“I believe that seniors can be a source of rejuvenation, a source of revival that the Church desperately needs today,” said Pastor Eugene Seow at the LoveSingapore Summit, which was held from January 13 to 16.

Speaking at a breakout session on the topic of seniors, the former executive director of TOUCH Community Services and former CEO of TOUCH International admitted that when he first read about the increasing number of seniors in the Church, he wondered if this statistic would be a time bomb.

But one verse changed his mind: “When David had served God’s purpose in His own generation, he fell asleep.” (Acts 13:36)

“Once I grasped hold of the truth that God is raising this senior generation for a purpose, that made all the difference. We must recognise that God has raised the senior generation to make a difference,” he said.

And this purpose is not just for the well-being of the seniors, but for the flourishing of the generations to come, added Ps Eugene, a grandfather of five.

He shared how a grandmother once asked her grandchildren: “What kind of grandparent would you want to be?”

Said Ps Eugene: “That question blew my mind … When your grandchild answers this, he’ll base it on what his grandparent has done for him. You know what you’ve done? You’ve influenced five generations.”

Addressing the senior participants, he cautioned: “If you and I don’t wake up to the purpose of our generation, it’s going to affect the next generation.”

However, he acknowledged that entering the senior years can be challenging, especially when the world sees growing old as becoming obsolete.

Drawing from his own experience with retirement, he shared three lessons that helped him to step into his new God-given purpose of the season, which Salt&Light excerpts here:

“I want to be a yeye”

Recently, I had a very touching moment.

I was spending some time with my grandson, playing with him at the table. His name is Noah and I know that at this point in time he wants to be a fireman.

So I asked him: “Noah, what do you want to be when you grow up?”

He cheekily turned to me and said: “I want to be a yeye (grandfather).”

Oh! That melted my heart. Then after he said: “You can be the fireman.” He’s very cheeky.

But that really made an impression on me. It made me think about why I’ve said this over and over again: What we do with our generation today – fulfilling God’s purpose – will make a difference.

Grappling with retirement

I retired in 2020, stepped away from all my formal responsibilities, and I admit to you that it was not easy.

For one who has been actively serving in the work and the ministry for the last 30 over years, coming into a season where you are away from the formal structures of work and all, it took some time to adjust.

It took some time to even adjust myself, as to what I was to do. And I had to answer all those strange questions that people always ask retirees: “So what are you doing now? Nothing ah? Very free ah? Every day Sunday ah? Every day holiday ah?”

I was grappling with this for about six months to a year. But there were three things that got me past that into this season where I can now look you in the face and say that I believe God has given me a purpose for this season.

LESSON #1: You are not what you were

After 30 years of work, very subtly – and some of us may not even dare to admit it – our sense of worth and identity become tied to our work and what we do.

So when we enter into retirement, our identity and self-worth are challenged.

Some people look at me and say: “You mean you just spend all your time with your grandchildren, ah?” Can I say “yes” and be fully affirmed that this is what God has given me to do in this time?

One very interesting quote that has helped me to understand this is from a book called The Last Arrow by Erwin McManus.

This quote stung me: “Success will lie to you and tell you that your future is just an extension of your past, where at best, success is simply preparation for new chapters.”

I’ve seen seniors in ministry who have been successful, and that’s where the very dangerous trap is. The trap is to imagine that the future is just an extension of your past.

If you don’t resolve that early, you can’t get over this first hurdle. You are not what you were. God has more.

Then you’ll begin to realise the real beauty of life. My wife and I go through these times when we look at each other and say: “Wow, this is really a very interesting season. A season of great value.”

You know why? Because you don’t hang your value to your work. You don’t hang your value to your position. You don’t hang your value to your achievements. You don’t hang your worth to what you think you have or do not have.

And I found that when I got that out of the way, I had a new refreshment.

Who you are and why you are – these are more important than what you are and how you are.

LESSON #2: There is really only life after death

When you come into this season and have to walk through this journey, there’s a lot of painful dying to yourself: To what you feel you can have, to what you want to have, the painful dying to comparison to where you are at, to where your friends are, to your other family members and ministries and all these things.

And you’ll begin to appreciate the fact that you can only find life when you are willing to die to these thoughts, to these desires and even cravings.

And that is when you will repurpose yourself. That’s why I tell you again that the key to this new season is really finding that repurposing in God’s call.

LESSON #3: Learn to be out of the way, but not out of sight

What we have and what we can give during this time is really to value your family and the community that God has put us in.

Family is the real legacy you leave behind.

So you get out of the way, but not out of sight. You stay connected. You stay linked up. You’re still part of the system, you’re still part of the community and you cannot run away.

We have to come down to the fact that our God is a God of generations. He’s a God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and His name will be known forever, and at the end of the day, this is what matters.

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