Work in the Encore: Ordinary Faithfulness, Extraordinary Impact
From Career to Encore Is Extraordinary
A man texted me right after he told his boss he would be retiring. He asked me, “Did I really just do that? Can I take it back?!?! I've never not had a ‘real job’ for as long as I have been an adult.”
The transition from career to Encore is extraordinary. After decades of a familiarity - knowing where to go, what to do, who you are, over a career of 40+ years - life can feel quite unfamiliar on the other side of career. Even though most people can’t wait to retire, this extraordinary transition leads us to an inflection point:
What will life look like now?
Jesus is inviting you to more (not less) opportunity in your Encore years. And the opportunity to live with extraordinary impact is found through ordinary faithfulness.
Ordinary Life, Extraordinary Impact
The ordinary activities of life are what actually lead to ordinary impact. But ordinary things feel trivial, often fruitless. If you do not see immediate results, you grow discouraged, and you wonder if it is making a difference.
John Wooden, the legendary basketball coach at UCLA, was famous for his attention to the small things. He started the season by teaching his players to put on their socks and tie their shoes. He writes about the value of attention to ordinary things:
“Seemingly trivial matters, taken together and added to many, many other so-called trivial matters, build into something very big: namely, your success. You will find that success and attention to details, the smallest details, usually go hand in hand.”
Wooden is saying that the ordinary, private activities, that often go unseen without any recognition, shape the trajectory of our lives. The impact of our lives is not in the big things we do but in the ordinary things that received focused attention.
Ordinary People, Extraordinary God
In Matthew 25, when Jesus describes serving the least of these, it involves the ordinary stuff of life - food, drink, clothes, and hospitality. He says that people who make an extraordinary impact for God’s kingdom are doing these ordinary things. They are helping hungry people by feeding them, serving thirsty people by providing a drink, clothing the naked, welcoming the outsider, and visiting the prisoner.
He is inviting you to extraordinary commitment to ordinary actions. Eating, drinking, welcoming, hospitality, and ministry. These ordinary actions lead to extraordinary impact.
Extraordinary Commitment, Expecting Frutifulness
As you consider how God will use you in your Encore years, consider these action items.
First, find great joy in God’s goodness and plan. God has led you to this transition, God still desires to use your time, talent, and treasure to make an impact is an overwhelming gift of grace. The next hcapter of life is full of opportunity and latent potential.
Second, ask God to show you the ordinary opportunities. Ask for direction, listen deeply, and make a list of the most important commitments you believe He is leading you to. Write down what faithful effort looks like for each commitment.
Third, live out those ordinary opportunities with extraordinary faithfulness. Make it your aim to do excellent work, to love well, and serve well. Don’t chase the results, pursue consistency.
Fourth, trust that God will bless your ordinary faithfulness toward extraordinary fruitfulness. Jesus says that God will grow and multiply our efforts in ways we may not understand. Jesus ssays in Mark 4:26-27
“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.”
God is going to bless our ordinary efforts in extraordinary ways. The next chapter of life is full of hope and promise.
Wherever you are in the process of thinking about your Encore, there are a few simple next steps to choose from:
If you’d like to talk one-on-one, I’d be glad to connect.
Or if you’d rather ease into the conversation, you’re welcome to join us for one of our weekly lunches.
