Can Elders of a church be young?
score:10
From Paul's own writing to Timothy, specifically verse 12:
Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.
So no, there is no "age requirement", but one must at least fulfill the prerequisites listed in Titus 1 & 1 Timothy 3.
As a sidebar, Jesus did not start His ministry until he was about 30 - the typical age for a rabbi to be able to have his own disciples. Whether or not 30 should be normative in the church, all of His disciples would've been at least adults of taxable age (over 20) when He called them. Paul was most certainly over 30 when he was called, since he was already a well-established pharisee. I cannot speak with dogmatism on this, but I personally think that it's a good ballpark age :)
Upvote:13
This all kind of depends on what you mean by "young".
Titus 1:5 - 9 has a more detailed description of what an elder should be:
Titus 1:5 - 9
5 I left you on the island of Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as I instructed you.
6 An elder must live a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers who don’t have a reputation for being wild or rebellious.
7 For an elder must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money.
8 Rather, he must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life.
9 He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught; then he will be able to encourage others with wholesome teaching and show those who oppose it where they are wrong.
As you can see while this description does not explicitly give an age requirement, it gives the expectation that this person is established, and that they have a proven track record of being Godly.
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