Dear Editor,
When a pastor retires what does he do? He may have been the faithful preacher, pastor and friend of a congregation for ten, 20 or more years, but when he steps down what does he do? He may be delighted to be retired, but maybe not.
Some pastors when they retire may be unable to move away somewhere else. This can be for a variety of reasons, financial or family or some other reason. The new pastor could become self-consciously aware that the old shepherd is still among the flock and may feel insecure. As a result he may try to minimise his influence among the flock by making sure he does not preach or lead in church again.
Other men may not be so threatened and may be delighted to have a mature pastor on site that they can go to for advice and prayer. I must also add that the retired pastor may forget that he is retired! This can cause difficulties for the new man, and the retired pastor should heed the signs.
My interest in retired pastors is that this faithful, prayerful man who was so active in church life may have an enormous amount to contribute still. What I am thinking is that if there were young men who wanted to deepen their spiritual and theological life they could ask the retired pastor if he would be willing to meet them once a week or every two weeks to discuss theology or the spiritual disciplines or for spiritual mentoring.
My other reason for making this suggestion is that there may be retired pastors who may very well feel that they are forgotten and they may feel useless. In fact they could have so much to give if they were only asked. I have had the great pleasure of calling a retired pastor every week or ten days and have come off the phone every time wanting to be better and grow spiritually. I am sure many other men would feel just like me when I come off the phone, if they were to ask a retired minister if he would be willing to give them an hour a week. That’s why I suggest you phone a retired pastor!
Yours sincerely,
Matthew Brennan,
By email from Ireland
