Older members are a reservoir of good will and experience and deserve consultant status in all areas of church life.
What makes some church leaders think negatively about the elderly? Years ago it was common to read uncomplimentary descriptions of older people. They were supposed to be slumping in energy, reaction time, and social participation. Generally withdrawn, they were said to lack flexibility and zest.
Some church leaders have psyched themselves into believing these generalities—which, of course, are not true. While older people do not always come up smelling like roses, and some may be set in their ways and a hindrance to progress, their traditional image needs to be tempered. To be sure, churches need to help meet social and physical needs of the elderly. But I want here to look at older Christians as assets, rather than liabilities. To tap the resources of older church members, we must view the older person as a reservoir of good will, a source of service, and a bank of experience.
The values that evangelical Christianity is struggling to maintain are the very ones with which older people, perhaps more than others, can identify. For at least two reasons older members tend to view their churches and their leaders with optimism. First, they have lived in the relationship longer, and so they have faced disappointment and found ways to resolve it. Most older members are well aware of their church’s limitations and shortcomings, but they love and respect it anyway. Second, older members have had a wider range of exposure to spiritual leaders. Some people have crossed denominational lines; many have been identified with more than one local church, and most have worked with many different pastors and lay leaders.
The church leader who has thought through the implications of these facts will discover that some of the least demanding, most sympathetic and supportive of his members are among older Christians. They understand the challenges pastors face in getting their job done and often can provide valuable assistance. Once the older member has been fully appreciated as a reservoir of good will, it is natural also to see him as a source of service.
In this regard, a prominent myth needs to be exploded: it is the widely held notion that older people receive more than they give.
The “getting” myth has been accepted for so long in our churches that we could be overlooking much of the potential of older members. I propose that senior members may be the only age group that has something to offer to every other age group. This has been demonstrated in my home church.
Think first of children. Many young families in southern California migrated from other parts of the country. They have children who go for months, even years, without regular contact with grandparents. Some parents who sense this void have appealed for a foster grandparent arrangement, and some older members have ministered in this way. Others serve as craft chairmen for Christian Service Brigade, and as guides or prayer pals in Pioneer Clubs.
Then there are youth. It has been said that youth need examples, not critics, and many young people today are aware of their need for role models. A 19-year-old boy in our church said, “I would like to see retired people involve themselves with the youths. How fantastic it would be to have an ‘old buck’ for a Sunday school teacher, sponsor, prayer partner, or foster grandparent. An elderly person with a love for Christ and others could have a tremendous impact.”
In formal service roles and in informal contacts, older people answer the need for a role model. Church leaders can bring the age groups together in meaningful ways. One possibility is to have young people sponsor a seminar on making marriage work, using a panel of elderly couples, or even widowed spouses, whose marriages have had credibility.
Young adults are another group that may be served by older members. Think of the many adjustments these young people must make in a relatively short time to career, marriage, and parenting. Older members of the church have made these adjustments, many successfully, and probably have children who are well into work and family.
Consider also the experience of the middle-aged adult. Those who have raised children face adjustment to the “empty nest.” Approaching retirement means more adjustments. Again, this member may be served by the older one who has wrestled with these problems. The church camp might be turned over to those 65 and over for a weekend, during which there could be vigorous interaction with those aged 45 to 60 about the major adjustments of later life.
The older member has been considered as a reservoir of good will and a source of service. But there is one final point: older members are an impressive “experience bank.” Life experience can be measured in a number of ways. One obvious index is years of experience. To calculate this, take your total membership. Let us say it is 1,000. The proportion of our country’s population 65 and over is approximately 10 percent. In your church, the proportion is apt to be somewhat higher, but to be conservative, leave it at that. So, you have 100 older members. Church members of this age have an average past membership duration of 37 years. Multiplying 100 persons times 37 years yields an experience bank of 3,700 years!
There is another way to appreciate the experience bank represented by older members. The proportion having had actual leadership experience is abnormally high among those 65 and over. This means the church has a pool of available consultants. One member of our church, an engineer in a well-known U.S. firm, told me, “Our company regularly is in touch with retired management personnel who function in an advisory capacity.” How many pastors follow a similar policy in managing the business of the church? In most churches there are people who have served many years with distinction as elders, deacons, trustees, teachers, committee members, or in other leadership positions. Are church leaders drawing on this experience bank? A prime way to maintain a meaningful spiritual role among older church members is to invite them to serve as advisory members of boards and committees.
Older church members are a valuable reservoir of good will, a promising source of ministry to every age group, and a useful experience bank. By tapping the potential of the church’s older members, pastors and leaders afford them a meaningful role, help others to benefit from their experience, and demonstrate them to be the asset they really are.
ALFRED S. FOX1Mr. Fox, assistant professor of sociology at Biola College, La Mirada, California, directs research on age norms and role maintenance among the elderly in the religious community. He is also pastor to senior adults at Calvary Church of Santa Ana.
