Thom S. Rainer's Blog, page 17

Living in the Tension of Great Commission Urgency

Just before the Bible ends are these words: “He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon!’ Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev 22:20, NLT).

At the same time, the apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians, “We plead on Christ’s behalf, ‘Be reconciled to God’” (2 Cor 5:19-20, CSB).     

That’s the Great Commission tension the title of this blog post points toward. We cry out to the Lord, “Come, Lord Jesus” even as we plead with others, “Be reconciled to God!” We do want Jesus to come back, but we want our loved ones and friends to turn to Christ before He does; that is, we want non-believers to respond to “Be reconciled to God” before Jesus responds to, “Come, Lord Jesus!”

Thus, the words, “Be reconciled to God” drip with urgency. Indeed, living with Great Commission urgency means:

Praying with urgency. None of us can open blinded minds (2 Cor 4:3-4) or heal broken hearts. Not one of us can produce conversions to Christ; only God transfers people from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Col 1:13). Urgent prayer is therefore non-negotiable.Turning from our own sin with urgency. The reasons for doing so are multiple: (1) we want Jesus to find us faithful when He does return; (2) we desire to live in such a way that others see something different in us; (3) we know that any unfaithfulness to God on our part can weaken our credibility when we do speak the gospel, and (4) Isaiah 59:1-2 reminds us that sin in the camp hinders our praying in the present. The stakes are too high to live with anything less than repentant urgency. Recruiting prayer warriors to join us in praying with urgency. Our supernatural enemy, Satan, will do all he can to distract our non-believing family and friends from following Jesus. I know that fact, for I watched for 36 years and 47 years, respectively, before my dad and mom became believers in their 70s. And, I’m convinced God heard my personal prayers because I aggressively asked believers all over the world to pray for my parents—with urgency.Proclaiming the gospel with urgency. Billions of people have little or no access to the gospel, and it is our responsibility to get the Word to them and then equip them. Many of us, in fact, followed Christ because others faithfully shared the gospel with us. Christ wants to find us watching and working (and, doing so with passion) when He comes again. He wants us telling the good news with urgency.Trusting God with urgency. God’s still in the business of saving souls, and He’s still a trustworthy God. We can rest in His plan to draw others unto Himself according to His timetable (John 6:44). Trust matters now with urgency.

“Come, Lord Jesus.” “Be reconciled to God.”

May you and I pray the first phrase to God and announce the second one to the world with urgency.

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Gradually, And Then All of a Sudden

This consultation was indeed a challenge. We told the church leaders that they should not look at our consultation team as a silver bullet for the woes of their church. They said they didn’t. 

But they did. 

In the course of a consultation, we typically interview a representative sampling of the congregation. The older lady I interviewed was a 32-year member of the church. She saw a lot of changes over the years. 

I asked her about the decline in the church. Our numbers indicated that average worship attendance declined from 432 to 167 over 20 years. On the one hand, the decline seems massive. That would be a fair estimate if you consider a 61% decline to be massive. 

On the other hand, If you were a member of this church who attended regularly, the decline may not seem massive. From your perspective, the decline in attendance was only one person per month. On the inside, the slide was imperceptible. From our outsider view, it was massive.

The Telling Comment

The lady loved her church. She now saw the decline in its enormity. Her eyes were open. And her comment was telling. She told us that the decline in the church came “gradually, and then all of a sudden.” 

The phrase “gradually, then all of a sudden” describes a process or change that occurs slowly and incrementally over time, often without noticeable impact initially, but then reaches a tipping point where the change becomes rapid and dramatic. This concept can be applied to various contexts, such as personal experiences, societal changes, technological advancements, or economic events. 

And to churches. Unfortunately, too many churches today.

Earlier Wake Up Calls

Three common “gradually, but then all of a sudden” moments occur in churches every week in increasing numbers. The first of these wake-up calls was simply the decline in attendance. The pandemic exacerbated the numerical declines, but it did not cause them. A church with 432 attending wakes up, and over half the congregation is gone.

Second, related to the attendance decline is a financial decline. Fewer attendees are directly correlated to lower giving. For a season, many of the higher givers can keep the church financially afloat, but when they leave or die, the church’s financial health deteriorates rapidly.

It is the second “gradually, then all of a sudden” wake-up call.

The third of these moments relates to the physical facility of churches. It is common for churches to neglect the upkeep of the buildings and grounds. When money is tight, reserve funding for capital needs gets neglected first. The building deteriorates gradually, but then, suddenly, a part of the roof collapses. Or the HVAC system shuts down. Or the parking lot has so many potholes that it is unsafe for vehicles and those walking to and from their cars.

The Next “Gradually, and Then All of the Sudden” Issue

Some churches know what’s next. As finances decline, the ability to afford the staffing levels of past years is gone. Somebody has to go. Somebody has to take a pay cut. Many churches do not see it coming, and many staff members do not either. But it is a real and present threat.

Churches should prepare for this reality. What will you do when you can no longer afford the staff you currently have?

With this wake-up call, though, comes new opportunities. For sure, we can’t staff our churches as we’ve done in recent years. But we can be ready for new paradigms. We can embrace and welcome the new world of co-vocational ministry. Perhaps we can even make giant strides toward equipping our church members to do the work of ministry. It’s not a novel idea. It’s a biblical mandate.

In the midst of all the gloom and doom about the state of churches, I remain an obnoxious optimist. I believe we will soon see new models for staffing and equipping that can help our churches become healthier and more Great Commission focused.

This area of the church’s future is one we will be exploring and resourcing robustly.

I believe it is beyond a cliché. The best is truly yet to come.

I can’t wait to see what God will do.

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Evangelicals Are Losing More People than Gaining for the First Time in 100 Years

The strongest predictor of your current religion is the religion in which you were raised. Simply put, most people don’t change religions over the course of their lives. Many people do not have a deep desire to explore another way to live. A recent survey found that about 30% of people still live in their hometown. Even among those who moved, the median distance from their place of birth was only thirty miles.

This desire to stay put makes sense. People find comfort in the environment of their upbringing. They grow accustomed to the routines, the rituals, and the culture of their childhood homes. Religion can be a big part of this pull. Most holidays have religious undertones, and major milestones like baptisms, bar/bat mitzvahs, and marriages are often deeply intertwined with the religious faith of the family. Finding a new house of worship in a new city is hard.

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The Right Way for Older Deacons to Mentor Younger Deacons

“Is he too young?” I was glad someone asked the question because we were all thinking it. 

“Is he qualified?” Another deacon asked a better question. We all agreed the young deacon candidate was full of the Spirit, wise, hard-working, and had a good reputation. 

“Is he ready?” In response, several old-timers chimed in at the same time, “No one is.” Case closed. The next step was to equip and mentor him. However, the deacon body did not have a formal mentoring program. It is a problem for many churches. 

In the last several decades, resources for pastors have proliferated. When religious research is conducted, pastors tend to be the focus. When I look at my office shelves, there are rows of books on pastoral leadership. Conferences, seminary degrees, and boutique consulting firms target pastors for leadership development, but not so much deacons.

Training for pastors outstrips training for deacons, and ironically, many churches in the United States have more deacons than pastors. Even though deacons are an office of the church along with pastors, this resource gap for deacons is not likely to close any time soon. It’s rare for a church to send deacons to seminary for training, and it’s not often that deacons are paid staff. The resources for deacons are slim. 

What is in reach for most churches is mentoring the next generation of deacons. The fifty-year deacon veteran has much to offer the newbie through mentoring. Unfortunately, I’ve seen more haphazard mentoring than fruitful mentoring in the church. I’ve witnessed over-structured, formal mentoring programs scare away younger people. It doesn’t have to be this way.

What can the younger generation of deacons learn from the older generation of deacons? How can older deacons mentor younger deacons in a way that is helpful for the congregation?

Older deacons should drill and test loyalty in younger deacons. Before a church calls deacons, they are to “pass the test” (1 Timothy 3:10). While Scripture does not give details concerning how this testing is to occur, the implication is deacons will remain loyal to the congregations they are called to serve. Older deacons should tell the stories of their battle scars to younger deacons. 

I recently had a conversation with an older deacon serving in a church that was healing after a pastor’s moral failure. He wanted to leave. He didn’t want to deal with the rumors and speculation. But he stayed. He remained loyal. He pushed the younger deacons to do the same. He was firm but loving. The church did not fall apart because the deacons set the tone for a path of healing. Had the older deacon given up, it’s hard to imagine the church being in a healthier place like it is now.

A deacon with decades of service to one congregation likely has experienced numerous dark days in the church. Younger deacons will experience their own difficulties while serving. Older deacons should walk with younger deacons and remind them of how God honors commitment and loyalty, even in the valleys.

Older deacons should exemplify sacrificial giving for younger deacons. If what you are giving does not change your lifestyle, then it’s not sacrificial. The extra $20 at the church fundraiser may be generous, but it likely doesn’t change how you live. Sacrificial giving goes beyond generosity and creates an entirely new lifestyle. 

I know of one deacon who chose to live in a modest house, even as he and his wife raised a large family. After several promotions at his company, he could have afforded a larger house easily. Instead, he stayed in his little home. The reason was it enabled him to give freely and sacrificially. When younger deacons go over for dinner, they are surprised at the size of his home. He doesn’t flaunt his decision or bring it up often. But his decision to live sacrificially is evident to anyone who knows him. 

Older deacons should teach and model initiative for younger deacons. Air conditioning units don’t stay out at my church. Rumors don’t circulate long before being squelched. Rarely does a person in the hospital go without a visit. Why? Our deacons lead the effort. Older deacons can mentor younger deacons by modeling initiative. 

Some younger deacons tend to hesitate with serving. In most cases, they simply don’t want to overstep the bounds of their position. More mature deacons should teach the next generation the boundaries of their roles. But it’s equally important to model how you don’t have to wait for someone to tell you what needs to be done. 

Older deacons should demonstrate true accountability for younger deacons. A good reputation is earned over time with a lot of hard work. Faithful older deacons know good reputations don’t last without a willingness to be held accountable. Years ago, I was in a deacons’ meeting when the chairman put aside the agenda and said he couldn’t lead anymore without repenting. He pointedly and courageously spelled out his sin and asked the rest of the deacons to hold him accountable. Since this sin occurred at his place of employment, no one else in the room would have known about it. The chairman could have easily kept it all a secret, but he intentionally sought the accountability of the body. 

True accountability occurs when people ask for it, rather than waiting until they are found out. Older deacons can mentor younger deacons by demonstrating what a willingness to receive accountability looks like. The admission and repentance of the chairman’s sin did not tarnish his reputation. Indeed, it helped other deacons with their repentance. 

Mentoring doesn’t have to be haphazard. Nor does mentoring have to be a formal program with rigorous weekly meetings. Mentoring within the deacon body can simply be older deacons seizing opportunities to model behavior for younger deacons. Younger deacons need to hear stories of battle scars from older deacons. Younger deacons need to see sacrificial giving lived out by older deacons. Younger deacons need to learn initiative from older deacons. And younger deacons will not likely learn true accountability unless older deacons model it.

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Five Reasons Why Large Churches Are Having Difficulty Finding Millennial Pastors

Attention church members of congregations with an average attendance of 400 or more: If you are happy with your current pastors, hold on to them. You will have a challenge finding the successor to your pastor, especially if you want them to be 35 to 45 years old and with at least ten years of lead pastor experience. 

Church Answers has been following the impending pastor shortage crisis for a few years. We are ready to remove the word “impending” since we hear from churches every week that can’t find a pastor. 

The crisis is particularly acute for larger churches seeking a Millennial pastor, that generation born between 1980 and 2000. We could include younger Gen X pastors born between 1975 and 1979 in this group. There are clear reasons why larger churches feel like there is a shortage of these pastors. Here are the five top reasons. 

The Five Reasons 

These reasons are listed in order of frequency stated by Millennial pastors except for number two, which is a demographic reality. Though our information is anecdotal, we believe we’ve heard it enough times to be accurate.

1. Bigger is not better. For decades, pastors typically moved from smaller churches to larger churches. Many smaller churches perceived their role was to prepare the pastor for the next step, much like the next step in educational attainment. However, most Millennial pastors do not view a bigger church as the next natural step. Many of these pastors feel like the smaller church where they are serving represents the future of churches in America. They are correct in their perception.

2. Boomer pastors are retiring and dying, and there are insufficient replacements available. It’s a two-edged sword. One part of the problem is that many Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) are leaving their churches within a short period. There are simply not enough Millennial and younger Gen X pastors to replace them. The oldest Boomers are 78 years old. Even those hanging on past 65 years old are ready to step down.

3. Millennial pastors feel like they are serving both a church and a community. Their sense of call is first for the church they are serving but also for the community where the church is located. Pastors who feel a powerful call to their communities are much less likely to move to another church.

4. Facility issues are a big concern. Many churches have worrisome levels of deferred maintenance. Some also have worship centers that are not even half full. Millennial and younger Gen X pastors are seasoned leaders. They know that they might spend a considerable amount of their ministry time dealing with facilities, fundraising, and debt.

5. It costs too much to relocate. The pastor said these words emphatically: “I can’t put my family through the financial pressure of relocating. Even though the prospective church has offered me a 20% increase in salary from my current church, it still does not cover higher house prices and mortgage rates of around 7%.” And lest you judge these pastors to lack faith or be money-focused, most are seriously concerned that their decision would be one of poor stewardship.

Addressing the Challenge 

There are no simple or incremental solutions to the challenges. Our team at Church Answers gets more inquiries from search committees or their equivalent than we ever have. Typically, the conversation begins with, “We can’t find a pastor.” 

Thus far, we’ve worked with these search committees to rethink personnel alignment, to look in an atypical pool of candidates, and to seek ways to find candidates within their own communities. We see a lot of challenges, but we don’t have cookie-cutter solutions. It is indeed a challenge, but it affords new opportunities and new ways of looking at how we “do church.” 

In an upcoming article, we will address why smaller churches also have trouble finding pastors. The stated problem is similar, but the likely solutions are very different. Stay tuned.

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One of the Toughest Ministry Lessons I’ve Had to Learn . . . and Why I Love Having Learned It Today

First, a caveat: I realize this post may reveal how much I’ve struggled at times with arrogance. Nevertheless, I hope it ultimately shows growth in my heart and challenges you at the same time.

I wonder what most pastors would answer if you asked them this question: “What’s the toughest ministry lesson you’ve had to learn?” Think with me about some possibilities:

Not everyone who is a church member is a believer.Even Christians can be mean.Preparing and preaching a sermon every week is hard.Ministry is sometimes filled with the grief of walking through tragedies with people.People you love will sometimes leave the church.It’s tough to officiate the funeral of people who apparently were not Christians.Some churches have a track record of hurting pastors.Some pastors earn barely enough money to pay their bills (if that much).Sin destroys even church families.

I could keep listing hard lessons ministry leaders learn, but the one that comes to mind for me today might surprise you: churches and ministries go on fine without us after we’re gone. No ministry I have left has missed a beat upon my departure.  

I wish I could say that’s because I did such a good job in my various roles that I set everything up for success—which ought to be the goal of good leadership—but that’s simply not the case. I too seldom thought beyond the next responsibility, the next event, the next semester; in fact, my failure in this regard in at least one ministry setting is one of my biggest ministry regrets.

It was not that I had led well into the future; it was that God’s plan was bigger than I.

It was that His people stepped up to the plate when needed, and they were often more forward-thinking than I was.

It was that God was reminding me that ministry is a gift to me—and not the other way around. The work went on not because of me, but perhaps in spite of me at times.

Why is that lesson so important to me at this point in my ministry?

I realize more and more just how dependent we are on the grace of God to do anything we do for Him. None of us is as strong a leader as we think, and not one of us is effective in ministry apart from His power. The work goes on beyond us because the work was never about us in the first place.It’s more obvious than ever before that earthly recognitions are temporal. Even if believers around the world recognized our name, we would still be replaceable. Quickly, even, in many cases. I live in the tension of wanting to give my best for God’s work while not worrying about whether others recognize my best. My goal ought to be that only the name of Jesus gets glory before, during, and after I’m in my current seat of ministry.

So, the work goes on, even beyond us, because it’s God’s work. That’s a good lesson to learn.

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The Hidden Reason Churches Nail Worship

It’s you. You’re the reason—hidden in plain sight. I’m writing to you, pastor. The hidden reason churches nail worship is because the pastor leads out in worship.

Most churches will only worship to the level of their pastors. If you’re the stoic stander, your church will be full of Sunday morning totems. If you raise your hands, then people in the church will follow your lead. When pastors immerse themselves in worship, churches do the same.

Stop blaming your worship pastor for the lack of energy, stop complaining about the musicianship, and stop thinking, if only we could change the music style. Just worship. Dig into it. Sing loudly to the glory of God.

Stand in the front of the worship space and let it out. Lift your arms in surrender. Spontaneously kneel at the altar in passionate prayer. Step into the pulpit short of breath from singing.

You lead with evangelism. You lead with vision. You lead with theology. You lead with shepherding. You lead with prayer. You also lead with worship. Pastor, if you’re not worshiping well, if your soul is not poured out weekly, why would you expect the same of your church?

Evangelistic churches have evangelistic pastors.Prayerful churches have prayerful pastors.Passionate churches have passionate pastors.Theologically sound churches have theologically sound pastors.Joyful churches have joyful pastors.

Why would worship be any different?

The hidden reason churches nail worship is you.

You’re the visible prompt. People are watching how you worship. They are observing what you do. They are learning from you during the music as much as during the sermon.

Are you in it? Your job isn’t to wait through the other elements of the service for your time to preach. The lead pastor is also the lead worshiper. You must teach by example. Put your notes down and lift your voice. The best preparation for your soul is to join the congregational singing of the saints.

If you’re only preparing sermons and not preparing for worship, then you’re fulfilling just half your responsibility on Sunday mornings.

The hidden reason churches nail worship is right there in plain sight.

It’s you.

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The Real Story Behind Transfer Growth and Churches: A Twenty-Five-Year Analysis

Transfer growth occurs when someone moves his or her membership from one church to another within the same community. In this article, I posit that most of church growth in the last twenty-five years has been via transfer—mainly from smaller churches to larger churches. But first, I want to analyze more deeply what defines transfer growth and why it occurs.

What Is Transfer Growth?

Growing a church should be a spiritual exercise through obedience to the Great Commission. God has not changed His mission in the last 2,000 years. Seeking and saving the lost is still the priority. Every church on the planet is called to accomplish this objective by making disciples. Statistically, however, churches grow in one of four ways.

Conversion growth occurs when a church assimilates new believers into the congregation who were previously not part of the body of Already a member? Log in Unlock premium content!

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From Idea to Implementation: Three Keys for Change Efforts in Churches

Most church leaders have ideas, but not all ideas lead to change. What separates the dream from reality?

In 1948, two graduate students at the Drexel Institute of Technology overheard a supermarket executive discussing a fundamental problem—the need for an automatic system to read each product item. Working together, the two students helped change the way retailers do business. They created the idea of a barcode.

Before the barcode, supermarket clerks had to punch numbers into a keypad. It was slow. The process was prone to keystroke errors. After the barcode, everything is scanned swiftly and with minimal errors.

We experience the change to the barcode system almost every day. It’s ubiquitous. But how did the idea transition to reality? What can churches learn from this process?

Simple with obvious benefits. Ideas that transition into changes are typically simple and have obvious benefits. How often have I said, “Why didn’t I think of that?” The best ideas are simple. The best ideas have obvious advantages. The barcode was simple—just a bunch of lines inspired by the dots and dashes of Morse code. And yet the benefits were profound.

Are the ideas you’re floating to your church leaders simple? Are the benefits obvious? Not every idea needs to be simple. Indeed, many changes in the church are complex and involve a cultural shift among the people. However, the ones most quickly adopted are simple and have obvious benefits.

Standard process. The great Wally World of Bentonville gave the barcode a boost. As Wal-Mart grew (along with other large grocery chains), so did the use of the rather efficient barcode, which became a critical part of retail distribution systems. Critical mass was achieved, however, with the adoption of a standard system. The scanners were expensive to retailers. Manufacturers had to change systems to put the labels on all the products. Without a standard, each retailer would have its own system and each manufacturer its own label. When the National Association of Food Chains chose the UPC barcode as the standard, enough companies jumped on board to make it a reality.

If you’re mulling through an idea that will be a different reality for different groups in the church, then you’re less likely to see the concept transition into change. If the change effort is not standard for the entire church, people will likely be confused. For instance, having two discipleship processes for two groups will probably produce misunderstandings and misperceptions. To give another example, if you’re leading a multi-site church with individual systems for each site, you’re less likely to institute changes across all sites. The more a leader can make a new idea relevant to the entire church, the more probable that idea will transition into change.

Flexibility. The barcode went through several phases. The original design was a circle. But designers soon discovered during printing that the ink would smudge in the direction of the running paper. So, the linear form we know today was created. The original creators of the circular barcode could have scoffed at the proposed change, but they were flexible. The idea was not about shape or form but rather use.

If you’re working through an idea for your church, make it simple, standard, and. . . flexible. Neither simplicity nor standards should become so rigid that—as the change implementation begins—an idea cannot evolve over time. A good idea becomes better through the multi-workings of the people in the church. As the leader, most changes will begin with your ideas. But your ideas are not the endpoint. The best vision for a church combines the simplicity of a leader’s idea with the involvement of the people. As a leader, you must be flexible with your ideas in order for the entire congregation to make them their own.

It’s fun to dream up new ideas. The hard work begins when attempting to implement them. Change occurs most smoothly when ideas are simple, standard, and flexible.

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A 16-Point Checklist for Retiring Pastors

“Retirement” has different meanings for Baby Boomers. But, for most of us, retirement will not be of the rocking chair variety, at least not initially. Many new retirees decide to continue to work, but this time at their own pace and hours. Others can’t wait to travel. Still, others are ready to take their hobbies to a new level.

This 16-point checklist, therefore, serves as a reminder of items to consider. It is not a one-size-fits-all guideline. It is also specifically written for pastors and other vocational ministers. Since I have a finance background, I’ve probably spoken to a few hundred pastors about retirement over the past few years. I hope this checklist covers many of your questions.

1. Get financial advice from someone who knows both personal and pastors’ finances. Even if you opt for a short-term counsel to review your retirement possibilities, it is well worth the money. You can avoid investment and tax potholes that many retirees fall into. You mainly need someone who understands the world of pastoral finances. Not all do.

2. Make an initial decision about what life after retirement looks like. You don’t have to make a long-term decision, but prepare to make some kind of decision. A retiree who leaves work for retirement without plans is typically lost in this new world. A pastor or church staff member who leaves vocational ministry without initial plans especially feels unsettled at best and depressed at worst.

3. Consider new training for your next phase. I know one pastor who became a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) after he retired from his church. Two major needs retiring pastors can fill are interim pastorate and church revitalization. Church Answers now offers both Interim Pastor Certification and Church Revitalization Certification for the price of one. We will keep this offer open for a few weeks with the hope that we can prepare retiring pastors and staff for two of the greatest needs in ministry today.

4. Understand your retirement benefits. You need to know where your retirement income will come from. Will you get Social Security? If so, at what age? Do you have a 401(k) or a 403(b)? When will you start taking distributions from them? Are you one of the rare retirees today who will get a pension?

5. Don’t get risky with your retirement funds. Retirement is the time to get more conservative with your funds. I know a man who lost half his retirement funds (almost $1 million) during the Global Financial Crisis of 2007 to 2008. He did not feel he could ride out the market, so he sold his stock funds, which were almost all of his portfolio. As a consequence, he never recovered from his losses.

6. Understand the laws behind the RMD (required minimum distribution). If you have a 401(k),  403(b), 457(b), IRA (except Roth), or similar fund, you will need to withdraw a minimum amount each year. That minimum amount is called a required minimum distribution or RMD. For many of you, the RMD begins at age 72 (73 if you reach age 72 after Dec. 31, 2022), though you can take it earlier. You must pay income taxes on the RMD. That leads to my next point.

7. Consider taking any RMD as a housing allowance. You might be eligible to take your RMD as a housing allowance. It depends on where your retirement funds are invested and the entity holding your investments. That could be a huge bonus because you pay no federal income taxes on housing allowances. Of course, you must abide by the IRS rules on eligibility for housing allowances.

8. Be prepared to live longer than you think. I know that sounds weird, but you want your retirement funds to last as long as you live. For example, estimating you will live to 85 may not be wise. Many of us will live to be 100 years old or older. We don’t want to be penniless for the last 15 years because our retirement funds ran out.

9. Make wise decisions about Social Security benefits. If you are eligible to receive Social Security payments, it can be confusing to understand at what age you should take the benefits. Ages 62, 63, 64, 65, and 66 are considered “early.” Age 67 is now considered “full” retirement. But you can still hold off receiving benefits until ages 68, 69, and 70. At age 70, you must begin receiving the benefits if you have not to that point. Despite the labels, the principle is simple. Your annual benefit grows each year you wait up to age 70. While the principle is simple, the rationale for taking the benefits at each age is not. Again, get financial advice from someone who understands this world.

10. Plan wisely for healthcare costs. This single issue is one of the most important issues you will want to consider in retirement since it will likely be one of your most significant expenses. Currently, healthcare costs as a percentage of income are about 15% for retirees, but they can be much higher. Will you be eligible for Medicare? That’s another world where it is helpful to have a guide.

11. Decide where you will live. Many retirees take this new phase of life to relocate. They might want to downsize. Some desire to move closer to family. Some relocate to be closer to amenities and quality health care. Some retirees just want to go to Florida! I get that. Relocation is a major financial and emotional decision. Be thoughtful and intentional about making this jump.

12. Budget wisely for a new era. While the basic principles of budgeting are the same in retirement, your income will change, and your expenses will change. If you have never done a budget, retirement is a good time. You should not head into retirement without reasonable income and expense estimates. I love my Spending Tracker app as my spending and tracking tool. It is incredibly intuitive. It received over 16,000 reviews, most of them five stars. The basic version is free. I recommend you get the Pro Upgrade. It is only $2.99, a one-time fee.

13.  Plan for the unexpected. You will often get advice from financial advisors encouraging you to have an emergency fund. That principle is still important when you retire. Like the days before your retirement, we all have unexpected financial issues. Don’t assume you won’t need it. You will.

14. Continue to give generously. Retirement is not the time to change your life of generosity. Continue to give proportionally and generously. Giving to my church and others is one of my greatest joys.

15. Pursue a deeper walk with Christ. You might find yourself with more time on your hands. Spending more time in the Bible and prayer is a wonderful gift. Seek ways to share the gospel more freely. Try The Hope Initiative to reignite your passion to share Christ with others.

16. Get ready for the final retirement. We realize we are much closer to heaven when we retire. Use these precious years to pursue a deeper walk with Christ and leave your house in order. There is so much to say here. One point will not suffice. I will return to this topic soon if Jesus does not return before then.

Retirement means many different paths to people. Pastors and other church staff especially have issues unique to them. I pray that we all finish well and are all good stewards of the time we have left. Then all we have left is that glorious day when we see Him face to face.

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