save financially for retirement, but that was not so common just twenty years ago. Many pastors continue to minister beyond their prime simply because they need to keep earning money.
• People are healthier today. Some pastors are physically rigorous in their sixties and feel that they can pastor well into their mid-seventies. They like to say that seventy-five is the new sixty-five.
If that is not true for you, you may need to work longer.
• Your future. You need to retire to something, not just from something. Answering three questions will help you determine if it’ s time to retire:
1. What do I want to do? 2. Where do I want to do it? 3. Who do I want to do it with?
• Their calling is not finished. Pastors surmise their years of experience have made them more qualified to pastor, so why quit?
• They don’ t want to lose the social benefits of pastoring. The respect of having people look to them for leadership, care, and assistance is difficult to give up.
Signs It’ s Time to Retire
Deciding when to leave pastoral ministry is a complex decision. Here are some things to consider.
• Your health. Are you and your spouse in good health? What is the history of longevity in your family? Take these matters seriously. Delaying retirement could mean you won’ t be able to do what you’ d like in the future.
• Your money. The standard rule of thumb is that your savings, investments, and social security need to equal twenty-five times the annual amount you need to live in retirement.
• Your ministry. Are you able to lead your church into the future? Are you capable of casting vision for the next decade? If you find yourself just coasting along, perhaps it’ s time to leave the stage.
Ending Well
Q: Every day it seems I hear of another pastor or church leader failing in ministry. It’ s heartbreaking. What do I need to do to keep it from happening to me too?
A: A study by J. Robert Clinton of leaders described in the Bible reveals only around 30 percent of them finished well. 3 Of course, we know more about some leaders in the Bible than others. For about half of the leaders mentioned in Scripture, we have enough information to place them in one of the following four categories, which can also be applied to ministry leaders:
1. Some leaders were cut off early in their lives. They were taken out of leadership in several ways( e. g., assassinated, overthrown, killed in battle).
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