Wake Up, Look Up

Hello everyone, and thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch, and in today's episode, we're asking the question, are you ready for life after work? Now, this has prompted by a really interesting article I read in the Wall Street Journal recently by Jennifer Brenny Wallace about the retirement crisis that no one warns you about. Basically, what the article was saying is that when most Americans think about retiring, and I know this is true for me, they tend to think about it in two key categories, health and wealth. In other words, what are the decisions I need to make today to ensure I'm as healthy as possible and in my latter years? And then what are the decisions financially I need to make today to make sure I can take care of myself and provide in my later years? And those categories, health and wealth, they are important. But there's a third one, at least according to Wallace, that we often leave out, and it's the category of mattering. In other words, work isn't just about how it keeps us healthy and going or about how it provides financially. Work gives us a sense of purpose. It gives us a place to belong. And what, many Americans discover. In fact, one in three retirees discover this, that when work goes away, oftentimes meaning and purpose, community and mattering go with it. In fact, one in three retirees in America experience depressive symptoms in the immediate aftermath of retiring. it's because they experience a loss of significance, appreciation, investment, and dependence. the difficulty is that no one ever taught them to think about how will you find these things when you don't get them from work? I think this is an incredibly interesting article. It's something that I hadn't thought about. Maybe you hadn't thought about, and maybe even in your retirement, if that's where you are in life, you are experiencing. So let me offer a potential plan, whether it's in the future or the present, for mattering after retirement. And that plan is the local church. Because, you see, the mission of the local church to make disciples has room for people in retirement. It has room in a lot of ways. But before I get into what those are, consider this, that the psalmist says about God's kingdom, that the people who are in their latter stages, here's what it says. They will still bear fruit in old age. They will stay fresh and green. You see, God's vision for you in the latter years of your life is to matter, to bear fruit. To stay fresh and green. And the way you do that is by finding your role, or even your roles in pursuing the kingdom's advancement. As I record this podcast right now, there are retirees in our building, for example, cleaning it to get it ready for the weekend. They're getting excitement and enthusiasm from the idea that services this weekend, which will hold almost 4,000 people, are going to be better because they were here cleaning. That's mattering. There are other retirees who serve in children's ministry or in guest experience, who participate in Bible studies, who lead small groups. My point is, if you're struggling to find meaning and purpose, you can find, find it always in the local church. After all, the mission to make disciples necessitates that older men come alongside younger ones, that older women come alongside younger ones. So even an email to your pastor to say, hey, I would love to mentor someone. I would love once a week, once a month, to grab coffee with someone and speak life into them. I'd love to have a younger couple over for dinner. I'd love to. To be surrogate grandparents to someone who lives far away from family. I guarantee not only will your pastor have an answer for you, but your meaning and purpose, your significance, appreciation, investment, will skyrocket. Listen, if you are struggling in retirement to matter. If you're headed into retirement and you're not sure where you're going to find your mattering, consideration, the local church. Because it's God's vision that, the aging population of a local church bear fruit. Stay fresh and green. If you're not feeling fresh and green, engage in your local church. You might just find that your last chapter is your best one. Hey, thanks for watching this episode of Wake Up, Look Up. If you enjoyed it, please help us get the word out by sharing it with someone you think might benefit from it. And while you're here, make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to get further content or even download the CCC app, where you'll find even more resources to help you grow in your faith and relationship with Jesus Christ.

Have an article you’d like Zach to discuss? Email us at wakeup@ccchapel.com!