05 - The Elderly Christian as a Member of the Church

In recent years there has been, in my opinion, an overemphasis on the importance of young people in the church. Youth meetings, children’s meetings, separate services for children, and so on, have simply mushroomed. Of course the Bible has a great deal to say about children and the gospel. But I assert there has been an over-emphasis upon young people in recent times. I submit that the Bible order has been forgotten and reversed. Little attention has been paid to the biblical teaching on the position of the elderly within the church. I suggest that the biblical emphasis is not so much on children but on older people. The biblical method is to gain the parents and leave them to deal with their children. In this section of the booklet I wish to try to restore the balance somewhat. I wish to examine the place the Bible gives the aged within the church.