CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS
OF THE
WESLEYAN THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
[As officially adopted by the WTS, November 8, 1969, at Marion, IN,
and subsequently amended. Most recent revision, November, 1995.]
ARTICLE I. Name
The name of the organization shall be the Wesleyan Theological Society.
ARTICLE II. Purposes and Relationship to CHA
Section 1. Purposes
A. To promote theological interchange among Wesleyan/Holiness scholars and other persons interested in this area;
B. To provide theological leadership to the CHA, including offering a doctrinal seminar at each of its annual conventions;
C. To stimulate scholarship among younger theologians and pastors;
D. To publish a Journal consisting of significant contributions to Wesleyan/Holiness scholarship.
Section 2. Relationship to Christian Holiness Association
This Society shall be regarded as a Commission of the Christian Holiness Association and, through the Society's President, shall submit a report of its activities to the annual convention of the CHA.
ARTICLE III. Doctrinal Position
While WTS members are not required to sign a statement of faith, the Society works within the context of the CHA and its faith/mission statement, namely:
The Christian Holiness Association is a body of churches, organizations, and individuals who accept the inspiration and infallibility of sacred Scripture and evangelical doctrine that pertains to divine revelation, the incarnation, the resurrection, the second coming of Christ, the Holy Spirit, the church, as affirmed in the historic Christian creeds. The particular concern of this fellowship is the biblical doctrine of sanctification identified in what is known as the Wesleyan position.
The Association believes that personal salvation includes both the new birth and the entire sanctification wrought by God in the heart by faith. Entire sanctification is the crisis experience subsequent to conversion that results in a heart cleansed from all sin and filled with the Holy Spirit. It is maintained by that faith, which expresses itself in constant obedience to God's revealed will and results in a moment-by-moment cleansing.
ARTICLE IV. Membership
Section 1. Types and Privileges of Members in the WTS.
A. Full Members: Full members are those who affirm the purposes of the Society as expressed in Articles II and III above. Full members are entitled to attend all meetings, to vote and to hold office, to present papers, and to receive the Journal upon the payment of annual dues.
B. Affiliate Members: The Society offers affiliate membership to persons who are interested in the work of the Society but do not wish to become full members. Affiliate members shall be entitled to attend all meetings, to present papers upon recommendation of a full member, and to receive the Journal upon the payment of annual dues, but do not vote or hold office.
C. Student Members: Members who are currently in undergraduate or graduate studies. Student members shall be entitled to attend all meetings of the Society and to receive the Journal upon the payment of annual dues. Upon the completion of their formal academic training. Student members must notify the Secretary in writing and elect the type of membership they desire and for which they are qualified.
D. Honorary Members: Members who were charter members of the WTS, or who have twenty or more years of continuous membership in the Society, and who notify the Secretary in writing, shall be exempted from further payment of dues upon retirement, with full rights and privileges accorded them in the type of membership they maintained immediately before retirement.
Section 2. Qualifications for Membership
A. All full members shall be in accord with the purposes of the Society as expressed in Articles II and III of these Bylaws.
B. Persons who desire membership in the WTS shall complete the membership application form and pay the membership dues for the current calendar year.
C. Members may change as desired from one type of membership to another at any time by a written request to the Secretary.
Section 3. Membership Dues
A. Membership dues shall be based on the calendar year.
B. Membership dues shall be determined annually on the recommendation of the Executive Committee and by a majority vote of the full members present and voting at a regular business meeting of the Society.
C. Any member who does not pay dues during a given calendar year will not receive the Journal the following year until the dues are paid in full for the current calendar year as well as for the past year.
D. Members who do not pay their dues for two years or more, up to five years, shall be placed on an inactive list; they may be restored to active membership when dues for the current year and the immediate past year are paid in full, whereupon they shall receive the Journal for both years.
E. After five or more years of inactive membership a person must reapply for membership in the Society.
ARTICLE V. Officers
Section 1. The officers of this Society shall be a President, a First Vice-President, a Second Vice-President, a Secretary-Treasurer, and a Promotion Officer. These officers shall perform the duties as prescribed by these Bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Society.
Section 2. The Nominating Committee shall nominate candidates for the offices and committee memberships to be filled at the annual meeting of the Society. The Nominating Committee shall prepare a ballot using every reasonable effort to submit at least two names as nominees for each office or committee membership, with additional nominations from the floor permitted before the election.
Section 3. The officers shall be elected by ballot to serve for one year or until their successors are elected, with the exception of the Secretary-Treasurer and Promotion Officer, who shall be elected for three years. The term of the officers shall begin at the close of the annual meeting at which they are elected.
Section 4. In case of a vacancy in any office except that of President, the Executive Committee shall appoint an eligible person from the membership to fill the unexpired term and/or until the regular election at the annual meeting. If the office of President becomes vacant, the First Vice-President shall succeed to that office, the Second Vice-President shall become First Vice-President, and the Executive Committee may appoint an eligible person to fill the unexpired term of the Second Vice-President.
ARTICLE VI. Duties of the Officers
Section 1. The President shall preside at all business meetings, serve as chair of the Executive Committee, present an annual report of the activities of the Society to the Christian Holiness Association at the time of its annual convention, and represent the general interests of the Society whenever possible.
Section 2. The First Vice-President shall serve as chair of the Program and Arrangements Committee to plan and promote the program for the annual meeting which occurs during his or her term of office. He or she shall fulfill the duties of President if the latter is unable to serve, and shall succeed to the office of President when the President's term of office expires, or in case of a vacancy.
Section 3. The Second Vice-President shall serve as the chair of the Program and Arrangement Committee to plan and promote the program for the annual meeting which occurs during his or her term as First Vice-President. He or she shall succeed to the office of First Vice-President when the First Vice-President becomes President, except as provided in ARTICLE V: Officers, Section 4.
Section 4. The Secretary-Treasurer shall maintain the records and properties of the Society; collect dues and disburse its funds, provide for adequate insurance for the properties of the Society in consultation with the Executive Committee, prepare an annual a budget and submit it to the Executive Committee for approval before it is presented to the annual business meeting, present a fiscal report to the membership at the annual meeting, submit the financial records to an auditor who is approved by the Executive Committee prior to the presentation of the fiscal report at the annual meeting, and report periodically to the Executive Committee, as deemed necessary, in the interim between annual meetings. Disbursement of funds shall be at the direction of the Executive Committee, except for regular or routine matters.
Section 5. The Promotion Officer shall strive to increase the Society's membership, enlarge the endowment, seek advertising in and subscribers for its Journal, and otherwise promote its general interests.
ARTICLE VII. Meetings
Section 1. The Society shall meet annually for the prepared program and the business meeting.
Section 2. The fiscal year shall correspond with the annual meeting and the term of officers and committees.
Section 3. The place of the annual meeting shall be determined by the Executive Committee from written invitations submitted by the chief administrators of institutions or other facilities.
Section 4. The active full members of the Society who are present at the annual business meeting shall constitute a quorum.
Section 5. Regional meetings may be developed as interest in the Society grows.
ARTICLE VIII. The Executive Committee
Section 1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers of the Society and the chairs of the Editorial Committee and Nominating Committee.
Section 2. The Duties and Powers of the Executive Committee shall be:
A. To act in the interim between the annual meetings of the Society.
B. To appoint a Nominating Committee as prescribed in Article IX, Section 3.
C. To serve as the Program and Arrangements Committee, with the First and Second Vice-Presidents as chairs of the respective years when each is First Vice-President;
D. To determine the place of the annual meeting from the written invitations received from chief administrators of institutions or other facilities;
E. To direct the disbursement of funds, except for regular and routine matters.
F. To review and approve the annual budget of the Society prepared by the Secretary-Treasurer, prior to its presentation for adoption by the membership at the annual meeting;
G. To periodically review the insurance coverage of the Society's properties, with the Secretary-Treasurer;
H. To annually review and set the price of the Journal, to be sold in single copies or in sets to the various publics, and to publicize the same in the Journal;
I. To annually review the amount of the membership dues and to make recommendation to the membership at the annual business meeting;
J. To provide for an annual honorarium for the Secretary-Treasurer and the Editor of the Journal from the funds of the Society;
K. To work with the Editorial Committee in addressing policy or content issues related to the Society's Journal and other publications;
L. To approve the minutes of the annual business meeting and the minutes of the Executive Committee; and,
M. To appoint an eligible person from the membership to fill any vacancy which occurs in the offices or committees of the Society in the interim between the annual meetings, except that of President.
N. To determine the time of the annual meeting.
ARTICLE IX. Committees
Section 1. A Program and Arrangements Committee shall consist of the Executive Committee, with the First and Second Vice-Presidents as chairs in their respective years in the office of First Vice-President. It shall secure personnel and complete all arrangements for annual meetings and for all seminar programs of the Society.
Section 2. An Editorial Committee shall consist of the Chair, who shall be elected for three-year terms and who shall serve as the Editor of the Journal, in addition to two other persons, each of whom shall serve for terms of three years, with one member elected or re-elected each year. The Committee shall advise the Editor on the selection of materials and preparation of the Society's Journal for publication and shall advise, in cooperation with the Editor and Executive Committee, in determining the content of other WTS publications.
Section 3. A Nominating Committee shall consist of the five most recent past presidents of the Society. The immediate past president of the Society shall serve as chair. Should any of the five most recent past presidents be unable or ineligible to serve, the next most recent past president, able and eligible, shall serve. Should the immediate past president be unable or ineligible to serve, the committee may elect its own chair. The committee shall present to the annual meeting of the Society a ballot as prescribed in ARTICLE V, Section 2.
ARTICLE X. Parliamentary Authority
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Orders Newly Revised shall govern the Society in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws and any special rules of order the Society may adopt.
ARTICLE XI. Amendment of Bylaws
These Bylaws may be amended at any regular business meeting of the Society by a two-thirds vote of the active full members present, provided that the amendment has been submitted in writing to the members of the Society at least thirty days prior to the annual meeting in which it is to be considered.
STANDING RULES
I. Relating to Membership
A. All new membership applications received at or following the annual meeting and approved shall receive the current issue of the Journal as well as the new issue when it is published.
B. All new members shall be notified in writing of their acceptance by the Secretary-Treasurer, and shall receive a letter of welcome.
II. Relating to Officers, Committees, and Procedures
A. The expenses of the officers and committee members shall be paid for everything pertaining to the Wesleyan Theological Society, except for annual meeting expense of travel and entertainment, provided a written, itemized report is presented to the Secretary-Treasurer.
B. The dates of the expiration of terms of office on the various standing committees shall be carried in the Journal, along with the committee and officer listings.
C. The advertising rate in the Journal shall be reviewed periodically by the Executive Committee.
D. A cumulative index shall be included in the Journal at appropriate intervals.
E. Guidelines for the Nominating Committee (cf. Bylaws, ART. V. Sect. 2).
1. While perceived ability to carry forward the work of the Society in an acceptable manner and spirit should be the primary consideration in making nominations, the Nominating Committee may give consideration also to variety of denominational representation in the leadership of the Society.
2. The Nominating Committee should have its work done thirty days before the annual meeting of the Society. This includes consultation with any candidates to ascertain their availability for service. The Secretary of the Society should be informed as soon as the Committee has decided on a ballot so that it may be prepared for the meeting by the Secretary.
Edited by Michael Mattei for the
Wesley Center for Applied Theology
at Northwest Nazarene University
© Copyright 2003 by the Wesley Center for Applied Theology
Text may be freely used for personal or scholarly purposes, provided the notice below the horizontal line is left intact. Any use of this material for commercial purposes of any kind is strictly forbidden without the express permission of the Wesley Center at Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa, ID 83686. Contact the webmaster for permission or to report errors.
