Garrison Keeler on Being a Senior Citizen

Q. As a senior citizen, do you feel that the health care system is doing all it can for your health problem?

A. I am not now, and never have been, a senior citizen. I happen to be 65 years old. Not the same thing. I am lively and quick, don't shamble or shuffle, and don't clutch the banister when I go down stairs. The brown spots on the backs of my hands are from experiments with a chemistry set when I was a boy. I have the urinary tract of a young horse. Doctors continue to be astonished. What was the question?

A Prairie Home Companion [newsletter@americanpublicmedia.org]

The Time is Now

Bill Hybels, Founder and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, says:
I’m operating with a theory these days that the greatest untapped resource in the next ten or fifteen years around this church is going to be all of the people who are finishing life 1, who don’t want to just go to dinner at 5:30 and shuffleboard. They love God, and they love our church, but we have to engage them at a whole different level … If we don’t call them to it, the call to golf might win.

Let's unleash the wisdom and talents of the ages that lies largely untapped within the men and women who have served God for several decades while rearing kids, making a career work and being responsible citizens. Many if not most are put on the shelf when it comes to using their experiences in the workplace to do the works of the Lord.

The Boomers and Silents are loaded with all that is needed to change the world. Let's help them find their place to serve, a community to partner with and the way to connect.

Health Care for Seasoned Citizens

Cost of Benefits to Seniors, Especially Health Care, Skyrocketed in 2007

I receive a daily newsletter from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the largest in America. Above is the headline taken from USA Today.

Feb 14, 2008 "The cost of government benefits for seniors soared to a record $27,289 per senior in 2007," which is an increase of 24 percent above the rate of inflation since 2000, according to an analysis by USA Today.

The paper pointed to medical costs as the main cause of the increase, saying that "health care and nursing homes cost the government more than Social Security payments for seniors age 65 and older" for the first time last year. This rise in costs of senior benefits comes at a time when the senior population has remained constant. However, the first baby boomers will turn 65 and qualify for Medicare starting in 2011, which will cause a spike in the number of seniors.

The USA Today analysis found that "Medicare experienced the most explosive growth from 2000 to 2007," with the Medicare prescription-drug benefit accounting for a quarter of the increase in Medicare costs. It also found that 35 percent of the federal budget goes to senior benefit costs, up from 32 percent in 2004. (Cauchon, USA Today, 2/14/08)

Social Security will go broke in 2011 and Medicare-Medicaid is costing the Federal Government much, much more than it can afford. In that kind of a crisis atmosphere, one would think that candidates for President would be discussing their plans for reducing costs and saving the safety network for our nation. Not so!!!

In the debate last night I did not hear one rational thought about the budget crisis in any of these programs. There was not one question about them from a panel obsessed with words.

Both Obama and Clinton promised huge new free expenditures for "Universal Health Care" but neither said how to pay for it. We are broke today so we promise gigantic new entitlements tomorrow. That sure works for my family.

We must put our most creative thinking on how to resolve these issues.

Ministry Time

I heard that the Atlantic Foundation gave over 100 million dollars in 2006 to develop programs that support Seasoned Citizens. At the same time churches are changing their focus from Seasoned Believers to Babes in Christ.

It is very important to reach young people and young families. Any church that fails to develop dynamic and effective ministries to the Millennials will soon die. Christianity is like the music business. It has to keep abreast of the most current musical styles because there are always new age groups with an interest in new things.

However, let us learn from the Music Business. They sell millions of recordings of "Golden Oldies" to Seasoned Citizens. Bill Gaither has become rich by focusing on the "Oldies But Goodies". It seems as though church leaders are tone deaf when it comes to serving customers from two or three different age groups. They serve the same "style" in every service regardless of the preference of the customer.

At Starbucks we can order coffee 721 different ways. At most churches we can't get coffee at all and if we do it is THEIR WAY.

The secular foundations are well aware of the Age Wave and are giving millions to help people prepare. Where are the Christians on this issue?

Sweeten Life Systems is dedicated to building churches, small groups and Seasoned Leaders who are qualified and trained to help us prepare for the future. We are showing them how to develop. A Lifetime of great relationships.

Send your donation to

Sweeten Life Systems

P.O. Box 498455

Cincinnati, Ohio 45249

Write me at gsweeten@cinci.rr.com to learn how to can transfer stocks to SLS and make a real difference for Seasoned Leaders

The Fourth Great Awakening

Michael Lindsay's book, Faith in the Halls of Power is an easy and interesting read. It is available from your favorite bookseller. I strongly recommend it.

Michael Lindsay is a member of the sociology faculty at Rice University where he is also the Faculty Associate of Leadership Rice and Assistant Director of the Center on Race, Religion, and Urban Life. He formerly worked at Gallup and wrote two books with George Gallup.

Here is what Oxford Press, the publisher has to say about it.

Evangelicals, once at the periphery of American life, now wield power in the White House and on Wall Street, at Harvard and in Hollywood. How have they reached the pinnacles of power in such a short time? And what does this mean for evangelicals--and for America?Drawing on personal interviews with an astonishing array of prominent Americans--including two former Presidents, dozens of political and government leaders, more than 100 top business executives, plus Hollywood moguls, intellectuals, athletes, and other powerful figures--D. Michael Lindsay shows first-hand how they are bringing their vision of moral leadership into the public square. This riveting volume tells us who the real evangelical power brokers are, how they rose to prominence, and what they're doing with their clout. Lindsay reveals that evangelicals are now at home in the executive suite and on the studio lot, and from those lofty perches they have used their influence, money, and ideas to build up the evangelical movement and introduce it to the wider American society. They are leaders of powerful institutions and their goals are ambitious--to bring Christian principles to bear on virtually every aspect of American life. Along the way, the book is packed with fascinating stories and striking insights. Lindsay shows how evangelicals became a force in American foreign policy, how Fortune 500 companies are becoming faith-friendly, and how the new generation of the faithful is led by cosmopolitan evangelicals. These are well-educated men and women who read both The New York Times and Christianity Today ... Perhaps most startling is the importance of personal relationships between leaders--a quiet conversation after Bible study can have more impact than thousands of people marching in the streets.

This last sentence is very interesting. For some time I have been involved in developing networks of Seasoned Believers to share and support each other. Over a decade ago Jerry Kirk, Damon Lynch, Michael Dantley and I launched Hope for Cincinnati to bring Seasoned leaders together for mutual support, prayer and care. Ron Peake and I are still sponsoring quarterly gatherings at Kenwood Baptist Church and they are quiet but solid times for growth.

Lindsay's book indicates that the primary force behind the Evangelical Renewal in society comes not from the political or media giants but from leaders in business, industry, education and religion who come together to hear God. Stay tuned for more opportunities for collaboration, networking and mutual support.

According to the Nobel Prize winning economist Robert Fogel we are in the midst of a huge nation changing shift called The Fourth Great Awakening. And, it is being led by Seasoned Leaders from business, media, education and psychology.

Gary Sweeten
Seasoned Leader Coach and Consultant


gsweeten@cinci.rr.com