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| The Neglected Qualification: Black Sheep in Pastors' Homes by Douglas Wilson |
The Neglected Qualification by Douglas Wilson answers a question I've had for a long time. It is an attempt to clarify what is being said in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 regarding the qualifications of an elder, specifically concerning an elder's children. Here are the two statements from those passages.
and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination.(Titus 1:6b ESV)
He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?(1 Timothy 3:4–5 ESV)
It is a question that I have asked myself for a long time. What ought I to do if one of my children were to wander away from the Lord? What if I were under a pastor who had a child who did this? What about those pastors I've known who had all of their children wander off? How should I see a pastor who has children in his home who are unruly? Is this talking about children still in the home or children who have moved out of the home and are grown?
In this book, Wilson answers these questions, not by creating a legalistic rule to follow, but by driving into the heart of this part of the qualification: taking a step back and allowing scripture to be its own interpreter. This approach gives a great guide to follow, allowing us to trim off the clear cases that might have been ignored, but also pointing out those cases where this may have been mishandled. Exceptions to the rule operated as clarifying instruments instead of being exceptions for the sake of exceptions.
If you've wondered about this or struggled with how to think about this issue, I encourage you to snag this Kindle book while it is free.
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