Q&A with John Nunes
Reprinted from “Aging Well,” a research project between
Worship Anew & Barna Group
Q. For some, the second half of life can be discouraging. For example, three in five older adults 55-plus with chronic pain say they also deal with anxiety and insecurity. What are some ways older generations can find purpose and meaning as they age?
A. Often bypassed but conspicuous in Luke’s account of the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21 ESV) is the idea of intergenerationality. The Spirit is poured out upon “all flesh”—that’s an age-inclusive promise. Young people “see visions,” older people “dream dreams.” The “multitude came together” from many languages, ethnicities, and identities. They were diverse and undivided, gathered “together in one place” with the promise of saving transformation for “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord.” No one is excluded.
That's the message every living person needs to hear: No matter your age or stage of life, God's design for the renewal of the world and the Church includes you.
Via the accrual of experience, obstacles overcome, goals accomplished or suffering endured, those in the second half of life typically have earned a status where their voice can speak with prophetic precision. Visionary churches should create venues for older adults to dream big, with the capaciousness of wise guides. This process is enlivening for them and for the entire community of faith.
Q. What are some practical ways pastors and church communities can come alongside seniors to help them overcome the obstacles of aging and embrace the second half of life as a blessing?
A. The preposition of choice (here)is "with." We witness through our "with"-ness. This is about a journey together, like the road to Emmaus (Luke 24) in which the divine is present in ways we may not instantly recognize or immediately appreciate.
A practical starting point is for church leaders to see themselves as conveners of conversations, teaching, and modeling active listening with an intentional and strategic goal of creating relationships of reciprocity, respect, responsibility, and mutuality across generations.
Intergenerational activities can be enhanced when they are approached as part of the wider Christian commitment to diversity. ... A simple, but not simplistic, working acrostic for DIVERSITY is “Different Individuals Valuing Each other Regardless of Skin, Identity, Talent, or Years.”
Q. What advice would you give to churches hoping to provide more opportunities for seniors to serve and contribute to their communities?
A. (While) older adults sometimes have a sense of invisibility, they also possess wisdom about finding our truest selves by serving others. Despite the ample availability of more information than we can meaningfully process and despite the illusion of being knowledgeable, wisdom takes longer to acquire than any one lifetime can provide. Our highly mobile society doesn’t permit the rootage we need, which is why we need traditions, rituals, mentors, communities, and institutions— practices and relationships of remembrance in which seniors often specialize.
Q. In the “Aging Well” study, we find that whether a person feels they are leaving a legacy correlates with their sense of being valued and having purpose. What does this say to you about the importance of empowering older generations? What are some steps to better understand and value older congregants?
A. Pastors have an opportunity to lead their communities of faith in developing a theological framework for intergenerationality. Mining their tradition and biblical sources, a working set of ideas can be articulated that describes the sort of experiences and interactions that lead to human flourishing. ... The older adult phase of life is also a time for summing up, making meaning, and letting go. Summing up involves reflecting on one’s life. Making meaning concerns interpreting and surrendering to life’s losses, achievements, and accomplishments. Letting go requires forgiveness, reconciliation, and bringing to resolution one’s affairs. Pastors can grow in interpreting the unique struggles involved in this process by providing opportunities for counseling and the sacramental practice of confession and absolution.
John Arthur Nunes is an author, speaker, and Lutheran pastor, as well as a senior fellow at the Center for Religion, Culture and Democracy. He has served as president of Concordia College New York, president and CEO of Lutheran World Relief, and a professor at Valparaiso University.