Voting Age (Part 2)

There was an anonymous email providing a response to the previous newsletter that I'd like to address. First and foremost this email was very well-written and well-mannered and well-thought-through. We should all seek to mirror the thoughtfulness and study of such people. And this is simply good dialogue that the Christian church ought to do more of. We should be able to have good faith conversations where we talk through issues and practical items but through a biblical and theological lens.

The author brings up good responses and the following newsletter is meant to answer the responses and not the person themselves.

To reference the original newsletter, please follow this link: https://www.smore.com/4bf86-voting-age

Anonymous Author:

A. By-Laws and the Rights of a Member

"t is true, as stated in 1 Corinthians 14:40, that all things should be done decently and in order. The rights of members, including the right to vote, are indeed sacred. However, rights come with responsibilities, and Scripture speaks to the importance of maturity when undertaking responsibilities. In Hebrews 5:14, we read that solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. This speaks to the necessity of spiritual and emotional maturity when making decisions that affect the body of Christ.

While the bylaws may currently permit voting from age 14, it is within the rights and responsibilities of the church to prayerfully and thoughtfully reconsider this stance. Just as Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man (Luke 2:52), we too expect our young members to grow and mature before they partake in certain privileges of church membership, including voting."

CBC should pay close attention to 1 Corinthians 14:40 and I appreciate that this verse is brought up. I wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment that any and all gatherings ought to be done orderly (maybe with some humor too). Voting, however, isn't necessarily sacred though. It's a benefit, a privilege, and a blessing, but I don't think we can claim it to be sacred. I'm glad that it is part of our membership rights here at CBC, but that's only because we have determined its worth, the Bible did not claim its sacredness (though I don't know if the author of the email truly believed that or not).

Maturity, however, is in view in this response. I would agree that the Scriptures do talk about maturity and its progressive trajectory towards growth. If one looks at Hebrews 5:14, The author tells us that the mature are those “who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” There are several important things to remember when it comes to this verse. The first of these is that maturity comes only by the constant practice of discernment. Daily, consistently, and progressively we must exercise discernment so that the effects of the Fall are overcome, and our ability to distinguish between good and evil becomes better and better. We exercise discernment primarily through the study and application of Scripture. Secondly, the “good and evil” between which we must distinguish must be understood in more than just an ethical sense. To be sure, this terminology includes behavior but it also includes the ability to distinguish between true and false doctrine. (Ligonier.org)

While maturity here in Heberws can include age, the author of Hebrews is addressing this understanding to any and all Christians (regardless of age). Why? Because if you consider the audience of the Book of Hebrews, they were of different ages, stages in life, and communities, and yet he inserts this passage there for them. The author was calling for young "Christians" to mature in their faith and seek the fruit of maturity no matter the age.

• B. Voting Age (from 14-18)
  
  "One may argue that the proposed age of 18 is arbitrary and question why this age has been chosen over others. To address this, we turn to the Bible, which, while not explicitly mentioning voting ages, does provide us with principles that inform our understanding of maturity and responsibility. For instance, in Jewish tradition, the age of 12 marked a transition into adulthood. However, this cultural rite of passage does not necessarily correlate with readiness to make decisions with potentially far-reaching implications for a church community.
  
  Raising the voting age to 18 reflects the broader recognition that this age signifies a transition into societal adulthood across various contexts, including legal accountability and decision-making capabilities. This is not to discount the spiritual maturity of our youth, but rather to align their ecclesiastical responsibilities with their developmental stage and societal expectations.
  
  Regarding spiritual maturity, it is indeed possible for a young person to be spiritually mature. Nevertheless, James 1:4 reminds us that maturity involves letting perseverance finish its work so that we may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. This process takes time and life experience, which we must honor."
  

I would ask the author and members to refer to the original content of the first newsletter. There were 2 elements that need to be clarified:

1. Beginning with Scripture or Beginning with American Culture?

To frame this portion of the discussion is the legal accountability and decision-making capability of people based on the current cultural standards is not wrong per se but backward in thought. Now if the cultural norms align with scriptural principles, then great. But the way a church ought to think first is, "How would a consistent view of Scripture lead our church to consider membership and voting?" If the leadership of the church finds first that Scripture sees a pattern of "ecclesiastical responsibilities" beginning at the age of 12, then shouldn't that be the basis? Again, I am not diminishing the wisdom and value of the law of the land, what I am saying is that as a Christian Church, with a Christian Bible, in a Christian worldview, we should consider first a Christian principle. If the only good argument of raising the voting age to 18 is because America does it like that, then A) we're moving away from biblical patterns of rites of passage (the ones Jesus would have grown up with by the way) and B) we're using America as our standard.

In addition, "ecclesiastical responsibilities" are never tied to developmental stages in Scripture. For those reading, "ecclesiastical responsibilities" simply means the "responsibilities within the church." The responsibilities in a church are to go and make disciples, love one another, gather together, pray together, serve one another, and share the good news of Jesus. Do those come with an age limit? And furthermore, these biblical terms and expectations are never determined by "societal expectations." Our expectations never come from society but from King Jesus himself.

2. The Issue of Voting.

At the moment, there are no gradations within CBC's voting system. Voting to approve the minutes and voting to sell CBC, to remove a pastor, and to only serve donuts at lunch are all the same and can be a motion by any member at any meeting. So restricting a member's voting age to a certain age needs way more thought. One says "We're only moving the voting to 18 because kids are too young to think through important church business" But in our current system, it's not just "important church business" that people vote for. A person votes for everything.

Furthermore, let's say hypothetically CBC has earnestly prayed through, and diligently studied the scriptures, the leadership has determined the value and goodness of this decision for the whole church and the future of the church especially with extra consideration of the young people's affected...IF that has all happened, and we limit the voting age to 18, can a member of any age make a motion on the floor? Can someone who is 15 years of age, baptized, full member of the church make a motion on the floor? At the current time, any member can make a motion but we're saying that they are too young to vote. Can they make a motion that they can't vote for?

• C. Church Membership & Voting
  
  "Understandably, changing the voting age may send a message to younger members that they are not full members until they reach the age of 18. However, one could argue that Scripture supports a view of progressive covenantal responsibilities. In the Old Testament, for instance, certain rites and responsibilities were only undertaken once an individual reached a certain age. Levites, for example, began their service at the age of 25 and up (Numbers 8:24). David was anointed as king when he was young but only began to reign at the age of 30 (2 Samuel 5:4). Furthermore, Jesus himself began his public ministry at around the age of 30 (Luke 3:23). These examples suggest that while youth is not a disqualifier for calling, there is a biblical pattern of individuals stepping into significant roles of leadership and responsibility in their later years. This biblical template suggests a time of preparation and growth before stepping into roles of substantial influence, analogous to voting rights within the church.
  
  Wisdom and judgment are central to the exercise of voting. The book of Proverbs teaches believers to seek wisdom vigorously, emphasizing its value above all else. Given that church decisions often include electing leadership and significant financial choices, it is prudent to ensure those voting are individuals who embody this biblically advocated wisdom.
  
  It is not about relegating young members to a second-tier status but recognizing that with the greater wisdom and experience typically accrued by the age of 18, members may be better equipped to make decisions that will shape the Church’s future.
  
  The concern that this change might dishearten young members or dissuade them from participating once they reach 18 is valid. However, we must trust in Proverbs 22:6, which teaches that when we train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old, he will not depart from God. Our role is to guide our young members, to cultivate their faith and understanding, so that when they reach the age of 18, they are eager and prepared to embrace the duties of church membership fully."
  

I agree with the author that there is a "biblical pattern of individuals stepping into significant roles of leadership and responsibilities."However, the motion on the floor is not concerning leadership or scriptural offices in the church (i.e. elder or deacon). The motion on the floor concerns voting.

Therefore, the examples given of the Levites, David, and Jesus fall short on 2 accounts (on the issue of voting):

1. Those are "descriptive passages" in the Bible. Descriptive passages (different than prescriptive) are verses in the Bible that describe something at that moment in time for those particular people within that particular historical moment. On this side of Jesus, we no longer need the Levitical system because Jesus is our great high priest. The Bible was describing how old David was in 2 Samuel, not setting up a prescriptive rule for the Church in the New Testament. Jesus began his ministry around 30, but rabbis were younger and older during that time.
2. The passages that only talk about leadership and responsibilities come in 1 Timothy and Titus where they lay out qualifications for elders and deacons (not church members).

We love and should continue to teach Prov. 22:6, but remember these are wisdom proverbs. A child was under the care of the family. They were children though.

There is wisdom in this Proverb though; we as a church should train them up too...but train them in how to think through matters of the church. Help them think through being a member of the community.

I truly thank this author for sending in their thoughts. I think they have done a good job thinking through some things yet, if they are willing to listen, I pray that they see it as almost there on some points. The Bible does talk much about some wisdom and maturity and we as CBC must continue to help our people move in that path.

It is more important that we hold those in leadership, those tasked with the responsibility of guiding the church, teaching the church, and equipping the church, accountable and mature. They are the ones whom God calls to lead his sheep. While the members must and still do affirm the direction of the church, it is the leadership who must be ultimately mature, wise in Scripture, and not blinded by the ways of the world. They are the ones safeguarding the doctrines of the church and the decision-making.