Breaking Robert’s Rules: Consensus-Building Techniques for Group Decision Making

I am a member of a traditional religious community. Like most communities of faith, mine has secular bylaws that govern its operation. And just like any not-for-profit organization, the thirty-year-old bylaws of the congregation to which I belong call for the election of officers, an annual members' meeting, and the appointment of numerous committees. In many respects, the approach to decision making mandated by our bylaws follows the model of a New England town meeting. That is, there is a chair (our elected president), a parliamentarian (selected by the chair), and a requirement that we adhere to Robert's Rules of Order in deciding who speaks, what the speaker is allowed to say, and how members can vote.