Index: duties

22.3

We are agreed that authority given to superintendents shall not interfere with the independent action of a fully organized church. Each church shall enjoy the right to select its own pastor, subject to such approval as the General Assembly shall find wise to institute. Each church shall also elect delegates to the various assemblies, manage its own finances, and have charge of all other matters pertaining to its local life and work.

24

The General Assembly shall organize the membership of the church into district assemblies, giving such lay and ministerial representation therein as the General Assembly may deem fair and just, and shall determine qualifications of such representatives, provided, however, that all assigned ordained ministers shall be members thereof. The General [Assembly] Boundaries Committee shall [also] fix the boundaries of assembly districts[, and]. The General Assembly shall also define the powers and duties of district assemblies. (200–205.6)

25.3

Credentials. The secretary of each district assembly shall furnish certificates of election to the delegates and alternates severally elected to the General Assembly, and shall also send certificates of such elections to the general secretary of the Church of the Nazarene immediately following the adjournment of the district assembly.

25.4

Quorum. When the General Assembly is in session, a majority of the whole number of delegates elected thereto shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. If a quorum has once been obtained, a smaller number may approve the unapproved minutes and adjourn.

25.5

General Superintendents. The General Assembly shall elect by ballot from among the elders of the Church of the Nazarene as many general superintendents as it may deem necessary, who shall constitute the Board of General Superintendents. Any vacancy in the office of general superintendent in the interim of General Assemblies shall be filled by a two-thirds vote of the General Board of the Church of the Nazarene. (305.2, 316)

25.6

Presiding Officers. A general superintendent appointed thereto by the Board of General Superintendents shall preside over the daily meetings of the General Assembly. But if no general superintendent be so appointed or be present, the General Assembly shall elect one of its members as temporary presiding officer. (300.1)

25.7

Rules of Order. The General Assembly shall adopt rules of order governing its manner of organization, procedure, committees, and all other matters pertaining to the orderly conduct of its business. It shall be the judge of the election and qualifications of its own members. (300.2–300.3)

25.8

General Court of Appeals. The General Assembly shall elect from among members of the Church of the Nazarene a General Court of Appeals and shall define its jurisdiction and powers. (305.7)

25.9

Powers and Restrictions.

  1. The General Assembly shall have power to legislate for the Church of the Nazarene, and to make rules and regulations for all the departments related to or associated with it in any respect, but not in conflict with this Constitution. (300, 305–305.9)
  2. No local church shall be deprived of the right to call its pastor, subject to such approval as the General Assembly shall find wise to institute. (115)
  3. All local churches, officers, ministers, and laypersons shall always have the right to a fair and orderly trial and the right to make an appeal.

28.5

Our leaders and pastors are expected to give strong emphasis in our periodicals and from our pulpits to such fundamental biblical truths as will develop the faculty of discrimination between the evil and the good.