“Difficult Disqualification”

Sunday, May 05, 2013

If a man is an elder in the church and his wife dies, does he still meet the qualifications since he is no longer married?

Sincerely,
A Sheep

Dear A Sheep,

This question is debated amongst faithful brethren.  It is important to not be too dogmatic on this issue one way or another.

One school of thought is that a wife’s death is similar to a child’s death.  If a man is an elder and his grown children die before him, it wouldn’t disqualify him from being an elder because he has already proven that he had raised them properly (1 Tim 3:4-5).  Some would say that an elder is still qualified because he has already proven himself to be a husband of one wife (1 Tim 3:2 – ‘husband of one wife’ literally means ‘one woman man’).

The other school of thought is that he is no longer qualified to be an elder because his wife no longer meets the qualifications laid out in 1 Tim 3:11.  In essence, an elder and his wife must both meet their qualifications in order for him to serve.  This point of view would say that once his wife dies, she no longer meets her qualifications, and therefore, he cannot serve.

As we said, it is important to not be too dogmatic on this issue, but it is also important to know why good brethren are of two minds on this topic.  Each congregation must faithfully address this issue for themselves if faced with these circumstances.

Share