Four Signs of Bad Church Bylaws [Podcast]

While the thought of church bylaws may not interest you at first, what you don’t know about the complicated nature of church governing may very well lead to trouble. In today’s episode, Thom and Sam unpack why church bylaws exist and four signs of bad church bylaws. Read More

Bad church bylaws can prove a serious impediment to the mission and ministry of a local church. The bylaws of the small Anglican church where I sometimes lead worship and preach require the use of the King James Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer at all services of public worship. They form a major obstacle to reaching the younger generations in the community and the region, who for the most part show no interest in learning the Jacobean English of the King James Bible and the 1928 Prayer Book. They account at least in part for the decline of the church. The jurisdiction with which the church is affiliated permits the use of other translations of the Bible beside the King James Bible, including modern English translations, and the use of other forms of service provided that they conform to the doctrine of the 1928 Prayer Book. The bishop of the diocese has no objections to the use of modern English services as long as this requirement is met. The bylaws, however, prevent pastors and other church leaders from taking advantage of the jurisdiction's canons and the bishop's flexibility and introducing changes in the services of the church that might help to arrest its decline. To my knowledge the only changes that the church has made to its bylaws in recent years was how any assets remaining after all the liabilities of the church are discharged would be disposed in the event of the church's dissolution. Rather than being used to further the cause of the gospel such as helping to fund a new church plant, they would be divided equally among the surviving members of the congregation.