I'm in the final stages of cleaning out the old office and moving equipment into the new office in my home. I've received the blessing of the folks in Administration here at my present corporation and on Monday I will begin my career as a fulltime writer.
As I was heading to work this morning, a glaring truth hit me, and it might be something for us as a Christian community to ponder:
Back last year as I was praying and seeking God's will, I applied and queried at numerous Christian institutions from churches to colleges to camps, and numerous times I was told the reason that I was not in the running was because of my age. I'm 49 years old, and the oft-given excuse was that, yes, even though I met the qualifications to serve in their ministry, it was an issue of age. In other words, I was too old to serve in the Christian community.
But then I stepped into the secular world and was immediately embraced for the years of experience I had acquired. I have more work than I've ever had, and I keep getting calls from companies, sports teams and organizations wanting me to write, speak and assist them.
Obviously I know God has His hand on the direction of all of our lives, and of course I am elated at my writing job - in fact my writing involves both Christian and non-Christian work...
...but don't you think the Christian community ought to reflect on this? Not once have I been told in the secular community that my age was a factor. In more than half of the interviews I had with Christian organizations, my experience made no difference. It was because I was old.
I run over three miles a day. I'm still into weightlifting and other sports. I write over 10,000 words a day. I'm in the recording studio, writing two biographies, and traveling to sports arenas as I write columns. I'm not able to keep up?
Could the Christian community be guilty of age discrimination?
