If it is true that, for pastors and elders, character matters more than gifts (as most seem agreed is the case), then that will also hold true within the church more broadly. Which would seem to indicate that character is more essential than gifts for the church to be effective in reaching out to others with the gospel.
Which perhaps leads to the conclusion that those who serve as pastors and elders ought to focus most not on developing gifts within the church (and those identified for ministry) but on the formation of character. And that, I would suggest, is most helpfully done through preaching, prayer and pastoring.
