Dear Bro. Rushmore, could you please clear something up for me? Does a brother have to have children living in his house to be in compliance with the qualifications of and elder? I know he must have children who are faithful, but do they have to be living in his home? Thank you for your consideration of this question. I enjoy the Gospel Gazette and will pass the web address on to other members of the Lord’s body. Again, Thanks, Mrs. Airdean Russell
Thank you for your kind words regarding Gospel Gazette Online. We hope that you continue to find it a useful tool and that others to whom you recommend GGO will also find it edifying.
Naturally, one would ordinarily expect one to meet the qualifications of an elder, including having faithful children (Titus 1:6), while his children are yet in his home. Obviously, from the time his children first obeyed the Gospel (really it starts before this) through the remaining adolescent years while they continue to live at home, one who would be an elder learns (through on-the-job-training) to rule his house. Learning how to guide the home was determined by the Holy Spirit to prepare an elder to help guide the family of God — with other elders (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9).
Imagine for a moment if it were the case that the window of opportunity for a man to be an elder was limited to the period between the time his children became Christians and graduated from the home (maybe at age 18). If the oldest child obeyed the Gospel at 12-years-old and if either the elder or others expected two or more children to become Christians before the man became an elder, just how many years do you suppose one could possibly serve as an elder? From a pragmatic perspective, it appears that this scenario would greatly hinder the appointment and ongoing activity of an eldership. Further, neither the qualifications indicated in Scripture nor additional information regarding elders that may be gleaned from the pages of inspiration teach that one’s qualifications for guiding the family of God, which he learned from guiding his own family, somehow evaporate once those children leave the house. Common practice among the churches of Christ, which is indicative of common understanding of the applicable passages regarding elders, does not interpret qualifications of elders in such a way as to embrace such a narrow window of opportunity for one to serve as an elder. As far as I can ascertain from Scripture, it would be unwarranted and without biblical support to limit the service of an elder to the three or four years his children may continue to reside in his house after two or more of them became Christians.
