Introduction
I have a testimony: Interns bless my life and ministry. As I think about the impact they have made on me – just one person – I cannot help but think about their impact on the larger church.
Pastoral interns are vital to the church’s current and future health. As men serve the Lord’s church in preparation for pastoral ministry, God’s people are blessed by their teaching and care.
The Purpose & Privilege of Internships
The Presbyterian Church in America’s Book of Church Order charts the purpose of mandatory internships, which must be at least one year.
The Holy Scriptures require that some trial be previously made of those who are to be ordained to the ministry of the Word, both concerning their gifts and concerning their ability to rule as teaching elders, in order that this sacred office may not be degraded by being committed to weak or unworthy men, and that the Church may have an opportunity to form a better judgment respecting the gifts of those to whom this sacred office is to be committed. To provide for such a period of trial, a candidate for ordination must serve an internship. (19.7)
Interns play a vital role in our denomination.
First, internships are vital to the current well-being of the church.
“[N]o one should be ordained to the work of the ministry of the Word until he has demonstrated the ability both to edify and to rule in the Church.” (BCO 19.12) Mentor pastors observe the character, devotional habits, and skills of interns preparing for gospel ministry. A good mentor strives to cultivate the gifts, graces, and skills that are necessary for a long and fruitful pastorate.
And, I need to add, good mentors will slow down the ordination process when a candidate’s ministerial preparation takes longer than anticipated. If necessary, they will recommend to sessions and presbyteries that a man be removed from the role of candidates if his life gives inadequate evidence of a genuine call to ministry.
One of the many benefits of internship I can personally testify to is the support interns give their mentors. The Lord has sent me and the churches I serve a succession of interns who have shared the work of ministry with me. They have lightened my load, encouraged me by their example, and quickly demonstrated their ability to care for the church of God. Although internships must be at least one year, I have had one gifted intern serve with me for four years, long after his internship was completed while he finished his seminary studies. All of my interns have served for more than one year – enriching my life and the life of my congregations with abundant spiritual benefits. I look on my interns as co-laborers in the gospel and a strengthening encouragement to me in my ministry.
Second, internships are important to the future well-being of the church.
As I remind Reformed Theological Seminary supporters, our school is equipping pastors to serve not just them, but also their children and grandchildren.
I have three main goals in my work with interns.
Comprehensive Training. During his time with me, I want my interns to receive first-hand experience in the practical aspects of ministry: personal and family devotional habits, sermon preparation and delivery, pastoral visitation, evangelism, leadership of public worship, church administration, and chairing meetings. When it comes time for the intern to receive his first pastoral call, I will be able to say to pulpit search committees that the man they are considering has proved himself faithful and capable in every major category of work that a pastor performs.
Mentor pastors must resist the temptation to silo candidates into one area of ministry. For example, if I ask an intern to focus on youth and family, it is still my intention (and promise to the intern) that I will provide them experience in all areas of pastoral work.
Confessional and Church-Polity Integrity. Both in seminary and under my direction, I want my interns to receive thorough instruction in our confessional standards and form of government, rules of discipline, and directory of public worship. We should not expect these to be caught if not taught.
Serve, Serve, Serve. At Reformed Theological Seminary, I teach courses in pastoral leadership. A minister without properly cultivated leadership skills will frustrate himself and his congregation. That said, prior to becoming a leader and during his entire ministry, a pastor is a servant. Wherever there are needs in the church, I encourage interns to make themselves available. They will learn their strengths. Weaknesses will be shored up. Learning to labor for and with others, in communion with our Savior, will give them a foretaste of the many joys of pastoral ministry.
Conclusion
During the past forty years, I have worked with many young men preparing for – or in their early years of – ordained ministry. My life and the life of my congregations have been immeasurably enriched. Even more gratifying is that, after I am gone, these men will continue to labor faithfully in ministry. Isn’t this the biblical pattern? Paul exhorts Timothy: “what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2). Just as my mentors invested themselves in me, so I do the same for the ministerial candidates God brings into my life. And, by his grace, I trust that they will do the same in future years as God sends young men to serve alongside them as they prepare for gospel ministry.
PCA congregations today and tomorrow will, I hope, thank God for the opportunities, responsibilities, and blessings that come with pastoral interns. Truly, they are a gift to the church and vital to its current and future health.
