation laws. Some denominations have mandatory rulebooks that outrank local bylaws. Bylaws (and constitutions) are the highest documents adopted by the congregation itself. All other policies, official actions, and instructions must be comply with the bylaws, so it’s important that they say what
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