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All posts from "June 2008"
June 30, 2008
Quick Facts on Boomers
• Born between the years of 1946 and 1964
• Approx. 78 million alive in 2005. In the 18 years prior to the Boomers, which are labeled the Builders, there were 49 million births
• 11,000 Boomers turn 50 or 60 each day (one every seven seconds) which equals over 4 million each year
• First Boomers eligible for Social Security in 2008
• First Boomers turn 65 in 2011 and the number of 65 and over will increase dramatically during the 2010-2030 period with twice as many 65 and over in 2030 than there were in 2000, growing from 35 million to 71.5 million and representing nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population
• By the year 2025, Americans over 65 will outnumber teenagers by more than two to one
• The U.S. Census Bureau projects that the population 85 and over could grow from 5.3 million in 2006 to nearly 21 million by 2050 which is when the youngest Boomers will have turned 85
• Life expectancy during the twentieth century went from 48 to 78 years of age
For 17 years, Tim Russert sat at the head of the table on Meet the Press every Sunday morning as millions of viewers tuned in to find out what was going on in the minds of the world’s leading politicians. I rarely tuned in, because I was getting ready for church, and I suspect this is the case with many of you. But during the week, you, like I, heard significant sound bites from Meet the Press on other news programs—a tribute to Mr. Russert’s accomplished skills as an honest and intrepid investigative reporter.
Russert’s sudden death by heart attack at the age of 58 stunned those he worked with—and millions of others. For me, it was even more stunning to hear what his co-workers had to say about the man. While they acknowledged Tim Russert as “the consummate reporter who worked as hard or harder than anyone in the business,” colleague after colleague said more about the person than his work. It is noteworthy that the two books Russert penned in life were not about his work as a reporter. They were about family, and the critical role of fathers in the lives of their children.
It is becoming quite popular for people to move into a 55+ adult community when they retire. Most large metropolitan areas, as well as smaller communities have recognized this trend and are responding with unique living environments for the active retiree. Del Webb, the nation’s leader in building active adult communities, found in a survey that 59 percent of baby boomers plan to relocate upon retirement with 7 percent of those considering a 55+ living community.1
These communities are marketed as resort style living with golf courses, recreational activities, and fitness centers. But what about the spiritual lives of the thousands of adults who live in these communities? Some churches are taking a serious look at the importance of evangelizing and ministering to older adults where they live.
June 16, 2008
The Price of Children
Have you ever thought about what you really get for the price of a child?
The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle-income family. Talk about sticker shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.
But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.24 a day! Just over a dollar an hour. Still, you might think the best financial advice is don't have children if you want to be "rich." Actually, it is just the opposite.
What do you get for your $160,140?
I am often asked the question, “If you were starting a senior adult ministry, how would you begin?” My answer includes five components:
1. Finding, selecting, training leadership. The success of your ministry will be directly related to the quality of your leaders. Someone(s) needs to own the goal of ministry/outreach to seniors. My experience is that the senior adult leaders who are most successful have a genuine love for people in this age group.
In research we conducted with 500 churches that had a full- or part time senior adult staff member, we found that the leaders who had received training in the area of older adult ministry were far more effective—and their senior adult ministries were more likely to be growing—than were those leaders who had received no training. We also found that retired pastors are generally ineffective as senior adult leaders … unless they have been re-trained in the unique issues and challenges of senior adult ministry in the present generation.
Between 2000 and 2030, the number of Americans over age 65 will double to 72 million people and by 2050 will reach 82 million, resulting in an increase in the proportion of the total population in this age group from 12 percent to 20 percent. During this time, projections show a shift in proportion of the age categories such that those over the age of 75 will constitute over half of the adults 65 and older. Much of this change will result from the unprecedented four-fold increase in those over the age of 85. In fact, people who live to be 100 years old or older (Centenarians) represent the fastest growing age group in our country.
In this century, people are expected to reach 120 years of age, generally considered by scientists to be the maximum age for human beings. These gains in life expectancy, while representing great successes in public health and medical care, are not being greeted enthusiastically nor with optimism by society, but instead with tales of impending doom, grounded in depressing realities like the rising cost of medical care for older persons and other concerns.
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