Well Constituted
If I wanted to choose a scintillating topic for conversation, let alone for this article, it probably wouldn't be constitutions! When you mention a church or Baptist Union constitution, for example, most people's eyes glaze over. If such matters are being discussed in a meeting, people often pass the buck to presumded pundits to pick pedantically over the points in question.
Constitutions can be a pain! Instead of helping the life of an organization, as intended, they can stifle it. Some can be too tightly prescriptive, excessively legalistic, too "set in concrete", or simply too convoluted for the average person. They can also be badly used. Constitutional wars are not unknown even in Baptist circles! It's tragic when, figuratively speaking, people try to use a constitution as a bludgeoning weapon to get their own way.
To view the complete article written by General Superintendent, Rev. Garry Billing, for the September 2008 'Advance', please click here to download.