APRIL 2017 EDITION

While on vacation last week, the eventual “What do you do?” question would arise. I don’t know but maybe because of my “sun bleached “ hair (LOL!), I was asked, “Are you retired?” I invariably answered “No, I have no plans to retire. I love what I am doing.”  I have heard it said, “If you love what you are doing, you will never work a day in your life.” I think that this is true. Sure, there are difficulties. I have not drawn a regular salary since 2014, but I have always maintained that a lack of money does not negate God’s call on your life. Having been in ministry now for forty years, I have seen God provide in many miraculous ways during that time.  Additionally, in a calling like ministry, tangible results are often hard to measure. One can fall into the trap of gauging ministry success only by numbers.  Numbers are important but not an end in themselves.  It is my understanding that being faithful to God’s call on your life and striving to be excellent in His service should be the measure of satisfaction. My goal in life is, at the end of my life, to hear our Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into your rest.”

Today, I am just as busy as I was twenty-five years ago when Net Work Ministries started.  My constituency has changed over that time. My men’s group makeup has altered. We have all aged together and now face different challenges in life than we began to meet together. Our issues are different now. I hope that we have grown and matured in both our everyday lives as well as our spiritual lives. I still continue to meet with men individually for counsel and encouragement on a regular basis.

 In my new role as volunteer pastor to the staff of Young Life in the Southeast Region, I have a younger constituency.  My hope is that I can share the accumulated wisdom of my years in ministry to those who are just beginning their ministries. Perhaps, I can steer them away from some of the pitfalls one can encounter in ministry.  I meet with the male staff face-to-face as often as possible while communicating with the entire staff on a monthly basis through social media. It is a privilege to meet weekly with the regional staff and attend the twice-yearly staff conferences.

My sense about retirement is that it is a recent phenomenon.  Up until the twentieth century, most people worked until they were incapable of working. It was true that theirs was a much more of an agrarian society, but others of that day, who lived and worked in cities, worked all their lives.  

Perhaps, instead of using the word “retirement” we could use the word “refocusment” and look for ways to continue to be productive in society.  One often hears of men who are dead within five years of retirement.  So many men‘s identities are wrapped up in what they did for a living. In their work life, they may have held positions of power and recognition but upon leaving all that is gone. When that part of their life goes they feel lost and purposeless. Some say that one can only fish so much or play golf so much.  I do know men who say after they retired that they don’t know how they ever found time to work because they are so busy now.  That is great!  I only hope that they are spending some of that time in service to others. There are many who could benefit from the wisdom and knowledge that one has acquired over the years.  

Men, God is not finished with you! Your life, given in His service, can fill the remaining years of life with joy, satisfaction and fulfillment. There is a world out there waiting to utilize the gifts God has given you. The last stage of your life can be the best!

Some of you who read this are nowhere near retirement age. Still I would ask you to consider a lifetime spent in His service to others as an addendum to your present situation. Ask yourself, “How can I serve God by serving others in my workplace or elsewhere?”  Then, when your career is over you will have a head start on a fulfilling and joyful time of “refocusment.”

I am grateful to all of you who have stood by me through the years with your prayers, encouragement and financial support May God shower you with His richest blessings.

Forty-two years ago tonight, April 29th, I surrendered my life to Christ. Peggy and her friends had been praying for me for a year. I am grateful to God for those prayers, for Dan Hayes, who shared his testimony that night and gave an invitation to receive Christ and God's Spirit to move in my life at that time. Wow, what a ride it has been! I am a truly blessed man and a poster boy for God's grace!