How will we respond when the significance we have been comfortable with is no longer there?Will we simply rely on our current achievements and successes as a down payment for a "job well done"?
What does retirement mean for you?
A pastor at our church was reprimanding some kids who were calling the pastors on staff by their first name instead of using the title "Pastor". This particular Rev. has retired from the ministry in the traditional "full-time" role, but continues to serve in the church under various forms of pastoral care duties. I was very disappointed in his message to the children. I think respect is important and certainly pastors deserve to be treated with respect. What I saw and heard was a man wanting what he feels has already gone. The title represents an idea that he is holding onto with both hands. Significance.
I had a good friend, a great friend. His name was Bick. Bick passed away June 16, 2004. I will never forget that day. Bick was and has been the most significant spiritual mentor in my life. He was 83 when he died.
Bick was retired. He was a retired war vet. A retired professor. A retired Pentagon employee. A retired minister. He was not a retired soul. Bick kept his mornings full with appointments to pray with pastors in the community. He didn't just pray with the pastor of his church, but any pastor that invited him. He also met with younger guys, like myself. He put up with our arrogance and our ignorance. He loved to "take us to the wood shed" where he would bring us back down to reality. Bick acquired many titles along the journey of his life. Among them were Dr., Rev., Prof., and Lieutenant Colonel. Titles were not part of his significance. He lived in a way that made his relationship with God significant. He refused to let his life simply fall to "garage projects" and Suduko.
You're gonna be somebody, but who?
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