Who murdered Robert? Parliamentary Procedure in the AME Church
In The Godfather, the title character’s son, Sonny Corleone, is gruesomely killed in an ambush on the Long Beach Causeway. Upon viewing the body in the mortuary, his father, Don Vito Corleone, exclaims, “Look how they massacred my boy.”
Attending business sessions at the 2024 General Conference was akin to watching parliamentary procedures repeatedly massacred. Some of the frequent injuries to the assembly included the misuse of points of order or privilege, the misunderstanding of the presiding officer’s power, and the lack of knowledge of basic rules designed to allow for the exchange of ideas. Debates at times degenerated into a noisome free-for-all, with delegates believing that the louder the voice, the more persuasive the claim.
General Henry Martyn Robert authored the first edition of his rules in 1876 after presiding over an unruly meeting in a Baptist church in New Bedford, Massachusetts. After studying manuals of procedure from the United States House of Representatives and other bodies, he created these rules to help govern debate. Enshrined in them are two core beliefs: 1) the will of the majority should rule, and 2) the rights of the minority should be protected. It is no small irony that rules of order designed to help a church govern debate were frequently misapplied and forgotten at the largest AME Church meeting.
Parliamentary procedure only works when both delegates and presiding officers have a firm understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Contrary to popular belief, Parliamentarians are not enforcers of rules. Their role is to advise the presiding officer in their rulings. For this reason, large societies either contract parliamentarians or place stipulations that an elected Parliamentarian must have a certification from the National Association of Parliamentarians or a similar body. At the previous General Conference, the Parliamentarian sat next to the presiding officer. When I briefly spoke with him afterward, he stated that the AME debate did better than many meetings, but there was always room for improvement.
So, where do we start? The most common parliamentary mistake was the abuse and misuse of points. In Robert’s Rules of Order, there are only three recognizable points. A Point of Order is used when the person raising it believes that the rules of order have been breached and the chair must rule. A Point of Personal Privilege is raised to address something that impacts the privileges of the members in the debate (temperature of the assembly, lack of access to a document, request to respond to a personal attack on someone’s character). A Point of Information is raised to ask for information about a process or motion, not on a substantive topic. During the General Conference, points were invented and used to interject everything in debate, from threats about lawsuits to commendations for retiring Bishops.
Another came in the conduct of the presiding officer. At times, the rulings made by presiding officers were not clearly communicated or understood. For example, a presiding officer ruled that one piece of legislation was “tabled” until another committee had reported. Debate, however, ensued for twenty more minutes because the ruling was not adhered to by the delegates. In another case, a presiding officer moved well past the role of ensuring the assembly’s right to debate by frequently interjecting opinions and suggestions. In the AME Zion, CME, and UMC churches, Bishops preside with no vote in the affairs of the General Conference to avoid conflicts of interest. At times, one could be forgiven for believing that our General Conference was a public Council of Bishops meeting.
A third issue was with the use of the technology and queuing systems. To use the queue system properly, delegates and presiding officers needed to clearly understand what they were asked to do. Some delegates were unfamiliar with the different motions, and presiding officers needed to use the proper ranking of motions to recognize persons in the order that they needed to be recognized. Also, the absence of a queuing system on the stage led to persons (including myself) having to resort to various tactics to be recognized by a presiding officer who could not see us—often unfortunately jumping in front of delegates who had the right to speak.
In an interview with The Christian Recorder, former President of the National Association of Parliamentarians, Wanda T. Sims, commented, “Parliamentary Procedure is not to be used as a weapon. The presiding officer has no more power than the members give them.” As we reflect on the General Conference, all of us could use a refresher on how Robert’s Rules are supposed to work. We also must remember that as a Christian body, our goal should be to figure out how to work together so that we show respect and love—no matter what side of an issue we are on. Robert’s Rules may have been massacred in Columbus, Ohio, in 2024, but they can live on to fight another day.
Well said! I would hope that the districts provided training prior to General Conference.
For me this GC was too heated (understandably so)but unfortunately the rules were overshadowed by our interests on the thorny issue .People were dragging the meeting back to one issue in a disorderly manner. Time taken was long and talking
More than stipulated times wad a norm.
Well said sir! I also attend many meetings and conferences in my role as a union leader and in both, Robert gets slaughtered. I believe that in some cases it became willful ignorance, to achieve certain outcomes. But the GC has inspired me to become a certified parliamentarian.
Well written, much needed article, Dr John. Thank you.
Perhaps including “learning sessions” – particularly for delegates at all levels, and required of all in leadership positions (but open to all involved) may be a good starting point for learning how to properly conduct and respond to the three major areas discussed in your article.
Learning how to conduct a meeting can begin on a small scale at the local churches. Make it an agenda item at the meeting of your choice. Have a class – like a Bible Study – for learning RRoO requiring participation of all auxiliary leaders and Officers. Do mock sessions related to the points you mention in Who Murdered Robert? Many persons are clueless ref stating a motion, and sadly, the leader is likewise clueless about what happens next, i.e., carrying the motion to conclusion.
The AMEC is a church of order and discipline. We can exemplify this when conducting business discussions.
Editor Thomas – Thank you for your courageous and informative article entitled, “Who Murdered Robert? Parliamentary Procedue in the AME Church!” Much needed for most of us! I hope our bishops, clergy, and local church leaders read, digest, and be motivated to seriously study Parliamentary Procedure, and maybe schedule workshops.
Again, thank you!
Very well stated, Dr. Thomas. Knowing (or learning) is obviously the first and a very important step. However, knowing is only part of the issue. Putting into practice what one knows is just as important. As an example, we (The AME Church) have the Doctrine and Discipline of the AME Church. Many issues that have occurred recently could have been avoided if we only follow the procedures we already have in place. “We can’t teach what we don’t know, but we also can’t lead where we don’t go”. When we know right, we must do right.
This is something that was thoroughly taught in YPD in the yester years. I say this is a prime reason that some things needs to be retaught and retaught, and a part of the training session year after year. I concur with this article wholeheartedly.
Editorial
Well said dr. John. I concur and have gained more insight with this valuable contribution.
You are absolutely correct about the massacre of Robert’s rules of orders at our general conference. I have never seen so many egotistical narcissistic people trying to get their point across. And those of us who support on maintaining the ban on the same sex marriage in our denomination need to be equally heard.
Great piece informative and structured. In the observer section you heard people stating “that’s not right” “that’s not procedurally correct” so it was noticed. Thank you
Excellent!
Enough said
Press on…
Reverend Philis Griffin
An excellent reflection of the scene and the need NOT to replay it with a specific suggestion to prevent a replay: ‘read and review’ the script by ROBERT!!!