Written by John V. Fesko |
Tuesday, September 17, 2024
If I’m unwilling to do the work, then it’s time to retire. I see too many pastors who want the paycheck, prestige, and honor, but are in cruise-control and are phoning in their sermons and counseling sessions. These are just some of the things I presently take into consideration as I think about what things will lead me to retire.

One of the more difficult questions to answer in a pastor’s life is determining when it’s time to retire from ministry. When should a pastor retire? This is a tough question for several reasons, but mostly because it all depends on a number of circumstances. Thus, there is no one set answer for this question; it ultimately calls for wisdom. I cannot personally answer this question with a great degree of certainty because I am nowhere near ready to retire. So, I can’t speak from personal experience, but I can address the question from Scripture, from observing others who have retired, and my own motivations and desires.
First, what does Scripture have to say about retirement? The short answer is, not much. The Bible does not specify an age for retirement. But one thing the Bible constantly reminds us of is, our union with Christ should ultimately define who we are. Our activities, as I said in last week’s post, should not define who we are. Our vocations and circumstances in life might regularly change but our union with Christ does not. Find your sense of self-worth in Christ, not in what you do. This is the most important scriptural truth we must remember when we begin to think about retirement.
Second, just because you retire does not mean you are no longer able to serve in Christ’s church. I know of many ministers who retire and continue to serve the church through pulpit supply, at presbytery or classis, or even at the synodical or general assembly level. In many respects retired ministers are a great asset to the church. I know of retired ministers, for example, who have served as interim pastors for churches that do not have a minister. In such a capacity, they have been a huge encouragement to a needy congregation. But even then, just because you retire doesn’t mean that you have actively to serve.
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When we walk as Jesus walked, when we walk in the light; when we flee the darkness, then we are shining the true light and are pointing the world forward to the Day when light will reign supreme. As church we are not called to merely huddle together and safeguard the light until the day arrives, but rather to step out boldly into the dark world and hold the light overhead as evidence to the world that the True light is approaching and the darkness is passing away.

The world is a dark place. It is darkened by an abundance of famine, injustice, war, abuse, destruction, addiction. The list goes on. At the root of it all is the persistent and pervasive presence of sin. Sin darkens every corner of the earth, including the pews of the church and the depths of the human heart.
But God speaks light into the darkness and renews us with the hope that one day the darkness will be snuffed out for good and the light will be here to stay. The light is of course Jesus Christ himself and, more broadly, the kingdom of God of which Jesus is Lord and king.
Hope directs our eyes to the future. We look forward to that day when the light will shine in all its fullness and the darkness will be no more. But as we lift up our gaze to our future hope, we must not forget that the promised eternal light has already made its way into our present darkness. The kingdom of God is not only a future hope, but a reality for the here-and-now.
In his first letter the Apostle John makes this abundantly clear when we writes:
Yet I am writing you a new command, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.
1 JOHN 2:8
The true light is not waiting for a decisive day when it will suddenly and brilliantly pierce the black night.
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As cultivating interpersonal relationships, dealing with sin and conflict, raising children, avoiding folly, shepherding God’s people, discerning false teaching, etc., are all vital parts of life in the church, Christians must talk with and about others. 

In recent months, I have had several people speak with me about situations going on around them. Each of these parties were godly Christians seeking counsel about difficult matters involving others. Each time, they would pause and say something like “I don’t mean to gossip” or “I hope this isn’t gossip.” Clearly, they were struggling with matters of conscience regarding whether speaking of others constituted gossip.
As cultivating interpersonal relationships, dealing with sin and conflict, raising children, avoiding folly, shepherding God’s people, discerning false teaching, etc., are all vital parts of life in the church, Christians must talk with and about others. I find many sensitive believers struggle to open up because they wrongly believe to do so would be to gossip. Sadly then, the above needs are not met properly.
So when is gossip not? I studied over the answer to question 144 in the Westminster Larger Catechism (WLC) : “What are the duties required in the ninth commandment?” regarding not bearing false witness. Here are five guidelines distilled from that meditative exercise.
It is not gossip when…
The matter is public record.
I have seen people hesitate to convey information that is recorded in civil or ecclesiastical documents as a matter of public information. Here I speak of such matters as public news items in the local paper, a published article available in print or on the internet, divorce records in a civil court, or public disciplinary sanctions taken by the church. I know of situations where someone has been accused of not following the principles of Matthew 18 in speaking to a person privately when the issue at hand is already known over social media or in print. This situation is not gossip.
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