Christian Calling at Age 50+: What It’s Like
What is truth, and what is myth, about Christian calling at age 50+?
I am a Christian life coach and former pastor who helps people find and fulfill their Christian calling.
Many authors have written books and developed other resources for younger people, and for people young in the Christian faith, about calling and purpose.
But it’s difficult to find resources for older adults in their 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and above, who still have a strong sense of calling and want to continue to make a difference for Jesus.
That’s why I specialize in coaching people in the second half of life about finding and fulfilling their Christian calling. Most of the dozens of men and women I’ve coached have been in their late 40s through mid-70s, although I’ve coached people on both sides of that age range. The median age of my clients is mid-50s to mid-60s.
All of my age-50+ clients reach out to me because they feel stuck in their strong sense of Christian calling:
Christians age 50+ feel stuck in Christian calling for one or more of the following reasons:
- Their current Christian calling role, whether vocational or volunteer, doesn’t fulfill them anymore. But they don’t know what to do next.
- Through the decades, they’ve done several different Christian calling roles, always hoping eventually to discover their “true calling.” But now, at age 50 or better, they wonder if they will ever find it.
- Retirement, health challenges, job loss, financial downturn, family responsibilities, hurts, failures, or even consequences of their own sin, prevent them from continuing a Christian calling role that they dearly love. They fear permanently losing purpose and usefulness.
- They envision “stepping up” to a specific, more challenging and fulfilling role in Christian calling, but they’re unconfident about their own qualifications or personal influence.
- They feel like they’re fighting against popular cultural opinion that purpose and meaningful contribution decline near retirement age.
- Because God seems silent about their future Christian calling role, they wonder if the best years of their Christian calling are behind them. They don’t want to be “put on the shelf,” but it feels that way, even in their relationship with God.
All of the above feels bleak. Especially when you’ve always had a strong sense of purpose and calling, deep in your soul. Because now, at age 50+, it seems that God had big purposes for you all along and you somehow missed it or blew it, or that He’s just moving on now to younger people.
Christian Calling at Age 50+: The Best Is Yet to Come!
However, in fact, all of the above struggles in Christian calling at age 50+ are GOOD. They are NOT signs that you’ve blown it. In fact, THEY ARE PART OF GOD’S MASTERFUL PLAN to ramp you up to the next and best level of your Christian calling!
Christian author and coach, Tony Stoltzfus, has coached hundreds of people around Christian calling over a period of 30+ years. He has also studied the calling journeys of many Bible characters. Stoltzfus identified four “mountains” and three “valleys” through which Christians usually travel in their lifetime of Christian calling. You can see Stolzfus’ book at Amazon: The Calling Journey.
According to Stoltzfus, each mountain and each valley of a person’s Christian calling journey is several years long. The mountains are times of joy and fruitfulness when Christian calling is going well. On a mountaintop, the way to move forward in calling is to grow skills and experiences.
But according to Stoltzfus’ research, the calling valleys are just as important as the calling mountaintops. In the valleys, God prepares us for the next mountaintop by growing our strength, character, health, and relationship with Him.
Each of the three different Christian calling valleys has a specific purpose:
- In the first calling valley, which Stoltzfus calls the Valley of Dependence, several years of learning how to depend upon God follow a mountaintop of success in Christian calling.
- In the second calling Valley, the Valley of Wholeness, God prepares us for the next mountaintop by making us more whole, i.e. becoming spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally, relationally, and financially healthy.
- The last Christian calling valley, the Valley of Identity—which for most people will be at age 50+—prepares us for the absolute best fit of our lives of who we are and what God has created us to do. Throughout our lives, our Christian calling role changes, sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. By the time we’re age 50+, we know more about who we are, what we do well, and what we’re passionate about, than ever before. We’ve also grown a lot in our relationship with Christ.
Biblical evidence, Stoltzfus’ research, and modern examples show us that the most fulfilling role for Christian calling often comes after the age of 50. For specific biblical and modern examples, click this blog: You’re Never Too Old for Christian Calling.
The last Christian calling mountaintop is called the Fulfillment Stage.
In the Fulfillment Stage of Christian calling—which usually happens after age 50 and can even peak in late senior adulthood—we experience more joy and impact in Christian calling than ever before. The impact is not always directly, but through multiplication of impact through others, i.e. via mentoring, coaching, consulting, teaching, encouraging, writing, etc.
Christian Calling at Age 50+: The Great Things God Will Do in the Future
Doesn’t the Fulfillment Stage sound wonderful? Who wouldn’t immediately want that?!
But without the Valley of Identity that precedes it, the Fulfillment Stage would not be possible.
The Valley of Identity at age 50+ looks like the bulleted list in the previous section of this blog:
- Stuck in Christian calling.
- Lack of progress.
- Lack of clarity.
- Lack of direction or even encouragement from God.
- Boredom, frustration, or disillusionment with current calling roles.
- Loss of identity or purpose because of retirement.
- Sometimes even forced loss of a calling role through termination of a job or a volunteer ministry role.
But the good news is that this is all NORMAL!
You’re not weird because you feel this way. God isn’t punishing you for some reason. You’ve not missed your Christian calling.
In fact, you’re about to step up to the most significant and fulfilling Christian calling role of your life!
Christian Calling at Age 50+: 6 Steps for How to Move Forward
So, if you’re still reading this blog, you’re probably a 50+-year-old adult, struggling with your Christian calling in the Valley of Identity.
As I said before, you’re not off track. You’re not weird. In fact, you’re right where you need to be, so that God can grow you into the ultimately fulfilling and impactful Christian calling role He created you to do.
How long will you be in the Valley of Identity? When will the Fulfillment Stage of your Christian calling begin?
I don’t know.
But here’s what I do know. We can indeed do certain things to progress well through the Valley of Identity. We can also do things to impede our own progress.
To move forward through the Valley of Identity and into the Fulfillment Stage of Christian calling, I suggest taking the proven steps below. These steps apply—at least to some extent—to ANY Christian calling valley. But they are especially important to Christians at age 50+ who are stuck in the Valley of Identity.
I derived the steps below from biblical examples, Tony Stoltzfus’ research, my own experiences coaching dozens of people about Christian calling, and my own Christian calling journey.
How to Move Forward Through the Valley of Identity into the Fulfillment Stage of Christian Calling at Age 50+
An Important Heads-Up: The steps below are extensive—at first glance, discouragingly so. There’s a reason for that, which I’ll discuss later. For now, just prayerfully and patiently have a look and keep going.
1. Discover and appreciate, much more fully than ever before, who you are.
- When we know our core values, and when we consistently live them out, we live joyfully, authentically, and impactfully. When we don’t do that, we get bored, frustrated, and stressed.
- Click this blog to learn how to do that: Discover and Live Your Core Values.
- After you discover your core values through reading the blog about Core Values, talk with God about how he uniquely created you and values you. Invite Him to encourage you about who He created you to be. He’ll do that!
- As you read the blog about core values, talk with God about how to live out your own core values.
2. Figure out what you enjoyed most and did best in the past with respect to Christian calling, and how that might suggest a Sweet Spot for your calling in your Fulfillment Stage.
Here’s how to do it:
- List the careers, jobs, church ministries, and volunteer activities that you enjoyed in the past.
- Write what you really enjoyed and did really well in EACH of the above roles. For example, I said about my career as a college chemistry professor, “I really enjoyed making a difference in my students’ lives, both in the classroom and outside the classroom, especially when I could help them decide what career they wanted to pursue or how they could grow personally and spiritually.”
- Write what you did not enjoy and/or did not do well in each of the above roles. For example, I said about my career as a college chemistry professor, “I did not enjoy teaching the same courses over and over again.”
3. Consider potential future Christian calling roles for your Fulfillment Stage.
Your Christian calling role in Fulfillment will be the best match ever, for who you are, what you love to do, and what you’re best at.
- Prayerfully think and pray about any ideas you already have about what you’d love to do in the Fulfillment Stage of your Christian calling, even if it seems impossible. For example, I believe God has called me to help thousands of people find and fulfill their Christian calling and grow in Christ, through coaching, teaching, and writing.
- How does that idea fit your core values? How does it not? Your Christian calling role in Fulfillment should be a very close match to your core values. For example, the vision I described in the previous paragraph fits my core belief that God has a purpose for everyone and everything.
- How does that idea fit with what you enjoyed most about your favorite past roles? How does it not? Your Christian calling role in Fulfillment will combine what you loved best about your best calling roles from your past. For example, as a Christian life coach, I help people discover and fulfill life purpose, just like I did part of the time as a college professor.
- If you don’t already have an idea about what you’d love to do in the Fulfillment Stage of your Christian calling, do Prayerful Brainstorming to discover how God might be leading you. Click this blog to learn how: Prayerful Brainstorming.
4. Get as healthy as you possibly can: spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally, relationally, and financially.
Your Christian calling role in the Fulfillment Stage will be the most exciting time of your Christian calling, but it will also be the most challenging. Therefore, you’ll want to be as healthy as you can possibly be, in all ways.
Click the blog links below to learn how to maximize your health in each area:
- Spiritual health: See this blog about ramping up your growth in Christ.
- Physical and mental health: See the book Keep Sharp by Sanjay Gupta to learn surprisingly practical ways to get mentally and physically healthy for the long term.
- Emotional health: Being emotionally healthy hinders Christian calling more than anything else. See this blog to learn how to get emotionally healthy: Break Through to Emotional Health.
- Relational health: Healthy boundaries promote healthy relationships. See the book Boundaries by Henry Cloud.
- Financial health: Financial health gives us freedom to do many things in Christian calling that we could not otherwise do. Learn how through this blog: Money and Your Christian Calling.
5. Take up the mantle of your Christian calling role for your Fulfillment Stage.
- As you discover who you are and what you feel called to do in your Fulfillment Stage, write a statement that describes who you are and what you’re called to do. See this blog for how to do it: Discover Your 7-Part Christian Calling Statement.
- Then boldly—and with God’s full approval and encouragement—take up the mantle of your calling for your Fulfillment Stage. That means telling people humbly but boldly who you are and what God has called you to do, doing your part in accomplishing that purpose, and trusting God to do His part.
- As you start to believe who you really are and what God has called you to do, others will believe it too. And then doors of opportunity will begin to open.
6. Do all of the above through a next-level uniquely personal relationship with God.
- Of course, all of the above is possible only through God’s love, wisdom, and power in your life.
- The most significant Christian calling role of your life will require a deeper relationship with God than you’ve ever had before.
- See these two blogs for how to grow your relationship with God: Conversation with God and Grow in Christ Through Journaling.
As I said before, this is a lot! Preparing for the most fulfilling and impactful Christian calling role of your life takes time. But just be faithful to do your part, and God will do His. I have discovered, through coaching dozens of people about Christian calling, that these steps work.
In the darkest part of the Valley of Identity, the road seems long. Indeed, it seems impossible. I know. I’ve been there. And in fact, in our own wisdom, strength, and perseverance, it is indeed absolutely impossible.
But that’s the point. Your calling is from God, not from yourself. Therefore, He will enlighten, empower, and indwell you to fulfill the seemingly impossible calling He has given you. Do your part, and trust God to do His part.
- It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. (Ephesians 1:11, MSG)
Christian Calling at Age 50+: Signs That You’re Headed into the Fulfillment Stage of Your Calling
Eventually, as you do the things above, you’ll see exciting signs that you’re moving out of the Valley of Identity and getting closer to the Fulfillment Stage of your Christian calling.
Below are some of those signs, derived from biblical precedent, Tony Stoltzfus’ research, my own experiences coaching dozens of people about Christian calling, and my own Christian calling journey.
Signs That You’re Emerging from Your Valley of Identity into the Fulfillment Stage of Your Christian Calling:
- Joy, hope, light, and fun begin to return, perhaps for the first time in years, or perhaps even in a brand new way for the first time ever.
- Your focus shifts from almost totally doing and accomplishing, to an easy and delightful mixture of being and doing.
- God might give you a few weeks, months, or even years of Sabbatical, just for enjoying and growing in Him, before He launches you into your ultimately fulfilling and impactful Christian calling role. And furthermore, you will not feel at all guilty about taking the Sabbatical, because of the changes God has wrought in your heart.
- For the first time in a long time, you start getting some clarity about the details of your Christian calling role in the Fulfillment Stage—and even some strategies for moving toward it.
- Your relationship with God becomes newly and uniquely personal, unlike that of any other person on the planet. You’re confident He loves you, likes you, approves of you, and loves spending time with you.
- You value your relationship with God more than your Christian calling, and more than any relationship, world view, philosophy, lifestyle, or thing. In fact, you realize that, if you had only God and nothing else, that would be enough. Your passion for your current relationships, calling, etc., will not diminish. In fact, those passions will be enhanced by your new relationship with God. And with that will come incredible strength, joy, and peace.
Persevere to Fulfillment in Your Christian Calling!
I prayed for you as I wrote this blog. I know how painful it is to feel stuck in the Valley of Identity in your Christian calling, because I’ve been there.
If you would like more information about how my coaching might help you to move forward in your Christian calling, click this link: Christian Coaching. My specialty is to help people—especially, but not exclusively, people age 50+—find and fulfill their Christian calling and grow in Christ.
God bless you as you find and fulfill your Christian calling! It’s great to be on the journey with you!
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