Who said there’s a retirement age?

Three global leaders explain how they’ve kept going beyond age 80

The indefatigable Brian Stiller (second from right, back row) with members of the evangelical alliance of Papua New Guinea during his visit there last year.

When you get old, the light from the sun, moon, and stars will grow dark; the rain clouds will never seem to go away. —Ecclesiastes 12:2, New Century Version

Next month, I will reach age 65, the traditional US retirement age. I sleep more than I used to, I run slower, and I feel less capable of long periods of concentration.

Sometimes I wonder if I should reduce my workload. But three friends, all longtime leaders in global evangelical circles, put me to shame. They exude more energy in their eighties than I am displaying at age 64. They live out the sense of lifetime calling that former World Evangelical Alliance secretary general Efraim Tendero described by saying, “Retirement is when you go for a new set of tires.”

So I asked them to direct a small bit of their seemingly boundless energy into explaining, for this blog post, what keeps them going.

Brian Stiller, former president of Tyndale University, Toronto, Canada, WEA global ambassador, and host of the Evangelical360 podcast

Last year, at age 82, I took a seven-hour flight from Singapore to Papua New Guinea, a couple days after an 18-hour flight from Toronto. “Why am I still doing this?” I wondered. My answer was simple: “Because I can.”

I retired from Tyndale University at age 69, accepting the role of WEA global ambassador. Fourteen years later, while aches and pains are more frequent, the joy of being useful to my colleagues and the challenge of speaking and writing about the global church still get me moving in the morning.

Granted, my cup of energy fills less quickly, and my home responsibilities have increased due to my wife’s medical needs. When preparing a public message, I feel anxious as to whether I can deliver it with acuity and passion.

I occasionally ask those close to me (my family members, WEA colleagues, and the donors who fund my work), “How much longer should I keep going?” When one of them says, “Brian, it is time to hang up your skates,” then I’ll write my letter of resignation. Up to this point, all agree that I still have something to offer.

My older brother offered a brilliant insight on getting older. He pointed out that some situations that used to kick my adrenaline into high gear may now generate anxiety. I’ve used this as a red flag to tell me where I need to be careful or say no to an opportunity.

What about tomorrow? Well, that’s another day. I’ll face it when it comes.

Manfred Kohl, global theological education leader and president/CEO of Re-Forma, which supports the development of pastors with limited training

The Bible gives no explicit instruction regarding a general expectation of retirement, except for Numbers 8:23–26 regarding priests serving in the temple. Official retirement is a government invention of less than 100 years ago. For two thousand years, people involved in Christian ministry served without any specific age limitation. If one has a healthy mind and body, one should serve the Lord until called to our permanent home in heaven.

Now that I am in my eighties, my time is an interplay of work, some leisure time to watch or to be involved in sports, reading and writing, prayer and devotions, and family activities as well as garden work.

In the last decade, I passed several of my leadership tasks on to younger people who had more energy and were more technology-savvy. I still preach and lecture regularly, and I travel globally for various conferences or important meetings. I have the privilege of selecting what I consider the most important assignments. As my spiritual, mental, or physical capacities become more limited, I will look for ministry involvements that give me the joy and satisfaction of still being part of the Lord’s work (John 9:4).

John Langlois, lawyer, founding director of Advocates International (a network of Christian lawyers), and emeritus member of the WEA International Council

Longevity is partly genetic, but by age 70 it is too late to think of adding years to one’s life. The way one has treated one’s body and mind over the previous 70 years will determine the state of one’s telomeres at age 70.

To extend one’s life, it is essential to keep healthy by extending one’s telomeres. One can do that by adopting a lifestyle geared toward holistic health, which includes eating a plant-rich, antioxidant-filled diet, engaging in regular, moderate exercise, getting sufficient quality sleep, and effectively managing stress. Avoiding harmful habits and maintaining the right daily vitamin intake are also important.

My exercise is gardening. I am bored by sports, but I have a large garden which gives me meaningful exercise where I can see the results of my labors.

I get eight hours of sleep each night. Fortunately, I can also take catnaps during the day. I learned to do this many years ago listening to sermons!

When traveling long-distance, I take prescription sleeping pills (nitrazepam), first introduced to me over fifty years ago by John Laird, a medical doctor from New Zealand who was head of Scripture Union for many years. Using his prescription, I have slept all the way from London to Australia! That ability helps me enormously when I have to attend meetings as soon as I arrive.

At age 64, having worked for many years in law, politics, and Christian service simultaneously, I nearly had a nervous breakdown. After retiring from my legal and political careers, I have sought to keep a healthy mind through daily prayer and Bible study and by reading up to three books a week.

Manfred Kohl is right that retirement is a secular concept of the 20th century. In the UK, it was introduced through the Old Age Pensions Act of 1908. But a pension is not the same as retirement. It is a payment to assist in one’s old age, not an obligation to give up work.

I live each day as it comes. Unlike many evangelical superstars, I do not have a grand plan to leave to posterity. I do not look for things to get involved in. God must convince me if I am to become involved in a new venture.