A seasoned pastor and church leader reflects on aging as a spiritual journey and offers practical advice on helping others with the challenges of retirement, aging, caring for the aging, and finding faith in the last quarter of life.

Contents Series Preface Introduction 1. Aging with Scripture 2. The Storm of Aging 3. Retiring with God 4. Successful Aging 5. With God in the Last Quarter of Life 6. Growing Old in Church 7. Ending in God Index

Pastoring for Life: Theological Wisdom for Ministering Well

"Will Willimon looks aging full in the face, understanding that it is, most predictably, a season of loss. But Willimon also knows that, for the Christian, aging permits honesty, gratitude, and most of all a durable sense of agency that is rooted in an embrace of vocation. I am glad, in my aging, that I have been instructed by this book. Many other readers--those aging and those who love an aging person--will welcome this book."
--Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary

"Besides his thoughtful theology, Willimon offers practical suggestions for what Christian churches can do for aging people and their caregivers, and prompts the aging with ways they can serve. Older Christians, those who attend to the elderly, and congregations in general will find this to be a valuable pastoral resource."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Willimon has carried the faith throughout his entire life, and here he offers an incredibly touching, poignant, and compelling account of growing old, experiencing God in new ways, and finding hope in the life that Jesus offers. A must-read for Christians of any age."
--Jim Wallis, New York Times bestselling author, president of Sojourners, and editor-in-chief of Sojourners magazine

"Willimon has written many wise books, but this may be his wisest. He gently teaches us how growing old in faith is so dramatically different from simply growing old. For those of us at the end of our days, this is more than a book; it's a companion along the way."
--Thomas G. Long, Candler School of Theology, Emory University

"[Willimon] writes with honesty, humility, and grace about both the spiritual tasks of aging and the gifts and challenges of providing pastoral care to those in the last chapters of their lives."
--Michelle Van Loon, Englewood Review of Books

"I am one for whom Willimon wrote Aging, and I am grateful that he did. The book is remarkably honest, without a whiff of sentimentality or denial, and yet sincerely and substantively hopeful. It offers wise guidance and concrete advice for both individuals and churches."
--Craig C. Hill, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University

"Willimon offers practical and biblical reflections for those who want their last years to draw them more deeply into the life of the church--reflections that in different ways may be just as helpful for those who are (for now) young."
--Gilbert Meilaender, Valparaiso University