The model of apprenticeship is a historical one. In fact, it can be seen in history in the early B.C. era. Apprenticing was done for most trades during that time. Through the history we have utilized this method for training workers to become highly skilled and even masters in their field. The American trades moved away from this formal and certified type of training. It was assumed that trades people were being trained by their fathers in a practical way and therefore were in fact being apprenticed. Yet The reality was that new businesses were begun quickly with little apprenticing for the workers. We experienced far too much low quality work and sometimes devastating results on homes and other products. This has begun to change in the recent years in America and the public is looking for those who have come through some type of apprenticeship, whether it be formal or informal. If informally the customer wants to know who the worker is connected to and how he learned his trade. In my home region the informal apprenticing has been going on for generations and it continues today. However, there are others coming in without having been apprenticed by a master.
Let’s consider what we mean by the word apprenticeship. This is the relationship of a master who is fully trained and experienced in his skill with an apprentice. The apprentice is a person who works for another in order to learn a trade, i.e. an apprentice to a plumber. Historically a person was legally bound through contract to a master craftsman in order to learn a trade. The apprentice is a learner; novice
Today we use the term intern much more than apprentice. However, usually it is used for a resident member of the medical staff of a hospital, usually a recent medical school graduate serving under supervision. It is also used frequently in education. student teacher. An intern is a person who works as an apprentice or trainee in an occupation or profession to gain practical experience, and sometimes also to satisfy legal or other requirements for being licensed or accepted professionally.
There we have it. The apprenticeship was a workplace term and it is still found in many places in the world. Yet in the bible the word more often used in religious training was discipleship. It is a term that was strongly based on or at least connected to the term apprentice. In fact, in some historical writings the term disciple was used in the work place also. So discipleship, apprenticeship and internship were the basis for the form or method of growing, teaching and developing people both in secular and spiritual arenas.
Today the church has been slowly losing the art of Apprenticeship. If we view the members of the church as apprentices of the Way (a term used before the disciples were called Christians) it will greatly affect how we function and grow the church. Think how Christian education would look if the church viewed members an apprentice to someone. What would our service look like if we Christians thought of ourselves as apprentices to someone? How would our recruitment of volunteers in the church be conducted if we fully embraced the internship of the early church? Maybe more importantly what would we do with new believers if we understood they are new apprentices who need their spiritual skills to be developed?
I remember when I was a youth I went to a fast growing church. That church had the crowd training understanding. You could say they were firm believes in socialization. It was expected that the understanding and development that we as members needed would come through listening to the sermons and hanging around the other members. I now realize that if it wasn’t for the student group and the leader couple I would have been at a great disadvantage in my spiritual development. That couple understood that at least the young people should be apprenticed into strong believers and developing leaders. Though I am grateful that God provided this group for me, it does seem odd that discipleship was only understood by a few in the church.
Yet, today as my wife and I travel around to many churches in many countries we see that the old, “Keep hanging out” mentality is quite common. Its assumed that the crowd should provide the socialization needed for new members; new believers to develop into strong, healthy and vibrant Christians. And yet, there is a dichotomy. The discipleship through socialization is contrasted with some churches having an extensive leadership training program. This can even be true in the same church. Somehow it is understood that we need to train leaders but we do not need specific training for people to become strong believers. I should mention here that I believe strongly in leadership training in the church, but would promote the apprentice model to accomplish this.
How important is apprenticeship to the church? Well, Jesus thought it was a very good thing and seemingly so did his apostles after he trained them. When we step back and look at the church we must also look back in the history as well as the present of the church. Then we must look from the top to the bottom. The early church not only believed in the apprentice to master model, but they practiced it daily. They sent out disciples in twos to preach the good news. They met in homes and in the temple so that people could be in large gatherings and in closer relationships. The apostles mentored personally other church leaders. When they installed elders they kept close ties even from a distance. Today we see that when the church follows the same model the believers are strong in their faith and serve faithfully. These churches are not necessarily large but they are strong because the members are committed to the idea of being disciples who are discipled. The apprenticeship model begins with the grass roots of the church; with new people or new believers. Then it continues on up through the levels of leadership in the church. Without the apprenticeship model we will have leaders who have superior talent but failing to demonstrate the character of a disciple of Christ.
Let’s look at the practical implications of this. A person is brought to faith through the relationship of a member in the church. That new believer is then invited into a deeper relationship with the friend as an apprentice to their new faith in Christ. That same person may be invited or connected to a small group with the intention also to grow them as an apprentice. The new believer grows in their faith and develops a desire for service and ministry. Then he is paired with someone in the church serving in an area that seems appropriate for the young apprentice. He is learning, he is watching and he then begins to do ministry. Soon he is apprenticed into service and his leadership gifts are noticed by other leaders in the church. One of the Elders or pastors in the church invites him to enter into training to be a leader in the church. Now we must understand that the apprenticeship has continued but is also changing. It is a relationship with others that is somewhat fluid and emerging. At the time of being identified as a potential church leader he will enter as an apprentice to leadership under the direct guidance and care of a mature leader. The apprenticeship never ends.
There are of course, other models for the church. There are other ways of doing things to grow the church. I will not say they are wrong, but I will say they probably are not the most effective in reaching the goal that the Scriptures lays out for us. The apostle Paul had this in his heart when he wrote to the Ephesian church. He, of course, was speaking from his personal experience of being a leader who had been an apprentice in all the phases of his spiritual development. This is what he believed was the result of apprenticeship.
Ephesians 4:13-16 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. NKJV
Apprenticeship is an art. There is a certain flexibility required and a sense of creativity. It is not something we can understand from a logistical frame of mind, but more from the relational frame of mind. It must remain fluid yet have a goal to aim for. It requires a willingness and commitment to growth on the part of both the master and the apprentice. It is not a program and it is not easy. The packaging for this model is not so neat, but the core is beautiful because it connects people at a deep level of human relationship. The future of the church may depend on us renewing this model again. At least the future of health and quality of life in the church. I think it’s worth renewing in our minds and hearts and applying it in fresh ways to our churches.