Intro: While retirement is generally seen as a time of relaxation and self focus, God calls us to love, serve, and help others for a lifetime. He has been preparing us for this retirement season, literally our entire lives. In retirement, countless Christians enter a state of spiritual dormancy not knowing how they are called to have an impact for God's kingdom.

The Retirement Reformation seeks to encourage and empower the 50 million Christians approaching or in retirement to embrace the calling God has been preparing in them. When the world says it's time to stop, you can begin to have your greatest impact. Welcome to iRetire4Him, the mouthpiece of the Retirement Reformation, where our goal is to journey from retirement to reformation so you can say, iRetire4Him!

Jim: Reaching out to the 50 million Christ followers in America who are approaching or already in retirement. You've tuned into iRetire4Him, the Mouthpiece for The Retirement Reformation. I'm your host, Jim Brangenberg, and I'm joined today by the founder of The Retirement Reformation, Bruce Bruinsma.

Check us out online, we invite you to at retirementreformation.org. RetirementReformation.org. So many of you have asked, how do we get our Retirement Reformation started in our own local church? Well, today we answered that question as we roll out a three part series introducing our Recreating Retirement small group curriculum that is available now on our website, Retirement Reformation.org.

For the next three podcasts, we'll do a high level overview of all of that material. We hope to inspire you to start a group in your local body of Christ and start reforming refining and ultimately Recreating Retirement for you and your friends there in your small group. Welcome to iRetire4Him, Bruce, this is exciting. This the rollout, the final rollout of the Recreating Retirement small group material. I know you've been working on this. How long have you been working on waiting to get this rolled?

Bruce: You know, the, the idea and the, the realization there was a need probably goes back three, four years and, and the actual working on the, on the product itself, on what it is that we're going to be reviewing here and is now, now available to our listeners. That's been a couple of years. So it's, it's been a, it's been a long process, but a very needed one. And, and as you said, which is really exciting to be able to roll it.

Jim: So let's step back for a minute and focus on this. Why does the Retirement Reformation exist in the first place?

Bruce: Well, Retirement Reformation came about as the realization that there are as many as 40 to 45 million Christ followers who, in their retirement years are totally committed to doing nothing. And the result of that is, has got all kinds of different pathways and implications. Some of 'em are pretty negative. And so what we realized was that there needed to be a, a reformation, a change in the way that we think about this subject that the World calls retirement. So the Retirement Reformation exists to be able to help Christ followers think differently about those last 30 years of what the world calls retirement.

Jim: So what do you hope our listeners and the future studiers of the Recreating Retirement Bible study or or group study, what are you hoping that they're gonna experience when they go through this together?

Bruce: You know, I think the process, at least the way that it, it appears to be evolving is that, that because of someone listening to a podcast or reading a book or, or somehow they go through what I call the aha. Aha. There really is more. There really can be meaning and purpose. There really can be freedom and joy. I just don't know what that means for me. And so the answer to the question, what does that mean for you, is the heart and the essence of the Recreating Retirement curriculum. And we'll talk about what those steps look like, but that's the reason for why it's there.

And that's the reason why the Retirement Reformation exists to reform the thinking of 50 million Christ followers, the greatest unused people group to build the kingdom.

Jim: The greatest unused people group. Bruce, what's your ultimate goal for all the Christ following retirees that get to go through the brand new Recreating Retirement, small group material? What are you hoping that when they come out, they're gonna, what, what are you hoping the end goal is? The end game?

Bruce: Well, the problem that we're solving is one that where 40 to 45 million Christ follower are firmly committed in retirement to doing nothing. And so the purpose for the Retirement Reformation is in fact to change that thinking, to reform the thinking of those 40 million Christ followers.

And once they have that aha moment of, oh my goodness, there is more. There can be meaning and purpose, I do have value, and God does have a plan, then what's the next step for them to logically follow, to be able to discover? How God has prepared them and what that plan might be. So to answer your question directly, the goal is that 40 million Christ followers will have a plan.

Jim: That's fantastic. When we come back. We get to talk today to Barak Strickland, but after segment two is done, in segment three, we're gonna get into the - just start a little overview of what the Recreating Retirement Bible Study Group is all about. The study, the small group study that you and your friends can go through together. Please check it out online, RetirementReformation.org, RetirementReformation.org. We'll be right back.

Break: Recreating Retirement is an interactive small group study helping you to move from nothing to what's next. You can join us on Wednesdays at 6:00 PM East Coast time on Facebook Live. Our goal for this study is to provide a group setting for interaction and new ideas while leading you through a first step in your journey from retirement to reformation.

Here's the big idea. During the next five years, 5,000 small groups will experience this journey of discovery in churches and faith-based organizations across the country. Is your church a place where Recreating Retirement needs to be planted? Join us online to experience the study. We'll prepare to lead a small group at your church of ministry. Email us at contactus@retirementreformation.org or go to our website at retirementreformation.org. That's RetirementReformation.org.

Jim: Hey, welcome back to iRetire4Him. As we do in every segment two of every podcast, we invite a special guest on to share a little bit of their story, how God's working in their life. Bruce, who do you have for us today?

Bruce: I'd like to introduce our audience to a new friend, and his name is Barak. And if I can just kind of set the conversation a little bit before I ask my first question... was Barak became aware of the Retirement Reformation and reached out to us and he had a few questions, and as a result of those questions, that's developed into some deeper conversations and, and looking forward to some unique opportunities. But I think Barak, your, your story is one that, that really will resonate with, with much of our audience. After you retired, how old were you and what did you do for the first couple of years of retirement?

Barak Strickland: So I retired in February of 2021 from 40 years of service in the US Air Force. And I was a month before my 58th birthday. So I actually retired when I was 57. And so that's been about a year and a half ago. And as I've told you before, I spent a lot of time reading, doing house projects, helping my wife with her physical therapy practice, and just in general, being semi-retired from my 40 year career.

Bruce: As a matter of fact, I think you mentioned in one of our conversations that you spent a little time laying on the couch and reading a book or two.

Barak Strickland: I did. I heard the advice to retire to something instead of from something. Financially I was very well prepared. Otherwise I was not, even though I had heard that advice for several years. And so I finally decided that I would just have to retire and then figure it out. I would have the time then to figure out where God is calling me and what to do in my semi retirement.

Bruce: So what was the, when you finally, you know, after a period of time and, and you said, you know, I, I really need to do something more. What, what was the first steps that you took in figuring out what that more might possibly look like?

Barak Strickland: So after a year of retirement and really contemplating what I should do, I said I really want to invest the rest of my life in the kingdom. And so that's why the message of Retirement Reformation resonated so well with me. I found out about Retirement Reformation in June of 21. But after about a year, I hired a coach - God's calling coach just to help me. And, and ultimately it's, it's a funny story because I'm a fairly frugal guy and I think God has a sense of humor.

He had me pay for coaching just to get the message through my thick skull to deepen my relationship with him. I had been very dependent on assessments and what other people said or thought, and so through that coaching, about four months of coaching God really spoke to me to just meet with him and ask him what he would have me to do. And I think that was the turning point.

Bruce: And that's a major change in thinking that's Recreating Retirement in a, in a whole new way. And so what were some of those first steps that you took in, in deepening your relationship with God and, and being and connecting with him and looking for his direction for impacting the kingdom?

Barak Strickland: So it sounds very basic, but really I love my slow mornings and just sitting and drinking hot tea and conversing with God. So spending time in scripture, going through my devotional. And then the biggest thing I learned through that coaching is talk to God as if just like we're talking right now. Have a conversation. Listen for his still small voice. See what he tells you and deepen that relationship. That is key.

Bruce: Well, and so how has that practice impacted not only your relationship with God, but how you view the other parts of your life?

Barak Strickland: I think the other parts of life have diminished somewhat. I was, I was very dependent on my financial wellbeing. I've been a church attender my whole life. I'm a pastor's kid. You know, I, I knew religion inside and out but I think just deepening that relationship just elevates that and listening to God and bringing the people into my life. I've had mornings where I have just sat there and prayed and said, Lord, I need your direction.

And within an hour I would receive a phone call or an email that led me to other opportunities. And there's no way to contribute that to anything but God and that, that relationship and where he wants me to go in this time in my life.

Bruce: Well, you talk about, you know, you pray for and something shows. I know you called me about three, four weeks ago and and said, listen, do you have a place where I could park a 26 foot truck by your, by your house?

And I said yeah, I do, but why would there be a 26 foot truck at my house? Anyway, so that was a unique opportunity. Just quickly share that opportunity of, of how that truck came into your life. How it ended up in, in, you know, in my front yard, . By the way, I should say that Barak lives in Ohio and I live in Colorado.

Barak Strickland: Yeah. I, in addition to the coaching, I had been meeting with my pastor and talking through these things in retirement and deepening my relationship with Christ. He knew that I was looking. And so it's an Anglican church and the Anglican relief and disaster fund had an opportunity to take mattresses from the University of Dayton and Xavier University down to the flood victims in Kentucky.

Well, the, ARDF didn't get in line soon enough for those mattresses, and so that opportunity fell through. But Tommy Lamb, the director of ARDF said, Hey, I have another opportunity for you. Would you be willing to drive a North American Lutheran Church disaster response truck from Ohio to Colorado?

And he said, these supplies need to go to Black Forest, Colorado. And I knew Black Forest was right next to Colorado Springs and I knew Bruce Bruinsma and Retirement Reformation were based in Colorado Springs. I said, this is another God thing. God is providing me potentially a, a way to go out there and hopefully meet Bruce, spend some time there. And it's just a wonderful thing. And so, as you said, we communicated. You were very gracious and hosted me for a night, and then we went and unloaded that truck the following morning at the Lutheran Church there in Black Forest. So just a total God thing, and what a wonderful experience it was indeed.

Bruce: And so, you know, the, the transition in your life from retirement and I'm not sure what's next to, you know, delivering a 26 foot truck to Black Forest Colorado to be able to take care of issues that will be, I'm sure coming up that, that's just an amazing transition, but it's only one small step.

To kind of conclude, my last question to you is this, what kind of things do you think God might have for you coming up down the road? Is there any kind of a direction that that seems to be taking place or you're still in the discovery process?

Barak Strickland: I am in the discovery process, but God is continuing to bring things into my life. I know that I am a planner. I am a left brain logistician. I can help individuals and organizations figure out what's important to them and how to get there. Specifically another opportunity that has come about. As you know I've met with the senior area of church churches and ministries recently to talk about your Oxygen for Life event.

And so the, the community is very interested in this event. We'd like to hold that in the spring of 2023. And so there's another specific God thing that we met. We talked, I brought it back to this area. It was received very well. In fact, one of the ladies in the meeting said, I just talked to two of my friends this morning. We talked about meaning and purpose and retirement. They don't feel they have any. This is exactly what they're looking for. And so there's one example of what's gonna happen in this area as a result of just being willing and able and open to where God leads.

Bruce: Now Barak, thank you for sharing your life in, in this segment of it. And we look forward to a future interview and letting your audience know how God continues to lead and how you continue to listen. So thank you so much for being with us today. I appreciate you and I appreciate the message that God had you bring.

Barak Strickland: Thank you so much for having me.

Jim: We'll be right back on iRetire4Him.

Break: Our work on this earth doesn't end when the paycheck stops. God calls us to be faithful for a lifetime. Whether you're looking forward to retirement or you're already there, our all small group study Recreating Retirement will help you understand, engage, and activate what God has for you in this fourth quarter of life.

Join Retirement Reformation founder Bruce Bruinsma, as you consider your past strengths, spiritual gifts, and your passions, and how they all come together as the call God has for you in these years. Connect with us on our online community group at facebook.com/RetirementReformation. Wednesdays at 6:00 PM Eastern.

Or if you'd like to bring Recreating Retirement to your church, email us at contactus@retirementreformation.org. Are you ready to start your life changing journey today?

Jim: A welcome back to iRetire4Him. Fantastic conversation with our guest, as always in our middle segment. Now in this segment of our show today, we wanna go in a little deeper into the Recreating Retirement that you and your friends can get together and go through together as a small group. So Bruce, why is this study necessary? Doesn't everybody already have a plan for the retirement?

Bruce: Well, I think we all intuitively know the answer to that and unfortunately that answer is no. Planning is for whatever reason, something that, that the majority of people avoid.

The closest they come to it is a checklist for the activities of the day. And that's good. But now we know that before the beginning of time, at least the way I read my scripture, is that God had a plan for each one of us, had a plan for Jim and Bruce and Martha and Judy and et cetera. And that plan then was, was put together initially through the DNA that starts that when, when we were, when we were born, from that moment of when we were born and we come out crying and we get slapped on the buttocks.

Then there are experiences that God takes us through and we respond to those experiences. So that's how we become who we are and learn who we are. And for Christ followers, we learn how to respond to those circumstances and that helps shape us. Okay. That brings us to this age of what the world calls retirement.

So we're talking, you know, 55, 57, 60 65, 70, 75. In that time, we worked hard and now we're ready to do nothing. Interestingly enough, you don't need a plan in order to do nothing. Therefore, very little planning takes place. And so the goal, Jim, of what we've been working on with the 70 plus podcasts we've done and the books and all the material is to, is to be able to help people to go from an aha moment of, oh, there is more to, what does that more look like? And Recreating Retirement is the process for doing that.

Jim: And you can do it with your friends in a small group. So if you live in one of those communities full of people, 55 plus, this would be fantastic. Invite your whole community to go through it at the same time. But Bruce, isn't retirement just retirement? Well, what's there to recreate? I mean, it's already been, it's retirement.

Bruce: Yeah, unfortunately, that is the way so many of us think about it. Why, why do we even need to talk about it? Isn't retirement just doing nothing, enjoying ourselves, spending our kids inheritance, traveling, woodworking, moving to Missouri, whatever it may be?

Isn't that what retirement is all about? And I would suggest that all of those are elements of that time of retirement. But in fact, they don't have - all of those activities have value but they don't have meaning and purpose. And so to be able to find meaning and purpose, and when we find meaning and purpose, it takes our lives from a, a point of enjoying nothing to meaning and purpose and finding what is it that will satisfy that open hole that each one of us has in our soul when we are not doing anything or when we're not following what God has in mind for us.

Jim: Hmm. So we need to have a plan. I mean, that's what Recreating Retirement, the small group study is all about. All right, so let's get into just a high level overview. You mentioned throughout the study this talk about the "longevity premium." Briefly, what is that?

Bruce: The Longevity Premium has a whole series of of elements to it. Matter of fact, if you'll read the Retirement Reformation book, you'll be able to see in greater detail what it is that we're talking about. But because we have experience. Because we have time and for many, we have resources that what we are able to do is to be able to bring those together in a meaningful fashion that will impact the lives of others and bring meaning and purpose to us.

And so the longevity premium means that we have the time, the resources, and the experience to be able to find meaning and purpose. You know, when we think and we talk about retirement, we talk about it being maybe 30 years. Well, we haven't had that opportunity, that length of time to be able to deal with these kinds of issues in a meaningful way since our friend Methuselah.

And so each one of us comes at it in a little different way and be able to come together in a small group to follow a curriculum that we'll talk about, but that the net result will be, you'll have a plan in place and you'll be able to answer the question for your grandchildren when they say, oppa, what are you gonna do? And you'll have an answer for 'em.

Jim: That's, that's a great one. All right. So you talk often, and you just kind of hinted at there a second ago about the three seasons of life. What are those three seasons?

Bruce: Well, we've got three seasons of life, and then we have three stages in retirement. So the three seasons of life are that initial phase between, you know, say zero and 30, where you're, in fact, you're just trying to figure out where first base is.

Then between, say, 30 and 50 or a little bit over than that, where you're applying what it is that you've learned. You're working diligently, you're supporting your family. You have a career, you have all of those things going on. That's a, a second stage, or second season stage. And the third stage then starts at, say 55 or 60 and begins into that period that we call retirement.

Now, when we think about retirement, there's also three stages of retirement. We have one stage, which is very active, say from 60 to 75 or 70. We have another stage, which we kind of call mentoring, the opportunity to speak into the lives of others and your experience. And that goes from, oh, say 78 to oh, mid eighties, somewhere. And then we have that last stage of the life that goes from mid to late eighties to, you know, maybe 104. And each one of them has different characteristics to it, and God has prepared us to be able to bring the help building of his kingdom. Those different assets, those different abilities that build different experiences in each one of those stages. And we need to be prepared for all three of them.

Jim: Bruce, we're just starting today. The part, this is a one part, one of a three part podcast series. Talking about the Recreating Retirement small group curriculum, where can our listeners get a copy of this? Can they download it? Can they buy a book? What, what are, what formats can they get this?

Bruce: Well, the format that you can get is obviously you can, you can go online and, and purchase it through our organization. You can also get a virtual copy online at, no cost. And then it's really important that there be a facilitator for the small group. And so whoever is going to be the facilitator for the small group, maybe that's going to be you.

They have the opportunity to go through the curriculum material virtually and will be starting a virtual class if you wish of small group working through the material. And it's good to have done it within the context of another small group before you leave the first one yourself.

Jim: Hmm. So people can get it at retirementreformation.org, they can get a downloaded copy, so digital copy for them to go to get access to. But of course I recommend, cuz I've, I've, I've gone through this study, recommend that you get a copy of the book so you can make your notes in it. Notes that are super easy to go back and go, okay, what did I decide? I mean, it's a workbook. There's lots of stuff to go through and for everybody in your group to have a copy.

Not just one per husband and wife, but the husband and the wife need to each have a copy cuz it talks, well we're gonna talk about the next podcast, but talks about spiritual giftings and things like that. Get a copy on our website, RetirementReformation.org. Bruce, I can't wait until next week. We can talk in more detail about all this Recreating Retirement study. It's exciting. I'm excited. Thank you, Bruce.

Bruce: Thanks Jim. I am too. And, and we look forward to the huge impact that it's gonna have on the community of followers that are part of Retirement Reformation now, and those who are to come.

Jim: You've been listening to the iRetire4Him Podcast, the mouthpiece for the Retirement Reformation with your host, Jim Brangenberg. Of course, the founder of The Retirement Reformation, Bruce Bruinsma. We're Christ followers, journeying from retirement to Recreating Retirement, so we can ultimately say, iRetire4Him.

Outro: Thanks for listening to iRetire4Him with your host, Jim and Martha Brangenberg and Retirement Reformation founder Bruce Bruinsma. IRetire4Him is the mouthpiece of the Retirement Reformation.

Most Christians tend to follow the world's pattern of rest and self pampering during retirement. However, in your retirement, you can be focused on God's unique call to love, serve, and help others. This can be your best season of life if you take advantage of a life's worth of knowledge and experience and combine it with a greater freedom of time and money and invest it all in the generations, both preceding and following you.

The Retirement Reformation is encouraging Christians to find and follow God's call in all seasons and aspects of life, especially in retirement. Take time to sign the manifesto at retirementreformation.org and explore the wealth of resources available on our site.

Join this movement of God and Journey from retirement to Reformation. So you can say, iRetire4Him. Go to Retirement Reformation.org.