clergy role, a pit stop on the path to priesthood. The priest-in-training model remains common in the Roman Catholic Church and, despite key differences, in much of the Anglican communion as well. But some low-church evangelicals have their own version of this approach: elders in training. To be sure, certain deacons should eventually become elders—but that’s assuming they meet the qualifications for elders (1 Tim. 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9). And as we’ll see in chapter 3, while the qualification lists