Baptist and Reflector
FRANKLIN — Here are some questions (and answers) that Tennessee Baptists may have following the indefinite postponement (cancellation) of the 2020 Summit at Brentwood Baptist Church, Brentwood in November.
How will the business of the Convention be conducted if the annual meeting is not held?
Convention Constitution Article VII. TENNESSEE BAPTIST MISSION BOARD (TBMB)
Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, a corporation, shall have charge of all the educational, missionary, benevolent and other interests of the Convention. During the interim, between meetings of the Convention, TBMB shall have all the powers of the Convention except as limited by this constitution, the bylaws of the Convention, and specific action taken by the Convention in session.
What part of the annual meeting business can the TBMB Directors handle on behalf of the Convention?
A. Adopt the Cooperative Program Allocation Budget – Derived from Constitution Article VII, and Business and Financial Plan Article III
B. Appointment of Trustees to Convention Institutions – Permitted by Convention bylaw VII. J, TBMB Bylaws 1.3, and Tennessee Nonprofit Corporation Act.
C. Election of Committee Members to TBC Committees – Permitted by Convention bylaw IV. J.
What part of the annual meeting business cannot be handled by the TBMB Directors? What will happen with those items?
A. Election of Convention Officers — The current officers will continue until such time as messengers to the annual meeting of the Convention can meet and elect new officers.
B. Appointment of Directors to TBMB — This is prohibited in both the Convention bylaws and TBMB bylaws. The Tennessee Nonprofit Corporation Act holds that the existing directors continue in place until new directors are properly appointed.
C. Amendments to the TBC Constitution and Bylaws — The Committee on Constitution and Bylaws is working on needed modifications to the governing documents but will hold those until such time as messengers to the annual meeting of the convention can meet and act on any amendments.
D. Adoption of resolutions —TBMB directors could prepare and adopt their own resolutions, but they would be just that, TBMB resolutions. They could not adopt them on behalf of the convention.
Why are the locations of all future annual meetings being shifted?
A. To honor the tradition of the Convention president presiding during the meeting held in the grand region in which he serves.
B. To not skip a region in the rotation.
C. To realign the locations to where the 150th anniversary (2024) falls in Murfreesboro, Middle Tennessee, which is where the first meeting of the convention was held.
