Voting Age

Dear CBC, the following document is a summary of my thoughts and convictions on this matter. It reflects none other than my own, but it does reflect 23 years of experience in ministry and countless hours of research and education into this matter.

I want to acknowledge that it is good and healthy that our church members feel like they have a voice to speak up and make motions. It speaks to anyone who stands in front of the church to present their views and we as a church need to hear them out. I do also want to make sure that this document has nothing to do with any specific persons or whoever made the motions. I want to simply interact with the idea and think through it.

I write this as only one response to what people are calling a “simple matter.” I respectfully disagree that this is a simple matter because the topic affects much more than a “small demographic” of the church. I believe there are areas of the church that tie directly to this topic. I also believe some biblical principles are related to this topic that many of us are not thinking through. Lastly, as a church pastor, it is our responsibility and burden to bring before the congregation a prayed-through, studied, and researched response to anything and everything that concerns our church and its members.

This is just a document, and I prefer to engage in this topic over a conversation (and coffee). But if there are questions, please feel free to reach out.

The following document is regarding:

1. A motion was brought up on Sept 17 by a church member. The motion was tabled to be voted on at the next business meeting.

2. The motion was not discussed previously by church staff or the church council before the motion.

3. A motion that will be on the business meeting agenda on Nov. 12.

4. The motion is to change the official CBC bylaw voting age from 14 years old to 18 years old.

5. There are three sections in this document, each with a title and a response by myself.

6. The responses are that of a church member, a pastor, a theologian, and all within the current systems and structures of CBC at the time of writing this document.

Currently in CBC ByLaws: Under Section 2 (Amendment #3)

• Section 5. Rights of a Member

Response:

1. While the church membership has the ability and right to change portions of the bylaws, the church must recognize that these changes ought to be considered with prayer, study, and consideration of the whole church (1 Corinthians 14:40). It is a bylaw change, not a change in some random document. It ought to be taken more seriously and with more care than other documents.

2. A change in the voting age would be a change in the section “rights of a member.” If the congregation is to vote on this particular section of the bylaws, they must consider that they are affecting the RIGHTS of their fellow members.

1. Approximately 30-35 CBC members (and their friends, family, and Missional opportunities) would be affected.

3. A question the membership must ask regarding changing a bylaw is:

1. What is the reason why the past leadership proposed and accepted the current bylaw?

2. What is the reason why the current leadership is proposing to change the bylaw?*

1. Has the current leadership prayed through, studied, and felt the Holy Spirit guiding the church to change this bylaw that would affect the rest of the church?

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*The reasoning behind this is the assumption that the men & women that CBC has called to lead and guide the Church have been in prayer for a while over this topic (not a rushed decision), they have consulted the Scriptures over this topic (they are not leading based off of convenience or politics). They have considered how this might affect the whole church (processed with all of the affected parties). “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).

• Currently, the only reasoning that has been mentioned in favor of changing the voting age from 14 to 18 is:

• Those under 14 are “too immature” to vote on important issues such as the church budget or voting for a senior pastor.

• Other concerns are whether they care to be in business meetings or if they are knowledgeable of church business.

• The rationale given is:

• The national voting age is 18

• Personal anecdotes of withholding privileges from their teens.

Response:

1. The standard of church operations must always be, first and foremost, grounded in the revealed truths of God’s Word. While there is wisdom in documents outside of Scripture, the Church is tethered solely to Scripture. This means we ask, “What does the Bible say explicitly and implicitly about the principle?” Or if the Bible doesn’t mention the topic, we must ask, “Are there patterns or principles in the Bible that speak to the topic?”

1. Referencing the American voting age isn’t necessarily wrong; it just shouldn’t be the first line of reasoning (esp. if Scripture might have something better to say about it).

2. So, what does the Bible say about voting?

1. The Bible does not speak to voting ages (like it doesn’t speak to the internet, social media, America, or the Houston Astros).* But that doesn’t mean the Bible is silent on things that relate to voting age.

2. The Bible does not mention youth either. In Jewish culture, there were children, and at a certain age (12), they would be admitted into adulthood through a rite of passage in which the community would acknowledge their role and responsibilities within that community. They would be expected to contribute to society and would be tried, then, as a member of that society.

3. The question we must ask isn't whether the Bible talks about voting but how the Bible treats members of the church. Does the Bible differentiate members in the church based on age? Does the Bible restrict privilege in the church based on age? I do not believe Scripture supports this at all (1 Corinthians 12:21-26)

3. The proposed age of 18 is, for the most part, arbitrary.

1. Why move the limit to 18? Why not make it 21 when that is the legal age of alcohol and tobacco consumption? Why not 25 when the prefrontal cortex of the brain is developed? Why not move it to 16 when youth are eligible to drive? If the real reason is maturity, who gets to determine maturity? Is maturity simply based on age? If maturity is in view, how about biblical maturity?

1. Suppose people are concerned about voting for pastoral staff. Are we saying that a 17-year-old (who may be taking advanced placement college-level courses) cannot read and understand the qualifications of 1 Timothy and Titus?

2. In addition, If we limit the age of voting to 18, are we saying as a church that even though we believe the Holy Spirit saves that person, they have no right to vote for/against their pastor whom the Bible is asking them to follow and submit to?** Are we ready to say that even at 17 years old, that individual is too immature to think through, pray through, and have a real voice in the direction and health of their church?

2. A counter question to ask is whether a person can make a motion on the floor to have an upper limit. If age is indeed of concern, can we as a church limit the age of someone “too old”? What about someone with a mental disability? This would be absurd, right? Again, the question is not age per se, but it is about the nature and function of a church.

1. Furthermore, if maturity is an issue, what about spiritual maturity? What if that 17-year-old has been a Christian for six years, discipled for six years under solid teaching and counsel, taught Bible study and led prayer meetings, and been on multiple mission trips…are they immature to vote? Contrast that to a 35-year-old who just came to faith a week ago with zero knowledge of the biblical text, is fresh to the Gospel, and has no framework of church polity.

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*Remember, the Bible isn’t written in 2023, and it is not primarily concerned with answering our immediate issues and problems the way we want it to. The Bible is a revelation about God and his plan of redemption namely through Jesus Christ and continued through His Church. The Bible, does however, speak to principles of how Jesus’ church ought to conduct herself that reflect his Gospel. That is what we must pay attention to.

**“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Hebrews 13:17).

***So, how do we think about the current age of 14 and difficult voting items? The way a healthy church would operate is if the leadership of the church were those of who would lead well and consistently be in God's Word in and in prayer. Whatever they proposed to a church would be communicated to the body and taught through Scripture. The response of a healthy church would then be to affirm the decision and direction of the church (whether that is budget or personnel). A 14-year-old who may not know everything about taxes or law, however, can trust the leading and guiding of their pastor and leaders. They may cast their vote of affirmation not in the issue but in the person who has already taught and welcomed discussion and dialogue.

• Is there a relationship between church membership and voting?

• Some believe that changing the voting age has nothing to do with church membership.

Response:

1. Refer to Point #1. Voting is specifically under the Membership Section in the Bylaws.

2. Voting is valued as the RIGHT of each member of the church, voted on and accepted by the church at Baptism or upon transfer of membership.

1. To change the age from 14 to 18 (under the current bylaws and the structure)* is a limitation and restriction of an individual member's current rights at this moment.

3. If voting is “not” a part of membership, is there a line between quasi-member, semi-member, and full-member? If we change the voting age of members to 18, what are we saying to those under 18? What are we saying about their membership? At this point, there is no provision or explanation according to our current structure. Are we truly going to say that “Individuals are NOT full members until they are 18?”

1. By the way, do realize that if we take this precedent, by the time we “recognize students” as full members of CBC at 18 years old, they would have graduated and most likely leave CBC and go off to college.

4. If our posture towards young people is that they are not fully members until they are 18, what kind of message does that send? And then why would we believe that after they turn 18, they would want to invest back in the church fully? Does a 16-year-old who isn’t given voting ability (who the church also says they are too immature to vote) even want to attend business meetings to begin with? If that is true, what changes when they turn 18?

1. We continue to champion “young people” in our church, and yet we continue to stifle their ability, leadership, and trajectory.

5. The Bible does talk about being a part of the biblical community of faith. If one reads any of the Letters of Paul, John, and Peter, there are many references to how individuals conduct themselves in a Church. The question is whether there is a specific age they were referencing. Are the biblical passages only for “adults?” Are they only for “mature members” of that community? Or did the apostles see ALL Christians in equal light? Yes, the Bible sees believers as full members of a church in Scripture and throughout the apostolic church.**

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* I would be in favor of thinking through a better system of thinking through full membership of a believer at CBC while having limitations of privileges. But this is only when and if the leadership has thought through this process and how everything works together. It would NOT be right for the church to limit a person based off “perceived age immaturity.”

** We see in Acts 2:37-47 that there is a numerical record of those who have professed Christ and been filled with the Holy Spirit (v. 41) and an acknowledgement that the church was tracking the growth (v. 47). In Acts 6:1-6, we see elections take place in order to address a specific problem and accusation. In Romans 16:1-16, we see what appears to be an awareness of who is a church member. In 1 Timothy 5:3-16, we see a clear teaching on how to handle widows in the church