Proposition 6 of the Declaration and Address — that inferences from Scripture are not binding on conscience further than a person perceives the connection — is the Disciples' operating principle and their structural weakness. The General Assembly, meeting biennially, passes resolutions that are explicitly not binding on congregations or regions. The denomination ordained women, was an early and enthusiastic participant in the World Council of Churches and the Consultation on Church Union, adopted an open and affirming stance through the Open and Affirming Ministries network, passed a 2017 commitment to becoming a pro-reconciling, anti-racist church, and watched congregations leave over each of these without any mechanism to prevent it. The Disciples also carry the memory of Jonestown: Peoples Temple was a Disciples congregation in good standing, its minister Jim Jones was ordained by the Disciples in 1964, and the denomination's inability to discipline a congregation is part of that record.