Parliamentary Law: Common mistakes

1. Management & Leadership
in Ministry
Business Meeting
Mistakes & Misunderstandings

2. Common Mistakes &
Misunderstandings
a) Committee Reports:
- Do NOT need a motion or a seconder to present a report to
the business meeting for their consideration (The report of
the Treasurer or Sun. School Dept. is before us for your
consideration and questions …).
- Do NOT need a motion to „receive, adopt or accept‟ most
reports. Instead say “Let‟s express our thanks to the
committee” The mtg. HAS received the report!
- Do need a special motion to accept „recommendations‟
contained within a report. Wording: “I would like to make a
motion to adopt the recommendations”
Note: it is common for the reports of ministry leaders to
express opinions or hopes for the future, without those
opinions necessarily being a formal recommendation.
Hopes and opinions do not necessarily become „motions‟.

3. b) Discussing, debating motions:
- no one may speak either for or against a
motion, until it has been „seconded‟. People
often want to talk about the motion, even before it is
officially before the congregation for debate. Once a
motion has a seconder, it may then be discussed. A
motion without a seconder is automatically defeated and
thus not open to discussion.
- no one may speak twice (for or against, NOR ask clarifying
questions) concerning a motion, until each member has
had an opportunity to speak once to the issue under
discussion.

4. Discussing , debating motions (continued):
- Does „silence‟ indicate consent?
The answer is YES. If the chair makes a
statement/decision & no one objects, that decision
has the support of the assembly.
- The person or committee who originally makes a
motion always has the right to speak first & last to
the issue, plus one other time (they get to speak 3
times to the issue). This is commonly overlooked &
when not done is a violation of the rights of the
mover as provided for in Roberts Rules.

5. Discussing , debating motions (cont):
- Discussions of the motion, must be done in a
civic & impersonal manner (no personal
attacks are allowable against another
person‟s character/motives). “The comment
is out of order.”
- All comments made by those in attendance at a business
meeting are to be directed only to the chairperson & NOT to
anyone else in attendance. The formal rules of debate
indicate no one‟s name is to be used (i.e. it is improper to
say “George, you are an idiot”)
- It is helpful to everyone present if the debater clearly
states, “I am in favour/against the motion …” and then
proceeds to say why.

6. Common Mistakes &
Misunderstandings
Debating (cont.):
- No one may debate on a matter
that solely affects themselves (they and
their spouse/children should temporarily
excuse themselves from the meeting). An
individual may stay and debate items that
include them self & others in the issue
being considered. A person can vote for
them self.

7. Discussing , debating motions:
- The chairperson CAN make a motion to help
move business along, but should do so rarely.
The role of the chair is to ensure
„orderliness, clarity and timeliness‟ but not to
influence decision-making. “Would it be helpful
to the assembly if I made a motion to refer this
matter to the Finance committee?... Or The chair
would entertain a motion to amend the motion to
include the words …”
- A person may only speak to an issue a third
time, IF the assembly votes 2/3 in favour of
extending this privilege (suspend the rules).

8. Amendments
- The business meeting must vote either for or
against the amendment, before returning to
discuss and vote on the original motion.
- Although technically a violation of Robert‟s
Rules, it is common practice that if a minor
amendment is agreeable to the original mover of
the original motion, then by general consent, the
amendment does not need the formal approval of
the business meeting to be included in the
original motion being considered. However if
any one person objects to this
practice, then it is handled as a
normal amendment.

9. c) Lack of Clarity:
- The wise chairperson will
periodically remind the business
meeting what motion is „on the floor‟ & any known
implications of the motion
Before the business meeting votes on a motion…
The Chair ought to provide one last chance for those who
have not spoken to the issue, to speak.
The Chair provides the „mover‟ of the motion the
opportunity to have the last word.
The motion being considered ought to be read slowly &
carefully one last time in its entirety (highlighting any
modifications/ amendments that have been made to the
original motion).

10. c) Lack of Clarity (cont’d):
- One of the most frustrating and time consuming issues to
contend with … is a lack of clarity concerning a motion that
is verbally and spontaneously made (off of the cuff). It may
be wise to take a short recess and ask the „mover‟ of the
motion to take a few moments to write out his/her motion
and give it to the secretary and chairperson.
- During debate, do not assume that just because someone is
stating their objections or thoughts, they are also suggesting
an amendment. Ask the person if they are proposing an
amendment …or just stating their thoughts.

11. d) Insufficient Committee work:
- Many annual business mtgs. & monthly Board mtgs. get
bogged down by doing the work that ought to be provided
by committees. Make sure committees have done
sufficient investigations into the „details and particulars‟ of
the item up for discussion and are MAKING SPECIFIC
RECOMMENDATION(S) so the annual business mtg.
and/or monthly church Board mtgs. function primarily as
supervision, and high level „decision‟ making meetings.
Boards and Business meetings exist to make decisions.
Committees exist to study, recommend actions &
direction, and implement decisions !
Differentiate between :
Standing Committees (permanent, structural/strategic)
Special Committees (short term, temporary/tactical)

12. e) Exhaustive “Minute’ taking:
- Typically the secretary only records „decisions‟ and a
general summary concerning discussions & reports
(i.e. „The church board received the Trustee
report, and then discussed the pros and cons of
whether or not to purchase a van.’). The secretary
should NOT record „who said what‟ other than „who‟
makes a motion, the actual wording of the motion
and the numerical results of a vote. There is no
need to record who „seconded‟ the motion. The
minutes of any church business mtg. are public
information and available to any „member‟ who

13. f) Voting
- A person may fill in (write in) „any name‟
they wish on a ballot, even those not
formally nominated. Those ballots ARE
counted in the totals, and their votes
included in the report of the tellers.

14. f) Voting (cont.)
- A „tie‟ vote is a negative vote
- The chairperson is entitled to vote, but usually only does so
when the vote is taken by ballot
- The chairperson may break a tie with the permission of the
business mtg., if he/she has not already voted.
- The chairperson may create a tie, by adding his/her vote
against a one vote victory thus creating a tie (negative) vote.
The chairperson should RARELY use his/her right to make
the final decision on such controversial issues. The better
course of action is usually to send the issue to a committee
for further study, planning, review, recommendations.

15. f) Voting (cont.)
- Do not begin or continue the practice of
allowing non-members to vote at church business
meetings. First, it is illegal (invalidates the vote) and
second, it is contrary to denominational policy in most
denominations.
IF you do allow non-members to speak and vote at
church business meetings (usually on major items such
as building projects, calling a senior pastor, etc.) make it
clear their votes will NOT be tabulated in the deciding
vote, but their votes will be made known to the church
board at their next meeting, IF the non-members have
substantially voted differently than the members of the
church. Be especially mindful to follow through with
your promise.

16. f) Voting (cont.)
- In a large group setting where both members and
on-members are present, it is sometimes helpful to
set the „bar‟ (the seating area in which only members
sit during a business meeting) … thus making it clear
who can speak and vote, from those who may not.
The bar is particularly helpful to the tellers in
establishing „who‟ to give ballots to & „from whom‟
to collect ballots.
An alternative to setting the bar is to purposefully
distribute ballots only to the members of the
church, at the beginning of the business mtg.

17. f) Voting (cont.)
- The names of individuals recommended from the
Nominating Committee or „from the floor‟ for various offices
in the church (including pastoral votes) ARE technically
debatable, however in most situations the actual vote
becomes the members opportunity to voice their preference
and opinion.
In a large church context it might be best to have a „Meet &
Greet the candidates‟ meeting prior to the business
meeting, and then to simply cast ballots at the actual
business meeting (think of an ‘All Candidates Mtg.’ separate
from voting day, during a government election)

18. g) Nominations
- A person may nominate them self.
- A person on the Nominating Committee can be nominated
for a position in the church.
- Anyone in the assembly can make a motion for
„Nominations to Cease‟ (requires a 2nd is debatable, and
amendable, 2/3 vote).
- The better and more common practice is for the
Chairperson to simply announce/declare „Nominations to
cease’, without vote or debate, etc. If anyone objects
(appeals) … the chairperson‟s decision can be overturned
by a majority vote.

19. h) Lack of Control
- The most common problem with many business meetings is
the chairperson not exercising the „authority‟ that he/she
has to maintain decency and order. The lack of boldness
(taking charge) is usually an indication of: a deficiency in
the chairperson‟s understanding of the „rules‟ of business
meetings (not sure what to do, when to do it) OR an
overemphasis on maintaining „relationships‟ at the expense
of the „rules‟.
The Chair must make quick, clear, decisive
decision. It‟s acceptable to refer to
“Roberts Rules of Order” for
direction/clarification.

20. i) Allowing a “Call for the
question” to result in an
immediate vote.
- The chairperson may call the „question‟ and
immediately lead the assembly into a vote, when
the chairperson believes the debate has run its
course. However when a member of the
business meeting calls for the question, this is a
motion to „limit debate‟. In this case, the motion
to limit debate must be seconded (no debate) &
the business meeting must vote by 2/3 to actually
end the debate before proceeding to the actual
vote on the motion.

21. j) Overly informal
- Small church business mtgs.
are notoriously so informal, that decorum
often breaks down.
Refer to people as: the Chair, the Speaker, the
gentleman, the lady, the brother/sister who just
spoke. Keep personalities out of the
discussion … the issue is not the person, the
issue is the motion.
Note: Committees don‟t need to follow Robert‟s
Rules (more free flowing, informal discussions)

22. k) Secretary mistakes.
Failing to record …
- Name of organization
- Year, Month, Date and Time of meeting
- Attendance (or have people sign-in)
- Who „Chaired‟ the meeting
- Points of Order & the subsequent ruling/rationale
- The exact wording of the motion/amendments
- Attach: Reports submitted by committees
- The tally of the votes (including unanimous votes)
- But do not include the debate/remarks

23. Class Exercise
Fix Time to Adjourn
Adjourn Scenario:
Take a Recess
Question of Privilege Location: Your Local Church
Call for Orders of the Day
Appeal Situation: Annual Business mtg.
Division of Assembly (6 month financial crisis)
Division of Question
Inquiry/Pt. of Information
Motion: “Motion to sell the present
Pt. of Order church van and require the
Suspend Rules parents of teens to drive their
Withdraw a motion own sons & daughters to
Lay on the Table
church-related, off-site events.
Previous Question
Limit/Extend time Debate Rationale: Save costs for
Postpone to Certain Time
gas, monthly van
Refer to Committee
Amend payments, insurance &
Postpone Indefinitely upkeep. Church gets $5000
Main Motion cash from sale.