Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 2, January 13, 1976

Ken Pagaard tackles the issue of worthiness in this issue. What he said is true; we had a lot of people who were depressed (some clinically) or had been involved with drug use and/or sexual promiscuity who felt unworthy to enter the presence of the living God. Of course, Ken makes it sound easy; just realize that God loves you. He is right, but we don't always work that way. Actually my kitten has been re-teaching me this lesson in my current life. I call it Theology Taught by a Kitten. He doesn't seem to worry about his status in the house. He just trusts me to feed him -- food will be there when he's hungry. He doesn't worry about whether it will bother me or not -- he just jumps on the computer table and lays down on the keyboard -- and I don't mind! He is my kitten and I love him. How much more does God love us. Anyway, enough kitten theology; I think that Ken was right.

Ken really valued the young men who were involved in the Ministering Community. We were blessed with so many talented and gifted men. They were eager to learn and serve. Several of them are still involved in ministry. Many are still serving God. But Ken even had a wider reach than that. I personally regret that some are not following God, yet Ken impressed upon all of our young people the need for education; it is all right to ask questions. Even these that are not with God at this time are serving our society in some impressive ways. This was a great group of young people and I was privileged to know them even though I was an old man in his 30s back then.

Clay finishes his article on this page. This is good reading. As I have stated before, love was the glue that held community together. The tragedy in the church (still) is that people can seem to grow in every way spiritually but it doesn't translate into love for other people. 

Tim Pagaard continues to teach us through McFoones adventures.

This is another one of our children's pages. I am always impressed with the way the young people of the community nurtured the younger children. Using there attempts at artwork was one of the ways that they accomplished this.

Larry's review of the book on creation was interesting. Most of us at the church didn't fit into a real fundamentalist mode when looking at scientific evidence (I am sure that an unbelieving scientist would disagree with me -- but there are varieties of belief even among believers.) Larry was trying to distance himself from rigid "recent earth creation" theories. I have always had trouble with these -- my major in college (UCLA) was Zoology.

Of more interest was Eleanor Burger's discussion of New Life Bookstore and its ministry. We had a number of businesses started within the community. These were bonafide businesses started to help support the community, but also to minister God's love and grace to those who were customers of the businesses; a construction company and a used appliance story come rapidly to mind.

The discussion about the scripture leading to "if my people", was a big item in this bicentennial year. On the previous page I noted the information on Otis Skilling's recording of the musical. I was reminded that earlier in the 70s I along with Ray Johnson and (I think Wallie Gray and Lehnis Lyons) recorded a couple of albums with a small group under the direction of Otis. He was music minister at Skyline Wesleyan church at the time. His music was youth oriented and he had a number of youth singing groups -- but he liked to use "mature" voices in his recordings.