by Peter Crumpler, Christian Today
Churches are being urged to take seriously the contributions of older members – or run the risk of facing a ‘silver uprising’ of discontent from seniors in their congregations.
The warning comes as the United Nations marks Thursday October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons, dedicated to recognising the role of older people across the world. In the UK, the US and other western countries, populations are ageing, with many more people reaching retirement age and beyond.
Now Chris Spicer, a UK-based preacher and teacher with more than 50 years of experience working with Christian communities and learning centres throughout Europe and North America, has written of the dangers of churches not making use of older people in their congregations.
In ‘Living Life in the Last Lane,’ Spicer warns, “As long as church leaders equate age with ability, they run the risk of fuelling a silver riot. To lead with a declinist view of age and the ageing process is to risk a popular uprising of revolutionary retirees.
“Not that an army of placard-waving grey-haired protestors is about to picket church buildings. But rather than suffer in silence, maybe it’s time for those old warhorses tired of being hitched to an ageist agenda to respectfully air their grievances and speak out against those entrenched ideologies and their unfulfilled aspirations regarding life in the last lane.”