not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous;
We need to answer three related questions before we can arrive at a proper interpretation of this qualification. First, was Paul looking at the potential elder in his present condition, since his conversion, or over his entire lifetime? What do the other qualifications suggest in this regard? It seems that the man’s present condition is in view primarily. [Note: See Jay E. Smith, "Can Fallen Leaders Be Restored to Leadership? Bibliotheca Sacra 151:604 (October-December 1994):461-65, 478.] 