We have now just graduated our first intern class. Our hearts are full of gratitude and it was hard to see them go back home, as they had become dear brothers to us. Over the months we became a unified team with each of us functioning according to our gifts. We hated the idea of being without them and experienced the sorrows of parting with treasured comrades. They are from left to right, Ryan Glick, Joe Froemming, Andrew Gillingham, Micah Ferrill, Andrew Higginbotham.
Here are some of the things these men said about their time with us here:
“I have been broken, encouraged, terrified, humbled and delighted by the Lord, through the freedom and mercy he has given us in his commandments!”
“Two of the biggest things I learned more about during this internship are the holiness of God and the sovereignty of God probably due to the emphasis on John Calvin throughout much of our stay here.”
“The Holiness of God was a major theme through out the internship. I have been given a vision of God and how He would structure our lives in every detail.”
“Church life at Hope Baptist was quite the experience. I don’t think I have even been in a church where the men have a more clear vision of discipling their kids by teaching them the Scripture. They extended hospitality and friendship to us even when they didn’t know us, but now that I have to leave, I see how close I have grown to everyone in that church.”
“It’s become such a part of my life, working with Peter, David, and Mr. Brown—we have been in the trenches together and now they are so close to me it is very hard to say goodbye.”
“I learned new things, and was able to sharpen my skills as far as office life such as audio editing, editing books, writing, people skills on the phone, and such, but for me, most of what I learned was spiritual.”
“I thought I would be ready to just go home, but now I can’t imagine not being here and working in the office everyday—it’s become such a part of my life, working with Peter, David, and Mr. Brown—we have been in the trenches together (as Peter would say), and now they are so close to me it is very hard to say goodbye.”
“Honestly, I already believed in most of the things we have studied together, but I’ve just come to love them even more. For example, the regulative principle. At this point, I really don’t think it should be called “regulative” because it really is so freeing.”
“Probably the most important thing I learned: God’s commands are infinitely liberating.”
They were faithful men and took the principles and duties of our program seriously. They walked in a manner worthy of the Lord.
Local Church Life:
They worked their way into the hearts of the people of Hope Baptist Church by their attentive and contributing presence at our Sunday services, prayer meetings, Bible studies and special events. They never missed a single meeting during their term, unless they were out of town for ministry. Every family in the church had the opportunity to have the interns into their homes for dinner and fellowship giving them dozens of opportunities for friendship and times of family worship with the families in the church.
Discipleship
Our discipleship of these young men happened as we lived life together through normal life in the local church, daily work regimen, personal bible study and also through the daily meetings with Peter Bradrick.
At the end of the internship, we traveled to Mt. Vernon, the home of George Washington to display a picture of biblical manhood—a man that serves, orders his life according to principle, engages in incremental dominion, uses scripture as the final authority, builds a library of great books, practices hospitality, and demonstrates courage in the face of danger and loss.
Theological training
In addition to the preaching and teaching ministry of the church, they took a Spring Semester course at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary on Jonathan Edwards taught by Dr. Andy Davis. They read 5 important books (The Master Plan of Evangelism, by Robert Coleman; The Expository Genius of John Calvin; by Steven Lawson; The Deliberate Church; by Mark Dever; How God Wants Us to Worship Him; by Joe Morecraft, The Father, Son and Holy Spirit; by Bruce Ware) and discussed and wrote books reports on each of them. They also conducted extensive research on various matters of theology.
Ministry trips
They attended the Ligonier conference on the “Holiness of God’ in Orlando, the Indiana Leadership meeting with Kevin Swanson and Voddie Baucham. We took them to Louisana to serve at the covenant wedding celebration of Phillip Bradrick and Katie Valenti where they were able to observe and participate.
Conference ministry
They assisted us in hosting numerous conferences including, “The Marriages and the Marriages of our Son’s and Daughters,” Reforming Church and Family” the “Memorial Day Celebration” on the Brown’s property, and the Hope Baptist “Father Daughter Retreat.”
They also helped to lay the ground work for our upcoming Sufficiency of Scripture conference Dec 10-12. They negotiated hotel rates, put up the conference information and many other functions.
Web site build out:
Together we built a new web site and added dozens of new articles, audio files and video clips.
Publications:
We wrote three books during the period. Each of the interns had a hand in research, editing and refining these books. We completed, “Family Reformation, The Legacy of Sola Scriptura in Calvin’s Geneva,” “Preparing For Marriage – The Premarital Counsel of John Calvin,” and “It Can Be Done,” which is a collection of inspiring poems for visionary manhood. They also conducted preparatory research for two other books we hope to publish before the end of 2009.
In every way these young men were a significant blessing to the ministry of the NCFIC and we rejoice in the Lord for the opportunity the Lord gave us to walk beside them, to invest in them, and to share the past five months in kingdom work together. They have labored hard and effectively to promote the message of the NCFIC far and wide.