Retirement? The Night Is Coming.

 "I must work the works of Him who sent me while it is day; the night is coming when no man can work" John 9:4

There is a distinct pressure to perform in these words of Christ. The need to do what we can while we can. I understand all of that. It's the idea that a time is coming when you no longer can work that is interesting to me today.

I read this text and apply it to the end times. That there is a lot to do before the beast and the antichrist come on the scene. But I wonder if there is another night coming that is not so dire and demonic.

It was sad to watch pastor Mitchell in decline. He could not preach anymore. He had turned everything over to pastor Greg already. And then in his final days to come to church in a wheelchair. Then he died.

What will happen if our pastor can no longer do his job effectively? Or your pastor? Or any minister in our Fellowship? Will the church die if the senior pastor is not out in front leading the way? Will no young men rise up to be evangelists and no young couples go to the mission field anymore? Is our faith so fragile that it only works when our senior pastor is in his current place? 

The first church did alright after Jesus ascended into Heaven. The Prescott church is flourishing under pastor Greg. If a pastor does it right his legacy will be that his church will carry on even if he is not leading the way.

In Pentecostal circles retirement is a four letter word. Pastors can linger on long after they are no longer vibrant and dynamic. I hope pride is not the reason why senior pastors will not step aside to let the next generation of leaders lead the way forward. Retirement from the ministry is not quitting the ministry. Maybe it is adjusting your outreach to those things that you can still do. If only pastor Mitchell had stepped back and written some books; people who never heard him preach could still hear him speak.

Years ago in Prescott I asked one of the council members if pastor Mitchell had directions written down as to what he would like to happen after his death. He had. It was in a sealed envelope to be opened in the event of pastor's death. I wonder if they opened the letter. A failure to plan is just a plan to fail in every walk of life, including Fellowship pastors and the end of their ministering days.

I told someone once that if pastor Mitchell died while preaching I would not go back to church. Traumatic deaths still are a no fly zone for me. I am grateful that did not happen.