The Challenge of the Pre-Senior Male


	ESSENTIALS Promoting Christ-centred Biblical Ministry	Index of Articles
	THE CHALLENGE OF THE PRE-SENIOR MALE reprinted from the Autumn 2004 edition of Essentials

   Several years ago I watched a once large and powerful Commonwealth Government department being down sized and privatized, and shared the trauma of fellow employees, who had given a lifetime's service to the department, facing early retirement or retraining for other non-career work. Some found that even at 50 they were often classified as 'too old' by other employers, and others found it very difficult to find a job that they could do for a few years until retirement. I encountered examples of deep anxiety, depression, anger, confusion, resentment – of feeling cast off and devalued, of feeling a loss of significance. John Christie ministers at St Barnabas' Glen Waverley in Victoria

   By comparison I was fortunate – I was just turning 55 and I was able to attend Ridley College full time. I was in a growing church, where I joined a large staff team with particular responsibilities for Evangelism and Seniors. My interest in ministry with men grew, particularly in those of my own broad age grouping.

   In this article, I am going to concentrate on this age group of men which I strongly believe offers a growing area of opportunity for outreach and evangelism, with some very exciting and significant challenges. I have called them 'Pre-Seniors'. These are men generally no longer working full time in their career, aged from the early fifties to the mid sixties, who generally don't yet like to be identified as 'seniors'. Many still feel they are not ready to 'retire', and many still do some part-time paid or voluntary work. This is a growing and emerging group. For Christian men in this age group, they represent a huge potential resource for outreach ministry, if creative ways of using them can be devised.

   In our churches today there is a commendable concern about reaching the younger generations with the message of the gospel. Any additional non-clergy staff will generally be found to be committed to children's, youth and family ministries. After all they represent the future of the church, and must be reached. But how often do you find church staff dedicated to outreach to the older age groupings of our society? When I say 'older' I do not mean just the elderly, but also those who are in the Pre-Senior range.

   And yet it is widely recognised that we are facing an Age Wave and a rapidly aging population. In 2001 the first of the Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) began turning 55, and became eligible to access their Superannuation as retirees. The Baby Boomers have been described as the largest generation ever!

People in Australia are living longer and healthier than ever before. In 1900 the proportion of people aged 65 or more was just 4%. It is expected to reach 25% in 2040. That's a quarter of the whole population! Win Arn, the author of the book The Age Wave, has said, "During most of human history only 1 in 10 people lived to age 65. Today 8 in 10 zoom past that birthday." It has been estimated that of all persons aged 65 or over who have ever lived, two thirds are alive today! The writer Ray Porter in his book Life after Work says, "Like it or not, in the West the 21st century will be the era of the oldies. One in three of us will be over 50. The greatest challenge of the new century will be the shock of the old." This awareness of the profound age change that is taking place should have a major influence on the direction of a caring men's ministry.

   Let's look now at the issue of work and retirement – so central to a man's sense of identity. Retirement has all to do with active life expectancy. A comfortable retirement, as a reasonable, normal expectation for a man, is only a very modern and Western phenomenon. After all you have to live long enough to retire! In the Bronze Age the life expectancy for a male was only about 18 years! In medieval times it rose to about 37 years. In 1900 it was still only about 50 years. Retirement was virtually unknown for the average man. And of course it still is in much of the world, the two-thirds world, where a man works until he drops. For a man, retirement, whether voluntary or involuntary, can be a very testing time, particularly if it comes earlier than expected or desired. This can give rise to a whole raft of problems – not just financial but emotional, relational (marriage and family), and concerns about one's very identity and purpose. "What will I do now?"

   It can come as a real surprise to see what has been happening here in Australia over the past fifty or so years concerning this issue. In 1950 the Australian Bureau of Statistics did a survey of the average Australian working male, and found that he worked for about 50 years, retired at 65 on average, and was dead by 67. Only two years of effective retirement!

   In 2000, just 50 years later, the survey was repeated and they found that the average Australian working male worked for around 40 years, retired on average at 60, and lived to around 80! Giving something like twenty years in effective retirement! This is a tenfold increase in just 50 years!

   Recent evidence is that more and more men are availing themselves of an even earlier retirement, at around 55, or even in their early fifties, giving an effective retirement period of around thirty years! In effect this means that a man can work at his chosen career for 30 years and then faces a further 30 years doing – what? Bowls, Rotary, U3A, travel, and golf can only satisfy so far. This is a huge change in society for the individual and for the church. Now this is not to say that all men are falling into this pattern, but the lowering of this average age of retirement has an impact on other aspects of our male society, including their marriages, their sense of purpose and significance, and the strategies that the church adopts to reach these men with the gospel. Clearly an understanding of how these phases of a man's life are changing is very important in understanding the issues facing men today.

   There is a growing awareness by government that with the low birth rate, low unemployment rate and increasing pension burden, that the continued employment of 'older' people should be encouraged, and that the pension eligibility age should be increased. This may cause some moderation in the retirement/retrenchment trend, but at present men are on average retiring earlier and living longer. They are increasingly able to retire at a higher level of mental and physical health, with an accumulation of wisdom and experience, often with children having left home and being self-sufficient, and the mortgage nicely under control or paid up. They have a newfound freedom as never before. They can have an invaluable capacity to use the second half of their adult life in something quite new.

   The issues that can be facing men in this situation are dramatically different in many ways to those faced by previous generations, and we as the church desperately need to consider how we can effectively reach out to them – and, of course, how we can use Christian men in this age group in new and exciting ministries. Just imagine what might happen if this rich resource was encouraged and equipped through a College course which specifically focused on ministry to and by these Pre-Senior men!

   With this emerging and rapidly growing segment of Pre-Senior men, with their particular issues of transition from a full time career before entering full retirement, and with the potential resource for ministry that is emerging, we are being faced with a particular challenge and opportunity for the Gospel - as never before.

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	Several years ago I watched a once large and powerful Commonwealth Government department being down sized and privatized, and shared the trauma of fellow employees, who had given a lifetime's service to the department, facing early retirement or retraining for other non-career work. Some found that even at 50 they were often classified as 'too old' by other employers, and others found it very difficult to find a job that they could do for a few years until retirement. I encountered examples of deep anxiety, depression, anger, confusion, resentment – of feeling cast off and devalued, of feeling a loss of significance.	John Christie ministers at St Barnabas' Glen Waverley in Victoria
	By comparison I was fortunate – I was just turning 55 and I was able to attend Ridley College full time. I was in a growing church, where I joined a large staff team with particular responsibilities for Evangelism and Seniors. My interest in ministry with men grew, particularly in those of my own broad age grouping.
	In this article, I am going to concentrate on this age group of men which I strongly believe offers a growing area of opportunity for outreach and evangelism, with some very exciting and significant challenges. I have called them 'Pre-Seniors'. These are men generally no longer working full time in their career, aged from the early fifties to the mid sixties, who generally don't yet like to be identified as 'seniors'. Many still feel they are not ready to 'retire', and many still do some part-time paid or voluntary work. This is a growing and emerging group. For Christian men in this age group, they represent a huge potential resource for outreach ministry, if creative ways of using them can be devised.
	In our churches today there is a commendable concern about reaching the younger generations with the message of the gospel. Any additional non-clergy staff will generally be found to be committed to children's, youth and family ministries. After all they represent the future of the church, and must be reached. But how often do you find church staff dedicated to outreach to the older age groupings of our society? When I say 'older' I do not mean just the elderly, but also those who are in the Pre-Senior range.
	And yet it is widely recognised that we are facing an Age Wave and a rapidly aging population. In 2001 the first of the Baby Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) began turning 55, and became eligible to access their Superannuation as retirees. The Baby Boomers have been described as the largest generation ever!
	People in Australia are living longer and healthier than ever before. In 1900 the proportion of people aged 65 or more was just 4%. It is expected to reach 25% in 2040. That's a quarter of the whole population! Win Arn, the author of the book The Age Wave, has said, "During most of human history only 1 in 10 people lived to age 65. Today 8 in 10 zoom past that birthday." It has been estimated that of all persons aged 65 or over who have ever lived, two thirds are alive today! The writer Ray Porter in his book Life after Work says, "Like it or not, in the West the 21st century will be the era of the oldies. One in three of us will be over 50. The greatest challenge of the new century will be the shock of the old." This awareness of the profound age change that is taking place should have a major influence on the direction of a caring men's ministry.
	Let's look now at the issue of work and retirement – so central to a man's sense of identity. Retirement has all to do with active life expectancy. A comfortable retirement, as a reasonable, normal expectation for a man, is only a very modern and Western phenomenon. After all you have to live long enough to retire! In the Bronze Age the life expectancy for a male was only about 18 years! In medieval times it rose to about 37 years. In 1900 it was still only about 50 years. Retirement was virtually unknown for the average man. And of course it still is in much of the world, the two-thirds world, where a man works until he drops. For a man, retirement, whether voluntary or involuntary, can be a very testing time, particularly if it comes earlier than expected or desired. This can give rise to a whole raft of problems – not just financial but emotional, relational (marriage and family), and concerns about one's very identity and purpose. "What will I do now?"
	It can come as a real surprise to see what has been happening here in Australia over the past fifty or so years concerning this issue. In 1950 the Australian Bureau of Statistics did a survey of the average Australian working male, and found that he worked for about 50 years, retired at 65 on average, and was dead by 67. Only two years of effective retirement!
	In 2000, just 50 years later, the survey was repeated and they found that the average Australian working male worked for around 40 years, retired on average at 60, and lived to around 80! Giving something like twenty years in effective retirement! This is a tenfold increase in just 50 years!
	Recent evidence is that more and more men are availing themselves of an even earlier retirement, at around 55, or even in their early fifties, giving an effective retirement period of around thirty years! In effect this means that a man can work at his chosen career for 30 years and then faces a further 30 years doing – what? Bowls, Rotary, U3A, travel, and golf can only satisfy so far. This is a huge change in society for the individual and for the church. Now this is not to say that all men are falling into this pattern, but the lowering of this average age of retirement has an impact on other aspects of our male society, including their marriages, their sense of purpose and significance, and the strategies that the church adopts to reach these men with the gospel. Clearly an understanding of how these phases of a man's life are changing is very important in understanding the issues facing men today.
	There is a growing awareness by government that with the low birth rate, low unemployment rate and increasing pension burden, that the continued employment of 'older' people should be encouraged, and that the pension eligibility age should be increased. This may cause some moderation in the retirement/retrenchment trend, but at present men are on average retiring earlier and living longer. They are increasingly able to retire at a higher level of mental and physical health, with an accumulation of wisdom and experience, often with children having left home and being self-sufficient, and the mortgage nicely under control or paid up. They have a newfound freedom as never before. They can have an invaluable capacity to use the second half of their adult life in something quite new.
	The issues that can be facing men in this situation are dramatically different in many ways to those faced by previous generations, and we as the church desperately need to consider how we can effectively reach out to them – and, of course, how we can use Christian men in this age group in new and exciting ministries. Just imagine what might happen if this rich resource was encouraged and equipped through a College course which specifically focused on ministry to and by these Pre-Senior men!
	With this emerging and rapidly growing segment of Pre-Senior men, with their particular issues of transition from a full time career before entering full retirement, and with the potential resource for ministry that is emerging, we are being faced with a particular challenge and opportunity for the Gospel - as never before.

ESSENTIALS Promoting Christ-centred Biblical Ministry

THE CHALLENGE OF THE PRE-SENIOR MALE reprinted from the Autumn 2004 edition of Essentials

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ESSENTIALS
Promoting Christ-centred Biblical Ministry

THE CHALLENGE OF THE PRE-SENIOR MALE
reprinted from the Autumn 2004 edition of Essentials