From Preaching Magazine (2026 Spring)
I’ve grown a little tired of people asking me how I like retirement. First, I didn’t retire. I stepped away from the full-time, day-to-day responsibilities of leading a local church. I no longer wanted to be responsible for staff meetings, budget reports and revising mission statements. The ministry setting of my congregation had changed and another type of leadership was required. The new opportunities required a different skill set than I have right now. I probably could have learned them, but honestly, I didn’t want to take the time to learn a new set of skills for the leadership required in our postmodern churches.
And I wanted to spend more time with my four grandchildren. We can argue later about which of these issues was the real driving force of my stepping down. I will only say I have pictures of all four of my grandchildren. I don’t carry a picture of the church.
Now, since “What have I learned since my retirement’” seems to be the number one question on everyone’s minds, let’s get to it.
First, have something to go to. Spend some time thinking about what you want to be doing in your “retirement.” Don’t step away from your church. Step to another ministry. I started the Engage Church Network working with pastors and churches in Middle Tennessee. I love working with “younger” pastors (they’re all younger these days) and churches as they discover their ministry opportunities in the neighborhoods and communities.
If you don’t have somewhere to go, you’ll end up circling back to your church because you don’t have anywhere else to go. Do your predecessor a favor. Get out of his way. There’s a whole world that needs the gospel of Jesus Christ. Pick a spot and go there. You can pick any spot other than where you were.
Second, get your rest. I was stunned at how tired I was when I stepped down. I slept solid for about three weeks. We normalize the stress we’re under and we begin to think feeling tired is natural. When we finally give our bodies permission to catch up, they will. Take the time you need to recover.
Lastly, remember your call hasn’t changed. We still have the call to spread the gospel of Jesus to the lost and broken in our world. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is our context. While we may not be leading a church, we may be leading a small group Bible study. We may be mentoring young pastors, young professionals and married young couples. You may be walking pastors through some tough days. You may be working with a young church plant as they get their structure put in place.
You will be doing the same thing you’ve always done – preaching, teaching, counseling, leading, and praying – just in a different place with different people. Same calling. Different context. And one last thing before I wrap this up. Get ready to have more fun than you’ve ever had in your
life. There is incredible freedom that comes when you don’t need anything from the people you’re working with. You can lead with integrity, honesty and freedom you could never afford before. You’ll laugh more in your counseling because you’ve seen it all before and you know – from experience – this isn’t the end of the world. We know people won’t remember your worst sermon any more than they’ll remember your best sermon.
This freedom will, in fact, open the doors for the best ministry in your life. Retirement isn’t in the Bible and I’m glad. The changing contexts make it interesting, and the gospel makes it eternally significant. Being 68 and “retired”, we can’t ask for more.
