Ministry Opportunities

Has it been 4 years already? ......... we had a
difficult time leaving our former church on the northeast side of town. But living on the southwest end of Orange County in central Florida, travel time was about 25 minutes on a Sunday morning ...... and about to get a bit longer with another move into a permanent building ..... both of us were involved in the set up and workings of our portable church requiring a report time of 7 AM if we were going to get everything going right and do a rehearsal as well. I was doing worship leading and Be sang on the praise team as well as alternating on the sound board. I was doing more whining than worshiping ....... as we went east on the expressway, I missed the exit one morning ...... I felt a calling to a beach ministry, apparently ...... free parking at Ron Jon's in Cocoa Beach? It was time to make a break and after we were sure that all areas of responsibility were covered, we said bye in July of 2003.

Several events in the following days proved that the decision was not our own ........ dad came to live with us, we got Diva with her ministry of hospitality ....... walking her in the 'hood' gave us the opportunity to meet our neighbors (we had lived there for 15 years) who were attracted by her welcoming presence. Also, Be's cancer was diagnosed and subsequent surgery was necessary. (Cancer free for over 3 and a half years, praise God) It was evident that a church much closer to our home was in our future.

Eight minutes from our driveway was Windermere Baptist Church ...... me? a Baptist? you've got to be kidding! ..... alright, I'll give it a try. After having witnessed some shaky theology at a previous church, we reviewed their (WBC's) statement of faith ...... well, I sure can't find anything wrong with this! ...... and we joined several months later. We both took part in singing on the Saturday evening praise team, and just recently, I (Don) bridged to Sunday mornings where I sing in both the choir and praise team. I actually leave the house half an hour or so before report time just to enjoy the morning drive to Windermere. The streets of the town are tree lined and there are lakes everywhere. The morning sun creates beautiful scenes, filtering light through the trees and glistening off the water. The speed limit is 30 mph, & the police don't have much more to do on a Sunday morning, so they are quick to nab you faster than you can say speeding ticket if you go more than 2 mph over the speed limit. Knowing this, why rush to church? Enjoy the incredible sights around you.

Now that I am retired, the aspect of using my time to God's honor & glory has me jazzed. I have been approached about heading up the board for the choir (about 40 singers and 10 instrumentalists), lead worship for a group called "Celebrate Recovery" and possibly lead worship for an 'overflow' service. With plenty of time on my hands, I don't see anything standing in the way of any of these possibilities for the present ....... until Joanna Mei arrives. SHE is going to be the focus of my life. So, I have advised those concerned that my participation would be conditional and we could re-evaluate as our lives change dramatically. We will be praying specifically for these items ..... right now, I don't see anything standing in the way.

In the picture ........ entry to Windermere Baptist Church