It’s been exactly 3 years since my semi-retirement. I am retired from full time ministry but in no way can I retire and do nothing. So in these three years I have done a variety of things trying to find my way in this weird stage of my life. I spent about 2 months training to work in a bank call center with other trainees who averaged about 23 years old. It was a good job and the people who work there were just great. Yet, I decided I didn’t want to do that. Listen, it’s not easy and there are a lot of things you have to know. So, be nice to call center people. You might just be speaking to a newly minted semi-retiree who doesn’t really know a whole lot. So then I decided to do what I have intended-to be an interim pastor and help churches in need of temporary pastors as they searched for their next pastor. I joined an organization which helps churches find interim pastors. And so it was that in August of 2024 I moved to Sturgis, KY for 9 months…by myself. I served a church that had been through all kinds of fresh hell. The church and leaders were shell shocked. My 9 months there were very formative for me and so I’ll probably write more about that sometime. I was there until May of 2025. I loved the people of the church and walked with them through a dark time as they tried to move forward. I am happy to say that today, they are doing really great as a church.
After KY I swore I would never do another long term interim that far away. So, of course not long after that in May of 2026 I went down to Bristol TN to do a six month interim which was a couple hours further. I have been home as I write this for about 2 weeks. The cool thing is that it was where Lori and I went to school and met and fell in love. Again, I was down there alone. Lori visited a couple times and I kidnapped Becca and dragged her down there for a week. But It’s a lot of aloneness. But the people were great and God led them to a great pastor. He was in church on my last Sunday so I got to pray over him with the elders and literally pass the baton to him just as I did with Mark when he became the senior minister at the church I served for 22 years. The church could not be more excited about this ministry family and I am so happy for them.
In between those two church assignments (which will most definitely by my last long distance long term interim ministries) I learned to do taxes and worked for the very patient people. I am so grateful for them to allow me to learn to do this. And I will be doing it again this coming tax year. So “retirement” has been an adventure. But here is where this is going to turn into a mild rant. So, being retired, as you might guess I read the AARP magazine. I look forward to it coming every other month. Seriously. But I am conflicted about something they talk a lot about. They say in every issue that they are fighting to protect the rights of Senior citizens especially as regards Social Security and Medicare. And I know it is a serious concern. I heard again today they both have about 6 years left of funding and then….who knows? Well, this happens to be right when I will qualify for them with Lori soon to follow. We keep hearing that surely they will do something and figure something out. I hope so, but no one in Washington seems to want to do anything about it going back several administrations. And whatever you think of Donald Trump it’s very clear that he does not care in the least about the average citizen and such mundane concerns. He doesn’t even make an effort to try to fake his concern. And then we keep hearing social security and medicare referred as entitlements. That’s nonsense. Most people pay a lot of money over their working lives into these so that they might have a modicum of security in their later years. So, on one hand, I’m concerned that there won’t be any left when I get to that age. It’s interesting that every administration including the current one spends all kinds of money at the drop of a hat and no one seems to care. And in the current situation most of the extraneous spending is nonsense. Sorry, if you are a Trump supporter and this makes you upset. But, I’m trying to be somewhat restrained. You really don’t want to hear the full force of what I think about Donald Trump.
But more than myself and my age category of people I worry about what it will look like for my kids and grandkids. I’m sure that somehow the politicians will eke something out for a while anyway when I’m 65, but, seriously, they need to figure something out long term. Either that, or quit taking it out of our paychecks. In my mind other than national security (I guess) the two biggest failures of all administrations and especially the current one is the failure to even try to come up with a plan other than pushing back retirement age and cutting benefits. The other failure which is really, in my opinion, the worst is our children and education. What absolute failures on the part of local and national government.
But back to social security and medicare, I have at least two ideas that might not help a lot but will at least show that someone in Washington actually cares about the future of our country and feign an interest in the future of our kids and grandkids. First of all, suspend the Cost of Living Adjustments until such time as someone gets serious about longer terms solutions. If I or my kids are going to get shafted then the current recipients should share some of the shaft. Seriously, they are talking about making retirement age 90 and cutting even those benefits but still giving COLAs. Listen I don’t begrudge today’s retirees drawing on these. They have worked hard and earned them as well. It’s just that something is going to have to give. And, I’m just going to say that probably most people I know in their 70s and 80s and beyond are doing quite well being the beneficiaries of a world that’s not as screwed up as it is now as well as working hard all their lives. You say, “Chris, how do you know that? What makes you say that today’s recipients are doing well aside from social security?” Let’s just say that I do and leave it at that. I shouldn’t lump social security and medicare together, they are different things and need to be considered separately in terms of possible solutions.
The second thing I’d say that needs to be done is to undo and never redo giving seniors another 6,000 dollars deductible on their taxes (12,000 for marrieds). I think that this is ridiculous. If anything, young people and families starting out should have gotten it. Yes, there are other credits, etc that young adults can get. But not nearly everyone. In most cases this extra 6,000 makes no real difference in the bottom line tax situation of old folks. (I can say old folks, because I’m kind of one of them:) We are failing miserably as temporary stewards of this country which was great, already is great, and will continue to be great if we quit spending money on absolutely foolish things and get serious about the 2 or 3 biggest challenges we face. We MUST do better for our kids and grandkids and great grandkids. As I write this on the night before the midterm election I pray that it might result in elections or reelections of those kinds of politicians who want to do that–make a better future for future generations. Because there is not one shred of evidence that the current stewards of our country and her future care about anything except themselves.
