REsisting Church Authority Abuse

 In this article, Larry Kirkpatrick writes, "Where does authority reside in the Church? In the membership.  "  

In this article, Larry Kirkpatrick says " The church board is not a power to itself. It’s meetings should be open to the membership of the congregation except in rare cases.  Church members who are not serving on the church board can sit in and listen to a board meeting.  With permission, a non-board member may be allowed to address the board.  The board is established by the membership to facilitate the ministry of the local church, not to rule over the membership, just as a pastor works in cooperation with the membership to facilitate the ministry of the local church, not to rule over the membership"

 In this article, Larry Kirkpatrick clarifies, "The church “in business” is every occasion when the church membership votes directly on a matter.  The church “in business” actually meets much more often than it may seem... Every time your congregation, at the beginning of the church service has a first or second reading or votes a membership transfer, you are acting “in business.” ... In the pre service time when the church is gathered and in the announcements period, without interrupting another process, one might rise to seek the floor while the elder as at the podium, and clearly and respectfully [ask for a business meeting]