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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
A friend recently asked what surprises me about retirement.
Pondering the question gave me renewed appreciation for CIU,
and gratefulness to God for extended ministry life.
The
biggest surprise
of retirement has been my welcomed daily
freedom
, and the subsequent lack of accountability. I don’t owe an
explanation or itinerary to anyone but my wife, Jeanne. And even
after 11 years of retirement, it still feels weird. After all, I was either
in school or professional ministry well over 50 years. There was
always a boss. And every day a schedule. So now if I find myself
in Walmart at 10 a.m., I feel guilty. Shouldn’t I be accomplishing
something?
The
best surprise
of retirement has been the sense of
independence
that rides my lack of accountability. No
deadlines
.
No hurry. No fuming at stop lights. No hustling to make meetings.
I can read every word of Herman Melville’s Omoo if I want. No
skimming, no skipping. It’s about as stress-free as we’ll find this
side of heaven.
The
biggest challenge
of retirement has been the temptation to
irresponsibility
, a twin to lack of accountability. I want to be as
spiritually fruitful as possible as long as possible. But that won’t
happen without commitment and relationships. It means I have to
sacrifice my selfish pursuit of comfort and freedom and put others
first. If I’m not willing to live with stress, I won’t be able to serve
those under stress.
Dr. Johnny Miller celebrates being named honorary alumnus
at Homecoming 2018. Beside him is his wife, Jeanne. Making
the presentation are Alumni Association Leadership Council
President Edith Parks and CIU President Dr. Mark Smith.
By Dr. Johnny V. Miller
CIU’s Fourth President
CIU 2019 Honorary Alumnus
The
hardest challenge
of retirement has been my difficulty in
planning
borne from my lack of accountability. I used to capture
stray hours weeks in advance, redeeming each opportunity for
fruitfulness. Planning gave a false sense of control. Now no one
asks for my strategic plan. I can do what I want, when I want. At
least whatever my Parkinson’s disease allows me to do, and who
knows what that will be? I’m not in control of the future, and
blessed to live in the “now.” That’s the limit of my accountability,
making the most of my “nows.”
So I am blessed to still be teaching at CIU, despite my lack of
accountability. I was surprised when former president Dr. Bill Jones
invited me back in 2011 to teach as much as I was able, as long as
I was able after my retirement. I hadn’t expected that. I told him
about my disease, but he wasn’t stymied: “As much as you’re able,
as long as you’re able.”
And I was humbly graced when our new president, Dr. Mark
Smith, echoed Dr. Jones’ words when he joined us in 2017. Some
presidents, like some pastors, prefer to clean out the previous
administration so they can start over fresh. Instead, these men
and seminary dean Dr. John Harvey offered me a context where
I can be as fruitful as possible, as long as possible. For someone
with a lack of accountability, I have felt motivated, challenged,
encouraged, and blessed. I had no idea 11 years ago that I would
trade in accountability for retirement, and be privileged to serve
again the dear school and godly people by whom I’m blessed.
Ultimately, I’m reminded, my accountability is to God, from which
I’ll never retire.
RETIREMENT: The Surprise of Accountability
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