In a world that often values youth over experience, the concept of a Modern Elder offers a refreshing perspective on the value of wisdom accumulated over decades of professional life. My own 44-year employment journey has been a testament to how careers evolve, skills compound, and wisdom grows – not in spite of transitions, but because of them.

The Power of Transition

Transitions have defined my professional life, serving as inflection points that transformed challenges into growth opportunities. As I wrote in this post Final Approach: Reframing Life’s Unexpected Transitions, transitions aren’t merely endings but gateways to new beginnings. Each career pivot I’ve experienced – from media ministry to education, from construction to clarity consulting – required not just adaptation but transformation.

My journey began at Highview Baptist in Louisville (1981-1986) as Minister of Media, where I expanded audiovisual and communications departments in multiple areas including creating daily children’s educational shows and critical input into the launching of the ACTS satellite network. What seemed like a specialized role evolved as I embraced technological change, researching and implementing large church computer networks in 1983 – long before most churches considered digital infrastructure essential. This early willingness to evolve foreshadowed what would become a hallmark of the Modern Elder mindset: digital fluency coupled with perspective shifting.

The transitions continued through my tenure at Prays Mill Baptist in Georgia (1987-1994) and First Baptist Huntersville (1995-2004), where my responsibilities consistently expanded beyond initial job descriptions. Each transition within these roles – from education minister to administrative leader, from creating a volunteer development process to long-range planning – required the resilience and growth mindset now recognized as core competencies of Modern Elders.

Perhaps the most significant transition came in 2004 when I joined J.H. Batten Design Builders as Sales Development Director. This leap from ministry to commercial construction specializing in churches demanded courage and adaptability. Rather than seeing my prior experience as unrelated, I leveraged my organizational and people skills to create new business models, including a consultant sales approach and an industry certification process that expanded the company’s reach and influence.

As I wrote in The Last Click: Erasing Calendar Blocks, Embracing Possibilities, transitions require us to erase old expectations and embrace new possibilities. This perspective served me well when joining Auxano/Lifeway in 2012, where I brought the dream of an online information platform known as the Vision Room into reality. In addition, a long-held passion for Guest Experiences led to the creation of Guest Experience Boot Camps that trained over 500 church leaders from 126 churches in a four-year period.

The Modern Elder Concept

Since 2022, I have been deep diving into the concepts of a Modern Elder. Along the way, through conversations, connections, and observations, I have developed a framework for the basics of what makes a Modern Elder. The 12 Core Competencies of a Modern Elder represent a structure that resonates deeply with my experience. Unlike traditional models of retirement that suggest fading relevance, the Modern Elder concept celebrates the unique value that experienced professionals bring to organizations when they combine accumulated wisdom with continued growth.

Looking back, I recognize how these competencies manifested throughout my career:

Wisdom Intelligence developed as I synthesized experiences across different organizational contexts, allowing me to see patterns and solutions others might miss. This was particularly evident in my work creating clarity resources at Auxano that distilled complex organizational principles into actionable guidance.

Intergenerational Collaboration became essential as workplaces diversified. From being the youngest staff member in 1981 to working with younger colleagues and clients at Auxano beginning in 2012 required me to appreciate different communication styles while offering the perspective that only experience provides.

The early adoption of computer networks and complete ministry software in 1983 and later development of digital engagement systems in 2014 demonstrated Digital Fluency that many of my contemporaries lacked. Rather than resisting technological change, I embraced it as a tool for expanded impact.

The various leadership positions I’ve held – from educational ministry to sales development – sharpened my Emotional Intelligence as I navigated complex relationships and organizational dynamics. This same emotional awareness informed my approaches to guest experience training, where empathy serves as the foundation.

One particular competency – a Growth Mindset – has been developed over my entire life, but was highlighted for a period of over 8 years: the creation, launch, and almost daily work in a book excerpt/application project called SUMS Remix. With 227 bi-weekly issues, referencing 574 books, it was an integral part of my work, demonstrated an openness to learning, evolving, and challenging existing assumptions for leaders.

Perhaps most critical to my longevity has been Legacy Thinking. As I wrote in Growing Whole, Not Old: Moving from Traditional Retirement to Maximum Influence, the goal isn’t simply adding years but expanding influence through continuous learning and evolution.

A Personal Employment Journey

My career path defies linear description. Instead, it represents a series of expanding concentric circles, each building upon previous experience while venturing into new territory. From managing audiovisual departments to leading building campaigns, from developing volunteer programs to creating national certification processes, each role added new capabilities while drawing on established strengths.

The transition to Auxano/Lifeway in 2012 represented not just a new job but an integration of all previous experience. Establishing visionroom.com as an online clarity resource drew on my media background. Creating guest experience assessment and training programs leveraged my educational ministry and building consultant experience. Leading digital engagement efforts built upon my early technology adoption.

What appears as separate chapters in my resume actually represents the ongoing development of additional, interrelated competencies: 

• Mentorship Excellence through educational leadership 
• Perspective Shifting through consultative approaches
• Resilience through multiple organizational transitions
• Storytelling through content creation
• Cultural Stewardship through change management
• Humility through consistently embracing new challenges

As I wrote in Closing the Circle: A Grateful Goodbye and a New Beginning, career transitions represent opportunities to close one circle while beginning another. The Modern Elder doesn’t simply accumulate experience but transforms it into wisdom that benefits organizations and individuals alike.

The Circle Continues

My journey illustrates that careers aren’t meant to follow straight lines but rather to trace meaningful patterns that create ever-expanding impact. The Modern Elder doesn’t seek retirement in the traditional sense but rather maximum influence – using accumulated wisdom to guide others while continuing to grow personally.

The 12 competencies didn’t develop sequentially but emerged organically through challenges embraced and transitions navigated successfully. Each role change – whether within organizations or between them – required leaving comfort zones and entering learning zones where these competencies could develop.

As I contemplate future transitions, I do so not with anxiety but with anticipation. The Modern Elder path isn’t about clinging to past accomplishments but about leveraging them to create future impact. It’s about growing whole, not just growing old – integrating experience, wisdom, and continuous learning into a compelling whole that benefits organizations precisely because it brings perspective that youth alone cannot provide.

In a world of constant disruption, the Modern Elder offers not just adaptation but transformation – turning transitions from endings into beginnings, challenges into growth opportunities, and experience into wisdom that benefits generations to come.

---