Jump Start # 3672
Acts 8:1 “And Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles.”
Our verse today shows the means in which the Gospel was taken to other places. Out of the bad, good happened. The scattering of the disciples, led to the spread of the Gospel in other regions. The text picks this up in 11:19, with, “So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone.”
The church of Jerusalem changed. The members were gone. They may not have ever come back. And, this reminds us that often a congregation faces new challenges and is forced to go down roads it never has before. The Covid problem did that. For the first time, many congregations had to deal with what the government was calling for, what was safe, and what ought to be done. Moving services to live stream only was a new path for most of us. Many congregations experienced some who never came back. Weak, as they were, they just fell away completely. Others have remained watching livestream as their only connection to a congregation.
It challenges shepherds when new roads must be traveled down. They do not have the wisdom of the past to look to. They must consider what works and what remains Biblical as decisions are made.
This generation is facing another new challenge for many congregations, the retiring of the preacher. Generations ago, preachers preached until they died. Modern medicine is making it very possible to live well into the 80s and 90s these days. And, many preachers realize that they just can’t do it any more. The mental energy, the pace, to do quality work, it’s time to pass the torch on to someone else. And, for the first time, maybe in a congregation’s history, they are facing the fact that a preacher wants to retire.
It is good for us to put some thought to this. It is better to put some thought to this before it happens. It is good to talk this over, have plans and think things through.
First, what a treasure of wisdom, knowledge and experience to have an older retired preacher among you. Use him as he is able and desires. Can he still fill in the pulpit once in a while? Is he able to teach a class now and then? Can he be used behind the scenes to mentor younger preachers or help others learn to do things? Just putting the ole’ preacher out to pasture can sure be discouraging to him and a loss of great resources for the congregation.
Second, the relationship between the retired preacher and the new preacher can be a blessing or a curse. Everyone does things differently and we each have our own style. The retired preacher can be a constant negative to the work because things are different than the way he would do it or he can be such a wonderful help. Preaching is different than so many other jobs. The preacher pours his life and his heart into that work. It has been his baby. It has been his every thought for a long, long time. Turning the keys over to someone else is hard. He doesn’t want to see things go south. Wise shepherds would bring the retired preacher and current preacher together to build bridges between them. The egos, attitudes and how they view each other can be a real blessing or a real problem, not just between them, but to the entire congregation. An arrogant young preacher who thinks he knows everything can learn so much by spending a lunch once a month with a retired preacher.
Third, unlike many other occupations, the preacher in most places is paid a weekly or monthly check and that’s it. No benefits. No retirement. Nothing. And, as age gets to the point where he needs to step down, some can’t because of finances. He has to preach because he can’t survive without it. This is where a wise eldership builds a retirement for a preacher. Bless his heart, you don’t want a preacher in the pulpit every Sunday who does more harm than good. A loss for words, unable to remember passages, scrambling facts up, outdated and out of touch—he becomes more of a liability than an asset. But for some, they have to do that. And, worse, some congregations, force the old preacher out and bring in a younger preacher and the old preacher, late in life, must move and relocate to some small congregation to preach just because he needs the income.
Long before this happens, preachers need to do what they can to invest and prepare for the future. Many haven’t. This isn’t good. And, congregations need to take a long look at how we treat preachers and whether we put them in the position to be benevolent cases by the way we pay them. While many in the congregation enjoy retirement, having situations where the corporation contributed to a retirement, most preachers do not have that option.
Replacing the old mule, with a younger one, may work well on the farm, but it doesn’t work well among brethren. We can do better at the way we treat our old soldiers of the Cross. We must do better! They have given their life teaching and leading us. Can we not take care of them in their last years?
New roads to consider…the retiring of a preacher. It’s time to have discussions about that.
Roger