Ten Most Significant Changes to the Bylaws
The following is a guide to help understand recent changes to the bylaws. Authored by AJ Garcia, in consultation with and affirmation from the Elders.
West Side exists to make disciples (Mt. 28:18-20). As the visible church gathers together weekly (Heb. 10:25), it is the serious and sacred responsibility of the elders to ensure that “all things should be done decently and in order” (1 Cor. 14:40). Elders must also “hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” (Ti. 1:9). Therefore, our church has a governing document (bylaws) that support us in order, direction, unity, and safety.
The Elders of West Side have completed a review of the existing bylaws. You can read the full document below. As you read the full document, as well as explanations below, you should not feel too surprised. All of the amendments should seem natural since we are aligning the bylaws to the beliefs/behaviors of our church. It would be counterproductive to have a set of governing documents that direct us away from where we are going. The vast majority of changes are minor (grammatical errors, for example). We also added a glossary which helps us all understand terms. Some things, however, are fairly important.
To be helpful and transparent, we will expand on ten of the most significant revisions to the bylaws. The first three are amendments to our Statement of Faith. The next four are related to elders and deacons. The last three are about church documents, financial accountability, and voting.
Inspiration and Inerrancy (Article 4.5)
The first of three doctrinal changes is on The Authority of Scripture which says: “We believe that the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament together constitute the Holy Bible; no books may be added or deleted. The Holy Bible is the inspired and inerrant written Word of God.” We removed the portion within the parentheses here: “The Holy Bible is the inspired and inerrant (that is, without error or failure of basic contents and meaning in the original manuscripts) written Word of God.” While we affirm that “inspiration, strictly speaking, applies only to the autographic text of Scripture, which in the providence of God can be ascertained from available manuscripts with great accuracy” (The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy), we also recognize how quickly one might slip into doubting the trustworthiness of Scripture. If one stretches the phrase “in the original manuscripts,” they might wrongly criticize the present Scripture. Therefore, this demands more attention than a few sentences. In order to not further confuse while trying to clarify, we removed the parentheses altogether. For further study on , you can read this article.
See 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pt. 1:20-21; Ps. 119:160.
Divine Healing (Article 4.11)
The second doctrinal change is on Divine Healing which states: “We believe that in the redemptive work of Christ, provision has been made for mankind’s physical healing. It is still God’s desire to heal His people in this life or the life to come.” We added the underlined portion. Without it, one might wrongly interpret our position to be that God’s desire is always to physically heal His people in this life. This would misalign us to the false Gospel of Prosperity or the Word of Faith movement, which we reject. We believe that God has the sovereign power to heal a person physically, however, Scripture also demonstrates that God might withhold physical healing in this life for both clear reasons (that we might depend more on Him) and mysterious reasons (that He might be glorified through it). Regardless, the Christian is guaranteed healing in glory. For a wonderful teaching on this, you can read/listen to When Will Christ Heal My Body? by John Piper.
See Ex. 15:26; 2 Cor. 12:7-9; Rev. 21:4.
Changed Sacraments to Ordinances (Article 4.12)
The third doctrinal change is that we changed the terminology of “Sacraments” to “Ordinances.” At its heart, there is no inherent problem with either word, so long as you define them biblically. However, the word “ordinance” was used in replacement of “sacrament” when Protestant churches, which West Side is among, broke from the Roman Catholic Church. For a helpful article on this, read The Ordinances of the Church by Gregg R. Allison. Allison explains, “Christ ordained only two rites with their accompanying tangible signs… Christ ordained baptism, with the accompanying sign of water, as a rite that the church must observe (Mt. 28:18-20)… Christ ordained the Lord’s Supper, with the accompanying signs of bread and wine, as a rite that the church must observe (Mt. 26:26–28).” Because Christ ordained these two rites, we prefer to use “ordinance.”
See Mt. 28:18-20; Lk. 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26.
Highlighting Male Elders for Clarity (Article 7)
Clarity is kindness. Therefore, we would be doing our members and prospective members a disserve to hide our position on male elders/pastors until later in the membership process. We joyfully embrace God’s design of male headship in the home, church, and world. To further understand this position, read The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. We added this sentence to the beginning paragraph of Article 7 on Government: “Pastors and Elders are male only, while Deacons, Staff and other leaders can be either male or female.” Since we did not change our position, but only rearranged where in the document it is, there is no need to defend this point further.
See 1 Tim. 2:12, 3:1-2; Ti. 1:5-6.
Clarified Structure of Elders and Pastors (Article 7.1)
West Side is led by a plurality of elders. We believe that Paul instructed the church to have multiple qualified men to lead the church, rather than a singular man. Given the nature of a plurality of elders, it is appropriate to distinguish them in roles and responsibilities. We clarified that the Elder Board structure is Chair, Vice-Chair, and Elders. We removed the two types of elders (directional elders and shepherding elders) and instead expressed that those are not two different types but differing roles that the Elder Board may be more gifted in one over the other. Both, however, are responsibilities of every elder. We further defined what the shepherding and directional roles look like. Lastly, we distinguished between Teaching Pastors and Associate Pastors (Executive, Worship, Youth). Teaching Pastors are considered ex-officio Board Elders. Associate Pastors may or may not be on the Board.
See Acts 14:23; 1 Pet. 5:1-3; 1 Tim. 5:17.
Added the Elder Cohort (Article 7.1)
God has designed His church to be led by spiritually mature and qualified men. No one wakes up and meets those specifications by accident. Therefore, it is the conviction of this church to establish a year long eldership training that walks through biblical/systematic theology, character formation, shepherding skills, and church governance to raise up biblically qualified and spiritually mature men to lead West Side with tender hearts, thoughtful minds, and thick skin. In order to ensure this does not dissolve, we felt compelled to add it to our bylaws. You can find this in Article 7.1 under the subheading “selection.” To better understand what this looks like, you can read the Elder Cohort (Syllabus).
See 2 Tim. 2:2; 1 Tim. 3:1-7; Ti. 1:5-9; Acts 20:25-32.
Deacon Terms and Appointment (Article 7.4)
There are two changes to deacons that are worth mentioning: (1) terms and (2) appointment. Deacons were already committing to a three-year term; however, we wish to now align their term with the elders. They are three-year terms, with the option to serve two consecutive terms if approved of by elders. Deacons, unlike elders, are eligible to serve additional terms at the discretion of the Elders. Regarding appointment, we removed a nomination process so that elders are responsible to select, interview, and appoint deacons. In the process of revising the bylaws, we’ve also published an essay called Deacons: Roles, Requirements, and Responsibilities. In that essay, Pastor AJ explains, “Elders lead through teaching and authority; deacons serve through ministry and support. And where deacons do exercise initiative or coordination, it remains a derivative and delegated responsibility, not an exercise of pastoral authority over the church.” Therefore, the God-given burden of leadership falls on the elders of a church to lead, teach, care, and protect. One way elders exercise this leadership is by installing deacons to serve the church.
See Philippians 1:1, Acts 20:25-32, and 1 Timothy 3:1-13.
Church Documents (Article 13.1)
Due to the nature of church, there are times where we cannot disclose information. Whether that is a legal issue related to a minor (abuse, divorce, etc.) or a wisdom issue related to sin (infidelity, addiction, etc.). We added language to give the Elders more control and ownership of documents like meeting minutes. This is a sensitive area, but we acknowledge that there are times when certain information (financial records, for example) ought to be public. Therefore, we also added a process for members to request information from the Chairman of the Board. The heart behind this is to not violate confidentiality while still maintaining transparency.
See Pr. 11:13; 1 Cor. 14:40; 2 Cor. 8:20-21.
Financial Accountability (Article 14)
Stewardship is serious. Every dollar that West Side has is ultimately from the Lord and practically from the generosity of our people. Not only are we deeply grateful for it, but we are equally responsible to safeguard it. That is why we added two processes that will ensure financial accountability. The first is a multi-level approval process that is required—through budget approval and purchase approval. Every purchase is seen by multiple people in and out of our organization. Additionally, we will ensure that there is a financial review/audit conducted at least every three years. This is to protect us from embezzlement, mismanaging of funds, and whatever else that would not be above board.
See 1 Cor. 4:2; 2 Cor. 8:20-21.
Standardized Voting to 2/3 Majority
Throughout the previous version of the bylaws, some voting was a simple majority (51%), while other places required a 2/3 majority. For the sake of consistency, we picked one and decided that 2/3 will be the standard. Additionally, we felt that a simple majority would not be sufficient when making decisions that we pray our church is united in.
See Phil. 2:2; Pr. 15:22.
This is not a perfect document, but we believe it better reflects our current state. Please take some time to read and reflect on it. As with any change, we welcome your questions and concerns. The change details have been recorded but make reading the document a chore. Please feel free to email elders@tcwscc.com if you would like more details.