Young Elders!

Long, long, long ago a severe famine appeared in a land that was used to enough food for as long as anyone could remember.

All of a sudden they realized that they were used to plenty and had never taken enough care to save for a rainy day, in this situation a dry day. They ate all they had in the small granaries they had. Yet the drought continued.

They ate the animals they had. In fact they realized that it was the best thing to do before all of them died of hunger or became too skinny to eat. But the drought continued.

Then they started looking for wild animals and in a short while they either cleared their forest or the animals fled to more livable lands.

Then they swept their bushes and thickets for small game; rabbits and even squirrels. But in a short while these also ran out. Yet the famine continued.

They then sank to levels they had never imagined. They started looking for rodents and even larger reptiles as there was simply no other food available. But the famine continued.

Eventually people started losing their strength as there was so little to eat. The strong ones were the ones who scoured their area and went far to look for food, with the strongest being able to go to the neighboring nations; journeys that took weeks to complete yet did not bring much as there was a drought there too. The advantage with the other nation was that they had stored some extra food to help a needy neighbor. You see capitalism was not yet a way of life.

Eventually the strong realized that something had to be done. There was simply not enough food to go around however scrupulously they rationed. Unless something was done, they knew that it was a matter of time before the whole community perished.

The leaders therefore held a crisis meeting to look for a solution.

They had to reduce the mouths to feed to leave a chance for a few to survive the famine. Those still with some remaining strength but not enough to travel to look for food were encouraged to move to the neighboring lands and stay there until it rains in their land. They were given some little provision for a few days on the road and were advised to be on the lookout for anything to supplement.

They were left with a dilemma. What were they to do with the old and withered people? They could not look for food for themselves, leave alone for anybody else. Many were sickly and needed even more food and care than the healthy. And there was no chance they could offer anything in exchange for all the food they ate. At least the children were not as dependent as they ate some detestable things from the ground but their parents looked the other way as it helped maintain their health without drawing on the scarce food rations they had.

They decided to clear these dependent people by killing them. It was a unanimous decision that each one was to kill his parents. And that is what they did.

One man however did not agree with them though he saw no reason to do so in the meeting when he saw the drift it had taken. He therefore carefully concealed that fact from the rest.

That meant that he had to look for more food secretly so that nobody suspected that he had defied the decision of the breadwinners (scrap gatherers is a more appropriate term). Even when they had a communal meal he had to hide some food, yet so secretly, to take to his father.

But finally it rained and everybody was so excited. They could start farming, which they did.

Unfortunately they did not have any seed to plant as they had eaten all of it in the famine. Going to the neighboring lands would take more time than the rainy season could have allowed. They were at a loss as to what they needed to do. They promised a reward to anyone who could provide a solution.

The man who defied them went to his father and explained their dilemma. His father advised him to tell them to dig around their homes and they would have food. Though they thought it was more of a joke they did it as they had nothing more constructive to do.

In a short while food was growing in those compounds. How? The compound is normally too hard for seed to penetrate yet it is where food is prepared, meaning that seed will always be found there.

The community was excited that now they had food and made this man their leader. But they wanted to know where he got that secret. But it was his secret. They prodded him day after day until he was sure they would not touch the source of that secret. Then he told them that it was his father who had given him that secret. He confessed to having defied their collective agreement to kill their parents and asked for their forgiveness.

They could have none of it. He was their hero. His disobedience had saved them from certain death. They regretfully confessed that they were the foolish ones to have killed their parents supposing that had all of them been alive even better solutions could have been available.

We have become a generation of perennial youngsters. It appears like being old is a liability. People in their seventies are bleaching their hair to look young and virile. It sometimes appears to some shameful to be so old.

Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not. (Hosea 7:9)

The other day I was talking with some friends about a function when he suggested that I would need to bleach my grey hair to fit in. I was shocked to say the least. I respect my grey head. I am not ashamed of my age. I might not be as strong as when I was twenty but I am strong enough for my age. Of course I refused. I hope I was diplomatic as I did so since I felt as if I had been insulted.

The problem with our generation is that we have taken this fear and spite of age even to church. But even worse is we have adjusted the scriptures to agree with us. We have transferred responsibilities that were meant for the old and grey headed to the youth, like the people in my story thinking that the old have nothing much to add to our progress.

Who was a deacon in the scriptures? What are his qualifications?

I will highlight a few to demonstrate to us that he simply could not have been young, was probably past middle age and was certainly not a woman, however affirmative you may want me to appear. I do not argue with the Bible. I do not try to justify my interpretations. I just seek to understand so that I may live by what it teaches.

One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) (1Timothy 3:4, 5)

My understanding of this is that this elder is old and with mature children who have been raised in the fear of God. The children become his testimony in church and outside.

Is it possible to bring up children this way before you get married? Is it possible to do so before getting them? Is it possible to do so when your children are small?

Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. (1Timothy 3:6, 7)

He must be someone with a proven track record of his faith. He has been in the faith for long enough to silence even his enemies as to the genuineness of that faith. He has been in the faith for so long that his critics, even his enemies can write a positive testimony about him. He has also walked with God for so long that it can be safely assumed that titles have no capacity of swaying his commitment to Christ. He has walked so close to Christ and for so long that positions and titles have little chance of arousing pride in him. It is hard for a young man to fit that description.

Even the qualification about wine more accurately describes an old man because the stresses of middle age sometimes lead some to drunkenness. It can therefore be assumed that this deacon must have successfully passed middle age.

Someone can’t be verified for not being greedy for gain until he has gone through the main drivers of that greed successfully. One must have gone through the acquisition stage successfully to be so trusted. It is easier to entrust your money with an old man who does not have much than with a rich young man with an MBA. Reason? Surely it was not for lack of opportunities that he is not wealthy. Chances are that he made choices that locked out greed. I am not saying that the rich must be greedy, but you also remember Christ implying as such when He said that it is hard for them to see His kingdom. But the point is that an old saint has more trust than a younger one.

Again the testimony of the old might not be as flowery as that of the young because the elder’s has been more or less distilled to the essentials. But his presence has more authority than the testimonies of many young. He has gone through temptation successfully. The young might be pure because he has not had opportunity to sin, from sex to finances. His character is being formed but the process is not yet over. In the elder the process is more or less settled.

I am not belittling youth. I was called in my teenage and have been in the ministry for really long according to some people. In fact these old men I am talking about started their journey of faith in their youth. There are people who were called before I was born and they are still faithful. The almost thirty years I have been in ministry shrink to a short time compared to some of them. I have preached with people who got saved in 1949 and they continue being faithful though many have died. Though I have been faithful to the call I received, I will humbly go to those elders for counsel however high I may fly.

One reason pastors are forsaking the Bible for materialism in the pulpit is by surrounding themselves with affirmers instead of revered old men when the choose deacons or elders. A rich man is not equivalent to a spiritual man. Jesus taught the opposite. A highly educated man is not necessarily spiritual. In fact the pursuit of all that education may have short circuited his spiritual quest. A highly professional man might be a poor spiritual one.

Does it mean that young people can’t be committed? It is precisely because they can be so committed that we need an old man to guide them instead of making them leaders. In my not so many years I have seen men who are at one moment so committed to Christ transferring that commitment to something or someone else for this or that reason. I have seen people with an encounter with God that is enviable yet for marriage behave as if nothing had ever happened. I have been through testimonies so dramatic that one is convinced that the one involved will become Christ’s servant for life yet you see the same being used to look for money instead of giving glory to God.

Samuel heard the Lord clearly but he needed the experience of backslidden elder Eli to know what to make of it. Apollos was mighty in the scriptures yet needed the guidance of Aquila and Priscilla to be a more effective minister. The fire and passion of youth many times cause them to burn their fingers if they lack the counsel of the elders. Many youth in their passion for ministry have ended in lion’s dens not for their passion but for their folly (lack of foresight). A burden to minister to drunkards has led many into drunkenness. A burden for prostitutes has led some into sexual depravity. A passion to minister to political leaders has transformed some ministers into politicians. A passion to minister to the corrupt has led some into the same corruption they were fighting.

An elder is able to see past the glare of the lights of fame and fortune into the temptations lurking behind. An old man can be able to rebuke such a success story without being suspected of being envious.

Yet it is not restricted to our time. Judas was with Christ all the time yet for some money sold Him. Peter was in the inner circle yet betrayed Him. One thing we see in the Gospels repeated again and again is that they believed as if that was when it started after seeing this or the other miracle. Yet even after resurrection we see them doubting that they had to touch His hands and side to believe. And they had been part of all the miracles He did and sermons He gave.

The devil is called the ancient (old) serpent (Revelation 20: 2). Does it not make sense then to make use of people with more experience defeating him to guide us? Do we think that he forgets his tactics after any victory or defeat when he tempts us?

Faith is not a straight line. There are enough crises along the way, crises that have the capacity of getting me away from the faith altogether. I have seen enough people in my life to emphatically say that we can’t use someone’s commitment in his youth to predict his later commitment.

A case in point is a man I knew and respected since my childhood. We used to go for fellowships in his house and he was known by all as a man on fire for God. This man had a family I envied. I recently heard that this same man got a good job in his forties, a job that offered opportunities for everything he wanted and he lost his faith. He is now a drunkard and has been unable to reconnect to his earlier faith however hard he tries. He is now in his sixties. He was a leader not only in the church he attended; he was a leader in the fellowship that involved many churches. He was not poor as he had a job and farm so we cannot say it was need that took him that direction.

David sinned in his midlife. The same happened with Asa, Hezekiah and Uzziah. And that is the reason I am convinced that the Bible talks about actual old men when it is talking about deacons; specifically men whose fire for God has not waned with the passing of time.

The young are innovative and creative. They can literally fly. But they need the stability of actual old men to shape that ambition to fit in the spiritual order. You see the old can see farther than the young. I remember an African proverb that says a seated elder can see farther than a young man on a tree. Again we have been told the farther back we see, the farther ahead we will see. That is what a spiritual (not necessarily rich or educated) old man will bring to the church.

An old man that has been consistent in his faith is more powerful than the most eloquent preacher. Even the devil knows him as he has been on his case for a long time. He must have tried all the devises in his armory to bring him down without success. Like with Job God can parade him even to the devil. His spiritual stature is much higher than the spiritual giants in the frontline of spiritual warfare and ministry.

The thing the devil has been able to succeed in is getting them away from spiritual leadership through leadership that is insecure especially in this elder’s presence. He has over the years demonstrated that his loyalty to Christ is not subject to his loyalty to a pastor, bishop or any other leader.

Another fact I need to add is that he has been consistent in his faith since his youth. We are not talking about a man who had his fill of the world before coming to Christ or like this friend I have mentioned if he gets restored. And this does not reduce the effectiveness of such a person. Remember Christ saying that the last shall be first? It just makes sense that a person who has been faithful to God all his life is a more powerful testimony than one who came in later. I remember many young people responding to a Gospel presentation by saying that they want to ‘eat life’ first so that they will have no regrets when they forsake all (as they would have become fed up with it). Many will put up such an argument when such an elder is given the responsibility of eldership. He came to the faith because he was fed up with the world anyway. No one can venture such an argument when the elder got saved in his youth and remained faithful throughout his life till old age. His life is more powerful than any apologetics.

Resources are another reason the elder needs to be such. This believer has lived his faith on the marketplace without compromise for all his life. His commitment to the course of Christ is unquestionable. You need to go to his competitors in business or whatever else he does to verify his integrity. Talk to his customers about his honesty. Talk to his neighbors about his hospitality.

Someone who has walked with integrity and faithfulness to Christ would find it impossible to divert a few millions to his use or for a purpose that is not aligned to the cause of Christ. Such a man would not bend systems to meet the whims of a pastor who decides that the church exists to keep him in comfort even when some of those funding it are impoverished. He will not swallow his voice even in the face of majority opinion as he has been in constant fellowship with the opinion that matters.

And I think this is the reason pastors nowadays have lowered the benchmark for the choice of deacons. Such a caliber of deacons will insist that the pastor be hearing from Christ, and their long experience with Him can accurately tell when the pastor has lost it and will not be afraid to tell him as much. The pastors want become as impressive as this.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. (2Timothy 4:3, 4)

I suspect that is the reason we have thrown the scriptures aside so that we can run the church the way we want without the censure of those who have the spiritual backbone to confront our hypocrisy and sin.

One last reason I think deacons need to be old is the raising of ministers. An elder who has been on fore for God for a really long time is able to see through the smokescreen of passion and commitment to isolate a pearl even in a young man. This is because he is not looking to build his structure as his job is not at any threat. He has seen enough misplaced commitment and passion to be able to sort the fake from the real. He may have the tests to apply if there is any doubt. He is also better able to mentor them, which many times is the test that will sort out the genuine from the seekers and pretenders. Many times he will be available for that as he has slowed down due to his age, something the others may not be able to do.

Such an elder can differentiate a degree from a calling, the gift and talent from a calling. He will be able to guide the church to wisely choose ministers who are really connected to the call of Christ even before looking at his CV or certificates just by talking to him. In fact he will help the church raise ministers instead of outsourcing them as I believe this is how a church should operate.

I read this next story somewhere and I will tell it as I remember it

There was this huge meeting. The huge hall was filled. The crowd saw a performer and asked him to recite the 23^rd Psalm. He did it with flawless grace and accuracy and the crowd clapped and screamed and stood with excitement. They had not seen such in a long time.

Then they noticed an old pastor among them and prodded him to do the same. Of course we know that the motives were not noble. They were requesting him to outdo the performer. He declined. But they pushed and shoved him until he went to the stage.

He then started. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

By the time he finished every eye was wet and some were weeping openly. Some had even knelt down in worship.

What was the difference? The first one gave an oration about a shepherd. The other spoke of his Shepherd. The words were the same. The source was different. One spoke from memory while the other spoke from experience. One had read about the shepherd, the other had been led by the shepherd.

I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. (1John 2: 12 – 14)

Who is the best person to lead worship? Is it the person with the best voice or the one with an experience with the object of that worship?

In the verses above we are able to see some order. Elders know the Father. It is this experience that they transfer to the young men to overcome the wicked one and the children to give an assurance of their salvation. One who is from the beginning denotes some experience with the same. It is such an experience that guides the young in their relationship to the same.

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. (Psalm 37:25)

Only an old man can say that with conviction. The young can use the statement like many in our generation to demand this or that from God. An old man will say that from his experience. He will not need flowery packaging to do so as his life demonstrates it.

My understanding of worship is a person’s response when they encounter God. It has little to do with falling down or lifting hands if the reality of God is absent. It is not even related from the feeling of God’s presence as that can be so subjective. Worship is a person’s response to their encounter with God. The presence or absence of music is to me irrelevant if the encounter is not real.

Like in leadership, it is the experience and not the voice that should lead worship. The voice has very little to do with worship. Only people who have had a very rich experience with the Shepherd can lead others to Him, which is what worship is.

In Exodus 15, we see Moses leading worship. Weren’t there more talented voices for this 80 year old to do so? Later Miriam, who may have been 90 or thereabouts leads the women in the same. Wasn’t her voice cracked? Where were the songsters of Israel? What were they doing to be led by such old people?

You go through the Bible and that is what you will find. The tabernacle and temple worship was lead by old men. Asaph, Jeduthun and Heman were all fathers. They were the leaders of the worship in Israel. They organized their Levitical families in the same. No wonder they were the psalmists of Israel.

Leading worship is actually bringing people to experience God. How can a fornicator lead people there? How can a business person lead just because his business is in Gospel music, if there is something like that? How can a performer take people there? How can someone lead people to a place he has never been?

A good voice is no qualification for leading worship. That can only lead people to sing well and feel nice, not worship. A skilled instrumentalist will do the same. Only someone who has had a long experience in God’s presence can lead people there.

Again it is the really old who have had that experience consistently for long who have the capacity to lead us there. Only people who have walked with God for long can understand that presence enough to know when it is there or not. Otherwise we may be like the Israelites around the golden calf whose worship consisted of wickedness. And I believe much of what we call worship may be like that.

An effective worship leader is many times one who can play with the feelings of the crowd (I will not say congregation) so that they will feel nice and at the same time satisfy the demands of God somehow since they do not really know what God requires. And that is why we have praise and worship sessions in bars where the entry requirement is 2 beers as I have seen on advertisements on media and posters. And this is because we have reduced worship to singing and music.

Ever wondered why in Christ’s ministry singing is mentioned only once during the Last Supper when they sang a hymn? Why was there no singing during the 3½ years of Christ’s ministry? Or, if it was there, why was it not recorded? The simple reason is that it was not a priority. If it was there it may have been more of a filler or stop gap if ever there was one. In any case it did not warrant any mention in the Gospel narrative.

Why are we placing so much premium on something the Bible has not mentioned yet proudly call ourselves New Testament believers? Are we not blowing it out of proportion when singing takes half of the time of a ‘worship’ service? Is it in order when people leave the service after ’worship’ as it is the thing they connect to? Is it really worship?

Again I want to go back to my argument. Only people who have walked with God for long can lead anyone to worship because the worship lifestyle can be seen in their life. And by that I mean a really old man who has been in the faith since his youth. He knows God enough to realize when God is absent as happened with Elijah or Jehoshaphet when 400 prophets were saying one thing. Such a man will not be swayed by public opinion or current trends as he is in constant contact with the object of our worship.

A worship pastor should be a withered old man who may not even be able to sing or play instruments. He would then help us connect to God in worship by ensuring that whatever we do is in line with God’s trends. His ears can’t assess music and so he will listen to the guiding spirit to help us maintain simplicity in that singing. He is not fashion conscious and will therefore guide the singers to dress that will satisfy God’s demands without worrying whether his choir is ‘cool’ or not.

Why is there so much immorality in worship teams? Why is there so much pride? Why so much arrogance especially among the ‘stars’? I think we are doing the wrong thing and soothing our consciences by calling it a good name. I sang for many years, led and taught choirs also and am saying this from what I have seen. I have written about some of these in my book ‘Why Christian Leaders Fall’.

Like with the elder/ deacon, this old man has walked with God for so long without reproach that we know that we can’t go wrong if we gave him the responsibility of leading us to the King. We ask him to lead us because he has demonstrated by his life that his worship is real.

Again worship is not singing. There are other aspects. In fact the one we frequently see in the scriptures is falling prostrate in God’s manifest presence. But it is the manifest presence, not imagined. We do not create that presence. We do not psych that presence. We prepare ourselves adequately for that presence to appear. Many times that presence stopped everything else happening. We therefore are doing our own things and calling it God’s presence because we do not even know what the presence is like.

And that is why I insist that the worship pastor must be someone who over the years has demonstrated his dealings in that presence so that he may assist us in that direction. Singing may many times be a diversion from that presence and it is such a person who may be brave enough to point that out clearly.

But will we listen?