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"Riding with the Cross that brings Forgiveness" P.O. Box 95514 Palatine, IL 60095-0514
We will be meeting at the Denny's at the SE corner of Rt. 12 and Rt. 68 (Dundee Road) on the 4th Saturday of every month
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STANDING RULES
1.
Membership Involvement
Our
members are encouraged to be active and involved in as many other non-Christian
motorcycle organizations as they feel they can be; however, no member of Heralds
of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc. may be a member of any other Christian
motorcycle organization.
2.
Membership Fees or Dues
There
shall never be any membership dues charged to any member.
All financial resources of this organization, and its divisions,
chapters, or sub-groups shall be obtained by either a free will offering, gift,
or a fund-raising ride or event.
3.
Fees and Ownership of Colors
There
shall never be a charge or fee to a member for his colors.
All colors, officer pins, group patches, etc. are now, and shall remain,
the property of Heralds of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc. at all times. Donations
to cover the cost of these items may be requested. Whether a donation is made or
not, the item shall remain the property of Heralds of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc. If you
have a question about the ownership of any item please contact an officer.
Each chapter will be responsible for reimbursing the Board of Directors
for the cost of a "new member kit" for each new member.
This "kit" will include one set of colors, one circle patch,
and two HOTC member t-shirts.
4.
Interdenominational Stance
Heralds
of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc. is now and shall remain an interdenominational
organization, so long as the members of any denomination can and are willing to
accept and work within the Statements of Faith as found in the by-laws. Because
of this interdenominational stance, Heralds of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc. will not now, nor will any member ever, perform as
part of a Heralds of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc. gathering, event, or rally the ordinances of water
baptism or the Lord's Supper (communion), weddings or funerals.
The practice of these ordinances shall be left solely to the local
churches.
5.
Expected Standard of Conduct and Belief While Representing HOTC
While personal
differences of belief on non-foundational topics are encouraged, we believe the
Bible to be the final authority. There are, however, many areas of personal
belief that do not have a clear directive from the Bible. So it is of the utmost
importance that each and every member/prospect realize and understand that while
you are representing Heralds of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc. you are in effect representing the Lord Jesus Christ,
His will and word—the Holy Bible, and His bride—the church. Therefore, when
representing Heralds of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc. each member/prospect is expected and required to live
up to the highest standard of conduct on any issue regardless of your personal
beliefs on that issue. All members of Heralds of the Cross™
M/M, Inc. are expected to maintain behaviors and lifestyles consistent with the
teachings found in the Holy Bible. Any member whose behavior or lifestyle is
found to deviate from the teachings found in the Holy Bible (sin) shall be
disciplined in accordance with the discipline procedures outlined in the Holy
Bible (Matthew 18:15-20). In all cases where individual and/or chapter attempts
to correct the behavior or change the lifestyle have failed the matter shall be
brought before the Board of Directors who may at their discretion implement and
enforce whatever disciplinary measures they determine to be appropriate as
outlined in the Holy Bible.
6.
Placement of HOTC Colors
The colors of Heralds
of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc. shall be the only patch from the side seams back on
any jacket, vest, shirt, or other article of clothing.
No other patch, pins, etc. may be above, below, or next to them.
For members and prospects the small circle patch shall be affixed to the
upper left side of any jacket or vest. From
the side seams forward, members and prospects may decorate the remaining space
as desired.
7.
Wearing of HOTC Colors
Only
full members shall be allowed to wear the colors of Heralds of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc. Under no
circumstances shall a non-member ever be allowed to wear the colors of Heralds
of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc. including but not limited to husbands, wives,
children, family, or friends of a member.
8.
Open Meetings
All
group functions and meetings will always remain open to anyone who wishes to
attend. However, only those
individuals who have attained full membership shall have the right to vote on
issues brought before the general assembly.
In addition, only those who are members of the executive committee shall
have the right to vote on matters brought before the executive committee.
9.
Prospecting – Local prospects
To
achieve full membership all prospective members shall be required to fill out an
application, be interviewed by the New Member Education committee chairperson
and the devotional officer. In the
event that there is no New Member Education committee chairperson, then any
officer may be appointed for this task. In
the absence of a devotional officer, then any other officer may be appointed for
this task. During this interview,
each prospective member shall be required to verbally give their testimony of
how and when they came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, be instructed in
the purposes and founding principles of Heralds of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc., and sign a statement of agreement with our Statements
of Faith. In addition to these
requirements each prospective member shall be required to attend a booth event
prior to the expiration of their probationary period, to observe and learn how
Heralds of the Cross™
Motorcycle Heralds of the Cross, Inc. operates their outreach booth.
Full membership shall be granted to prospective individuals upon their
agreement with the founding principles, the Statements of Faith, the completion
of the prospecting process (outlined in a separate document), and a unanimous
vote of the executive committee.
10. Prospecting – Non-local prospects
In
the event that a person wishes to prospect for membership but does not live
close enough to an existing chapter to follow the above prospecting
requirements, the following requirements shall be used.
To achieve full membership all non-local prospective members shall be
required to make their request known to the Board of Directors.
The Board shall assign them to the nearest chapter for supervision.
The prospective member shall fill out an application, be interviewed by
telephone by the New Member Education committee chairperson and the devotional
officer. In the event that there is
no New Education committee chairperson, then any other officer may be appointed
for this task. During this interview
each prospective member shall be required to verbally give their testimony of
how and when they came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and be instructed
in the purposes and founding principles of Heralds of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc. They shall
also be required to sign a statement of agreement with our Statements of Faith
and fax or mail this to the executive committee of the chapter that they have
been assigned to. In addition to
these requirements, each non-local prospect shall be required to send monthly
(or more frequent if available) reports (by mail or email) on what they have
been doing in the way of activities in both the secular and Christian biker
worlds (going to shows, rides, or whatever they can find to do that is
motorcycle related). Non-local
prospects shall be instructed on how HOTC operates their outreach booth and
shall be encouraged to visit the booth event of the nearest local chapter if
possible. Full
membership shall be granted to non-local prospective individuals upon their
agreement with the founding principles, the Statements of Faith, the completion
of the prospecting process, an understanding of how HOTC does their outreach
booth, and a unanimous vote of the executive committee of the local chapter to
which they are assigned.
11. Election to the Board of
Directors
A
new member shall be eligible to hold a position on the Board of Directors after
a period of one (1) year of full membership has been achieved.
Individuals interested in holding a position on the Board of Directors
must demonstrate a serious commitment to Heralds of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc. by attending a majority of the business and breakfast
meetings, group and ministry rides. All
nominations for positions on the Board of Directors shall be made by the
nominating committee. Election to
the Board of Directors shall be by a majority vote of the current members of the
Board of Directors.
12. Election to the Chapter Executive
Committee
A
new member shall be eligible to hold positions on the Chapter Executive
Committee after the following periods of full membership have been achieved:
President—one (1) Year, Vice-President—one (1) Year, Treasurer—one
(1) year, Devotional Officer—one (1) year, Secretary—six (6) months, Road
Captain—six (6) months. Individuals
interested in holding a position on the chapter executive committee must
demonstrate a serious commitment to Heralds of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc. by attending a majority of the business and breakfast
meetings, group and ministry rides.
13. Appointment to a Standing
Committee Chair
A
new member shall be eligible to hold a position as a standing committee chair
after a period of six (6) months of full membership has been achieved.
Individuals interested in holding a position as a standing committee
chair must demonstrate a serious commitment to Heralds of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc. by attending a majority of the business and breakfast
meetings, as well as group and ministry rides.
In addition to attending events, individuals interested in attaining a
position of standing committee chair are encouraged to discuss their desire and
qualifications with the President.
14. Service as a Member of a Standing
Committee
A
new member shall be eligible to hold a position as a standing committee member
after a period of three (3) months of full membership has been achieved.
Individuals interested in holding a position as a standing committee
member should discuss their desire and qualifications with the chairperson of
the specific committee. All
appointments of members to a standing committee shall be the responsibility of
the committee chairperson.
15. Composition of the Chapter
Executive Committee
The
following offices will comprise the executive committee and must be filled at
all times. President,
Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, Devotional Officer, Road Captain, and
Member-at-Large. For a complete
description of the duties of each officer please see the officer job
descriptions document. While each of
these offices has its own unique responsibilities and requirements none of these
offices are more important than any other.
16. Standing Committees The
following Standing Committees are to exist whenever possible, and should have
one person as a Chair. These
committees have been determined to be necessary for the smooth functioning of
the business of Heralds of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc. These
committees include but are not limited to the New Member Education Committee,
Evangelism Committee, Discipleship Committee, Public Relations Committee, and
the Nominating Committee.
17. Commitments to outside
organizations In
all cases where a commitment to an outside organization, promoter, show, and
etc. is made by the membership or Heralds of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc. a vote of
the membership is to be taken to determine if there is enough interest in the
membership to guarantee a good turnout of the membership at the event.
Any member who votes yes to adding an event to the calendar is in effect
committing themselves at that time to attend that event and shall be expected to
be at that event regardless of what else comes up, with the exception of a true
emergency. Any member who votes no
to adding an event to the calendar is in effect saying I cannot attend for
whatever reason so therefore I do not think that we should commit the group to
doing this event. If 75% of the
membership votes yes, the event shall be added to the calendar and the
commitment to an outside organization shall be made.
All members voting yes will be required to attend and all members voting
no will be asked to attend if at all possible.
If less than 75% of the membership votes yes then those wishing to add
the event may at their discretion decide to make a commitment to the outside
organization with the understanding that the rest of the membership will not be
required to attend. This shall only
be necessary if Heralds of the Cross™
Motorcycle Ministry, Inc. is making a commitment to do something to an outside
organization. A vote shall not be
necessary to decide to attend an outside organizations event where no specific
commitment was made.
18. Amendments
These
Standing rules may be amended or changed at any time by a 4/5 majority vote of
the Board of Directors. |
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