In This Issue On Ministry and Sudoku The Candidacy Process The Lay Committee's Role Fall Cluster Meetings Helpful Links Internship Handbook Lay Committee Handbook Internship Forms Contact Us The Contextual Leadership Initiative staff is here to support you! Contact us with your concerns or suggestions. Previous Newsletters Want to re-read an article from a previous issue? Review previous newsletters.

Internship Newsletter: November 2006

PSSST!  ...Note our fancy new CLI logo, above, and all over the CLI Web site!

On Ministry and Sudoku
by Steve McKinley

A year or so ago my lovely wife Patricia got enticed one night by the Sudoku puzzle in the daily newspaper and attempted to solve it. A persistent sort, she eventually got the best of it which led her to, of course, try it again the next night. (For those of you living deep in caves who have never seen a Sudoku puzzle, it is a grid of 81 squares. A few squares, usually around 30, have numbers in them. To solve the puzzle, you simply fill in the grid until every row, column and sub grid contains each number 1-9 only once.) I admired Patricia’s diligence and intelligence, but held myself aloof. I was a crossword puzzle man myself. As people who lead a wild and crazy life in the fast lane, each night Patricia and I would watch the 10 o’clock news and work on our puzzles.

But a few months ago I looked at the Sudoku one day and then, for God only knows what reason, picked up a pencil and started plugging in a few numbers. And a few more. And did a lot of erasing. And writing in different numbers. Finally the grid was filled in. Hmm.

A week or so after that I just happened to be walking past a newsstand and just happened to see an inexpensive Sudoku book buried behind a few word searches and wuzzles and by accident put it in my shopping basket and once I got to the checker neglected to turn it back in and wound up paying for it and taking it home. I hate to see things go to waste, so I started working the puzzles. One a day. Sometimes two. Yesterday it was three.

In the early stages of working the puzzle I often despair about the possibility of completing it successfully. Patricia is smarter than I am, intuitive, a visual thinker; while I am an old drudge and a linear thinker. I never think I’m going to be able to do it. But usually, if I give it enough time, I can figure it out. Then I look at that grid with all the numbers neatly filled in and feel a deep sense of satisfaction. I got all the numbers in the right place and there they are and good for me.

Here is the beautiful thing about those numbers in the Sudoku puzzle: Once I put them there, put them in their squares, they stay there. The nines don’t resent the sevens. No renegade three tries to shove into a two’s square. There is a neatness to the completed puzzle. Everything will stay in place.

It would be nice if ministry worked that way. It would be nice if, as intern or pastor or lay leader or whatever, you could look at a "puzzle” in the congregation and by diligence and faithfulness and intelligence and prayer and persistence solve that problem, get everything in the right place and have it stay there. It doesn’t. Congregational life does not give itself to the concept of “completed.” It is always changing, always in flux. The numbers do not stay in place. That rascally old original sin keeps rearing its ugly head in completely unoriginal ways.

It would be nice if ministry were neat and clean and well-defined. It isn’t. Ministry is sloppy and messy and one thing tends to spill over into another thing and for all of your efforts to impose order on the chaos, the chaos persists. The best you can do is to trust God to help you find a path for today, without ever expecting that the same path will be trouble free tomorrow.

You can figure out a Sudoku puzzle and the more you work at it the better you get at it and eventually you can say you have it figured out. But if you ever reach the point of thinking you’ve got ministry figured out, I’ve got bad news for you: You’re wrong.

But ministry is as addictive as a Sudoku puzzle. As frustrating as it is, it keeps drawing you back in. Praise God! Have fun!

The Candidacy Process   
by Randy Nelson

The preparation of candidates for the ordained ministry is a cooperative effort between Synodical Candidacy Committees and seminaries. Days this time of the year are filled with Candidacy Committee interviews, especially with second year students whose endorsement will make them eligible for internship placement in the spring.

Endorsement is the second of three occasions on the way to ordination when students and candidacy committees come together to reflect on that journey. The first occasion usually takes place very early in a student’s program, often before seminary studies begin. A positive Entrance decision signifies that a student has a home congregation and a home synod identifying significant potential for ministry in the student and standing behind that student as a candidate as that potential is developed.

Endorsement comes after at least one year of seminary education and is the occasion for the candidate, the candidacy committee, and seminary to affirm that the partnership ought to be continued. That affirmation becomes the basis for taking the next major step in the journey—that of internship.

By the time internship actually begins, most candidates have completed at least two years of seminary education, a basic unit of Clinical Pastoral Education, and a cross-cultural immersion experience. Internship then, as I suspect you are discovering, is a challenging, exciting, rewarding, and humbling experience of living into the role for which the Entrance and Endorsement decisions were the prelude.

Following internship the last stage in the Candidacy process unfolds with internship reflection sessions, faculty affirmation, concluding course work, and a final engagement between Candidate and Candidacy Committee in the Approval interview and decision.

At its best the Candidacy process demonstrates the care that the church has for its candidates for ministry and embodies the supportive network in which preparation for ministry is carried out. We are members, one of another, part of the body of Christ and the fellowship of believers. Internship is one stage along the way, an important stage to be sure, but it does not occur in isolation from a process that began before seminary and will continue into ordination and first call. If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a church to prepare a pastor.

The Lay Committee's Role   

The Internship Committee should be meeting regularly by now. You may be wondering what role you play in the internship besides meeting once a month. The text below comes from the Committee Handbook found on-line at: http://www.luthersem.edu/contextual_learning/internship/Lay_Committee.asp

What roles do committee members play?

1. Supporter: You provide counsel and encouragement for the intern and his/her spouse. You provide support and honest feedback - something that everyone needs.
2. Sponsor: You are able to acquaint the intern with the members of the congregation and the issues and concerns of the people.
3. Consultant: You can provide information about the congregation, teach, guide, and introduce the intern to your world. You help make sure the intern knows the audience on Sunday morning and something of the history of your church and community.
4. Evaluator: You are a mirror, reflecting your perception of ministry towards the intern. You will offer your impressions of sermons, personal appearance, teaching skills, etc. Don't gloss over things; be honest as you speak the truth in love.
5. Faith Sharer: You can share your own religious background, experiences and beliefs. Tell the intern how God has called you and what that has meant.
6. First Parishioner: You can assist the intern in developing a style of ministry that is in partnership with other Christians. The intern must know how the roles of a pastor and a lay person complement each other, and how they can effectively function in partnership together.

What does the Chairperson do?

Each committee should have a chairperson whose responsibilities include the following:

1. Convene all committee meetings.
2. Notify everyone as to the time and place of meetings, and lead them.
3. Discuss the agenda with the intern and/or pastor.
4. Consult with the pastor supervisor; keep him/her informed about the progress of the committee.
5. Fill out the final consensus evaluation.

CLI Fall Cluster Meetings   

The fall round of cluster meetings nearing completion. Interns and supervisors should plan to attend these meetings, with the congregation covering the costs.