George Wyche, Jr

Understood. there is no body that has "full power and authority" to act for the church between meetings. The Bylaws provide that the Pastor is responsible for leading the Church both spiritually and administratively. The Pastor shall provide guidance and leadership to the congregations and organizations. The Pastor derives his powers through a delegation of authority from the membership. What would be the effect of the members ratifying the Pastor's decision at a Business Meeting?

In the case of a Standing Committee, the Chairperson of that standing committee shall designate a replacement and report the selection at the next Quarterly Business Meeting. In the case of organizations and ministries (e.g., Music Ministry, Missions, Food Pantry, etc.), vacancies are not addressed. In others, for example, the Deacon Board, vacancies amongst Deacons is addressed, but vacancies in Deacon Leadership (i.e., Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, Treasurer) is not addressed.

In an effort to simplify the question, I did not mention the subject is a large church. All church activities and meetings have been canceled throughout the pandemic. The Pastor would like to have stable leadership to guide the church in its emergence from pandemic related restrictions. The bylaws of the church vary based upon the categories of ministries and organizations, but mostly call for them to be responsible for the election of its own officers on an annual basis. There is no "until their successors are elected," language. However the Bylaws state that the Pastor "is an ex officio officer of all the organizations named, and his leadership is to be recognized in them." Other positions are appointed by the Pastor and ratified by the membership annually.

Based upon an extraordinary circumstance such as this pandemic, may a President/Chairman extend the terms of of office of the current leadership for one additional year when the bylaws otherwise require they be elected annually? If so, under what doctrine could she base this decision?