Why Young Men Should Not Be Elders

     Note to Readers: This post is an amplification of the last post on house church elders.
Before getting into the main point i should clarify a few terms. First, what is an elder from a Biblical perspective? The primary New Testament passages are Acts 20:17-38 ( Paul's address to the Ephesian elders), 1 Timothy 3:1-7 (detailed qualifications), 1 Timothy 5:17-20 (additional information), Titus 1:6-9 (another similar list of qualifications), and 1 Peter 5: 1-4 (a personal exhortation to elders from Peter the apostle). These passages show that church elders are local, spiritually mature, humble men able to teach the Word, shepherd people, guard against wolves and false teachers, and provide godly leadership.
     The second question is how old is young? Here we have a more difficult question because the New Testament rarely gives any indication of actual age. We know that Jesus was about thirty years old when He began His public ministry, ( Luke 3:23) and that widows are not to be considered for support by the church unless they are at least sixty years of age. ( 1 Timothy 5:9) So we need to turn to the Old Testament to gain some clarity on this question. In 1 Kings 12 we read the story of Rehoboam, son and successor of Solomon as king. The people come to him and ask that their loads be lightened. First he takes counsel with the older men who had served his father who urge him to accede to the wishes of the people. Then he takes counsel with the younger men who had grown up with him. They say to make the load of the people heavier. Verse 13 relates that he took the counsel of the younger over the older men. The result was the division of Israel from Judah with resultant warfare. The parallel passage in 2 Chronicles 12:13 states that Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign. He is considered a young man in a time when David, who lived to be seventy ( 2 Sam 5:4, 1 Chronicles 29:26-27) was said to have "died at a good age." ( 2 Chron 29:28 ESV)
     What difference does youth make with regard to serving as an elder? The word itself indicates an older person. Then we have Proverbs 20:29, "The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair. ( or wisdom). While this is a general statement and not necessarily true of every individual, it does reflect truth. When we consider who should shepherd a group of believers are we looking for physical stamina or spiritual maturity?
   Then we have statements embedded in the qualifications listed in 1 Tim 3 and Titus 1. "He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? (vv. 4-5) The prospective elder's family is the proving ground. Young men are taking this test. They have not passed it. Titus 1 says his children must be believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination." (v. 6 ESV) While a five year old can be challenging it should be obvious that they would not be guilty of debauchery at that age. The Scripture is thinking of teenagers at this point. Again young men have not passed this test; they are still taking it.
    Finally i have seen this requirement repeatedly violated with rather horrific results both in regular and house churches. Let us obey all the Word of God.