What I’ve learned from my first 11 days as an intern at Capitol Hill Baptist Church

Quick facts about my internship so far:

• 11 days as an intern at Capitol Hill Baptist Church (CHBC).
• 6 days until I see my son.
• 11 days without an apartment.
• 2 Lord’s days at CHBC.
• 6 membership classes attended.
• 1 membership interview for my wife and I as individuals
• 1 members’ meeting regarding the budget
• 1 discussion so far with the interns and Mark Dever regarding ecclesiology
• 5 books read (3 were before the internship began, but were required)
• 2 booklets read
• 10 papers written
• 6-7 hours of sleep per night

What I’m learning so far in my internship at Capitol Hill Baptist Church:

1. Pray short, often, and straight to the point.
2. Communicate with the members as much as possible within practical reason.
3. Worship God while you read and write
4. Think through the service, songs, message, and review all of it after it occurs to affirm what is good and make improvements where necessary or helpful
5. Invite critique and encouragement
6. Love and serve the brothers and sisters in the church
7. Care about surrounding churches
8. Keep your ministry in your church in the context of the gospel spreading around the world and your region
9. Take risks with budget plans and dream big for the kingdom of Christ
10. Eschatology does not have to be a divisive issue among church membership
11. It is a blessing when members take church membership and church ministry seriously
12. I need to structure my time better at CFBC and work in the office more, perhaps moving my study there
13. Pastors must exercise patience and a heart of humility and service towards the members in the members’ meetings
14. The church covenant is a good and useful thing to recite often with the congregation
15. Pray for other churches and ministries around the world
16. Be intentional and deliberate about everything the church does
17. Have an evening service if possible and make it different from the morning service in focus
18. Encourage members that their main ministry in the church is attendance and building relationships with different members in the church

There is more to come and more I’ve learned, but I have to get back to working on my next two papers.