For 40+ years, he had been the spiritual leader in one of the most successful churches in his community. He started his career early when the church he attended was threatened with dissolution. The pastor had announced he was leaving. The national church organization did not respond when the church asked for a replacement.
Sam had no training to be a pastor, but the congregation asked him to lead them until they could find a trained pastor. Sam agreed reluctantly. Without formal training, he decided to approach his temporary job as an opportunity to share his love of storytelling.
His sermons began with stories of common people facing everyday life issues. They were intriguing and captured the congregation’s attention. They were stories that everyone could relate to. But as the stories unfolded, the common and ordinary became extraordinary. It was a new meaning being added to the familiar. Then at the end of the sermon, Sam would read a short verse from the Bible that became the moral of the story.
Some parishioners began to invite their friends, and the church grew. The turnaround was remarkable. Finally, the national church had a pastor for them. The congregation responded with a no thanks when Sam agreed to stay on.
For 40 years, Sam’s stories were told and retold. They went viral before social media existed. Of all of his stories, one became the “one”. It was the story he told when he announced that he was stepping down as the church’s leader.
Everyone was concerned about Sam. There were rumors about his health since he was in his late 70s. Cynics started inventing conspiracies. Sam was quiet about his reasons for stepping down.
What followed in the years ahead was another one of Sam’s stories. But in this case, it was a living story. People watched in awe as Sam began a new life of purpose, one that he had long dreamed about as a pastor. In effect, he was creating a new legacy.
Sam’s life became a model of how people might approach the later years of their lives: Stepping Down but Not Stepping Away. As we age, we must be realistic about how effective we can be in doing those things that define us throughout our lives. At some point in time, all of us must make a decision to step down from what we love.
But stepping down doesn’t mean stepping away from what gives us purpose. What makes us truly human doesn’t go away with age. Wisdom, kindness, joy, purpose, values, beliefs, and many of our other defining personal traits don’t disappear. All we need to do is to find a new way of sharing them. And that discovery is at the core of who we are and how we can contribute to the well-being of others.
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“No legacy is built on looking back. It’s the next step that matters. Keep walking.” – Unknown