A few years ago, the Church in the Pacific had a problem. Office-bearers of the Church acted on the premiss that the Church Constitution "is not a binding document as it is only a guideline". Some -- in fact many -- challenged it. Now, in a "strong" judgement, the national Court of Appeal judged unanimously that a Church Constitution was not a guideline, but the "supreme authority" in the Church. Now that that decision is in place, it looks as though the officers who acted as if it had been a mere guideline have nowhere to run. OBSERVATION: In the Congregational Church, it is literally sacrilege to treat a constitution as a mere guideline. My city Church had this issue at the close of my ministry and thereafter, making crucial decisions, not least about ministry, on the basis that the Constitution was a mere guideline. Today there are a number of police investigations, and depending how one looks at it, it may come down to that.
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