Encore

I started reading a book that I would put out there as a must read.  It's called Encore:  Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life by Marc Freedman I'm thinking I'll review it when done, though I guess I've never done a formal book review, guess we'll see how that works eh?

Put simply, Freedman's book looks at a developing trend that takes a different approach to the second half of life.  Hey, considering the title of this blog, of course I'm going to like that "second half" part of it all.  Anyway, the trend is a move away from what we've traditionally regarded as retirement, going golfing every day or spending the days fishing or whatever other leisure activity you can find.  This concept of retirement really only came into being around the 50's and 60's, but a key factor in all of this is that since that time, the number of years one might spend in retirement has grown tremendously.  Another key factor is that people are finding that retirement just doesn't work any more, often a sense of boredom and anxiety sets in, and people are finding they want to go back to work.

Rather than saving up to not work, the book suggests saving up to be able to do the kind of work you want to do.  He highlights a number of people moving into teaching or non profit work, jobs that maybe could not pay what they needed or wanted to make in their earlier years, but with family grown, while that retirement account may not provide what a person needs to live on for another 30 years, that retirement could instead supplement working a lower paying but fulfilling position where one can make a difference somewhere.

Okay, this is getting dangerously close to a review.  What I wanted to write about is how a lot of this hits home to me personally.  

I remember several years ago first hearing about a different perspective on age.  I don't remember where I heard it, maybe it was from Dan Miller or Dave Ramsey, or maybe a totally different source altogether.  The idea was that we tend to look at something like turning 40 to be moving past the half way point of our lives, when instead maybe we should look at where we are in our adult years.  I think whoever I picked it up from said we've got probably 50 productive years in our lives.  When you look at it that way it's almost like looking at 40 as being 20, and there's a much greater percentage of our productive years ahead of us.

The reality is that people are healthier and more active at age 70, 80 and even 90 today than ever before, and it's a trend that continues to grow.  The Census Bureau is expecting that by 2046 there will be 800,000 people in America 100 years old or older.  That's pretty astounding.  

I think I mentioned this earlier (I've only done a small handful of posts, you'd think I'd remember what I posted already?) but I went through a period of trying to figure out what it was I wanted to do when I grew up -- a period that took place in my mid 40's.  It's got me to where I'm ready to move back into ministry, something that I bailed out of nearly 20 years ago, but something more focused.  I enjoy the telecommunications work I do now, but in the end, helping people with their business telephones doesn't exactly leave a sense of fulfillment.  This thing that I see in myself is why Freedman's book is making sense, why the trend is starting to take place.  People bust their butts for years providing for their families, climbing the corporate ladder or just getting by and they get to a point where they don't really want to sit down and rest, at least not for 30 years of retirement, but what they do want to do is make a difference.  

It's an interesting dynamic, getting at this stage of life.  I found myself thinking just this morning about my current job and how it fits into what I want to do.  Is it something where one day I'll make a move to a new career in ministry and quit my job?  Or, considering that churches are so far behind the curve and there are not exactly a lot of job openings doing what I want to do, is it something where my work will become the resource that will allow me to gradually move into this, starting out part time or even a volunteer and maybe moving into something full time down the road?  

Dang, I wish I were more talented in sales.  A guy could work 10 hours a week raking in a good enough commission to support working 30-40 hours in something he enjoys doing.  Of course if that were the case, it's easy to be drawn in by the temptation of realizing that if I'm doing that well at 10 hours a week, how much could I make doing the sales full time.  Then I'd be back at that whole place where, yeah, the career's good and it pays well, but is it what I really want to be doing?

I usually put a link to my posts on Facebook, and obviously the bulk of my friends are right around my age.  I wonder how many are starting to think about what they want to be doing?  Granted, a lot of them are people I knew from Bible College and many are still in ministry positions, for a lot of them I know they're still dedicated to it because they're making a difference.  They didn't need to wait until this stage of life to start thinking about 'what can I do now that is more fulfilling?' but have been doing it for awhile.  But if any of you are reading this that are at that stage, I'm wondering where you are now, is the idea of the book mentioned above and moving into a later life career that has meaning something that appeals to you?

Okay, I do have to say, with how new this blog is and how few people are probably reading this, right now the sound of crickets comes to mind after I ask a question like that.  But if anyone is reading, you can still comment...

Unbalanced

I found some interesting Census data.  In 2010 24.3 percent of the population is 55 or older.  24 percent of the population was under 18.  For the first time ever, people 55 and older outnumbered the children in America.  And the trends will continue to go that way.

How prepared are our churches for this?  I did a quick survey of catalogs from Bible colleges and seminaries and counted 84 classes dedicated to ministering to youth and children, and a total of 4 classes dealing with the older population.  That wasn't even counting courses on family ministry which would obviously have a heavy emphasis on youth and children.

I find that pretty staggering.  No, I don't think it should be equal and I don't think youth and children's ministry should be de-emphasized at all.  But there is a pretty significant portion of our population either at or close to retirement age and we have practically nothing in comparison to prepare future church leaders to minister to the unique needs of this generation.

One of my hopes over the next few years is to try to come to an understanding why we have little or nothing in the way of ministry to older adults.  Is it a matter of neglect and just not being ready?  Is it a philosophical thing?  Is it ageism?  Seriously, I really do wonder why there are virtually no ministries to older adults.  Okay, I should qualify myself a little here.  Most churches have visitation to nursing homes and shut ins, and usually have some kind of fellowship group that gathers for dinners every once in awhile and has some kind of cutesy name.  But honestly?  There are a lot of older adults who want nothing to do with that because it just makes them feel, well....  old.  For all intents and purposes it seems to me that ministry to older adults seems more of an afterthought than anything else.

It maybe isn't a fair comparison to compare to the very extensive training we provide to those ready to minister to children and youth.  You've probably heard the same (or similar) statistic that I've heard, and that is that 93% of those who become Christians do so before they turn 18.  That would be a pretty compelling reason to devote a lot of resources to ministering to youth.

Having said that, I was looking through some of the data from the Barna Research Group and found a couple of interesting statistics.  One survey showed that 66% of adults claiming to be Christians said they became Christians before the age of 18.  If the 93% was true, why the 66% in this survey?  What about the 27% difference?  Okay, that leads me to another statistic that shows something like 70% of youth who were in the church leave before they turn 30.  With that in mind, the 93% and the 66% could be compatible.  One is the number who become Christians, the other reflects the number who continued to believe.

Where am I going with this?  Maybe these numbers are telling us not to put all our eggs into one basket.  Again, I think ministry to youth and children is incredibly important, because we're talking about a time frame when people are the most open to the Gospel.  I think however that we make a mistake by assuming that because only 7% of Christians become so after age 18, that adult ministry is not nearly as effective.

All this talk about the 7% and the 93% almost seems like a discussion of the Occupy movement.

But here's the deal.  The fact that 34% of adult Christians became Christians AFTER the age of 18, in light of the 93/7 statistics, tells me that those who accept Christ as an adult are dramatically more likely to stay with their faith.  Perhaps you can call it a more genuine conversion.  That in itself is pretty compelling reason to put some pretty good emphasis on adult ministry.

And then of course, we get into older adults.  Honestly, I don't know what the numbers are as far as the percentages who believe after 55.  I'm sure they're pretty low.  The fact of the matter is they're pretty likely to stay low given the lack of emphasis we have on ministering to that age group.

That's a shame.  This baby boomer generation is very different than those who preceded them into retirement age.  It is a healthier, more active generation.  Here is the important part:  With this particular generation as they reach this stage of their life, there is a greater desire if not need to finish strong, to leave having made a mark on the world.  They want to make a difference.

Why is this important?  There are a couple of reasons.  For one thing, a strong desire to make a difference often leads to a great deal of angst if not crisis, especially if you're looking back and not sure if you did make a difference.  That's the kind of thing that makes you start to think about what this whole life thing actually means.  Do you suppose that means there might be a bit more of an openness to the Good News?

The other reason it's important is pretty practical.  Here's a huge army of people who want to make a difference.  Don't you suppose that the church offers some pretty powerful ways to do just that?  We've got a pretty small window of time where we can utilize the talents, experience and resources of this generation to do some pretty amazing stuff for people.  If we don't recognize that and recognize it soon, there are a lot of other places they can go.

Is this a boat we want to miss?

Oldth

Some time back I was catching up with an old friend.  We were talking about what we were doing and he said he was still involved in youth ministry.  I mentioned that I was going back to school, thinking about oldth ministry.    Guess he misunderstood the gist of what I was saying because he responded that we're only as old as we think we are.

I thought long and hard about what to name this before starting this blog.  The word oldth keeps coming to mind.  Of course, right away the alarm bells go off because that's obviously not a term that's going to gain a lot of favor.  I look around at different churches, and the names they use for their ministries to seniors or for the seniors fellowships.  I see terms like Encore, Second Half, Soaring Seniors, Senior Saints.  Usually the closest you see to "oldth" would be something like Golden Oldies.  A term I've seen a few places has been "50 and better."

It is interesting the euphemisms we use for age, and how the word "Old" has such a negative connotation.  I have trouble thinking the word "Oldth" would fly in any kind of setting because we just don't like that word Old.  So instead, we dress it up and find good words or phrases that are better suited to marketing a program.  I understand it, because I know that there is no getting around a very pervasive perception that goes with the word old.

Now obviously, old is in the eye of the beholder, or at least of the beholded.  Beholdee?  Beholden?  Beheld?  Whatever, to my kids, I'm old.  I'm probably not all that far away from having grandkids, and they'll really think I'm old.  And yet, if I talk about something making me feel old when I'm around my parents, they're thinking that if it makes me feel old it REALLY makes them feel old.  I suppose it's a matter of perspective.  Of course, as the years go by we find ourselves unable to do some of the things we could do when we were younger.  As more years go that list of things we can no longer do grows longer.  There are obvious reasons we don't like seeing the effects of time, and so it makes sense we want to find more polished ways of referring to age.  Heck, I find myself just thinking hard how best to phrase things just writing this paragraph.

I'm at the very very tail end of the baby boomer generation, a massive demographic that is now moving into the age of all the euphemisms mentioned above.  Record amounts of money are spent on trying to stay young, look young, feel young. It's a generation that is concerned about being healthy and active in ways that are unprecedented.  And a generation that really, really, really doesn't want to use the word old.

I'm sure there's a lot of denial in that.  For many, it's a matter of attitude because if we start calling ourselves old, then we feel old.  And I'm sorry, but the word old just seems to naturally be followed by the word farts, and that really doesn't sound good now, does it?

In the end, that's really the heart of the matter when we think of the word old.  How it sounds, how it feels, how it's perceived.  We don't want to think we're getting older.  I think I'm getting to a point though where, I don't mind it.  I kind of look forward to it.  Old is not necessarily a bad word.  The truth is I'm not any younger if I think I am, no matter what I think I'm still 48.  No matter what you think you're still (enter the number here...  and don't lie!)  Why does that have to be a bad thing?

That doesn't mean I'm advocating giving up to a life of rocking chair dwelling.  Attitude still means everything. Maybe it's all semantics, but I guess I feel like it's not so much a matter of being only as old as you think you are, but maybe it's as much about old being what we want to make of it.  There is much that is good and worthy of celebration about old.

And so here I go saying all this and then illustrating my point from a series of books targeted to a much younger generation.  In the Harry Potter series, people were afraid to say the name of the villain Voldemort, and yet Harry Potter insisted that something about that fear gave power to Voldemort.  Perhaps there's something about the word old, in that the more we avoid the word we give power to the concept, and in a way we make it sort of a self defeating thing and so getting old just...  gets worse?

I enjoyed my youth.  Frankly, I'm ready to start enjoying my oldth.

The more I think about it, the more I like the word.

Into the Second Half

Just hours ago, my wife and I watched the Denver Broncos pull off another miraculous comeback win.  This is, I believe, six weeks in a row that the Broncos have trailed in the fourth quarter, coming from behind to win.  With just over 2 minutes to go, Denver trailed by 10 points against a pretty good Chicago defense, and yet somehow they managed to tie the game, and to win in overtime.

I am not by nature a Broncos fan.  In a lot of ways I've been a sort of anti-fan.  When Tim Tebow took over as quarterback so many experts and not a few fans said there was no way the team could win with his style of play.  I suppose it is a bit of the rebel in me that has me cheering for the team to succeed, if for no other reason than to prove the experts wrong.  I have to admit, I like the kid, I like his attitude, I like how he's not ashamed of his faith, and when it's all said and done it's just been fun to watch this team rally around each other and virtually will themselves to win when it just doesn't seem like a win is a possibility.

What has been fascinating about this whole thing is how week after week, the team can barely do anything in the first half.  And honestly, there seems to be every reason they shouldn't be able to do anything.  Tim Tebow is not your typical pro quarterback.  His throwing motion is...  not exactly smooth.  He's a running quarterback in a throwing league, and...  okay, tell you what...  you can tune in to sports talk radio to hear all the reasons the team should fail.  And every week, they start out doing just that.  And then, something clicks.  Guys who were dropping balls they should have caught are making incredible catches.  Running plays that were going nowhere earlier start seeing success.  Next thing you know, the team is moving down the field at will.  A lot of the attention is on the quarterback, but what I'm seeing is a whole team rallying together as one unit and pulling off these unbelievable wins.

Obviously, Denver fans are pretty psyched out, but it's a phenomenon that has captured the attention of the whole country.  Suddenly the Broncos games are in demand for the networks.  People from all over the country, many who are not even football fans, are intrigued by Tebow-Mania and about what has been happening with this football team.

Normally, the anti-fan in me would be pulling against this team now just because so many are jumping on the bandwagon.  Don't tell anyone, but instead I'm pretty firmly entrenched in the middle of the wagon, enjoying what I'm seeing.

I kind of wonder if the reason it all resonates so much with me isn't related to some of the paralells to my own life.  I've been going through this phase where I've been trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up...  maybe not the place you want to be at 48 years old, eh?  You know how you look back at the first half of your life and think, it could have been so much better?  The last few years though, I've seen a change in my thinking to where it's not so much about where I've been, but looking forward to where I'm going.  I'll try not to overdo the analogy to a football game (though I'll probably fail miserably at that not overdoing it thing)...  but I think I always looked at myself as going into life with so much potential, doing great things, all that.  Along the way, I bogged down, made my mistakes, lost sight of my faith at times, and often felt like I fumbled the ball away too many times.  (See what I was saying about overdoing the analogy?).  Turning 30 was difficult for me because I really thought a lot about how little I had accomplished.  I didn't mind 40 because it meant the 30's were over, I was glad to get that part of life over and done with.  Now here I am with 50 not too far down the road and I find myself embracing it, but for entirely different reasons.  My reasons for looking forward to 40 had more to do with not liking the past.  I find myself embracing the years to come not for anything to do with the past, but because I've just got a great hope for what those years have to bring.

I think part of that is starting to come to terms with that whole 'what I want to do when I grow up' thing.  I think God has been leading me to a lot of different things in that area.  John Eldredge's "Wild at Heart" has been an incredible inspiration and fit in hand in hand with some of Dan Miller's career books, all pointing to doing the things you are passionate about.  This presented a crisis of sorts because when I stopped and asked what I was passionate about, I couldn't come up with anything.  And then there became another phase where it's like so many things came uncovered and it wasn't so much a matter of developing a passion as it was rediscovering old passions.  25 years ago I was just going into ministry in a small church with an older congregation.  There was so much I enjoyed about what I was doing back then.  I started remembering that even as a kid with a paper route one of the things I loved the most was just visiting with many of the customers who were into the second half of their lives.

Along with that has been this awareness of the redemption I've come to know in my own life.  I've done so many stupid things in my life and somewhere along the line just figured my life would always be defined my my wrongs.  The last few years I've had some wonderful people come into my life, come to really grasp what grace is about, and have experienced restoration of relationships with family and with God that I don't know I would ever have known.  On top of it all I've been blessed with an amazing wife who has been such a major part of helping me discover, or rediscover, so much about life that is grand and wonderful.

I'm just now getting into this second half, and I'm excited about it.  I know I'm not alone when it comes to having regrets about the first half.  You who are reading it may or may not be like me in that regard.  Maybe you came out smoking in the first half, or perhaps you feel like you just stunk up the place.  In the end I think maybe that's what I'm here for, to be that one to encourage people, or to encourage the church to encourage people that ultimately, it doesn't matter what the first half was like.  We've still got time ahead of us to finish well.  For some of us, it may be as ugly as Tim Tebow's throwing motion, but...  we've got a pretty darn good coach to help us finish well in spite of our flaws.

Are we ready for an amazing finish?