Preamble
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- Recognizing the God of the Bible as the Ruler of the universe and obedience to His will as fundamental to the best welfare of humanity both for time and eternity; and
- Assured that the Creator provided a definite day for the purposes of rest, worship, contemplation, service and fellowship by hallowing the seventh day following His creative work of the first six days; and
- Holding it to be self-evident that appreciation for God’s law as contained in the Ten Commandments is fundamental to any well-ordered society; and
- Accepting that Jesus Christ, Who died for the sins of the world and offers the gift of salvation to all who believe on His name, and His apostles upheld the seventh day Sabbath by both their teaching and example; and
- Realizing that the foregoing rational truths are substantiated by Scripture and that their validity is independent of other doctrines and denominational distinctives; and
- Believing that great benefit can be accomplished by the dissemination of knowledge concerning the Bible Sabbath through proper cooperation and organization; therefore* We do hereby associate ourselves together for the purpose of upholding the sublime truths which establish the seventh day of each week (Saturday) as the only true, biblical Sabbath Day.
Article 1 – Name
The name of this Association shall be “The Bible Sabbath Association”– hereinafter referred to as “Association” or “BSA.”
Article 2 – Objective
The purpose of this Association shall be to increase the knowledge and observance of the seventh day of the week (Saturday) as the Sabbath of the Bible–a sacred and inherent element of the Christian faith. Specifically, the BSA will devote itself to (1) teaching the origin, history, purpose and value of the seventh-day Sabbath; (2) bringing together believers in Jesus Christ and the Bible Sabbath in a non-sectarian, inter-denominational manner for the purposes of fostering observance of God’s Sabbath, as well as fellowship and good-will among them; (3) disseminating knowledge of the seventh-day Sabbath to those who accept Jesus (Yahshua) but who don’t know the Sabbath; and (4) devising strategies to accomplish these ends through regional groups, foreign branches, and other projects and means as shall seem expedient. The BSA shall not constitute a church or a denomination.
Article 3 – Membership
Section 1 – Individual
Any believer in Jesus Christ (Yahshua the Messiah) who approves and supports the objectives of the Association may become a member by contributing the annual membership fees determined by the BSA Board. Life membership is granted to any individual who contributes the amount determined by the Board during any calendar year.
Section 2 – Corporate
Any school, church, business or other organization may become a corporate member by contributing the annual corporate fees determined by the BSA Board. Each corporate member, through its chosen representative, shall enjoy the same voting privileges of an individual member, but shall not be eligible for life membership.
Article 4 – Direction of Affairs
Section 1 – General assembly
Direction of the Association’s affairs rests with its general membership whenever they are duly assembled. A general meeting of the BSA membership may be called by the Board of Directors or by a group of at least ten percent of the members; written (including electronic) notification of such a meeting shall be given to the members at least sixty days in advance, and shall state the time, place and purpose of the meeting. Ten percent of the membership shall constitute a quorum for any duly announced meeting. If a quorum is not present, any decisions of the members present must be presented in writing to the general membership by approval by a majority of the votes cast.
Section 2 – Board
When the membership is not in session, direction of the Association’s affairs shall be vested in its President and Board of Directors. However, upon request by any three of the Board, or five percent of the Association members, the Officers shall place before the entire membership any matter in question.
Section 3 – Operation
All membership and board meetings of this Association shall operate in accordance with the rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised in all cases to which they are applicable and are not inconsistent with this constitution or any special rules or orders this Association my adopt.
Section 4 – Restriction
Under no circumstances shall any official or member use this Association, its local, regional, or foreign branches, nor any of the meetings, publications or mailing lists thereof to promote any tenets of faith other than those stated in Article 2. However, this restriction shall not prohibit the Association from disseminating information about issues or doctrines that are of interest and concern to the membership, provided such information is presented in an objective and even-handed manner, with opportunities given for various points of view to be fairly represented, and with a clear statement that the Association takes no official position on the issue under consideration.
Section 5 – Local, Regional, and Foreign Branches
Various branches of the Association may be granted charters of recognition in harmony with stated purposes of the BSA. The purposes of these branches is to allow members to work together toward the goals of the Association in smaller or distant geographic areas. The Board of Directors shall establish policy for the chartering of groups, but shall not limit their territories.
Article 5 – Board of Directors
Section 1 – The Board
The Board of this Association shall consist of seven directors, elected to four-year terms by the BSA membership. Regular elections shall be held in the third quarter of every fourth year, beginning in 1999. Members of the Board shall take office immediately upon being declared elected by the outgoing Board, shall be eligible for re-election, and shall serve until their successors are declared elected. Vacancies on the Board shall be filled as the Board may choose.
Section 2 – Officers
The directors shall elect from among themselves the following officers: a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and any other officers as may, from time to time, be deemed appropriate. The officers shall perform the duties prescribed by this constitution and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Association. Officers are eligible for remuneration for services as may be determined by the Board of Directors.
Section 3 – Nominations
Prior to or very early in the third quarter of an election year, the Board of Directors or its designee(s) shall solicit nominations of candidates for the new Board of Directors. A nominee shall (1) be a member in good standing; (2) be validated by two other members, and (3) be willing to serve on the Board of Directors.
Section 4 – Elections
The Directors shall be elected by ballot, prepared by the sitting Board or its designee(s). The ballot shall contain the names of all candidates with brief, appropriate information about each one. Each Association member may vote for no more than seven candidates. The seven nominees receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected to the Board. In the event two or more candidates have the same number of votes, causing membership on the Board to exceed seven, the outgoing Board shall break the tie(s). The candidate who receives the greatest number of votes shall serve as chairperson until the new Board shall organize as described in Section 2.
Section 5 – Meetings
The Board of Directors shall hold periodic meetings, at the call of the President or of any three Directors. For on-site meetings, notice shall be given at least 60 days in advance, stating the time, place and purpose for the meeting. Meetings by phone or other electronic medium may be held with a 72-hour notice, provided that reasonable effort is made to contact every board member with the time, method and purpose of the meeting.
Section 6 – Quorums
Five members of the Board are required to transact business at any meeting. If less than five are present, any action must be validated by a postal or electronic mail vote of the entire Board, or in a subsequent meeting. Board actions shall be approved by a simple majority, or by four votes when five or fewer members are present.
Section 7 – Reports
The Board of Directors shall make periodic reports to the membership of the Association and shall provide for the auditing of the BSA books at the close of each fiscal year.
Section 8 – Committees
The Board of Directors may delegate such matters as it chooses to Committees composed of BSA members.
Article 6 – Publications Section 1 – Periodicals
The Association shall publish such periodicals as it deems appropriate to further the objectives of the Association. The nature and frequency of these shall be established by the Board, which shall also be responsible for identifying editor(s) for these publications, and establishing appropriate remuneration for the same.
Section 2 – Permanent literature
The Association shall maintain a supply of books, booklets, tracts and leaflets that promote its objectives. The Board shall serve as a committee to review the content of any materials, or it may delegate that work to another committee or sub-committees.
Article 7 – Amendments
This constitution may be amended only by a postal-mail ballot vote of the membership of the Association when a 30-day previous notice to all members has been given of the proposed amendment. A two-thirds majority of ballots cast is required to amend, except that Articles One and Two require a two-thirds vote of all members to amend.
Article 8 – Dissolution
This Association may be dissolved only by a postal-mail ballot vote of the Association’s membership when a 30-day previous notice to all members has been given of the proposed dissolution. A three-fourths majority of all members is required to dissolve. At that time, the entire assets of the BSA shall be liquidated. Out of the proceeds, all existing liabilities of the Association shall first be satisfied, and the entire remainder shall be forwarded to the American Bible Society and/or (an)other similar organization(s) as the Board may select.