Plenty of resources-books, classes, conferences-offer help to pastors in the early years when they are honing their skills. But what about the closing years of ministry? What are the unique struggles and strengths of the "golden years"? How can older pastors use this time to its fullest? How can younger pastors prepare themselves now to minister effectively then?

To talk about the practical dimensions of ministry from ages 55 to 70, LEADERSHIP brought together four pastors who have ministered energetically and effectively during this period:

-Ed Bratcher, author of a book about ministry, The Walk-on-Water Syndrome, is recently retired from a fifteen-year pastorate at Manassas Baptist Church in Virginia.

-Art Brown was a missionary to Portugal for fifteen years before spending the last twenty-two years of ministry as pastor of Western Springs Baptist Church in Illinois.

-William Buursma has pastored Third Christian Reformed Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan, for seventeen years. He will retire ...