The decision Danny Wood made in 1983 to leave a promising career in business for the ministry reflects a calling many Christian businesspeople feel in the second half of their lives.
Although Wood — now pastor of Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Vestavia Hills, in Birmingham Baptist Association — had worked successfully in marketing with South Central Bell (now BellSouth) for eight and a half years and was climbing the company ladder, he remembers thinking there was something more he wanted for his life.
A midlife call to ministry
“God put that in my heart, that there was a greater desire for me to have an impact for eternity,” Wood said.
Addressing a midlife call to leave behind the safety and success of an established career for the ministry is the focus of the Success to Significance Summit, planned for Aug. 24–25 at Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, Birmingham, in Birmingham Association.
The summit is sponsored by Dawson Memorial Baptist and The Covenant Group, which works in wealth management, along with retirement and estate planning, from a biblical perspective.
The event will begin with a “Vision Casting” session 6:30–9 p.m. Aug. 24, followed by a four-hour “Self-Discovery process” 8 a.m.–noon the next day.
Participants will hear from Christians who have redirected their lives toward involvement in the ministry.
“The summit will challenge participants to ask what they are called to, what gives them passion and what has God done in their life that may have prepared them for ministry,” said Jack Eyer, director of marketing and client services with The Covenant Group. “Their passion, their energy, their skills — redeploying them in something that they’re really called to can make a dramatic difference in their level of energy and their personal satisfaction in doing that ministry.”
Part-time or full-time options
Lloyd Reeb, spokesman for Halftime, a nonprofit ministry for those who want to make a difference in the second half of their life, will lead participants in exercises, assessments and discussions to help them create a personal mission statement and game plan.
Reeb, author of “From Success to Significance: When the Pursuit of Success Isn’t Enough,” added the summit will also speak to individuals who may be called to a ministry meeting needs outside the church or a church ministry that doesn’t require 40 hours a week.
“It might be an urban ministry. It might be a global ministry. It might be in their church,” he said. “It might even be in the marketplace.”
Reeb said the summit coincides with the launch of LifeWay Christian Resources material also titled “Success to Significance” that is designed to guide members of the baby boom generation in what can they do with their time and talent that can make a difference for God.
“People reach midlife and they realize they want their life to count for something,” he said.
For more information about the summit, contact Eyer at 205-985-7710 or jack@covenant-group.com.
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