The New World of Senior Adults—Sidebar: Senior Stress Scale

Minister's Life & Ministry

Articles for ministers

Empower Resources

Articles for lay leaders

Book Review

Enrichment
The First Decade
Every issue (Fall 1995- Fall 2005) on 3 CDs.

Order Back Issues Online

Conflict Management
Two volume set now available.

Managing the Local Church/Leadership CD.

Order Paraclete CD
Includes all 29 years of the now out-of-print Paraclete magazine. An excellent source of Pentecostal themes and issues. Contains articles on theological topics concerning the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. An indispensable source of sermon and Bible study material with a fully searchable subject/author index.

Advance/Pulpit CDs
Long out of print but fondly remembered, Advance and Pulpit magazines blessed thousands of ministers. Now the entire Advance/Pulpit archive--nearly 40 years of information, inspiration, helps, and history--is available to you on separate CDs.

Table of Contents

The New World of Senior Adults — Sidebar

Senior Stress Scale

ADULT AGE LIFE EVENT	RANK
1. Death of a spouse	100
2. Divorce	73
3. Move to nursing/retirement home	70
4. Marital separation	65
5. Death of a close family member	64
6. Major physical problems	53
7. Marriage or remarriage	50
8. Realizing a personal lack of dreams/purpose	47
9. Financial loss of retirement money	47
10. Forced early retirement	46
11. Unable to drive	45
12. Marital reconciliation	45
13. Retirement	45
14. Spouse confined to retirement home	45
15. Change of health of family member	44
16. Gain a new family member	39
17. Change in financial state	38
18. Death of a close friend	37
19. Difficulty in getting medical insurance	36
20. Change in number of arguments with spouse	35
21. Mortgage over $100,000	31
22. Foreclosure of mortgage/loan	30
23. Sense of not being needed	29
24. Outstanding personal achievement	28
25. Spouse begins or stops work	26
26. Significantly decreased contact with children or friends	25
27. Revision of personal habits	24
28. Significantly less contact with support group/s	24
29. Trouble with the boss	23
30. Minor physical problems	20
31. Change in recreation habits	19
32. Change in church activities	19
33. Change in social activities	18
34. Loans of less than $100,000	17
35. Change in sleeping habits	16
36. Change in number of family get-togethers	15
37. Change in eating habits	15
38. Vacations	13
39. Christmas	12
40. Minor law violation	11

As you think and pray about the non-Christian seniors in your network of friends, neighbors and relatives, use this stress scale as one way to identify those whom the Holy Spirit may be preparing to invite into the Kingdom. Those who are in the midst of significant life-changes are most likely to be receptive to God’s need-meeting love, as expressed through your church’s senior-adult ministry. Watch…listen…be sensitive to these times of need…and then be ready to "give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15).

Charles Arn, Ed.D., Monrovia, California.