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During the Christmas holidays I was sitting with my son-in-law in his den. We were watching one of the zillion Bowl games during that week on his big screen TV. (Since Thou Shalt Not Covet is the tenth of the Big Ten, I'll not say what I thought about his big TV.) As we watched the game, suddenly, across the bottom of the big screen came the news that Urban Meyer, Florida's football coach, was resigning. My son-in-law, even though he was under the weather, began shouting: "Oh, no! Oh, no! That can't be! That's just wrong! He can't do that!" My son-in-law is really into college football, especially the SEC. (Of course his Alabama Crimson Tide had beaten Florida and went on to be the National Champions.) The rationale behind Jim's yelling was solid. Why would the most successful college football coach in the country just up and resign? Could there be scandal in the air? Hmmm.
Well, we found out that it had to do with a health problem. Then, not long after that, we found out that he wasn't going to resign after all, but merely take a leave of absence.
Coaches don't just resign for no reason. Coaches are born to coach. A good coach can't stop coaching. He (or she) will not retire.
John Feinstein, writing in Sporting News (1/18/2010), tells about basketball coach Gary Williams. He has been a coach since graduating from college in 1968. When he won the 2002 National Championship at Maryland, his daughter Kristin suggested that he could finally relax. But he couldn't. In 2006 when his team's season ended with a loss in the NIT, Williams drove to his beach house in Delaware to 'get away from it all' for awhile. Next day a friend called and asked how he was doing. "Well," he said, "I just figured I'd take it easy for a few days." "Good idea," the friend said. "Walk on the beach alone by yourself, read a book, play some golf." There was a pause on the other end of the phone. Then Williams said, "You know, there are only so many times you can walk on the damn beach."
I've been retired now for 26 days... So far, retirement is like an extended vacation. I've never had more than two weeks in a row for vacation during my pastoral ministry days. I know I took three Sundays in a row once or twice. So, I'm feeling like I'm finally getting a good vacation. What it will be like after two or three or four months, I don't know. I'm taking it easy. Pat and I are doing some packing. I've started on my taxes. I'm working on a couple of books. I'm sleeping late and not feeling guilty about it. I'm staying up late if I want to. I feel no pressure. I am having no trouble not being a pastor.
Some pastors can't give up pastoring. I don't seem to have that problem. If I had a beach, I'd walk on it every damn day.
