By Reverend Syphio A.B. Whack, Contributing Writer
“Go and Serve the Lord” were the spiritually embedded, instructive words of Bishop Samuel L. Green, Sr., that were spoken to me on the night of my ordination. Many who were ordained that night received those same words of encouragement, but to my spiritual ears, they were spoken to, and for me only.
The church was filled, cameras and iPhones poised to capture every facial expression of the newly ordained. But in my spiritual ears was the firm, echoing command, “Go and serve the Lord.”
Two years later, it was disheartening to be told that my age could stand in the way of my opportunity to pastor a church. I felt a strong urge to express my feelings, but the crowd around me made it challenging to communicate openly. In the course of the conversation, there was nothing mentioned as to the fact that God had allowed me to successfully pastor a church for nine and a half years, nothing mentioned of my having obtained my Master’s degree in Theology, or of my current work in the church; the entire conversation concerned The Doctrine and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church 2021.
As I stood speechless, the Holy Spirit whispered, “Remember Jeremiah 3:15, and ‘I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
The Doctrine and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church 2021, Part IX, under the heading of Ministerial Location Retirement and Termination, page one hundred and seventy, section E, states: No itinerant minister who is seventy-five (75) years of age by his or her Annual Conference shall receive an appointment as presiding elder or pastor. If all my credentials were certified correct and true, and Lord knows I was nowhere near the age of seventy-five, what was the problem?
Having read the Doctrine, I chose to reread it. I searched God’s Word. I needed to know whether this was an imputed, man-made, Pharisaical rule or biblically stated. I needed clarity.
In the Bible, no Scripture states that Pastors must retire at 75. However, Numbers 8:23-26 states that men twenty-five years old and upward were to participate in the work, but at fifty, they were to retire from the more demanding physical duties of their regular service, according to Bible Study Tools.
While age correlates with maturity, it’s not the sole determinant. The core of the prophecy in Joel 2:28-29 is Joel’s prophetic message. It outlines that the Spirit’s outpouring will not be limited by age or gender, affecting both young and old, as well as males and females. What happened to “I’ll serve the Lord until I die?”
Moses began leading Israel at the age of eighty and continued to serve until he passed away at one hundred and twenty. Similarly, the Apostle John is said to have served and written well into his nineties.
I took an oath to serve this present age. My calling is to deliver God’s Holy Word, regardless of reception or age. I must preach His virgin birth, His death, and His resurrection, and the truth that He is coming again. I must go, and I must tell all who are willing to listen, it’s in my heart to serve the Lord. I have yet to experience fatigue in this quest. I consider rest to be appropriate only upon death.
We cannot be like the Pharisees and create rules to suit our own purposes. For those who reach the age of seventy-five, there is a mandate to retire; however, this specific directive is not referenced in the scriptures. I will obey when that time comes, unless God changes it.
As preachers and teachers of God’s Holy Word, we should have the option to preach, teach, and serve God as long as we maintain good mental health and our bodies continue to function properly. Lazarus was dead for four days; the Bible does not specify his age at the time of his first death. But after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, Lazarus became the Bishop of Kithion and preached for an additional 30 years.
It is essential to thoughtfully reassess the implications presented on pages 170-171 of The Doctrine and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church (2021). Should a comprehensive physical examination, akin to the annual assessment conducted for the President of the United States, be deemed necessary, we must embrace this requirement fully without regard to age. Continue to Go and Serve the Lord.
“To serve this present age, my calling to fulfill. O may it all my powers engage to do my Master’s will” (“A Charge to Keep I Have,” A Hymn written by Charles Wesley)
