For everything there is a season. Ecclesiastes 3:1
I delivered my last sermon on August 31, 2020. It’s hard for me to believe that I have now been retired from vocational ministry a year. As I am continuing to adjust to this new season in life, there are some things I am observing that I want to share with you.
There really is a time for every season.
When I announced my plans to retire, some people wondered why I was taking this step since I wasn’t at full retirement age. Among several reasons I gave was the sense that it was simply time. I had served as a vocational pastor of a local church for over forty years. It was a long and hopefully fruitful season that I will always treasure. But inwardly I knew that it was time to let it go. It was time for me and for the congregation I served. This is true for all of us. No earthly season lasts forever. So when it is time to let go of a past season, we need to let it go.
Trying to hold on to a past season robs you of the ability to fully live into your current season.
While I may fill the pulpit occasionally or perhaps even serve in an interim capacity somewhere, my days as a full-time vocational minister are over. I know that some pastors can hardly stand thinking about that. Their entire identity is tied up in their role as pastor. It is a blessing that I have been spared from that. Don’t get me wrong. I am grateful for my season as a pastor. But I am also grateful for my current season.
Most of us have seasons that we wish would last longer than they do. For some it is the carefree days of their youth. Others wish that they could avoid the empty nest for a few more years. And still others grieve the loss of easier or better days in the past. All of this is understandable. I have some moments of this as well. But the truth is that we can’t live in the past. We can only live in the here and now. It’s important that we learn to do that. Because if we try to hold on to a past season, we will limit our ability to experience whatever goodness that can come in our current season. So celebrate the blessings of the past. But release what was, and embrace what is.
We are all replaceable.
Our prideful ego sometimes wants to think that the hole we leave when we retire will never be fully filled. That’s especially true if we’ve been in positions of great responsibility. We want to believe that we are indispensable. However, it’s surprising just how quickly someone else comes along to fill your shoes, sit in your chair, and take over your job. In some cases the position you once held is eliminated or merged with another one. It can be quite humbling.
Thankfully, I had already experienced this when I left previous churches. Soon they called a new pastor and life went on there without me. I have learned to be grateful for this. It is my deepest hope that the churches where I once served will continue to make an impact in their communities for the sake of the Kingdom. The fact that someone else is leading them is a reminder that these churches weren’t mine in the first place. They were and are individual bodies of Christ where He is the head.
So don’t let your feelings get hurt when you retire and someone takes over your old job. Instead be grateful for whatever blessings you experienced during your work years and wish the best for your successor.
You need to find what is yours to do in your current season.
I read a lot about retirement prior to making the decision. One of the things that I saw quite frequently was the warning that boredom can be a real problem once you are no longer employed on a full-time basis. It was suggested that a person needs to have some idea of what they want to do in their retirement years in order to avoid just sitting and wasting away.
For believers this has a spiritual component to it. While it may sound appealing to give our retirement years exclusively to golf or other recreational tasks, we have been called to something greater. We all have something that is ours to do that has Kingdom implications. This will vary from person to person. I’m still in the discovery phase of this myself. I am continuing to write my weekly blog, and I am working on a couple of other writing projects. But I’m open to whatever God has for me. Let me encourage you to find what is yours to do whether you are retired or not. This is what brings purpose and meaning to life.
As for me, I’m in the season of retirement. It’s something that I highly recommend.
I am thankful that you are enjoying your retirement. Is Clella
enjoying your retirement?😂🤣We miss you two and wish you well. Ann Jordan
Thanks for your thoughts, Brian. I’m looking to join you, hopefully just after I turn 65 in December of 2022. This post is especially meaningful to me for three men’s sakes, two former pastors of mine and my brother-in-law. Though my wife and I currently attend a Lutheran church, we spent the bulk of our adult lives as United Methodists. Joe and Ken both served at Ft. Oglethorpe and were very significant in discipling me and my family. Both have served as interim pastors, and Joe continues to preach the occasional revival. Both have moved closer to grandchildren and seem to be content with their season. My brother-in-law, Lyle, however, is not doing as well. He was retired medically five years ago, and finds it difficult to even go to church, claiming he doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do. Yes, we have been concerned for a while. He doesn’t want to talk about it, refuses to seek counsel, and is sullen and argumentative when his sister or I broach the possibility of visiting our church. Our youngest grandson’s mother lost her own brother recently, and Lyle was beyond grateful to get to preach the funeral. We ask your prayers for him. I replied here because he would rightfully be angry with me for sharing this publicly, but it’s hard to watch the decline in a brother in Christ, and worse yet to see a family member, to all appearances, quit looking to Jesus for the only real help out of this. Thanks for listening, and I pray that Father will make make you fruitful in your new endeavors.