If a man is qualified to serve as an elder but his wife dies before he is installed, can he still become an elder? If an elder’s wife dies may he continue to serve?<\/p>\n\t
In looking for qualified men to be elders, we put so much emphasis on the qualifications of the man that we forget that his wife must also display certain qualities. “Likewise their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things<\/i>” (I Timothy 3:11). The reason for elder and deacon’s wives to have qualifications is because they are involved in the work of their husbands.<\/p>\n
Both elders and deacons must be husbands of one wife (I Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6). Like the other qualifications, it is presented in the present tense as actively being displayed. We would not think of selecting a man who used to be blameless or had been above reproach. For the same reason, we should not consider a man who once had a wife of fine qualities.<\/p>\n
By the same token, would you consider keeping an elder who developed a drinking problem or is starting quarrels? If losing a qualification makes a man disqualified for the office, why should the qualification of being the husband of one wife be treated differently?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: If a man is qualified to serve as an elder but his wife dies before he is installed, can he still become an elder? If an elder’s wife dies may he continue to serve? Answer: In looking for qualified men to be elders, we put so much emphasis on the qualifications of the man…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[1568,123],"class_list":["post-2007","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-deacons","tag-elders"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51404,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-i-timothy-311-refer-to-both-elders-and-deacons-wives\/","url_meta":{"origin":2007,"position":0},"title":"Does I Timothy 3:11 refer to both elders and deacons’ wives?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In I Timothy 3:11, where it says \"Likewise their wives,\" do you think the word \"their\" means both elder and deacons wives? Or is this word a specific reference to deacons' wives? I ask this because in context this verse falls under the qualification of a deacon. Answer: Actually,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91021,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-deal-with-an-elders-wifes-gossiping\/","url_meta":{"origin":2007,"position":1},"title":"How do you deal with an elder’s wife’s gossiping?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Do the wives of the elders have any authority over the other women of the congregation? Are there qualifications for the wife of an elder? How should it be handled when the wife of an elder repeats hurtful information about a member of the church she learns from her\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51363,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/must-an-elders-wife-be-a-christian\/","url_meta":{"origin":2007,"position":2},"title":"Must an elder’s wife be a Christian?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I need some advice, sir. Can a man, who meets all qualifications to be an elder, serve as an elder if his wife isn't a Christian? If you don't care, please explain your thoughts and the biblical standpoint. Any advice would be appreciated. Answer: In looking for qualified men\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9229,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-an-elder-need-to-step-down-if-one-of-his-children-falls-away\/","url_meta":{"origin":2007,"position":3},"title":"Does an elder need to step down if one of his children falls away?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 2, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My question pertains to elders and having believing children. If when they, believing children of an elder, leave home and happen to fall away from the church should the elder step down? Or does this fall under the example aspect and he should step down because of that? Another\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32774,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-should-be-done-about-a-preacher-whose-wife-no-longer-attends\/","url_meta":{"origin":2007,"position":4},"title":"What should be done about a preacher whose wife no longer attends?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: We have a minister whose wife no longer attends church services. We have no elders. What should we do, or what should he do? (I Timothy 3:5). Answer: A preacher is not the same duty as an elder, nor does a preacher have the same requirements on him as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1501,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-meant-by-an-elder-being-the-husband-of-one-wife\/","url_meta":{"origin":2007,"position":5},"title":"What is meant by an elder being the husband of one wife?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 19, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What does the statement husband of one wife mean in regards to an elder? Answer: \"The husband of one wife\" (I Timothy 3:2;\u00a0Titus 1:6). Only a married man may be an elder. Single men are eliminated as well as men who practice bigamy. The Law of Moses did allow\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2007","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2007"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2007\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2007"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2007"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2007"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}