2016 Wesleyan Discipline:B. Local Board of Administration Membership

B. Membership

752. Local Board of Administration Organizational Options. The local church conference shall adopt one of the following structural models for the organization and election of the local board of administration (cf. 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:315:5). All board members shall be adult members, whose lives bear witness to the grace of holy living (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:297:1; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:302:3-4; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:552:2-3; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:553:1-3); who are in harmony with our Articles of Religion, Membership Commitments, and the authority of The Wesleyan Church in matters of church government (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:297:3; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:553:1-2); and who are faithful in worship attendance, involved in personal ministry, and supportive of the church financially at least to the level of personal tithing (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:265:3; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:297:4).

(1) Standard Model. The local board of administration shall be comprised minimally of the pastor as chair (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:675, 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:678, 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:725:16, 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:735), the associate pastor (if any and except when the pastor’s spouse; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:678, 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:738), the vice-chair (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:773), the church secretary (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:830), the church treasurer or business manager (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:842). If the church has a separate board of trustees, at least one trustee shall be designated by the local church conference to serve as an ex officio member of the local board of administration (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:315:6, 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:850). Additional members-at-large may be elected by the local church conference in such numbers as it shall determine. It is recommended that the total number of all voting members of the local board of administration using the standard model should not exceed twelve persons.

(2) Alternate Models. Alternate models of local church governance may be considered by the local church conference in consultation with the district superintendent and with the prior approval of the district board of administration. When evaluating proposed alternate models, the district board of administration shall give due consideration to safeguard the following constitutional and practical principles:

(a) All local church officers, local board of administration members, trustees, and district conference delegates must be members who meet the leadership qualifications (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:260-268; 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:558), of the local church electing them (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:302:3-4, 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:552:2-3, 2016 Wesleyan Discipline:815).

(b) All officers, board members, trustees, and district conference delegates must be elected by the eligible voting members of the local church conference (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:315:5-7). No pastor or other official has any right to appoint an officer or declare an office vacant (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:315:5). Since the right to elect officers and trustees vests solely in each pastoral charge (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:315:5-6), no board has the right to become self-perpetuating by electing its own members, other than temporarily filling unexpired terms when vacancies occur in the interim of local church conferences (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:782:27).

(c) Due to obvious conflicts of interest, no compensated church staff member may vote on compensation issues on the governing board of the local church by which he or she is employed. The only exception is the pastor, who is the chair but not an employee of the local board of administration, rather being called by the local church conference and appointed by the district conference (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:323:1-2).

(d) No member may be excluded from local church leadership on the basis of ancestry, color or gender (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:360:3d).

755. It is recommended that no two persons of the same household be elected to serve on the same local board of administration, that no person shall be elected to more than one office carrying ex officio membership on the board, and it is recommended that a former pastor should not serve on the local board of administration (2016 Wesleyan Discipline:3097).

758. A local church conference may, by a two-thirds vote, adopt three-year terms for the local board of administration, with approximately one-third being elected each year.