One Good Intern Deserves Another (Part 2)
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By Tom Zobrist. Read Part 1.
The Intern Makes a Commitment to Get Dirty
I have read several books over the years in relation to pastoral ministry and one of my favorites is They Smell Like Sheep by Dr. Lynn Anderson. Sheep are smelly and dumb. I remember butchering a sheep with my grandfather once. I had watched him butcher cows and helped him with chickens and sheep, but by far the sheep was the easiest to kill. We took it and hung it by its hind legs from a gambrel while the sheep baa’d and fought nary a bit. Then, grandpa slit its throat and soon we were eating fresh lamb.
Dr. Anderson made the point that if we aren’t willing to be with the church outside of the building, how are we going to minister and train them as God desires? “You tell me: How can shepherds equip saints to do their ministry in one hour a week formal class time, transmitting mere information to a classroom full of people at different stages and with varying needs. Lifestyles and values cannot be imparted through a couple of quick greetings per week in the aisle or foyer, in the midst of a crowd—much less practical skills for personalized ministry.”*
What is personalized ministry? The intern has to be exposed to the sheep in the less glamorous service ministries that are required of a pastor, customized for each sheep. I remember taking an intern on a nursing home visit once to see a rather modest gentleman that would rather have his pastor help him in private ways than a female nurse. I had done it before and knew that it was a possibility as it seemed he would take the opportunity to make these types of requests when I was there. Sure enough, he asked if I could hold the bottle for him while he used it. I had helped him before with this and so I asked him if he minded if our intern helped him. He was more than willing to be part of the training of this intern while the young man gave me a quizzical look. I walked out of the room. A few minutes later, he emerged needing to wash his hands with an exasperated look. I said to him, “Welcome to the ministry!”
Interns have to experience ministry that is not in the office. Whether it’s moving a family, helping a farmer, driving a special needs person to an appointment, visiting the sick, or whatever, ministry is not always fun. It’s hard when it’s done right and without practical internships it is hard to see what this means. Modern day pastors and seminarians are like we were as kids. We traded cards of our heroes in sports while now we trade books or podcasts or links or conference stories of our heroes in ministry. Our heroes are men who are amazing scholars and authors and preachers but more than likely will never have gotten as dirty as pastors do day in and day out in their churches. Sheep stink and they need pastors who will love them and learn to enjoy the smell with them. And, truth be told, we know we stink a little too.
The Intern Makes a Commitment to Work
No doubt an intern will know how to work in the study as they have probably been excelling in the classroom. But will they know how to do the work of relating well to the church? For some this is easy. They are extroverts and love being with people and in fact are energized by the people to whom they minister. But not every pastor may be built this way. Some may be drained by the same ones that they are called to love. They need time away to be refreshed and gain new perspective. But all of us need to understand the work that ministry takes. Where else is an intern going to learn than from an experienced pastor? You can talk about how hard pastoral ministry is as much as you want but if he doesn’t do it, he won’t get it.
An intern needs to experience a late-night call, a crisis counseling event, and breaking up a fight. He needs to experience ministering to a family that has lost a loved one and helping a young couple plan a wedding. He needs to experience all of the emotions of being a pastor from the joy of preaching God’s Word to the harsh criticism from someone you just sacrificed a great deal of time for. Indeed, he needs to experience as much as he can. The church needs to know that he will be with you wherever you go. He needs to understand confidentiality and the importance of protecting the flock from embarrassment and unnecessary pain. When he does, he will know if he has what it takes to minister to the church of Jesus Christ. James 3:1 says, “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” Being a pastor is wonderful, but don’t do it if you can do anything else.
All Must Commit to Accepting the Results of the Internship
What does that even mean? Results? It means that the process of the internship will reveal to you and the intern where he is gifted, where he is weak, what he needs to work on, and whether or not he will even be in ministry. What? We do all that work and he doesn’t even end up in the ministry? That’s right! He may not. I remember one intern that had many talents and gifts; ones that we could use here at our church. It so happened that we had a position open at the time. When I spoke to him about the possibilities after his one-year internship, he said he wasn’t sure he was even called into the ministry. That may not sound good, but in reality, it was a very good thing. If we helped a young man avoid the pitfalls of a ministry in which he was not intended to serve, we helped him and that church or churches involved. You’re not a failure if every intern doesn’t end up in the ministry. Some will and some won’t. Some will be pastors or missionaries. Some you may hire. And some may become really profitable lay people in their churches—elders, deacons, teachers, etc. Whatever they do, your efforts and sacrifice are not in vain.
We have had many interns over the years and are scheduled to host another one by the time you read this article. It would be easier to just take care of myself, do everything myself, let my elders do their thing without worrying about others, save the financial cost for something else; but after 33 years of pastoral ministry, is this the right thing? Having experienced multiple building programs, seen a small church grow to a large one over the years, and having failed miserably myself many times, I want to use my experience and my time left in ministry, whatever God allows, to build into the future of the church here and around the world.
We hosted our first intern after I had been in ministry for about 10 years. Pastors, you don’t have to be old to teach others what you know and what you have learned. Find yourself some faithful men, starting with your church leaders, and then bring an intern in and be part of growing the body of Christ around the world. You’ll find that once you’ve had one good intern, you’ll want another.
*Lynn Anderson, They Smell Like Sheep (West Monroe, LA: Howard Publishing Co., 1997), 103.
Tom Zobrist is Senior Pastor of Liberty Bible Church of Eureka, IL. He also serves as the President of the Board of Directors of IFCA International.
Voice Articles
Reposted, with permission, from Voice magazine.
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A lot of good practical advice here.
On this…
…don’t do it if you can do anything else
I have heard this advice many times, but it would not be my advice. One reason is that it tends to be misunderstood as “only pastor as a last resort,” or “only pastor if you don’t have any other skills,” or even “only pastor if you aren’t good enough at anything to do something else.” This is not the intent when people say it, I know, but it tends to be how people absorb it.
Consider being a pastor especially if you could do 100 other things and succeed.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
If the intern wants to get exposure to the sheep then the intern would do best to get a regular job and spend several years living out his faith in the workplace while serving the church.
Going from bible school directly to fulltime pastoral ministry and trying to "smell like the sheep" is like living in a VR world. You don't experience life quite the same way.
One of the things seminary did for me was not really something I was looking for at the time: five years of working in non-Christian environments while I completed the degree.
After that, 3 years or so working full time in a couple of corporate environments before taking a church as a pastor. In retrospect, I don’t see any of that as wasted time. If I had it to do again, I might try to get housing closer to the countryside and see if I could get work on a farm. …not sure, though. It would have been good experience, but the services/technical work was a way better fit with my aptitudes (and I grew up around farms, so that was of some help). When looking for ‘real world exposure’ or bivocational work, it’s probably not a great idea to ignore what you’re relatively good at. But if you’re headed for a rural ministry, it’s got to help to know your way around cows and skidsteers, and hay bailers.
There is no question that those years in cubicles and conference rooms (and misc. other, like delivery driving) had a huge positive impact on my preaching and relationships with church members.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
My view on this might be disliked...
The story of helping the man in the nursing home - that's love. So yes, a pastor should do this type of thing. Not because he's a pastor, but because he's a christian. Yes, the doing of Christian duties is part of what qualifies him as an elder.
But I see this as Christian duty. Is it a pastoral duty? Yes, but only because all Christian duties are pastoral duties.
The distinctly pastor element in that story is the pastor teaching a young man to do that sort of thing. That is pastoral. That is a pastor pastoring - equipping a saint for the work of ministry. And I don't mean "pastoral" ministry. Just service - loving one another by serving one another.
I don’t really disagree. I want to maybe round it out a bit, though.
Sometimes the boundaries between “everybody’s duty” and “family’s duty” and “pastor’s duty” are messy. The story is a great illustration of pastoral experience, though, because, sure, multiple people from a congregation might visit the guy, but people often want the pastor specifically, and there may not really be a need or desire for anyone else.
…and when you’re the first one, or the most frequent one, or the only one who stops by, surprising tasks may suddenly be yours to do. I could tell a story or two. So, interns should definitely be taught to expect that the higher degree of exposure pastors have to people going through things will sometimes result in opportunities serve in ways you never thought would be your job.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
Who does this sort of thing for a lady in a nursing home?
Who does this sort of thing for a lady in a nursing home?
Pastors can only demonstrate our humility in these situations with other men.
The care of elderly women question underscores my point about pastoral leadership. In that role, you are making sure it gets done, not necessarily doing it yourself.
But in the example in the article, there was nursing home staff—the man doesn’t didn’t want them to do that particular job. In the case of women being cared for by female nurses, that problem wouldn’t exist.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
I don't think helping an elderly man use the bathroom in a nursing home is evidence of a pastor's humility. Nor should it be considered a litmus test for an intern's humility.
The issue is actually the elderly man's pride. How, as a pastor, can you shepherd this man so that he accepts the help of those responsible for his care?
Who’s job was it to wash the disciples’ feet?
Is it prideful to tell someone you’re close to, and that you know loves you, that you’re uncomfortable with something care staff wants to do and that you’d rather it be done by your friend?
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
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