Do we have a quorum?

Maybe you’ve heard this question asked at a congregational meeting. So what is a quorum? Basically having a quorum means that there are sufficient members present to conduct an official meeting. The minimum number required for a quorum is predefined and usually expressed as a percentage (eg 50% of voting members). If a quorum is not met, the meeting is “unofficial” and no motions can be passed.

The concept of a quorum is not found anywhere in the Bible. It comes to us from government, created as ruling authorities changed from monarchy rule to assemblies of representatives. In its modern form, it is referred to in Robert’s Rule of Order, which is the handbook for running meetings. The typical number used for a quorum (and the default if none is stated - according to Roberts) is a simple majority or 50% plus one. This number is almost always achieved in government assemblies that are made up of people who are elected and often paid to attend meetings. Since these elected officials have been chosen by the people to represent their interests, they carry the needs of large groups of people with them when they attend meetings and the people expect them to attend duly called meetings so their voices can be heard and interests attended to. Attendance at city council meetings is nearly 100% all the time as council members are highly motivated to attend these meetings.

However, several handbooks recommend that a smaller number be used in situations when the assembly is made up of individual members. Individuals represent only their own interests and are not accountable to anyone else if they don’t attend a meeting. For example, many “condominium associations” have a quorum level of only 10%, and some have difficulty achieving that amount at their meetings. The caution for having a high number is that it could end up paralyzing the organization. If you are unable to achieve a quorum, you can’t pass any motions. If you consistently can’t pass motions, you can’t conduct business. The only way to change the percentage for a quorum is to have an official meeting, but if you can’t get a quorum to attend a meeting, you can’t change the quorum number. Do you see the danger here?

In small organizations, the percentage amounts can be misleading. For example, consider an organization with 33 members made up of primarily married couples. Each member is equivalent to 3% of the total membership and each married couple is 6%. Suppose two couples are away on vacation when a meeting is called – the available members has dropped by 12%. If you typically had 55% attendance at meetings and both these couples were regular attendees, the likelihood of achieving a 50% quorum just dropped significantly. The attendance would probably be 43% and the 50% quorum would not be met. Think about what this means – four people have the power to cancel a meeting, to prevent progress from being made. In this example, this was just a scheduling conflict but think about how easy it would be for two couples to essentially control when and if meetings occur.

Having a stated quorum percentage and ensuring you meet that amount at meetings has a very important role in maintaining our charitable status as a church. We need to be able to demonstrate to the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) that the funds we collect as a church are spent on appropriate expenses and given to missions and individuals in a manner that is approved by the church body, and not one or two individuals. This is why we present a budget to the congregation for approval that specifies our giving to missions and our projected operating expenses, and we then report on actual spending on these amounts at our annual meeting for approval.

But beyond this application, I personally don’t see the need for ensuring we have a quorum at our meetings. We are not a government, we are not a business. We are not led by a board of directors. We are an assembly of God’s people, and led by His Spirit. When we call our people together for a meeting to select a new Pastor or change our Mission, we pray for God to be present at that meeting and lead us to the decision He wants us to make. When we gather, we rely on God to bless that meeting and guide us as He sees fit. We should not use a worldly restriction such as a quorum percentage to dictate to us whether God will speak to His people. We need to open to the Spirit’s leading.

In my twenty years in leadership positions with various churches, I have found that too often we govern our churches by conforming to the way the world operates, rather than follow the model of governance found in the New Testament. While there are some things we must do from a legal standpoint, we need to keep going back to the Bible to ensure we are following God’s example, not the world’s example.

So getting back to quorums – since we need to have one, what is the right number for our church? Our existing constitution is at 50%. While we have achieved this number over the past several years, it has frequently been by a slim margin – sometimes only 3 people over that amount. This makes me very uncomfortable. I would not be surprised if at some point in the future, we don’t have enough attendees to make a quorum if we leave the number at 50%. I don’t like going around to everyone and reminding them they need to attend because last meeting we almost didn’t make a quorum – the motivation becomes simply making sure we have enough people in the seats to conduct business. I want people to attend because they want to attend, because they feel led to attend – not because of guilt or obligation. And if we call a meeting and only 40% attend, I’m confident that those 40% are the ones God wants at that meeting and we should proceed. Therefore, I would personally feel comfortable with a number as low as 10%. However, I recognize that many people will find this number too low, and I’m willing to accept 30%, which is what the Elders are proposing in the re-written constitution.

I’d love to hear your opinions on this matter, and encourage you to contact me in person, via email, phone call, or in the comments section of this blog.

Jac