baby elders

SB

I'm curious ~ has anyone noticed how YOUNG elders are these days? In my old congregation, 6 of our 8 elders were under the age of 30, one of them 23, unmarried. The Father being the P.O...ironically. :)

OnTheWayOut

I had not been in a congregation that personally appointed many men under 30, although I was under the wire and knew a few 28 to 29, but I met several of these men at Circuit and District Assemblies. IMO, there is so much less desire among the older men to do the elder work, that they gotta grab these young guys to do it, and then keep them as elders. If you were a 40 year old man, and set in your ways, and the elders asked you to have a talk and/or demonstration every week, conduct the book study every week, take a group out in field service every weekend (and get your family to do it), you might understand why hardly anybody in your age bracket is running forward to volunteer. It's easier to swell the head of a twenty-something man into thinking he's somebody now, glad to do it.

parlay

Many of these younger men (and older for that matter) look upon eldership as a badge of status, power, influence, etc.

I know many former elders that don't want to serve again. After being on the endless elder

treadmill of duties and responsibilities, it feels good to be able to exhale and relax and they

are in no hurry to put on the shackles of eldership again. The younger men don't have the

experience of the treadmill yet, so they focus only on the prestige they think comes with eldership.

But they will learn when they start to burn.

darth frosty

what I have noticed lately is a bunch of dud's being made elders who 10-15 yrs ago would never have been considered. They are scrapping the bottom of the barrel.

Confession

I was 29 when appointed in 1995. A couple of years later, a 26 year old was appointed in my congregation. At that time, I wouldn't exactly call it "rare," but the average elder (I'd say) was late 40s / early 50s.

SirNose586

Ugh..I know what they're trying to do to me here. The PO is more or less trying to fast-track me to elder status. I get new Privileges TM every four months or so. The standard now is not "head and shoulders" above everyone else--the standard is now, anyone who hasn't screwed up too bad, and consistency. You don't have to be a star, just consistent.