Welcome to the On The Rise newsletter, where I feature fascinating, helpful, and sometimes curious content that caught my attention this week.

Today, MrBeast unpacks his success, Gen X turns 60 and is unsure about retirement, Tim Keller on sleepy Christians, and are you trusting God or just being stupid?

The Gen X Retirement Crisis

Boomers retired. Will Gen X? Probably not.

As you pastor your church, here’s something to think about: The oldest Gen Xers are turning 60 this year, and many will not be retiring.

Maybe I’m sharing this because I turned 60 last week, and I’ve been thinking a lot about retirement lately and what’s next. I actually ‘retired’ from the Lead Pastor role at 50 to pursue a calling to help leaders, and here we are an entire decade later.

So, what’s up with Gen X at your church?

Many Gen X can’t retire because they can’t afford it (outliving your savings is a real issue these days).

Personally, I don’t want to retire because I LOVE what I get to do, and hope to do various iterations of what I’m doing now (helping leaders) indefinitely.

Many pastors say retirement isn’t in the Bible. Sure, I get that. Also, remember that we only invented retirement as a concept 100 years ago. Before then, people worked until they died, and generally, that wasn’t long.

But in an era where people are living into their 80s and 90s, now what?

​Brian Clark has a fascinating article that will help you understand the mindset and reality of many Gen Xers as they head into the final decades of their lives. Many want to work. Many need to work. Many want to contribute.

I also wrote a post last week called The View From 60. In it, I share why I think retirement is a trap.

Things are changing fast. All the assumptions you and I grew up with are kind of out the window.

Are You Trusting in God? Or Being Foolish?

April’s theme in The Art of Leadership Academy!

There’s a fine line between faith and irresponsibility, and at times, it’s almost impossible to see.

Is it a step of faith... or is it just a bad idea?

Is it trust in God… or is it reckless?

Next month in The Art of Leadership Academy, you’ll learn a framework for discerning this as a leader so you can lead confidently and trust in God.

I’m excited to explore this with you, Reader.

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3 Questions to Wake Up Sleepy Christians

Tim Keller on challenging nominal Christianity.

Every church leader wonders whether people are really engaging in their faith…or not.

Tim Keller outlines three questions you can weave into your messages or communication to help people realize whether or not their faith is alive.

If You Knew, What Would You Do?

Know more. Grow more.

In Barna's "State of the Church," research reveals a critical need for churches to create meaningful digital experiences. While many leaders recognize this need, there is a significant gap between knowing and doing.

​StudioC bridges this gap with two powerful tools: their Member Engagement Solution personalizes digital communication at scale to move people forward in their faith journey, while ChurchIQ provides the analytics you need to make data-informed ministry decisions.

Ready to see where your church stands? Start with StudioC's Member Engagement Assessment - a free tool to see how you can better engage with every person God has entrusted to you.

Take the assessment to begin your journey toward more effective, data-driven ministry.

Begin Assessment

Podcast I'm Listening To

MrBeast’s 10 Rules on My First Million.

Yes, I have lots of podcast recommendations lately because we got buried in snow all winter north of Toronto, and I listen to podcasts while I’m shoveling/snow-blowing the deck and driveway.

I’ve been interested in the staggering domination MrBeast has achieved at age 26, and the hosts of My First Million did a great job breaking down Jimmy Donaldson’s habits and reasons for his success.

​The 10 Rules they outline in the pod are worth the price of admission.

Clone Yourse, the Rule of 100, No Doesn’t Mean No Way, and Impossible Is Possible will challenge most, if not all, of your assumptions in leadership.

Cheering for you,

Weekend Watching: Warren Bird & Adelle Banks

This week on the podcast, Warren Bird and Adelle Banks share data and case studies on what you need to do to make your church future-ready, what happens when Christians become the minority in the US, and the surprising reasons people give for not attending church.