Pioneer/Settler Theology

This is the first manifestation of this piece, at least in OLT. This became important in the life of the church because we saw ourselves as Pioneers. We also considered it a bad thing to be a settler. We saw ourselves in this way for the following reasons:

• Our church was cutting edge -- we were involved in the charismatic movement. We were alive in a time when people were giving up on the church. We were an item throughout a wide range of the church world.
• Our church was full of young people -- at a time when youth seemed to be giving up on the church, with the exception of the Jesus People movement, we were full of youth.
• The Ministering Community -- we gave our all. We lived in common. We weren't just a group of people who gathered together on Sunday.

Of course, part of our "success" was because we really fit in with what was happening in the world at that time. The Charismatic Renewal was taking much of the church by storm. We "just happened" to be at the center of that storm. The young people of the 70's seemed to be searching for answers. One of the answers was that of the Jesus People Movement. Because of our House of Abba, many young people were attracted to Jesus and our church. As to the community, there was a movement both outside and inside the church toward this kind of living. We certainly weren't a Hippie commune, but there were superficial similarities.

Does the fact that what was happening in the world, was happening in the church mean that this wasn't a move of God. By no means! I think that this was happening in the world because God was moving in his people. I realize that I was blessed by God to be a part of this movement at that time.

This all came together through the leadership of Ken Pagaard. He was a visionary and an extraordinary leader. He certainly was a pioneer and he encouraged us to be pioneers. Could Ken have done it himself? Probably not, but it would not have happened if he were not there. It was a case of the right man being in the right place at the right time.

What happened to the church. On one level nothing. The church is alive and well and many of the values of the 70's Pioneer Theology are still there. But, the time was part of it. By the start of the 80's the numbers were down, both in the community and in the church. Then there was the change in leadership. As I was in the process of becoming pastor (this was a process from being de-facto pastor, interim pastor, and co-pastor with Dan Stolebarger, before becoming the pastor), Ken told me that under my leadership the church would become just another traditional church. Of course, I was quite miffed over this. However, there was some truth in this. I was a pioneer in belief, and under the leadership of Ken I lived and worked as a pioneer. On my own, I have leadership gifts, but I am not a visionary as Ken was. The church did lose the sense of being "cutting edge". But, as mentioned before, the church never lost the values of love and acceptance of one another. It never lost a sense of authentic worship.