So my summer at Saddleback Church is officially over and I learned a ton about ministry and discipleship while I was there. Outside my day job in property development I tried to take advantage of everything I could. So, if you are interested in hearing what I learned this post is for you! This post is long so feel free to scroll through and see what catches your eye.
Intern Orientation
This was simply a time to meet a few other interns and get acclimated to the church and our purpose as interns. We were immediately immersed into the seven C’s of Saddleback (culture, calling, character, capacity, competency, chemistry, and courage) as a way to depict the kind of interns they were looking for. I quickly learned that alliteration and acronyms would be an important way to communicate at Saddleback.
TAKEAWAY: In ministry, if you value growth over control, you need to be fast, fluent, and flexible.
VERSE: “Their responsibility is to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…” Ephesians 4:12
Staff Orientation
After two long days, we went all the way through what it means to be purpose driven to learning about the history, structure, values, beliefs, and vision of Saddleback Church.
TAKEAWAY: “Know what you are fishing for, learn to think like a fish, go where the fish are biting, and catch them on their terms.” – Pastor Rick
VERSE: “Your attitude must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve…” Matthew 20:28 (LB)
CLASS 101
“Discovering our church family”
This class is for people to become members of the church. It essentially goes through a lot of what I learned at staff orientation. In becoming a member, we talked about the need for a church family and how God meant for it to be structured.
It was amazing to see so many people from so many walks of life becoming a part of the church. I met one lady who was a high school teacher. One of her students asked her to write a letter of recommendation as he had just graduated. He was an excellent student…told her how Saddleback Church had such an impact on his life over the years. On hearing this, she chose to attend Saddleback. On her own a couple of weeks later, here she was pledging to be a part of something greater.
TAKEAWAY: “The church was never meant to be a one man show. God planned you for his pleasure. Formed you for his family. Created you to become like Christ. Shaped you to serve Him. And made you for a mission.” – Pastor Rick
VERSE: “His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)
CLASS 201
“Discovering my spiritual maturity”
The focus here was on learning the four habits we should all make in our lives as disciples of Christ. Habit one is to have a daily time in God’s word. Habit two is prayer. Then tithing. And last was fellowship (get in a small group). As a Christian, I often take the knowledge and freedom of these four habits for granted. In this class some people are learning them for the first time.
On a lighter note, did you know you can read the entire Bible in one year if you just read around 15 minutes a day? I didn’t know that till I took this class. However, Rick wrote the curriculum. I guarantee he reads faster than I do. My favorite topic was tithing. There were a few things I had never thought of before.
TAKEAWAY: “A tithe is giving the first 10% of your income. An offering is anything I give in addition to my tithe.” – Pastor Rick
VERSE: “Honor the Lord by giving him the first part of all your income.” Proverb 3:9-10 (TLB) First part would be gross which therefore means before taxes. If you really think about how it was in bible times, taxes were collected later. The pay you received didn’t already account for taxes.
CLASS 301
“Discovering my ministry”
This is all about finding your significance and shape. SHAPE is an acronym for Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences. In the church we often talk about our spiritual gifts and how that leads us in to different ministries. But the other four are just as important. We got a chance to go through all of them.
TAKEAWAY: “You discover your gifts through ministry, instead of discovering your ministry by identifying your gifts.” – Pastor Rick
VERSE: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NIV)
CLASS 401
“Discovering my life mission”
Now that you have discovered your ministry, this class is all about discovering you calling and learning how to tell your story. If you have listened to my first sermon, “My Story Can Change the World,” that is really what it is all about. In this class, Rick talks about the five global giants we are facing in this world where Satan has a stronghold. They are spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy. Rick’s response to fight these is formerly known as the PEACE plan. Plant churches that promote reconciliation. Equip servant leaders. Assist the poor. Care for the sick. Educate the next generation
TAKEAWAY: “At the beginning of his ministry Jesus said, “come and see.” At the end of his ministry, Jesus said to his disciples, “come and die.” – Pastor Rick
VERSE: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25 (ESV)
Purpose Driven Training
We are always wondering what God’s purpose is for our lives, especially in the church. This literally shows the church how it can respond to what God calls us to. This is the “how” of “go and make disciples of all nations.” If you have not already, you should read the Purpose Driven Life and the Purpose Driven Church.
TAKEAWAY: The five purposes of God for us and for our churches are worship, ministry, evangelism, fellowship, and discipleship. A health church balances all five equally.
VERSE: “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:10 (NLT)
Intern Training
As an intern, we got multiple opportunities to train from some of Saddleback’s top staff members. The ones I was able to be a part of were Success Strategies for Leaders, How to Lead Change, and How to Communicate to Change Lives. I will be honest, I missed two of these because I was out of town but the resources from it were very helpful! I also had some pretty awesome intern coordinators!
TAKEAWAY: Change is an opportunity, not an enemy.
VERSE: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)
Annual Business Meeting
As a business student and an aspiring executive pastor, this was interesting to me although very few people attended :). I was, however, impressed with how well the numbers were translated into accomplishments in ministry.
TAKEAWAY: In your local church, sere, give, and sacrifice what you love for something you love even more.
VERSE: “A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35
Staff Meeting
I’ve never been a part of a staff meeting that included worship. That was awesome and pretty much says it all. It was also really cool to be part of commissioning the pastor for Saddleback Hong Kong.
Meetings with Staff
I had the chance to meet with dozens of staff members while I was there for all walks of life and from many different departments. It really helped round out my learning experience at Saddleback. Thank you all who took the time to meet with me and pour into my life.
Worship Venues
I made a point to hit up all the worship venues while I was there. This included a traditional service, a Spanish service, a praise service, a contemporary service, and even a rock service. It was amazing to see so many diverse cultures all coming together as a church and worshiping our Lord.
I will say that the people welcomed me the most in the Spanish Service (El Encuentro). So here’s to 11 months in Central and South America. I couldn’t understand anything in the sermon except for when Doug Fields said, Pollo Loco.” Oh well…I guess I’ll catch on eventually.
Property Development
This was what I really came to Saddleback to do. It was nice to be able to use my construction background to serve the church…something that I often wondered what God was going to do with it. I have since realized how important property development is in growing a church. While I was there, I watched a video of Saddleback over the years. Guess what! The majority of the video is about property development! So one day when I’m an executive pastor I will know what I’m doing. The team I served with was such a blessing to me. I will be forever grateful for how much they taught me and how welcome they made me feel during my internship. Love you guys!
