| Consensus grows as model for decision making BY LINDA WORTHINGTON UMCONNECTION STAFF A quick show of hands: Whos in favor of doing away with Roberts Rules of Order? Voting motions up or down and following Roberts Rules is being challenged as the generally accepted way to do business in the church. A growing number of churches believe that this method of making decisions is divisive, splitting people into winners and losers. How we make decisions matters, because how we treat each other testifies to whether we are living in the Spirit or not, said Eden Grace, of the World Council of Churches Central Committee, which recently changed its decision-making from parliamentary procedure to consensus. Our behavior as Christians in governing bodies should reflect love, respect and generosity, rather than suspicion and competition, Grace said. Within the Baltimore-Washington Conference, churches are beginning to follow the advice of the Book of Discipline, which states in 251.1, It is recommended that the council use a consensus/discernment model of decision-making.  When the Rev. Richard Davis was appointed to Emmanuel UMC in Beltsville, the church was governed by an administrative board. About five years ago, Davis introduced the idea of a church council and using consensus as the method of making decisions.
I dont believe weve taken a vote in four years, Davis said. Everyone has a chance to contribute and be heard theres a lot of energy. The church council at Emmanuel includes 30 to 40 members who meet once a month. Emphasis is placed on program, following the NOW model in the Discipline of nurture, outreach and witness ministries. All the members of each committee attend the council meetings, and all have the opportunity to be heard. Consensus means general agreement or solidarity. It does not mean jumping to a unanimous decision. In the consensus method, participants must be open to the possibility of changing positions, which also means that discrepancies in thinking must be cleared up and facts must be gathered. They must also be willing to make changes to positions that will make the outcome acceptable to others. The church council at Emmanuel works out issues by spending up to an hour of each meeting in the ministries areas with their own agendas, hammering out details, listening to each person and reaching a consensus, which is then reported in the reconvened body of the council. Reports take less than a half hour. It may not come out like Id want, Davis said, but you have to trust the people. Critics of the consensus method point out that the moderators or council leaders wield a lot of power. They must be adept at detecting the mind of the meeting and determined to allow a full and fair hearing of all relevant viewpoints. Another criticism is that there may be a loss of efficiency when no one is willing to give on a controversial issue. During an acrimonious debate about use of an endowment fund at one local church, the chairman, whose patience had been strained, finally ended the consensus-building by saying, Were going to vote. The majority won, and the minority left vowing to continue its battle in the weeks and months ahead. In such situations, there are no winners. Disgruntled mumbling throughout the congregation widened thedivisions. (Consensus) is a better model, Davis said. It keeps divisions from happening. Perhaps divisions are less likely because everyone can be heard during the process, Davis said. He believes theres also another reason. We emphasize working with the gbwc_superuserance of the Holy Spirit. It allows you to think higher. You have to trust that it will work. Some churches leave the matter of budget decisions out of the consensus process, believing it is better to stick with voting in which the majority rules.  The church council at North Bethesda UMC reaches consensus on most decisions, but often takes a vote for the record, said the Rev. Debbie Scott. It makes the decision seem more official, she said.
The 20 members on the council usually use the vote to rubber stamp decisions that were made outside the council itself, particularly on church budget or decisions the trustees have made but want full approval for. In the Gbwc_superuserelines for Leading Your Congregation series for the 2000-2004 quadrennium, published by Cokesbury, the Church Council booklet suggests that churches use consensus as a very effective method that, once learned, is a satisfying and efficient means of coming to good decisions. | 
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