TO ALL MY COLLEAGUES, FRIENDS, PARTNERS

who are my readers and supporters. No one is an entity to oneself. We are all interdependent with one another. You have been a valued colleague in ministry, a treasured friend whom I have endeavored to serve, and by whom I have been served. Some of you support financially

[1] the work I do and for this I give special thanks.

 

FAILING AND FEELING

I have retired three times, once as church senior pastor, once as church executive pastor, and once as nonprofit ministry executive director. It adds up to having flunked retirement three times. Each time I have been given an honorary emeritus designation, so instead of an “F,” maybe I get a “D— ” but, let’s just say that retirement is a subject I’ll never be good at. Still, there are important lessons to be learned in times of such failure. Here are a few of mine.

 

LESSON 1

My third retirement was just getting under way when Dixie was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Eighteen months later she changed her address to join our Savior and Redeemer, the One whom we had served together our entire lifetimes. I miss her everyday. Is there a lesson here? The lesson is, I thought we had more time. I should have flunked sooner. It’s something you might want to think about it.

 

LESSON 2

Dixie’s life was a daily “teaching moment” to many, and especially for young women serving with their husbands in pastoral ministry. So I wrote the memoir, Sacred Journey[2], to tell her story.

 

About the same time I undertook the prodigious task of writing and publishing the weekly blog I call, Perspective.[3] Christian pastor/writers like me need reader/friends like you who are supportive in prayer. Once again, I am grateful. The lesson here is, “The prayer of a righteous person has great power.”[4]

 

LESSON 3

I am well into my ninth decade of life now, embracing its joys and challenges. As part of the “embrace,” I sold my city condo and moved to a smaller apartment in the ‘Issaquah Alps’. It would not be well for me to be so “heavenly minded” I am of little “earthly good,” but adjusting to “living in between” is part of the journey. The lesson is, God intends for the days of our life to add value, not to diminish it. Something we elders must keep in mind.

 

LESSON 4

  1. I continue leading a C3 Leaders Forum (org) each week in my home, about 18-20 business and professional men, who are growing with Jesus.

 

  1. I serve with the Assist International board of directors.

 

  1. GAGE, the wonder dog, and I have been training since he was 5 months old. First it was so we wouldn’t kill each other. GAGE is 2 1/2 years old now and we are a therapy dog D.R.E.A.M team (Dogs for Reading Assistance Education and More), helping children with reading challenges, autistic children, any child with a special need. We have also earned a medical therapy badge and can work with individuals in hospitals, assisted living, memory care, and hospice centers. GAGE and I are partners in children’s ministry and adult caregiving. We begin “Nose Work” training in January. Nose work is a sport modeled after professional detection dog training. Dogs learn to use their natural scent discrimination abilities to find hidden target odors and alert their handlers to the location, in various settings.  Nose Work is a great way to work a busy dogs brain—and maybe help me find my keys.

 

  1. May 9-23, 2020, I will be joined by Pastor Gary Gulbranson of Bellevue WA’s Westminster Chapel, and my Israeli guide, Moshe Hesed, leading and teaching in my 12th Best of Israel/Jordan/Petra FOUNDATION OF FAITH Tour. There are still ten openings available as of this writing (contact: ward@wardtanneberg.com).

 

  1. And like everyone else, it would seem, I am working on a new book.

 

The lesson here? Live your life as it is meant to be. The final third of one’s life is The Resolution, the season of listening to, interpreting with, and inspiring those who follow after us.

 

In 2020, listen well, my friend, speak to influence, be creative, stir the glowing embers in your peers, and leave the Light on for the next generation.

 

My prayer is for you to have a Happy and Purposeful New Year!

 

 

[1] Ministry donations may be sent to Westminster Chapel/Ward Tanneberg Ministries, 13646 NE 24th St, Bellevue WA 98004.

[2] Sacred Journey by Ward Tanneberg, Hartline Literary Group, 2016. Available in soft cover and Kindle on Amazon.com.

[3] If you’re reading this Perspective on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter, let me encourage you to subscribe and receive it automatically each week in your email (it’s easy at http//www.wardtanneberg.com).

[4] James 5:16