Dr. Arnie Cole on Living Beyond Retirement

Dr. Arnie Cole: From Rogue Waves to Renewed Purpose

What happens when a lifelong missionary kid turns his back on Christianity, builds a successful career, and then finds himself staring down 120-foot rogue waves in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?

In this fascinating episode of Amazing Greats, Dr. Arnie Cole shares the dramatic near-death experience that led him back to faith and ultimately transformed the course of his life. Today, Arnie serves as CEO of Back to the Bible and is recognized worldwide for pioneering Bible engagement research that has helped millions better understand spiritual growth.

Drawing from his latest book, The Over 50 Advantage, Arnie reveals surprising research about Christians over 50 and challenges common assumptions about retirement, purpose, and aging. Why are so many believers struggling with worry, loneliness, and a loss of direction? And how can we rediscover meaning and impact in the later chapters of life?

Whether you're approaching retirement, already retired, or simply looking for greater purpose in your walk with God, this conversation offers encouragement, wisdom, and practical insights for living each day with intention.

In this episode you'll discover:

• The storm that changed Arnie's life forever

• Why Bible engagement matters more than Bible knowledge alone

• The hidden dangers of retirement culture

• How to find purpose and significance after 50

• Why your most impactful years may still be ahead

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ARNIE COLE AT A GLANCE

Behavioral Scientist • Researcher • CEO, Back to the Bible • Author of The Over 50 Advantage • Christian Testimony

Topics: Christian faith • Late-life conversion • Retirement • Purpose • Bible engagement • Spiritual growth • Discipleship • Great Commission • Aging • Ministry • Research • Back to the Bible • Artificial intelligence

His Faith Journey:Christian upbringing as a missionary kid → Rejection of Christianity → New Age spirituality → Dramatic encounter with God during a life-threatening storm at sea → Surrender to Jesus at age 47 → Learning what Christian life and ministry look like → Bible engagement and discipleship → Calling to help others move closer to Jesus

This Episode Explores:

• Arnie's dramatic late-life conversion during a life-threatening storm at sea

• Why he turned his back on Christianity despite growing up in a Christian home

• His journey from behavioral scientist and entrepreneur to Christian ministry

• The transformation of Back to the Bible from traditional radio to digital ministry and AI

• What his research reveals about Christians over 50, including worry, criticism, loneliness and spiritual disengagement

• Why he believes retirement can become a “false summit” rather than the end of a person's calling

• Why the over-50 generation may be uniquely equipped to re-engage with the Great Commission

Questions Answered:

• What is Arnie Cole's Christian testimony?

• How did Arnie Cole become a Christian at age 47?

• What happened to Arnie Cole during the storm at sea?

• Why does Arnie Cole challenge the idea of retirement?

• What is The Over 50 Advantage about?

• What does Arnie Cole's research say about Christians over 50?

• What is Back to the Bible doing with digital ministry and AI?

• Why does Arnie Cole believe Christians over 50 need to “get back in the game”?

  
  

PODCAST TRANSCRIPT:

The Over 50 Advantage: Dr. Arnie Cole. Retirement, Purpose & JESUS

Amazing Greats with Ric HansenGuest: Dr. Arnie ColeResearcher, CEO of Back to the Bible, and Author of The Over 50 Advantage

From Behavioral Scientist to Christ Follower

Ric Hansen:Well, good. From the West Coast to the heart of the country, we are having a conversation with Dr. Arnie Cole, who has an incredible history and story to tell. That's what we're hoping to get to today—to find out what makes you tick, and in the meantime, get a good read on some of your great challenges and some of your great triumphs over these last several decades.

First of all, Dr. Cole is a researcher. He's the CEO of Back to the Bible. He is a pioneering researcher behind the groundbreaking Bible engagement studies, and very excitingly, the author of a new book called The Over 50 Advantage. It's a book challenging us to see our later years as not being a winding-down time, but more a launching pad for greater things to come.

So that's what we're here to talk about today. But Arnie, you're a research guy who used your research tools in a lot of different ways—to understand and help shape youth at one point, their behavior with technology in the world of this social media challenge, and most recently to focus on behavioral change in those over 50 who are effectively trying to navigate the last chapters of their life.

So here we go. First off, you're a doctor, but a doctor of what?

Dr. Arnie Cole:Of education. I'm a behavior modification specialist—my secular training. And I've been a late-in-life conversion, I think you call them. I didn't come to know the Lord till I was 47.

Ric Hansen:Very interesting. Okay. And that came... So just going back as a child, you weren't raised in a church necessarily.

Dr. Arnie Cole:Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. I was raised in a great Christian home. I was an MK—missionary kid—which should tell you a warning right there. And I went to Christian schools all my life. I was student body president at Brethren High School in Paramount, California.

And about, let's see, when I turned 19, I turned my back on everything that had to do with Jesus. And by the time I was 21, I hated Christians with a passion.

Ric Hansen:Interesting story. And there is a moment that all changed, and we're going to talk about that in a minute as well.

In your career, though, as a researcher, in your secular career, your non-Christian portion of your life, you helped move people with developmental disabilities from institutions, big secular institutions, to more community life. And that was part of your passion—that transformation, not only just doing the research behind what can work, but then actually putting it to work. Is that correct?

Dr. Arnie Cole:Yeah. It's called human-centered design. And basically, we find out what helps you win the day.

So I first started working with violent autistic children. We had some pretty big successes. Then I got recruited by the state of California after this guy named Geraldo Rivera embarrassed the governor of California and showed all the terrible things in state hospitals.

So they recruited me to work with violent, brain-damaged, dual-diagnosed, institutionalized adults. And by the time I sold my companies, we had about a 98% success record, meaning getting them out of the state hospitals.

It was costing, way back then, about $160,000 per patient per year, and we could do it at about half the cost.

Ric Hansen:Amazing.

And so you've been—I found out in my research on you, in checking out your life—they'd said you were an entrepreneur, but I had no idea that that was kind of the piece of it that was your entrepreneurship.

But then things... So it was fruitful, you made lots of money, all was good. You turned 45—is it 45? You decided, "Hey, I'm going to retire." Is that kind of about the time?

Dr. Arnie Cole:Actually, it was decided for me. You know, I didn't know Jesus, but Jesus knew me.

So first of all, I do not want you to think I'm some kind of smart guy, because none of this was planned.

Peter Jennings and World News Tonight did a five-minute feature on our business—you know, what we did, the success rate, and all that. And I would not allow them to mention our name.

Anyways, we got discovered by this company named Magellan, a big conglomerate, and they bought us out after that—bought us hook, line and sinker.

So at 45, I was able to retire and kind of live my life. I had a few health issues, but no, it was... I was on my own and retired. So I know a lot about retirement.

The Storm That Changed Everything

Ric Hansen:Yeah, you had a good—have a long career in retirement, actually. But it turns out to be not really retired at all.

You had a big cruise ship—

Dr. Arnie Cole:I had a boat, not a sailboat. It was a powerboat.

And I've been a boater since I was 18. I had different kinds of boats in Newport Beach, California, and Dana Point. So I decided to take my boat up to Alaska.

We left Newport and went up. And, oh, we were about 160 miles out before you come around the corner for Juan de Fuca, and we got caught in a killer storm—a storm that I thought we were going to die.

And they were having rogue waves at about 120 feet around us. A ship had been hit. And so, you know, there just comes a time in life when you think, "Man, I'm dead."

And that was one of those times.

Ric Hansen:Wow.

And we all don't have that moment, but when you do have that moment, I imagine it is pretty startling.

You called it your "Christmas Carol moment" with God, right? What did God expose to you during that time?

Dr. Arnie Cole:So I remember looking up, and there's nothing more humbling than looking up at a wave that's cresting over the top of your boat.

And I remember looking up, and I was kind of a New Ager, you know, and you can think your way through it. And it just dawned on me: I'm dead. I am dead.

There—I can't positive-think my way through this. I can't picture a new... You know, all the stuff about New Age stuff. None of it worked.

And it's like, "Man, you're screwed. You're going to die. You're going to die."

And, you know, you're thinking it. You're not yelling it because there are other guys in the pilot house with you. It was very serious.

In fact, one of the guys was tied in the bunk sleeping, and we had an argument: Should we wake him up? And we decided not to because it's more humane to let somebody die in their sleep than to go through this.

So, I mean, it was the real deal.

And somehow, it was midnight, and we had survived the storm. I gave my life to the Lord.

And then what's so funny is—and this just shows I had nothing to do with it—six o'clock in the morning, I'm back driving the boat. I'm on the helm, and I'm thinking, "My parents were missionaries."

And I'm thinking, "Oh, crap. I jumped the gun. What did I just do? I don't want to be a Christian."

You know, my parents were in Indonesia. They worked with the Dani people. I don't want to work with the last known candle... And I thought, "I jumped the gun."

And right then, bam! We got hit from the back. I didn't see it coming, probably by about a 75-foot wave.

It flipped our boat up on its side, and it weighs like 65 tons, and we're surfing down the wave.

And I used to surf at Huntington Beach as a kid, and they have this concept called pearling on your board. You're riding a wave, and if the tip starts to dip, you're going to flip.

And I saw that happening, and I remember praying distinctly, "Lord, I know I'm the lowest form of creeping thing, but if you'll save me, I promise, I promise it will stick."

And it did.

Ric Hansen:Hey, Ric Hansen with a fascinating conversation with Dr. Arnie Cole on the power of the Bible to transform lives from the inside out.

Did you hear the voice of God anywhere along that?

Dr. Arnie Cole:Was it just a feeling? Or just a recognition? A feeling in my heart.

I mean, I was calm, even as a non-believer, going into it. It's just like, "This is it. It's a fact." So there's no need to panic because it's not going to do you any good.

But no, I had that peace that passes all understanding.

You know, we got through it. The boat didn't flip. We put things back together, and then went on and cruised on our way up to Alaska.

And then what's interesting is, about a month later, my wife flew up and joined us on the boat, and she came to know the Lord while we were cruising in Alaska.

Ric Hansen:No way!

Dr. Arnie Cole:And what's so funny is both of us hated Christians. But I mean, we hated them.

So I bring the boat back from Alaska, and we're sitting in our house, and my wife goes, "I think we should go to church on Sunday."

And I said, "Yeah, that's a good idea."

And that was how we started.

Neither one of us knew that we had given our hearts to the Lord. And then it just so happened we got this church that was on fire for Jesus, and the pastor's sermon series was on True North.

And it was like, "Whoa."

Everything had changed since I was a kid. They had guitars and drums, and they put things up on the screen, and it was like, "Oh my—what? Oh!"

And people held their hands up. It's like, "Is there a robbery?"

I mean, I had to readjust.

You know, it took me... The things you take for granted, somebody who's come to know the Lord—it ain't easy.

Learning What Ministry Looks Like

Ric Hansen:Yeah, well, that's an interesting story because I'm a late bloomer also.

Dr. Arnie Cole:Oh, you are? Oh, cool.

Ric Hansen:Yeah. And my first visit to a new modern church was similar to yours. I was a Catholic when I was a kid, and so it was all people in robes singing hymns, and it was very detached from where I was at.

And so when I walked in and there were drums and electric guitars and great singers on stage, I was like, "Whoa, this is like... this is cool."

So next step, I would imagine your focus was on, "So now what?" You know, "Now what do I do?"

And there were a few things along the way. A couple of them—the Mission Aviation Fellowship. Great organization.

Tell us about that just briefly.

Dr. Arnie Cole:Just did... I ran their donor development department for a year, learned a lot about how ministries work.

I think they hired me because they thought I was a high roller and had a lot of friends, and I'm kind of a loner.

So I learned ministry. Then I worked for YWAM—Youth With a Mission.

Ric Hansen:The Mission Aviation Fellowship does what? Their mission is what?

Dr. Arnie Cole:They're the—they say they're the feet of the evangelists and pastors.

They fly airplanes like Cessnas, Piper Cubs, into jungle areas and provide transportation for the missionaries and kind of emergency ambulance.

And they do a tremendous work there. So, yeah, it was a good experience there.

Ric Hansen:So then the next step was what? What was that organization?

Dr. Arnie Cole:It was called YWAM, Youth With a Mission.

Ric Hansen:Oh, I'm familiar with YWAM.

Dr. Arnie Cole:Yep, yep. And I called it "Youth Without Any Money."

But basically, they wanted me as a businessman to go to the Middle East and train missionaries to look like business people. Talk about a challenge.

These kids, they were working in all these horrible places—Gaza and all of these dangerous places—and there were places where it was against the law to be a missionary.

So it was my job to teach them, you know, how do you run a business? How do you look?

And the first thing I had to do is say, "Look, business people don't close their business and go on vacation for six months or four months or even a month. And you call it furlough and all, but we don't do that. You don't close your business."

So it was fun. It was a great, great experience.

And then there was MegaVoice somewhere in the mix. MegaVoice makes digital Bibles.

I was CEO for them there in Israel. They were, at the time, in Tiberias, so I got to commute between Israel and the U.S. and work there.

And that's where I started to get my passion for Bible engagement and people hearing from the Word of God.

Ric Hansen:And that was done with a lot of solar work there too, so that where they didn't have power, they could get power from God's own Son, right?

Dr. Arnie Cole:Yep, yep.

Ric Hansen:So cool.

So then how did you connect with Back to the Bible, which, for history's sake, Back to the Bible was really a radio mission ministry where they had a show on radio stations around the country, and it dated way back.

A guy named Theodore Epp—

Dr. Arnie Cole:Yeah, Theodore Epp.

Ric Hansen:Yeah, was the founder of that, and it was a going concern. Was it about 2006 you jumped in there?

Dr. Arnie Cole:I think it was 2004.

Ric Hansen:Okay.

Dr. Arnie Cole:And they were looking for a new day, and they wanted somebody to figure out how we could advance the ministry.

At the time, the president, Theodore "Woodrow" Kroll, was concerned that Bible-teaching radio only reached the already reached.

So I started researching what the new day is—digital technology.

And as a radio guy myself, there was an interesting background.

Ric Hansen:I was at a Top 40 radio station in Seattle, yeah. And the only thing I remember about Back to the Bible was that they would send these reel-to-reel tapes to our radio station.

And then the guy that worked weekends—and I was one of those guys at one point—would put the reels on the little reel-to-reel machine, and that was the Back to the Bible ministry.

It was a pay-for-play thing where they would pay us money to air it.

But that went on for years and years. And like you, they were figuring, probably, they were preaching to the already preached-to, you know, that didn't need to hear the Word because they knew it already.

So that must have been a huge transition for the company and a big challenge for you, kind of put in the center of that to make that transition, right?

Dr. Arnie Cole:Yeah.

You're a radio guy, so you know that is a culture. Just like I came from the boating culture, you know, and it has its own lingo—the radio guys.

And when I started, there was this big argument that the music—they called it Christian contemporary music stations, like K-Love and stuff like that—were reaching people, but the Bible teaching was just reaching the already reached.

All of this stuff was going on.

And so we started researching and found that pretty much most Christian media, whether it's contemporary music or Bible teaching, is reaching people that are already reached.

Ric Hansen:Gotcha.

So were you technologically up to speed, or did you have to pull in some people that could kind of guide that part of it to transition from old-style radio, reel-to-reel tapes or whatever, into the new technology? Or is that part of your expertise as well?

Dr. Arnie Cole:Well, I'm a researcher, so I put the teams together.

And it took years, and it was a very tough process because you have people that are called to work in ministry, but basically, over a period of several years, we changed hands.

I mean, the radio people would not change. And so there was a kind of a big turnover.

So it was pretty painful.

Ric Hansen:Yeah. And you had to kind of take the lead on that, I'm guessing, and probably weren't a very popular guy at one point.

Dr. Arnie Cole:Well, you know, still to this day, when you let go over a hundred people, when you go grocery shopping or something, people remember because, fortunately, these people—they'd lose their job, but they'd still attend church in Lincoln.

And so it's a small community.

And, yeah, it was painful.

But we finally rounded the corner. We're a digital ministry.

You know, we have over a hundred thousand YouTube subscribers. We've had an app, and now we're developing an AI program—all digital, all daily discipleship.

Bible Engagement and Artificial Intelligence

Ric Hansen:Yeah, and what's cool about it is I kind of checked this out. This is available to check out and subscribe to at backtothebible.org.

And that is kind of where the whole layout of what Back to the Bible is all about in 2026.

So kind of share with us some of the things, some of the opportunities that that website offers to people who might jump over there to take a look.

Dr. Arnie Cole:You can get a hold of me. It's arnyc@bttb.org, and we'll give you a copy of The Over 50 Advantage for free.

Okay? And would love for you to have it.

Our strategy is to do what it takes to help you move closer to Jesus today than you were yesterday.

So, in that framework, it allows us to work with anybody regardless of their background or their belief system.

We just want to move you a step closer to Jesus today than you were yesterday, if that makes sense.

Ric Hansen:Absolutely.

And that's one of the things that you do that I thought was interesting, and I'm sure it's going to be developed even further than it is, is to find out a little bit more about the person who is online with you by asking some questions.

What were their biggest struggles?

And so that the information that you can pass along to them is tailor-made to where they're at in life and what they're looking to find out.

Is that correct?

Dr. Arnie Cole:That is correct.

And we used to do algorithms and an app, and now we have what's called BTTB.ai.

We have an AI program that we have built that just does biblical content and our content.

And so we're all about spiritual fitness, which is just like physical fitness—you need to be fit every day.

So we do customized programs for people to get them fit, and it's all free. We don't charge it.

What Research Says About Christians Over 50

Ric Hansen:Which is amazing.

All right, so you alluded to the book. Let's talk about The Over 50 Advantage.

One of the things that jumped out at me when I was first doing my research on you and this project is—and I quote this—you say, "Christians over 50 may be among the most miserable people in America."

And that is a startling statement.

What did your research uncover that shocked you the most about that?

Dr. Arnie Cole:So it's just... I mean, I'm a research nerd, so I go crazy in this stuff.

But the over-50 crowd that are believers, well-to-do, they have some of the most resources in the United States.

And their number-one spiritual struggle is tied between worry and criticizing others.

I mean, do you get that?

So here we are, and we know Jesus Christ and the Bible better than anybody else, almost in the world.

So we're grumpy, we're critical, we're worried.

And then the kicker—the real kicker—is those people... and I do predictive analytics. We used to use it to predict when somebody's violent.

We can predict—I can just know a few things about someone over 50.

The odds are that you know the Bible better than anybody else. You're grumpy, you're worried, and you don't share your faith with anybody.

How do we know that?

Because we asked you and you told us.

So it's kind of like the Great Commission doesn't apply to our generation.

And which is just bizarre because they know the Bible better than I do, but somehow the Great Commission just doesn't apply.

Ric Hansen:Wow, that's crazy.

Most people assume that if you pray every day, you read the Bible, and you attend church regularly, that they should be thriving spiritually.

And they're not, is basically what you're finding out through your research, which is pretty amazing.

So you are an example of somebody who retired, but you say retirement may actually be one of the most dangerous ideas modern Christians have, and they've embraced it.

Explain why you think that's a dangerous thought or dangerous place to be.

Dr. Arnie Cole:So I had the advantage of retiring the first time at a young age.

And you get this mindset. So even then, this is bizarre.

I'm 75, so looking back when I was 45, I'm telling my wife, Shar, "We deserve a motorhome. I worked hard. I worked years and years and years for this. Yeah, we have a boat, and yeah, the accountant says you shouldn't have a motorhome, but we deserve it."

And as I've gone back to work, and then I look—and a lot of my friends are older, and I'm older now—there's this mentality that we deserve comfort and security above all else.

That Jesus called us to, like, a cruise ship instead of a battleship.

So we demand it, and if you don't like it, that's okay. We'll just leave you alone.

So we're also pretty lonely.

So we're grumpy, worried, lonely, and we don't talk to anybody else because you don't want to be a little bit more... We're critical.

Ric Hansen:Critical about critical, yeah.

So your pastor once told you—I read this somewhere—that retirement never shows up in the Bible at all. It's never mentioned.

Dr. Arnie Cole:Oh, that's so funny.

Because I'm here—I am a brand-new believer at 47. We're going to church, love the church.

We go to this thing for new people, you know, at the pastor's house. I don't like doing stuff like that, but we did it anyways.

And we're sitting, and you have to go around and say what you do.

Well, you know, everybody... and so it came to me.

"Hey, yeah, I'm Arnie. I'm retired, and I'm not doing much, working on my boat, you know."

And Gary, the pastor, he goes, "That's not in the Bible."

And I go, "Pardon me?"

He goes, "Nowhere in the Bible does it say you're allowed to retire."

"Excuse me. I'm a new believer. Yeah, I went to Christian... I'm new here. What do you mean? This is a blessed life."

"No, no, no, you got it."

And so he just let me have it in front of everybody.

Well, now that I've gotten to know him, he has a pretty dry sense of humor.

So, you know, half of it is kidding, but then half of it isn't.

And it set me straight.

It was like, "Oh, wow. I've got to do something here."

The False Summit of Retirement

Ric Hansen:Yeah, you described the Viking cruise life as a false summit.

Is that pretty much where a lot of people are at?

Dr. Arnie Cole:Yeah. Check the advertising.

So a lot of us, I'm going to predict, watch Wheel of Fortune and maybe Jeopardy! at night.

Okay? Who is their biggest sponsor? Viking Cruises.

And what do they have?

They have me and the little lady, you know, off of some balcony on a cruise ship, drinking a glass of wine, and they're talking about how wonderful it is.

And no kids. They say "no kids" three or four times.

And it's just this wonderful Viking life.

And so we kind of have this "I deserve it" comfort.

And the whole idea is my life is kind of coming to an end, and I can just slow down, relax.

All right.

Ric Hansen:So somebody who's listening to this—I'm hoping that there'll be younger listeners who can kind of prepare their next chapters based on this information and your research, but also a lot of people, 65 to 75, who feel like they are sidelined.

What would you say to them?

How do you change that?

Dr. Arnie Cole:One of the problems is, odds are your church doesn't know what to do with you.

You know, like, whatever you've done, most of the time you get relegated to being an usher or working in the nursery or somewhere in between there.

So my advice first is to become your own advocate.

Okay?

Second, you need an attitude adjustment.

And part of what will help your attitude is you really have to figure out, in this time in your life, what is a win?

Okay.

Is it a win ending up in the nicest nursing home or the nicest memory-care home for the last four years of your life? And that's a win?

Or you have to figure out where you can contribute to others because loneliness breeds loneliness.

It's not biblical to be by yourself.

But you really have to figure out: What is a win? Who—why am I here?

Ric Hansen:Yeah.

There's a great practical next step for people to just sit back, take some time, and say, "What is a win for me?"

And that's great advice.

You know, C.S. Lewis wrote one time, he says, "You're never too old to set another goal or dream another dream."

And I think that's where maybe somebody starts losing it, is when they have no goal and have no dream.

And so now it's all about just winding down and being bored and lonely and cranky and all of the things that you identify them as.

Dr. Arnie Cole:So—and fearful. That's the other thing.

As we get older, health—granted, a lot of us have health issues. We have no control of that, and you just have to work it because it's a head game.

And Satan—here, you know the Bible better than anybody else, you have more resources than most people. Satan's job is to get you on the bench, sidelined.

So I kind of look at it that scripture, "This is the day the Lord has made; I'm gonna rejoice and be glad in it," and just kind of win that day each and every day.

It's really a mindset, and it makes a difference.

Zacchaeus in Someone Else's Sandals

Ric Hansen:So at one point you'd said that Zacchaeus is basically your biography in someone else's sandals.

And I don't know if everybody knows the story of Zacchaeus, but can you briefly describe what you meant by that?

Dr. Arnie Cole:Yeah, you know, he was afraid of the crowd. He couldn't see, so he climbed up in the sycamore tree, you know, and Jesus found him.

Which I can relate to.

It's not because Zacchaeus was so smart. He climbed a tree so he could see what was going on, and then everything changed for him.

And that's... But you have to be open.

You have to take—Zacchaeus had to climb the tree. You gotta do something to have some kind of opportunity come your way.

The Most Exciting Time of His Life

Ric Hansen:What is your next adventure in this journey?

Do you have something that's on the horizon or that you're passionate about right now?

Dr. Arnie Cole:This is so bizarre because I'm a research nerd, back-room kind of guy.

And so I have my own podcast, you know. And when we started, we had 6,000 YouTube subscribers. Now we're up to 100,000.

I've written three books in the last year.

Just all of these crazy things going on, and it's exciting.

I mean, this is the most exciting time of my life.

And I am slowing down tomorrow, not today. Trying to slow down.

But it's also the happiest ever since I gave my life to the Lord.

And this is what my friends who don't understand that, aren't believers, say: This is the most exciting, wonderful, happy time.

Not that I've had an easy life with other things, but it is an exciting time to be alive and do what the Lord wants you to do.

And I, as a non-believer, thought you were giving up being a Christ follower.

It's the exact opposite if you let yourself be open to it.

The Over 50 Advantage and the Great Commission

Ric Hansen:Learn why Bible engagement, not just Bible knowledge, may be the key to lasting spiritual growth with Dr. Arnie Cole on Amazing Greats.

Perfect.

Well, in order to support what you're doing and to find out a little bit more about what we've just touched on—because there's so much more in the book and online—I would really highly recommend folks get the book.

It's available on Amazon.

Or, as you said, if they wanted a free copy, you're generous enough to maybe make that happen.

And also check out Back to the Bible at backtothebible.org because I'm thinking that that's—I don't know how long that has been up and live—but I'm thinking that you're still developing more and more.

And with the AI kind of advantage, it can become just a tremendous opportunity for people to have a helpful Bible tutor that's their own, that's responding to their own concerns and questions.

Is that kind of where the hope is for that particular spot?

Dr. Arnie Cole:Yes.

So, two focuses.

One is on the group coming into the AI so that they can get discipled and all of that.

Then the second focus is on the over-50 group, and to figure out how we're going to motivate them.

So we did a State of Christianity in America study, and our generation somehow got it.

And I think it goes back to Billy Graham evangelistic crusades, The Jesus Film, all of these different huge, great movements.

We got the impression that we're not needed, that a professional Christian could do it better than we could.

So we'll give a few dollars here and there, but we've kind of outsourced Christianity—or the Great Commission.

So we're trying to bring it back.

Because really, at least for me as a researcher, Jesus can do anything.

But for revival to have an opportunity, I think the over-50 crowd—the most equipped, capable crowd—needs to be in the game.

Ric Hansen:Well, let's leave it on that because that's a profound statement, and I think so true, and it makes sense of what the book is all about.

And so with that, any last words of advice to any American entertaining the idea of retirement or in retirement that you have to pass along, or have we covered it all?

Dr. Arnie Cole:The one thing I'd like you to remember is: What you do today matters.

And that's so critical.

Even if your health starts to go and you're laying in the hospital, maybe you're in chemo, maybe you've had a heart attack—you know, these things do happen.

But what you do today—your witness, how you treat other people—matters.

And do that in a way that each day you move closer to Jesus today than you were yesterday, and help someone along the way with you.

Closing

Ric Hansen:Arnie Cole, thank you so much for being with us. And thanks to everybody.

Dr. Arnie Cole:Thanks for the opportunity.

Ric Hansen:This has been great. Thank you so much. Thank you. God bless you.

Well, thanks. This was fun.

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