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Shining in the Golden Years

An interview with Peggy Musgrove

WIM interviewed Peggy Musgrove who remains active in several avenues of ministry after she and her husband retired from over 50 years in ministry in local churches, district and national offices.

WIM: Peggy, give us a snapshot of the kinds of ministries and roles in which you’ve served over your lifetime.

Musgrove: Most of our ministry was in the Kansas District, 39 years in the same city. We pastored 4 churches and served 30 years in various capacities in the district office. As a pastor’s wife, I served in almost every capacity in the church at one time or another. In the district office, I served in the Women’s Ministries Department.

When we retired from the district office and moved to Springfield, Missouri, we thought we were retiring from ministry. But the Lord had other plans. Both my husband and I were invited to lead national departments in the Division of Church Ministries. He launched Senior Adult Ministries and I led the Women’s Ministries Department for 4 years.

Ministry from the national office opened many doors including the opportunity to speak at women’s functions in 42 districts and several foreign countries. When we retired from these offices, we entered a more typical phase of retirement, though we are both still very active.

WIM: What kinds of ministry activities occupy your time today?

Musgrove: Boards and committees seem to be our main area of service right now. It is a privilege to still be connected with vital ministries without having the stress of leadership and travel.

Writing has always been a part of my ministry, and I still do a lot of that for various publications. My husband and I maintain a Web page, combining our hobbies of photography and writing to share in a personal way.

WIM: I’m sure that as you look back over your life, you can see times of stretching that stand out as ones that became foundational to the person you are today. Could you share with us a few of those times?

Musgrove: The topography of my life is as plain as the prairies I grew up in. When our first daughter left home for college, I reviewed our lives. We had had no major illnesses, no accidents or broken bones, no serious financial crises, no years of rebellion, no severed relationships. We didn’t even deal with the trauma of moving because from the time our daughters were born until they were out of college, we lived in the same city.

We lived ordinary lives daily, without the mountains and valleys many people go through. In saying this, I make no value statement. It is just how life happened. Yet “the dailies” can be great times of stretching, as we strive to live the life we profess to believe.

The greatest stretching times for me were those times when relationships became strained with people we knew and loved. When you live in the same place for nearly 40 years, people know you well and you know them well. Occasionally it seemed it would have been easier to move around the world, or maybe to a different planet.

As a leader, at times you make decisions you know some of your best friends are not going to agree with. Sometimes, because of confidential information, you cannot explain all the reasons for your decisions. You are stretched to make the right decision in spite of public opinion without yielding to the temptation to explain yourself.

Other stretching times were when we were asked to do things beyond our experience and ability. The Lord leads us into unexpected areas of ministry, but I have learned that His calling is also His enabling.

WIM: How did you feel during those times of stretching? What were some feelings or thoughts common to those experiences?

Musgrove:Just so many responses are available to us when we are stretched, no matter what the circumstance causing the stretch. We start asking, “Who?” How?” “Why?” We want to know who caused the problem, how it happened and why.

We usually look for answers outside of ourselves, either to God or someone else. If we find those answers there, we may start blaming or become embittered. Sometimes we don’t find the answers outside of ourselves, so we look inward. We can become guilt ridden and remorseful, both of which are dead-end streets.

On those occasions that we are asked to do something beyond ourselves, fear can grip us. Giving in to fear can be paralyzing. Fear must be examined to see if it is simply pride that doesn’t want to be exposed. We are afraid we’ll look bad so we don’t try anything new.

WIM: When our faith is tested in times of stretching, it can be tempting to simply give up, or to succumb to the temptation to remain as we are. What kinds of things (Scripture, prayer, etc.) helped you to press through?

Musgrove: From my first experience of being criticized by a church member to one of the most difficult encounters we had with a troubled church, my source of strength has always been God’s Word. He is so faithful to speak to us at the point of our need.

When I have been asked to do something beyond myself that does not come easily for me, I always lean on 1 Thessalonians 5:24: “The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.” The verse refers to God’s promise to keep us from falling. If He calls us, He will keep us, and help us get the job done.

WIM: What role did other people play in these times of stretching? In what ways did they encourage you or discourage you?

Musgrove: Good friends are so vital in our Christian walk. We have been blessed with many close friends in the ministry who have been sounding boards for us. I remember one occasion that a friend came to my rescue when our life took a sudden right turn, an unexpected change in direction of ministry which required leaving a church that loved us

The backlash of this change became difficult for me to handle because people did not understand the move. Misunderstanding brought some erratic behavior; the kinds of things that can happen in a church during change of leadership. I felt our ministry there was being destroyed.

I will not forget the day a dear friend, wife of another minister, just showed up and “needed” me to go with her that day. In reality, I needed her far more than she needed me. Just being with her that afternoon helped me to gain perspective, and consequently, some inner peace.

The eyes of friends are mirrors through which we see ourselves. We must not underestimate the value of Christian friends, especially in the ministry. We really do need each other.

WIM: What stretches you now?

Musgrove: Life is a series of constant changes and change is stretching. At this stage of life it would be easy to hold on to the past, and try to keep things as they have always been. But this just isn’t happening. The temptation is to withdraw and let the world go by, while we hunker down with our memories. But I feel that if the Lord keeps us here, He has purpose for us. We must constantly, like Paul, “Press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Philippians 3:12).This is continual stretching.

People who have lived 7 decades or more have to constantly sort out the passing from the permanent, the temporal from the eternal. Some things are just not significant enough to get stressed about. Each day I try to focus on eternal values, a constant stretch in a world that screams for my attention to the here and now.

WIM: From your perspective, during the “Golden Years,” how should women with ministry in focus view their times of stretching?

Musgrove: Instead of asking the usual questions mentioned above, ask other questions:

• Where is God in this situation and what does He want me to learn?
• How can I respond to these difficulties in a Christian manner that glorifies God?”

Instead of trying to affix blame in any situation, try rather to alleviate stress by asking:

• What can I do, if anything, to make this situation easier to bear, either for myself or for others involved in it?”

Instead of doubting yourself or God’s love, let faith rise in your heart.

• Ask God for wisdom to deal with the situation; He has promised that to you.
• Ask Him for financial provision if that is your need; that also is promised to you.
• Ask Him for physical strength and most of all, ask Him for grace—

 

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