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    rules it lays down for his conduct in life , it is evident , that a person ought not to be admitted , till he has attained that age in which he can with propriety act for himself . In our country , where the age of twenty-one is generally conceived to be the time of life in which

    • a young man may thus act , it seems desirable that no one sliould be admitted as a member of a Christian Church , before he has attained to this age : and , besides , before that time it is hardly probable that such an estimate can be taken of his character , as should warrant the recommendation

    of him to the church . The rule of a Christian Church is simply , that every thing should be done decently and in order ; and for this purpose some persons must be appointed to inspect and provide for the proper conducting of every thing in the church . No laws have been

    laid down by authority for the selecting of such persons , nor for the ascertaining of the number to be selected ; but the qualities which they ought to possess , have been pointed out in such appropriate and judicious terms by the Apostle Paul , that no difficulty

    whatsoever can occur upon this subject . On the length , of time the persons selected for any office shall retain it , there is perfect silence in scripture . In this , as in the number of officers , churches will exercise their discretion

    and many variations may occur . To retain an office when age or infirmity obstructs the exercise of its duties , and to solicit an office in the church , are things so totally opposite to a Christian spirit , that it is needless to point out such inconsistencies .

    The direction of the affairs of a church seems to have been vested in the apostolical ages in a committee of elders , so called , because the persons selected to be on the committee , were taken from the members of the church

    more advanced in years . Common sense leads to the propriety of such a choice y and to these days no plan has been advanced auperior to that of the earliest times ; and the names given in those days might be now fitly adopted . The elders are sometimes called overseers or bishops , since they were all overseers of the church : but

    as for a church a committee is useful , so in a committee a president is useful , and to the elder holding that situation ,

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    the name of bishop might be appropriated : the person holding that office , presiding at the meeting both of the committees and of the church ; or in his absense , his place would be supplied by one of the elders .

    Marriage was esteemed by an apostle requisite in the appointment of an elder , and for an obvious reason : and one of the great causes of corruption among Christians has been the entrusting of the affairs of what they call the church , in the hands of those

    men only who are unmarried . An elder , therefore , should be selected from only the married men ; and in every other respect a Christian church would endeavour to act agreeably to Paul ' s precepts in the character of the elders . Neither wealth , nor learning ,

    nor rank , nor power , is mentioned by the apostle as a qualification , and a Christian Church acts unworthily of its name , when it is guided by such considerations in its choice . At every election of elders the precepts of Paul relative to them would naturally be

    read ; and a church , duly impressed with the excellent advice he has given , will seldom err materially in its choice . Elders cannot , either in their individual or collective capacity , assume to themselves titles of respect or authority over faith . Here we have the decisive command of our Saviour .

    " The rulers of the earth exercise authority , but it shall not be so with you . ' ; " Ye shall not be called Rabbi . " It is not denied , however , to elders to aim at honourable pre-eminence , and the way is equally open to them with every other member of the church . " Let him who would be first among

    you be the servant of all ; " that is , let him be more desirous than any other to promote the spir itual welfare of his brethren . Each man may judge for himself , whether he has this disposition : for the example of his Saviour is before him ; and unless he would perform the same servile offices for his brethren that our Saviour did for

    his disciples , he has no pretensions to pre-eminence . The washing of the feet of a stranger was a common service in the East , performed by servants on his arrival at their master ' s house ; this our Saviour did not think beneath

    him ; and though in our country we are not called upon for such services , yet the spirit of our Saviour ' s conduct

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    396 On the Constitution of a Christian Church .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1821, page 396, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2502/page/16/