A Word from the Preacher for the Preacher
The following blog is by Carlton Coon, Sr.
The Sage age is not all cookies and cream. Some difficult topics need to be discussed. And while UPCI Sages includes every saint of God, some attention is to be given to preachers of the Sage age.
I’d like you to weigh in. The more response the better.
I see preachers my age who are hurting. It is not just physical pain. It is the pain of displacement. They are like an immigrant who under duress departs the place that has been home. Their new reality is uncomfortable.
I’m blessed and know it. I’m at an age when health factors, the wear and tear of decades of ministry, and exhaustion cause many ministers step into retirement. But I’m able to be busy locally and even beyond the local church. I’m blessed to realize the power of writing, the developing of video training, to be pastor to 8 younger pastors scattered across America and facilitate the launch of UPCI Sages.
My scenario is not the norm.
The January 16, 2023, USA Today has the tragic story of Charles Johnson, a former NFL football player who recently committed suicide. The story includes a quote from Hall-of-Fame Quarterback Steve Young, “The day after retirement, ‘you’re at the bottom of a cliff in a broken sack of bones.’”
That phrase - “the bottom of a cliff, a broken sack of bones,” is painful. And is not dissimilar to what seems to happen to many ministers who retire. Suddenly, they and their spouse are not in the huddle calling signals, instead they are in the cheap-seats. Often, the cheap-seats in which they sit, is in an entirely different stadium than where they once played.
And over-night inclusion becomes exclusion. The man’s wise opinion once mattered, but now their unsought wisdom has the same value as insight gained from a fool.
Ignored - their wealth of experience in dealing with people, which might be an excellent source of pastoral case-studies.
Ignored - a mental (or physical ) file cabinet full of sermons, sermon thoughts, Bible study ideas, and illustrations.
Ignored - Bible knowledge gained by years of study. Knowledge that would invigorate any conversation about a passage of scripture.
Ignored - a strength of resolve that helped them walk unmarked trails in ministry. And they now know and could be guides along those hard paths.
Ignored - How they endured the highs and lows of ministry. How they dealt with difficult people like those in my series of books beginning with, Pastoring a Narcissist.
And: Days after retirement former pastors join Steve Young in saying, ‘you’re at the bottom of a cliff, a broken sack of bones.’
This is a problem. (1) Some who should retire hang on because being pastor is their entire identity (2) Some remain pastor due to financial need.
Just as it would be hard for a 50-year-old quarterback to win many games, a church led by a “should-be-retired” leader seldom does well. Congregations suffer and usually shrink, a community goes unimpacted, and an arriving generation of capable leaders are put on hold for too long.
For those who retire, because they understand and want what is best for God’s work, it is a new world.
They are unsought, disregarded and without honor. In time, their experiences, wisdom, and knowledge lose their freshness. And in time, the elder and his library of knowledge settle beneath 6’ of soil.
Retired - “At the bottom of a cliff, a bag of broken bones.”
When I present a problem, I prefer having at least one or two solutions in mind. In this case, any solution that comes to my mind is not wholesale. It does not fit every person, and therein lies some of the problem. Each retired minister is unique.
But we need to develop an array of solutions. You can help. My role is to stir thought, and at my own behest pass ideas on to those who can put solutions to work.