Our Life Together Vol. 3 Nr. 23 June 10, 1975

Ken discusses an issue that was important in the Charismatic Renewal. Evangelical Christianity was very "word" oriented. Word in this context meant the Bible. Most of us in the Renewal (particularly those of us in Baptist Churches) were basically Evangelical Christians who were "baptized in the Spirit". But we also believed that God still spoke to us in the present (the rhema word). Ken was a good teacher walking the thin line of respect for the Bible on one hand and yet being open to a current word from God on the other hand.
As Ken pointed out, it was easy to become extreme on either of these understandings.

One of the important Bible teachers in the early days of the American Baptist Charismatic Fellowship, was Dr. Howard Ervin. Howard was an ordained American Baptist Pastor who had been touched by the Pentecostal movement. Of course this led him to participate in the Charismatic Renewal. During these early days, Dr. Ervin was Dean of Graduate Studies at Oral Roberts University. He was able to keep us grounded in Theological Orthodoxy. Meanwhile, Kenneth Hagin, a pentecostal preacher located in Tulsa OK as was ORU, started Rheman Bible College. Kenneth Hagin was really the father of the "Word of Faith" movement which was sometimes also called the Health and Wealth Gospel. One of his colleagues was Kenneth Copeland (more on him later). The reason I mention these two gentlemen was that while they gave a lot of lip service to the Bible, they were very much into the Rhema as authoritative. In fact, Howard Ervin mentioned one year that one of the greatest heresies coming out of the Charismatic movement was the teaching espoused at Rhema Bible College and its founder, Kenneth Hagin.

Howard Ervin was not only important to our movement, but he was very important to me. During the years when I was becoming pastor of FBCCV, and ABCV was becoming organized, I roomed with him during our many foundational meetings. He became a mentor to me. I really appreciated his balanced outlook. So I was blessed with two very balanced mentors, Ken Pagaard and Howard Ervin.

I just have a humorous anecdote in which Kenneth Copeland figures. Rob Mahan (my associate) and I attended the Ecumenical Charismatic Conference held in the Super Dome in New Orleans in 1987. We were trying to save money so we booked the cheapest hotel on the list -- a no name -- at $30 per night. As we entered town on the bus, I was watching the addresses -- but didn't see my hotel. I got off the bus anyway and asked the doorman at the Double Tree where the "no name" was. He said the the Double Tree had bought them out. I went in and asked if our reservations were still good. The clerk answered in the affirmative. I then said, well can I sign up for my room. The clerk then said, "Well there is a problem. We had a fire last night and there are no rooms for you." Well, my heard sank. I was on a very limited budget. "What can I do?" Then she informed my the the New Orleans Westin would honor our reservations. "For the same price?" "For the same price." Wow, the Westin was the speakers hotel! Rob and I stayed in $125 per night rooms for $30. We rode the elevators with Kenneth Copeland and Richard Roberts. We lived high on the hog -- even though we usually ate at Burger King. Riding the elevator with Kenneth Copeland was my only personal experience with him.