This was my 11th summer making the trip to Bozeman, MT and connecting with our family at Springhill Presbyterian Church. Each experience with our brothers and sisters at Springhill has been unique, and each trip has been uplifting in different ways. What I'm about to share is something that I have noticed each of the 11 years, but for some reason spoke to me louder this year then it has in others. The concept of "retiring into ministry" is something that I am seeing at Springhill Pres that I hope becomes normative in churches across the states. Every year I spend time with and get to know others who are in their late 50's, 60's, and 70's. They have retired vocationally, but they are now more engaged than ever in ministry. In other words they are no longer engaged vocationally or professionally, but they are very much engaged missionally.
Too often in our culture people reach retirement age and then "coast" for the last 15-20 years of their life. This is both expected and encouraged. The message/mindset seems to be "you worked hard all of your life, therefore you have earned the right to just chill." Sadly, this cultural norm has also become normative in the church. I don't blame this completely on cultural expectations however. I also believe our churches have minimized the involvement of more "seasoned" saints, in favor of more of a youth movement (we need both).
What I see at Springhill is retired men and women fully engaged in the mission and vision of the church. The main overseer of the "Urban Kid Ministry" that we participate in every summer is 72 years old and has been actively involved since its inception. I see retired brothers and sisters teaching classes, seeking to be an encouragement to college students, ministering at local nursing homes, serving on key missional activities of the church, mentoring young mothers and fathers (and encouraging younger married couples), and lending their business expertise to young "start-ups."
How does seeing this impact me?
1) I don't ever want to retire in the American Dream type of way. Lord willing, as long as the Lord gives me a strong body and a sound mind I want to run hard for Him. My older brothers in Montana have given me a model to look at and follow.
2) At the church I co-pastor I want to be intentional in pursuing multi-generational discipleship, mission, and community. A healthy church and community needs this.
(In this short video John Piper talks about abandoning retirement as the reward of your life.)
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