MINISTER, 74, RETURNS TO PULPIT FROM RETIREMENT

The Rev. Vyron Yount, 74, has retired from working more times than he can count, but there's always something that draws him back to the pulpit.

Yount will start a new job Nov. 1 as interim pastor of First General Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau. He had been pastor at Arbor General Baptist Church.

It isn't always a church that calls Yount out of retirement. He's also taking classes to earn his master of divinity degree at Oakland City University in Oakland City, Ind. He has a master's degree in education and previously taught school.

Yount doesn't know whether or not he's the oldest student at the university, and it doesn't really matter to him."Learning is a lifetime experience," he said.

So he decided there was no better way to pass his retirement than to earn an education. He has been taking classes in the J-term, which meets for three weeks each January and June at the campus and working from his home in Cape Girardeau."I feel like it is important to stay sharp," he said. "I try to read and stay on the cutting edge."Yount anticipates graduating in another eight months. He will be presented with an honorary doctorate degree from the university Nov. 5 during a Founder's Day service. He counts the honorary degree "as a privilege," he said. "But I want to earn one too."Yount entered the ministry in 1952 and has served as pastor at General Baptist churches in Bloomfield, Springfield, Dexter and Poplar Bluff. He also was director of Christian education and publications for the denominations from 1987 to 1989.

He has no definite plans for his future after graduation. "It's just wherever the Lord leads," he said.