How a pastor retires is just as important as how he ministers. It is heartbreaking—not only for me, but also for me to see respected senior leaders who left a remarkable legacy diminish their life’s work because they failed to retire at the right time.
There are many reasons retirement is delayed: the church’s current spiritual condition, the absence of a suitable successor, or inadequate financial support for the retiring pastor. Another factor is the fear that, after decades of sacrificial labor building a church in a certain theological and ministry direction, everything might change once one steps down.
Almost no one retires at the peak of their effectiveness. Retirement usually comes after one’s strength and energy have passed their prime and entered a season of decline. Everything in this world follows a cycle—birth, growth, flourishing, decline, and death. Entering a season of decline is not shameful; it is natural. If a pastor, upon entering that cycle, can pass the baton of ministry to the next generation through retirement, there is no healthier model of generational transition.
In the second century, Rome enjoyed its greatest prosperity. In The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon described the second century as the happiest period in human history. Rome’s flourishing during that era was largely due to the rule of the so-called Five Good Emperors—Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 96–180).
How was it possible for Rome to have five consecutive outstanding leaders? The key was succession planning. Beginning with Nerva, each emperor adopted and appointed his successor while still at the height of his authority. The insight of these emperors could be summarized in a simple phrase: “You cannot choose your son, but you can choose your successor.”
In the Gospel of Matthew 9:37–38, the Lord told His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest field.” Immediately afterward, in Matthew 10, Jesus called the twelve disciples and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. In today’s leadership vocabulary, we would call this empowerment. The following verse lists the names of the twelve apostles. Jesus trained them, delegated ministry to them, and empowered them for the work.
Praying for workers presupposes a commitment to train them, entrust ministry to them, and empower them. And the best time for a pastor to do this is not during decline, but during his prime.
The optimal time to prepare for retirement is when one stands at the height of one’s ministry.