.jpg)
Don Walker’s father had a love for baseball and played in a
league where he lived in Pennsylvania.
He taught his sons to play baseball at an early age. Thus, Don was a sportsman. His elementary school years would find him
involved in any ball sport. During high
school he played baseball (catcher), football (running back) and basketball
(guard). He excelled in all three
sports. When high school graduation was
near he was offered to try out for the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals,
and a college in S. Dakota. Since the
family lived an hour away from Cleveland, Don decided to try out for the
Indians. Don relates that while he was
on his way driving along to Cleveland stadium, a voice said to him, “you don’t
want to do this son.” Don
said it was just as audible as if someone was sitting beside him. When he arrived the love for baseball was
gone. The coaches urged him to put on a
uniform and show them his stuff, which he did, but told them he would not
return. Upon returning home he made
application to Nyack Missionary Training Institute (now Nyack College) where
God called him to preach the gospel. On
his application for ministry he wrote, “My heart is burdened for the multitudes
that are perishing without a saving knowledge of Christ, and for those of the
church who are satisfied with what they have already experienced. My job is to win the lost to Christ and to
perfect the saints into a deeper knowledge of God and His work.” Don loved God, loved his family, and people.
His life was characterized by integrity, faithfulness, prayer, and Bible
meditation/memorization to the end. He never knew a stranger.
While pastoring in New York, a member of his church, Jim Dupler, writes, "I first met Pastor Donald Walker in
1974 when he was asked to be our new Pastor of the Christian and Missionary
Alliance Church in my hometown of Jamestown, New York. I was fortunate to have a wonderful old time
Pastor for sixteen years growing up, but he had to retire due to health
problems. I was on the Board of Elders
when we discussed calling a new Pastor.
When Don Walker’s name came up due to
many knowing about his enthusiasm with young people especially at our summer
church camp at Delta Lake, NY. Our District Superintendent spoke with great
concern saying, “Oh, I don’t think he would work out as he is way too different
than who you are used to!” We chose to
ignore his concern and called Don to be our Pastor. And yes, he was very much different, but our
church doubled in size in just a short time and we were able to start a
“daughter” church in a neighboring town, which still flourishes today! In our first service, as we started singing
an old hymn in the usual slow tempo, Don stopped and said, “We are not at a
funeral…let’s pick up the tempo!” We
loved it.
I was working in a furniture factory at
the time and was thinking about starting my own custom woodworking shop. So I asked Don what I should do. He just said, “I will go home and pray about
it.” The very next day doors of
opportunity started to open, while others closed. A few days later I told Don, “You can quit
praying now as the Lord has made it very clear that I should start my own
business.” And that’s what I have been
doing for the last forty years. I could
write a book about my experiences over the years. Don was a “one of a kind” Man of God!
While at College Park Church, Brian Woodward, the Junior High Youth Pastor remembers, "I think what made Don special is that it was very evident that he was close
to God. He was a true man of God. He was the kind of man so many men want to be.
Both believers and unbelievers. The things that he loved to talk about were
Jesus, God, and sports. He was a people person. He was so down to earth. The one
thing I noticed in conversations and interactions with Don is that even though
he was so close to God, he struggled with sin just like any person. There were
things that he would mention -- a situation in our world and basically say
something like "that just isn't right". Those weren't his exact words, but that
was the sentiment. An example might be our educational system. Another example
of his struggling with everyday things, things that just weren't right is
getting older and the physical challenges. He just couldn't do the things that
he used to and that bothered him. But in any of these situations he would press
on in faith and Christ's strength. When he was in his 70's he came and
worked for a year with jr. high youth. Fourteen and fifteen year year olds. He led a small
group, was out at the bball hoop with them, took a kid golfing and most of all
prayed for the guys in the small group for the next three to five years.
Summing it up, he was special because God's love flowed through him in a powerful way. He was so down to earth but also so close to Jesus. Who wouldn't
want to be around a guy like that. He is missed.
No comments:
Post a Comment