Are Elders Old??? They must be - they are ELDERS!

[C. Matthew McMahon]

How would you handle this - this was the substance of an email that someone sent me. I am three emails into this with him, but I was just curious as to how the board would handle handle this. Again, we are far passed this, and have entered into other parts of the conversaion, but I was curious....

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1. The term "elder" means what it means, in Hebrew and in Greek. The Old Testament usage of the term referred strictly to older men. In the Jewish community in the time of the New Testament, elders in the synagogue were older men. The Church in the time of Acts adopted the use of elders based upon their experience in the Jewish community and
there is no reason to suspect that they considered them to be anything but older men (who met the other qualifications in 1 Timothy and Titus). Finally, the second century "fathers" practiced ordaining older men as elders.

2. Theological conformity of great men of God towards my doctrinal position who also happened to be young when placed in the position of pastor does not have anything to do with the validity of the timing of their entrance into ministry. Just because they were used of God does
not mean that their practice is right, if that practice contradicts the teaching of the Word of God. Spurgeon was a great man of God, no doubt, and had a ministry based solidly on the Word. However, he was not inerrant. Only the Bible is inerrant. It is not heresy to suggest
Spurgeon (and others) were wrong from time to time.

3. The use of 1 Timothy 4:12 to defend young elders is nonsense since there is not a shred of Biblical evidence to support the idea that Timothy himself was an elder! Nowhere in Scripture is he referred to as an elder. In fact, it is very difficult (if not impossible) to determine what it was that he did! Perhaps he was a missionary church
planter or evangelist. He had a ministry in establishing churches, but not in leading them in a long term fashion.

4. 12 years of full time ministry experience, nine of which were in pastoral positions, reveal the folly of the practice of sending young men into pastoral positions. Young men, no matter how well grounded in the Word, are given to extended bouts of rashness and pride. Certainly,
older men could be guilty of the same sins, but they are far more common among unproven youth. They do not have the life experience of an older man, nor the wisdom. Spurgeons and Edwards are rare breeds, far less common than any of us realize. There has only been one Spurgeon and one
Edwards. The exception (in ministry ability) cannot be taken to prove the rule.

 

[kceaster]

I have a few comments:

What were the acceptable ages for the Levites? I believe that those were 20-50.

Timothy was a preacher and a pastor. What from these two qualifications does not make him an elder in the church?

While I think he has made some good points about some young men, I don't think we can put an age on this. I think each man should be judged on his own merits. If we put an age limit to it, we're doing something outside the Scriptures. Does Paul give us a clue?

I think men should be well adjusted in their lives. I think their children should be grown up enough that you see the fruit of the labors of the home. But I see no reason to exclude a man called of God. As I said in another thread, God calls the man, we don't. If we start putting age limits on people, it becomes a rule - a rule which is not expressly set forth in Scripture.

Obviously this is a knee-jerk reaction to unqualified young men in the pulpit. But it is a post hoc fallacy for some of these. They failed because they were young. No. They failed because the men around them were not doing their jobs in preparing and examining the man.

It's obvious to me from Scripture that God does not have a certain age before He can work in and through men. There are numerous examples of young men doing what God called them to do.

But let each man stand on his own merits. If he should not be an elder, don't make him one. But we are wrong if we exclude just on the basis of age. It is an important factor, but not the cause of the problem.

In Christ,

KC

 

[FrozenChosen]

We all know Calvin was 26 when he wrote [i:6b603231de]Institutes[/i:6b603231de]. Michael Horton, like him or not, wrote [i:6b603231de]Putting Amazing Back into Grace[/i:6b603231de] at the age of 18.

People can do some pretty amazing stuff when they're young. Horton might not be an elder, but I bet Calvin would.

 

[WrittenFromUtopia]

I don't think there's any evidence whatsoever to prove that Elders/Bishops/Pastors should be old men. I plan on being one as soon as I'm done with Seminary, as many go on to do (some do WHILE in Seminary).