When Paul outlines the qualifications for leadership within the church, every checkpoint has to do with character.
God seems far more concerned with personal integrity than with education, eloquence, or personal charisma. Without question, the standards are high. But that does not imply that church leaders necessarily have better character than any other Christian. God calls all of us to these same measures of Christlikeness.
The point is not to create a class of spiritual elites but to urge the church to select leaders from among people who exhibit the fruit of the Spirit (1 Timothy 1:3–13; Galatians 5:22,23).
