What Are the Required Qualifications for Elders? Part 2

There are three qualifications for elder in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus which seem to cause contention.  

1. “Must be…the husband of one wife.”
2. “having his children under control with all dignity” 
3. “having faithful children not accused of wildness or rebellion.”

There is a disagreement as to what “husband of one wife” means.  I think if one reads it literally there should be no question.  The elder must have a wife (rules out a woman being an elder), and one wife only.  Now, if he is a widower he still had a wife, and if he remarries after his first wife died, he does not have more than one wife.  A polygamous man is not qualified.  A man who has had more than one wife through divorce is not qualified (divorce would also demonstrate that he didn’t have control of his own household —1 Tim. 3:4).  An unmarried man is disqualified because the requirement says he must be married. 

With items 2 and 3, the question is, how long is a father responsible for his children’s behavior?  A father can have well-disciplined children raised in the knowledge of the faith, but when they become adults and leave home, they are no longer the responsibility of the father.  In their adult years they can get caught up in various sins, turn their back on the Faith, etc, but this should not be held against the father as for qualification for eldership.

Some other comments regarding qualifications:

A pastor is the shepherd of the flock, and therefore must have some sort of experience in the area of shepherding, which is why Paul said to not be in a hurry to ordain people new in the faith (1 Tim. 5:22), and why the office title of “Elder” includes the idea of an older man. This means that a freshly-minted seminary graduate is not qualified for the position of even “youth pastor”; experience has shown that these young men are more inclined to want to be “buddies” than mentors.  These men may be put in position of teachers or other work, but not ordained as “pastors.”  They are too young and have no experience at shepherding.

A man must have a family in order to get experience in shepherding, but a man with young children shouldn't be a pastor because he needs to spend his time helping to raise them and learning about shepherding.  While a man with a normal job can be there for his family to assist his wife, a man who is an elder is virtually on call 24/7 for counseling, emergencies, etc., and often away engaged in the business of the ministry even on his “off” time. 

As for “believing children,” children must be old enough to understand the faith in order to accept it for themselves, so having unbelieving young children is not a problem, but if his children are in their teens and still not believers, then that says something about the teaching in the home and, again, disqualifies the man for the office of elder.

The qualifications make it plain that the man must have a wife and family, otherwise there is no way to judge how well he runs his own household!

Some interesting citations about Titus 1:6:

In this repeated list of the qualifications of the elder, one thing is specially stressed.  He must be a man who has taught his own family in the faith.  The Council of Carthage [A.D. 419] later laid it down: "Bishops, elders and deacons shall not be ordained to office before they have made all in their own house-holds members of the Catholic Church."  Christianity begins at home.  It is no virtue for any man to be so engaged in public work that he neglects his own home.  All the Church serviced in the world will not atone for neglect of a man's own family.

William Barclay (Barclay is known for bad teachings, but this quote is used because he cites the Council of Carthage)

The next qualification is another aspect of that mentioned in 1 Timothy 3:4.  It calls for a good testimony in his own house; his children must be believers.  This is the scriptural standard.  How can one be called a leader publicly when his own family doesn't follow him as a result of his private life and testimony?  How many fail here.

The negative aspect is that they must not be living wild and dissolute lives.  This seems to qualify further the "believing children."

William MacDonald & V. Paul Flint (Emmaus Bible College Correspondence Course)

Since older men would be chosen for leadership, it is assumed that the elder would have children.  The latter must share their father's Christian faith by having made a personal decision.  Their remaining pagan would throw into question the father's ability to lead others to faith.

D. Edmond Hiebert, Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary

The idea here of "faithful children" means believing children.  If a man cannot lead his own children to the Lord, he ought not to be an officer in the church. ... For the cause of Christ and for the sake of the office, an officer in the church must have believing, obedient children.

J. Vernon McGee

Well, this is what I can think of at this time.  Perhaps in the future I may have more thoughts regarding the literal interpretation of what 1 Timothy 3:2-7 and Titus 1:6-9 mean when compared to those who are looking to fit their particular ideology into the passages.