Almost anyone can write a scathing analysis of any movement as big, broad, varied, and impactful as Evangelicalism. Sins are pervasive in any population, so all one needs to do is pick a topic and find some scandals.
I have been a Counselor and consultant who offers pro bono support for Ministers, Elders, and Missionaries for 25 years. I have seen my share of really bad people, but mostly men who were guided into ministry as young, talented men with a good speaking voice. Entry into the lofty realms of graduate school at age 25 and being sent out to preach at 30 means that a lot of men are in over their heads mentally, emotionally, and relationally, to say nothing of spiritually.
Leading a group of people who are older, wiser, and unwilling to change is an impossible task. My little church, as a child, averaged 50 to 75 in attendance, so we usually hosted young seminarians who came to practice on us. I asked my dad what we thought of one young guy, and he said, "We were here when he came, and we will be here when he goes." In other words, he will not have much impact on us.
I suggest that we withhold seminary enrollment from anyone who is under 40 and has children over 20. Timothy was in his mid 40s when Paul said, "Do not let anyone put you down for your youth.
I resonate with just about everything you say here, especially the part about how sins are pervasive in any population. I think it was Reinhold Niebuhr who made the general point in his *Moral Man and Immoral Society* that at the institutional level, there's always going to be something hideous.
I'm not sure if I'm willing to go as far to say that no one should go to seminary until they are 40. Recent converts need to be withheld. But those that have been in the church their whole lives and have served in humble ways? I'm not sure if age matters on the latter.
Age matters developmentally, and at 22, men are interested in performance, not building others up. Scripture says we learn how to manage a church by rearing children. Most young men think they can tell people what to do, and child-rearing says that will not work even with tykes, let alone adults who run businesses.
Haha, yes, you are right. I'll only add my own reservation still that young men must still bring their gifts to the church, whatever they may be and at whatever age.
Almost anyone can write a scathing analysis of any movement as big, broad, varied, and impactful as Evangelicalism. Sins are pervasive in any population, so all one needs to do is pick a topic and find some scandals.
I have been a Counselor and consultant who offers pro bono support for Ministers, Elders, and Missionaries for 25 years. I have seen my share of really bad people, but mostly men who were guided into ministry as young, talented men with a good speaking voice. Entry into the lofty realms of graduate school at age 25 and being sent out to preach at 30 means that a lot of men are in over their heads mentally, emotionally, and relationally, to say nothing of spiritually.
Leading a group of people who are older, wiser, and unwilling to change is an impossible task. My little church, as a child, averaged 50 to 75 in attendance, so we usually hosted young seminarians who came to practice on us. I asked my dad what we thought of one young guy, and he said, "We were here when he came, and we will be here when he goes." In other words, he will not have much impact on us.
I suggest that we withhold seminary enrollment from anyone who is under 40 and has children over 20. Timothy was in his mid 40s when Paul said, "Do not let anyone put you down for your youth.
I resonate with just about everything you say here, especially the part about how sins are pervasive in any population. I think it was Reinhold Niebuhr who made the general point in his *Moral Man and Immoral Society* that at the institutional level, there's always going to be something hideous.
I'm not sure if I'm willing to go as far to say that no one should go to seminary until they are 40. Recent converts need to be withheld. But those that have been in the church their whole lives and have served in humble ways? I'm not sure if age matters on the latter.
Age matters developmentally, and at 22, men are interested in performance, not building others up. Scripture says we learn how to manage a church by rearing children. Most young men think they can tell people what to do, and child-rearing says that will not work even with tykes, let alone adults who run businesses.
Haha, yes, you are right. I'll only add my own reservation still that young men must still bring their gifts to the church, whatever they may be and at whatever age.