During the 2013 annual meeting of the South Carolina Baptist Convention, the bylaws committee of the convention, chaired by Steven Ruff, pastor of Port Royal Baptist Church, will present several recommendations for consideration.
The summary of the proposed changes is below. Items being added are in BOLD, and items being proposed for deletions are strikethrough.
Executive Summary
Proposed Bylaw Changes
Item 1 — Significant changes in the format and publication schedule of The Baptist Courier are the reasons for the proposed changes. The changes expand the options in which submissions may be made to The Baptist Courier, allowing for different release formats/dates.
Once a biweekly newspaper, The Baptist Courier is now a monthly periodical, an electronic version of the monthly and a dynamic website in which updates are reported as they are processed. In order to meet publication deadlines, lead time for material to be submitted impacts the timeliness of dated information.
These recommended changes allow for material to be sent to The Baptist Courier as it becomes available, giving The Baptist Courier discretion as to which delivery system(s) best serve(s) the churches of South Carolina.
Throughout the bylaws one will find the following recommendation related to The Baptist Courier.
to The Baptist Courier for publication in one (1) of the following three (3) ways: (i) in a print edition; (ii) in an electronic edition; or (iii) on its website.
Item 2 — Messengers have requested in surveys the enlistment of national speakers for the annual meeting. Creation of the office of president-elect will aid the committee on order of business by providing a means of continuity in meeting planning. This will also help facilitate the wishes of the messengers by having national speakers that require a longer lead time in securing. Currently, newly elected convention presidents are thrust into service with little input into the meeting in which they will preside. The role of president-elect is proposed to assist in planning the annual meeting and preparing for one’s year of service as president.
Bylaws Part 1, Article IV
Officers
A. The officers of the Convention shall be President, President-Elect, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Recording Secretary, Registration Secretary, and Treasurer. The Executive Director-Treasurer of the Convention shall serve as Treasurer of the Convention.
B. In case of the President’s death, disability incapacity, resignation, or move from the state, the First Vice President shall automatically succeed to the office of President, and the Second Vice President shall automatically succeed to the office of First Vice President. In case of the President-Elect’s death, incapacity, resignation, or move from the state, the office of the President-Elect shall remain vacant until the next annual session of the Convention, at which time both a President and a President-Elect will be elected pursuant to Part 2, Article I, Section E. Except as specified above, the Executive Board may fill any vacancies which may occur between annual sessions of the Convention. Removal of an officer prior to the expiration of the term of office may occur only by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the messengers voting and after the officer has been advised of an intent to remove and after the officer has been afforded an opportunity to be heard.
C. These officers shall perform the duties described by the Bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by this Convention and as directed by the Convention.
D. Officers, other than the President and the Treasurer, shall hold office for one year or until their successors are elected and shall not be eligible to succeed themselves until one year has elapsed. Any officer filling an unexpired term shall be eligible for election for one full term. The President shall hold office for one year and shall be succeeded by the President-Elect as provided in Part 2, Article 1, Section E. The President may not serve as both President and President-Elect simultaneously.
G. Except as provided in these Bylaws, the President-Elect shall have no duties, powers, or responsibilities, but shall be included on all correspondence and notices provided to the officers of the Convention, and shall have the opportunity to attend and observe, without voting power or authority, all meetings that may be attended by the President, whether in person or through some other mode of communication.
Bylaws Part 2, Article I
E. Elections
1. Officers The President-Elect, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Recording Secretary, and Registration Secretary shall be elected at the morning meeting on the second day of the annual Convention. Election of officers shall proceed in order without waiting for report of tellers from one office before making nomination for the next office. The President each year shall be the President-Elect who was in office immediately before the election of officers; provided, however, that in the event the office of the President-Elect has been vacated prior to the election of officers, a President shall be elected at the time provided in this paragraph and prior to the election of the other officers.