I have a confession to make. Ever since I was a child I have loved old people. Now that I am closer to ninety than I am to eighty, I am glad there are still a lot of young whippersnappers around who love old people. Old age is that time of life when you learn what the statute of limitations is all about.
Just because I have always loved old people doesn’t mean that I like everything that is old – old furniture, for example. I have friends who have spent a lifetime (and a lot of money) collecting old furniture. Excuse me, I mean antiques. Furniture old enough to be labeled antique will cost you a lot more.
I admire antique furniture in your home. In some homes nothing else would look or be appropriate. It is just that my preference for the furniture in my home be more contemporary. But people who have seen a lot of sunrises and sunsets are a different story. I say this because many of the people who have blessed my life most have lived and loved and served their fellow human beings for a long time. And I love them.
Most churches have an organized group of senior adults. The senior group at First Baptist Church in Sanford is called the Triple L Club. The three L’s are for Live Longer and Love it. I always called them The Wild Bunch. Its members are the backbone of the church. Senior adults are the backbone in most churches. Just because they have been drawing Social Security for a decade or two doesn’t mean they have folded their tents and ambled off into the sunset. They are among the most faithful members who attend worship, and they participate in various church ministries. They don’t just hang around. They are plugged in and productive.
Though these things are true, most churches have elderly members who are not able to attend church because they are either homebound or confined in nursing homes. They should be visited periodically and not forgotten. Churches that give attention to their spiritual needs are not only recognizing and showing appreciation for their faithfulness in past years but also meeting their current needs. Pastors and other church staff members who give this ministry little or no attention need to reexamine their priorities.
In addition to meeting the spiritual needs of the aged members of your church, why not organize a ministry to others confined in nursing homes in the vicinity of your church? In every retirement facility are elderly persons who are lonely and receive few visits from members of their own family or church. Each adult class in your Sunday School could adopt one of these, and visit him or her monthly or more often – especially on his or her birthday and at other times. What a blessing the members of your class would receive.
I read some time ago the story of a lady in a nursing home who was ninety-eight who was visited by a member of her church. “How are you feeling?” the member asked.
“Oh,” said the lady, “I’m just worried sick!”
“What are you worried about, my dear? They are taking good care of you here, aren’t they?”
“Oh yes, I’m getting excellent care.”
“Well, then, why are you worried?”
She leaned back in her chair and slowly explained: “All of my closest friends have already died and gone to heaven. And I’m afraid they’re wondering where I went!”
The Paper Pulpit 
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