A Not So Brief History, Pt. 2

cont'd from 5/19...

We couldn't get Ireland out of our minds. In fact, I thought maybe I was going out of my mind. Finally, I told Beth that we needed to consider the possibility that God may be calling us to Ireland.

At the same time this desire to train worship leaders was growing. So now we had two things tugging at our hearts -- Ireland and Worship training. This was so beyond us that we knew that either we were crazy, or it really was God, and could only happen if He were orchestrating it. We thought that maybe we were to start a school of worship in Ireland. But that's nuts! First, neither one of us could be in any way described as the administrative type. Second, how does one go about moving into a new country, with a new culture, new government regulations, having never done anything like establishing a school and have even a hope of doing just that?

We prayed.

And prayed some more.

The one thing that kept resonating in my head was, "God doesn't call those equipped. God equips those called."

So I began my research. I contacted people in Ireland who might have a feel for the validity of a school of worship. I contacted people who had schools of worship in the US. I looked at ministry plans of various ministries. I took notes. I began to formulate a ministry plan. But it still just seemed ludicrous.

Then it occurred to us. What we needed to do, if this thing was going to fly, was to move to Ireland and assimilate into the culture, do our research over there, instead of from Florida.

It was now the summer of 2004. After 14 years as the Worship Pastor at Calvary Chapel Gulf Breeze, I felt that God was moving us out of that position to move in a new direction.

So July 1, I resigned. No plan. No job. Just this -- I pictured myself in the boat with the apostles. Jesus was out on the water and he said to me, "If you step out of the boat, I have you."

So I stepped out...


To be continued...