Compiled by Mark A. Taylor
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Alan Ahlgrim
Retired: Founding pastor with Rocky Mountain Christian Church, Niwot, Colorado, March 2013
What are you doing now? Continues to encourage and mentor church leaders. Director of Covenant Groups with the Center for Church Leadership.
Thoughts on retirement: รขยยThe best is yet to be for every kingdom leader. I jokingly say if I had known this season would be so fulfilling, I would have started with this first and stuck with it! Iรขย™ve traded unrelenting responsibility for a soul-enriching opportunity.รขยย
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Dick Alexander
Retired: Senior minister, LifeSpring Christian Church, Cincinnati, June 2013
What are you doing now? International consultant with Christian Missionary Fellowship, enhancing the pastoral training curriculum for Missions of Hope in Nairobi, Kenya, and coordinating teaching visits from the U.S. Guide in The Ascent, a leadership mentoring program sponsored by CDF Leadership Capital.
Thoughts on retirement: รขยยRetirement brings the opportunity to do significant ministry with fewer deadlines and less pressure. [Itรขย™s an] opportunity to be more selective and allow people to plug into their sweet spots. Itรขย™s fun! Being able to spend all of oneรขย™s work week focused on how to connect people with God is a terrific privilege.รขยย
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Dennis Bratton
Retired: Senior pastor with Mandarin Christian Church (Christรขย™s Church), Jacksonville, Florida, June 2010
What are you doing now? Board of directors, The Solomon Foundation and Restoration Movement Media. Member of Northfield Church in Gallatin, Tennessee. Founded KORE Foundation shortly after retirement. (See sidebar.)
Thoughts on retirement: รขยยRetirement is just a doorway to something completely newรขยยlike going from preaching sermons in air conditioning to raising chickens in Haiti! Itรขย™s incredible how much Iรขย™ve learned to trust God as a รขยยmissionaryรขย™! Right before our eyes heรขย™s answered prayers, provided resources, and brought people with incredible skills and unique hearts to come alongside KOREรขย™s unusual approach to missionary work. I would have missed so much if Iรขย™d skipped retirement!รขยย
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John Caldwell
Retired: Kingsway Christian Church, outside Indianapolis, June 2010
What are you doing now? Very active in ministry: guest preaching and interim ministries, consulting, weddings and funerals, visiting shut-ins, attending church-related conventions, and serving with three mission boards as well as part-time field representative for Christian Arabic Services. John and his wife, Jan, love to travel, and in addition to visiting favorite or new vacation spots, they led a trip to the Holy Land in 2018.
Thoughts on retirement: รขยยMake sure youรขย™re ready. (I probably would have stayed at least another year or two if I had it to do over again.)รขยย
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Bob and Vicki Cherry
Retired: Bob was senior pastor and Vicki was creative arts director at Northeast Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky, when they retired in April 2016
What are you doing now? Bob preaches three-to-five weekends each year at Northeast and has done supply preaching. He meets monthly with his successor, Tyler McKenzie, to provide encouragement รขยยand hopefully wisdom,รขยย and leads a yearlong mentoring group of 10 to 12 elder candidates for the church. He and Vicki have enjoyed travel they had put off while they were working, and Bob has led Bible lands tours with people from Northeast. They are both active members at the Clifton campus of Northeast, where Vicki serves on the audiovisual team.
Thoughts on retirementรขยยBob: รขยยI love being retired! Many had told me I had to have something to retire to so I would have real purpose and not be bored. My life since retirement has been extremely fulfilling. Each day is a new adventure.รขยย
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Ken Idleman
Retired: Crossroads Christian Church, Newburgh/Evansville, Indiana, May 2016
What are you doing now? Joined The Solomon Foundation on May 23, 2016, the day after he retired! Serving as vice president of leadership development. รขยยI am leveraging my 36 years as a Bible college teacher and administrator and 16 years as a local church pastor to encourage and equip church leaders.รขยย Serves as a volunteer in menรขย™s ministry and senior adult ministry at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, where he and his wife, Kaylene, are members.
Thoughts on retirement: รขยยIf you have a healthy body, a sound mind, and adequate resources, find a way to invest yourself in some kind of kingdom-building ministry. It need not be vocational ministry. Volunteer to do the kinds of things you have always wanted to do for the Lord in the local church or on the mission field.รขยย
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Gary Johnson
Retired: Indian Creek Christian Church, Indianapolis, Indiana, April 2019
What are you doing now? Executive director of e2: effective elders, whose mission is coaching elder teams to win. Speaking, writing, and mentoring elders to lead the local church with greater effectiveness.
Thoughts on retirement: รขยยPeople donรขย™t remember how we came. They remember how we leave.รขยย
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LeRoy Lawson
Retired: President, Hope International University, Fullerton, California, May 2003; professor, Emmanuel Christian Seminary, May 2016
What are you doing now? Served as interim minister with First Christian Church, Johnson City, Tennessee, November 2015รขยยMay 2016 and as interim minister with Kaimuki Christian Church, Honolulu, Hawaii, MayรขยยOctober 2018. International consultant with Christian Missionary Fellowship. Lectures on cruises sponsored by Educational Opportunities. Other recent assignments: Webb Lectureship, Milligan College, March 2019, and Senior Saints in the Smokies, Johnson University, Knoxville, Tennessee, MayรขยยJune 2019.
Thoughts on retirement: รขยยDonรขย™t just retire from; plan to retire to. You want to be able to say who you are, not just who you were. Be prepared to move from the playing field to the grandstand, from doing to cheering others in their doing. Biological grandparenting is fun; so is professional grandparenting. Try to travel light in retirement, unencumbered by superfluous stuff accumulated over a lifetime.รขยย
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Glen Liston
Retired: Grace Christian Church (now called CurrentรขยยA Christian Church), Katy, Texas, September 2017
What are you doing now? With his wife, Shirley, traveled as a volunteer for Central India Christian Mission for nine years; led six trips to India, spoke on behalf of the mission in local churches, and attended more then 20 conferences representing the mission. Meets monthly with a different area minister to buy his lunch, encourage him, and pray with him. An active volunteer at New Hope Church in Marvel, Texas: leading a small group, delivering lunch to homebound members, speaking, and performing weddings and funerals.
Thoughts on retirement: รขยยPlan on decompression time after leaving the pulpit. Plan to do something meaningful with your life; leaders always need a way to lead, and pastors always need a way to pastor.รขยย
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Ben Merold
Retired: Senior minister with Harvester Christian Church, St. Charles, Missouri, August 2008 (at the age of 82!)
What are you doing now? With his wife, Pat, leads a large Bible study for seniors on Thursdays, with a repeat of the lesson on Thursday evenings. Spends seven or eight weeks each year with Bob Russell in a retreat called รขยยA Time of Refreshingรขยย (see sidebar). Church growth seminars, revival meetings, and guest speaking.
Thoughts on retirement: รขยยI accepted the ministry of Harvester Christian Church three weeks before my 65th birthday. We had a great, growing ministry together for more than 17 years. They were good to me then and they are still good to me.รขยย
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Steve Reeves
Retired: Connection Pointe Christian Church, Brownsburg, Indiana, September 2017
What are you doing now? Served as interim preacher with Crossroads Christian Church, Washington Court House, Ohio, in 2018. Meanwhile wrote Restored: Our Story, a book about Connection Pointe, published by College Press, and served with the Center for Church Leadership in Cincinnati as advisory board member, seminar leader, consultant, and director of ENGAGE, an encouragement and prayer ministry for pastors of local churches. Connection Pointe gave him the title รขยยpastor at largeรขยย to indicate his ongoing ministry vision.
Thoughts on retirement: รขยยI loved being the preacher for two churches over a 40-year period. But this new season of ministry (encouraging church leaders) is the most fulfilling. My conviction: When you leave the local church, leave. Donรขย™t do or say anything to sabotage your successor or fuel division in the congregation you were privileged to lead.รขยย
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Wally Rendel
Retired: Jessamine Christian Church, Nicholasville, Kentucky, November 2018
What are you doing now? Pulpit supply and memorial services. Staying connected with and coaching area ministers as opportunities arise. รขยยThanking God I donรขย™t have to go to staff meetings anymore.รขยย
Thoughts on retirement: รขยยSome of your most significant days of ministry can come on the heels of your retirement. Thank God for that. C.S. Lewis said, รขยยYou are never too old to set a new goal or dream a new dream.รขย™ Trust God to open doors for your ongoing service.รขยย
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Bob Russell
Retired: Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky, June 2006
What are you doing now? Mentors younger preachers. (Conducts nine retreats each year; see sidebar.) Speaks for and consults with local churches and leadership conferences. Writes a weekly blog and prepares Bible-study videos for small groups.
Thoughts on retirement: รขยยSet an exact date a couple of years in advance in order to take the emotion out of the decision about when to retire. Then stick to it. Focus on your gifts and stay energized by doing what you enjoy doing the most. Learn to say no to requests that drain your energy. (I hate meetings and am not a good board member. So I decided, no boards, period. That made it easy to respond to requests.) Communicate early and often with your spouse and family what you intend to do in retirement so they can rejoice with you and pray for your contribution.
รขยยI enjoyed the located ministry, but the last 12 years have been the most enjoyable of my life.รขยย
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Don Wilson
Retired: Christรขย™s Church of the Valley, Peoria, Arizona, November 2017
What are you doing now? President, Accelerate Group. With his wife, Sue, the main focus is helping pastors and wives stay healthy and รขยยgo the distance in ministryรขยย as well as navigate difficult transitions. รขยยThis has been more rewarding than we could have imagined.รขยย
Thoughts on retirement: รขยยWhen I retired, I was asked not to worship at CCV for at least six months at any campus and 12 months at the main campus. That was more difficult emotionally for my wife and me than I anticipated. But I think it was the right decision, because I could give total support to my successor and not be negative in any way. I have seen other situations where the former pastor creates a major problem by staying on and undermining his successorรขย™s ministry by disagreeing with the way heรขย™s leading.รขยย
Check out these related articles:
รขยยIf You Have a Pulse, You Have a Purposeรขยย
รขยยTimes of Refreshingรขยย
รขยยKindness, Opportunities, Resources, Evangelismรขยย
Author: Mark A. Taylor
Mark A. Taylor, who served as Christian Standard editor from 2003 to 2017, retired in June 2017 after almost 41 years with Standard Publishing (Christian Standard Media).
