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by A. Craig Troxel
When a congregation welcomes an intern, they meet someone who is in a unique moment of a unique calling. Now it is true that most internships share those qualities that one comes to expect with any green apprentice whose heart beats with soaring dreams. All callings have their first steps. But the fresh initiate who is on track for the ministry will be putting to the test a unique medley of gifts and graces. Skill in prayer cannot be plotted like a graph in marketing presentations. Aptitude for shepherding is not calculated like the formulas used by engineers. Work ethic in theological study is not as tactile as the fruits of a hardworking farmer. And as for preaching, it is simply without parallel. Add to these that a ministerial intern is very much on the hot seat in a profoundly personal way. He is striving to grow in the holiness that accords with the Lord’s command that a minister be exemplary in all his relationships, most especially at home.
These distinctive elements of a ministerial internship call for the special care that only the church can provide. His spiritual character, gifts, and calling should be matched by gracious responses that become the family of God. At the same time, the encouragement he receives should also take into consideration that he has only just commenced his journey toward ordination. He has not yet mastered theology. He is not yet experienced in his gifts. He is often not yet sure about his calling. He is in a vulnerable place.
The goal of an internship is to give clarity to these matters, but not necessarily finality. At the end of the internship, it should be the case (without exception) that the intern is in a better place because of his internship. Even if it becomes evident that he may not be bound for ordained gospel ministry, he will be better off knowing it. But that knowledge need not come by trampling on his dignity, nor by embarrassing his spouse. Rather, it should be forever associated with the respect he feels for the congregation that spoke the truth to him and did so with unquestionable love.
These comments assume that an internship is first and foremost for the intern, at least for the immediate future. He is not there to give relief to the mentoring pastor. That is a side benefit, which usually comes toward the end of the internship, as he demonstrates increasing ability to show initiative, take on more responsibility, and bless the congregation through his gifts, and by repaying the debt of love. These are the foretastes of the ultimate result of the internship, which will benefit the larger church.
Those congregations who cared for an intern rarely get to savor the mature fruit of a ministry that they glimpsed years before in its seed form. Even so, all our churches that sow can rejoice with those who reap, as we rally together around the common cause to care for all the members of our church-without partiality-yet without ignoring the uniqueness of our interns.
This article was originally published in the July 2024 issue of New Horizons.
