Ministry life after retirement

 What do ministers do after they retire? A better question might be should ministers ever retire? Let's address the second question first.

At some point in a minister's life he or she is going to find that their days of serving a church as pastor are over. This may be due to health reasons when one becomes physically incapable of handling pastoral duties. I once knew a pastor who suffered a significant stroke affecting his speech, his movements and his energy. Although he wanted to remain in pastoral ministry he simply could not function well enough to serve a church.

Other pastors may be in good health but find that most churches are not interested in calling a 75-year-old as their next pastor. I served 14 years in a judicatory ministry and worked with dozens of churches seeking new pastoral leadership, and I never saw one seriously consider older candidates. While I understand the desire to call a 45-year-old pastor with 30 years of pastoral ministry to be a church's next pastor, I also know that many churches, especially smaller ones, are overlooking a lot of experience and wisdom when they ignore the older candidates. The argument usually given is that the older candidate might not be with the church for very long, but this overlooks the fact that the average pastor in our denomination changes churches about every 3-4 years. Realistically, the younger pastor probably won't be at the church for a long time either. While one might not want to retire, retirement might be forced upon him or her due to a lack of interest from churches due to one's age.

This brings us back to the first question. What does a minister do when they do retire? Many make themselves available to serve as supply pastors filling in when pastors are absent from their churches. Others are willing to serve as interim pastors or transitional pastors for churches when they are seeking new pastors. Since my retirement I have served as a transitional pastor for two wonderful churches, and I am still at the second one.

Serving in this capacity gives the minister the opportunity to use his or her experience during a challenging time in the church. Seeking new pastoral leadership is a stressful time for congregations, and the transitional pastor can help them work through some of that stress.

Another way retired ministers can continue to serve is to find ways to minister outside the church. Before I retired I received a license to be an auctioneer. I view this as a way to expand my ministry to persons who may not be involved in churches. People often call me when they are downsizing and find out that family members are not interested in their possessions. They are worried that they cannot take everything to their new home and uncertain what to do. When I assure them that I can sell their items for them at auction they often express great relief.

I also get to minister to persons who need to close out an estate after a loved one passes away. Some of them may live several states away and wonder how they can dispose of everything. When I agreed to sell one estate the daughter's shoulders dropped as she breathed a sigh of relief. She said it was like the weight of the world was off her shoulders.

More than once I've been called to someone's house to talk about doing an auction and had prayer with them before leaving. One individual I had never met before that day began to share some of the struggles she had lived through in the past few weeks. She was obviously hurting. I explained that was also a minister and asked if I could pray for her. I've never been refused in such times. After praying for her I asked if she had a church, and when she replied she did not I was able to recommend two in her community that I knew would minister to her.

Use the gifts and wisdom God has given you to find ways to continue to minister even after retirement. You may find such ministry quite rewarding.