Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 32 August 17, 1976

The cover art of this issue also illustrates the theme Come Follow Me. The lead article is a continuation of the interview of Graham Pulkingham.

Graham begins by dealing with barriers to giving oneself to community. He describes a housewife whose whole life is bound up in her husband. As he finds fulfillment in community, she may feel threatened and left out. This section seems somewhat anachronistic to me. Community life was difficult for most of us. I think it was particularly difficult for married couples; more so for those with children. Linda and I certainly had tough times and yet, we really loved the life (as did our children.) Graham goes on to discuss the loss of our independence and autonomy in making life decisions. This is the real difficult issue. We never really solved this; it was always a source of tension -- and contention.

As Graham's interview is completed, Gary Bell starts a new article about how we should react in the face of opposition. He states that in the book of Acts opposition was not seen as a sign that ministry should be stopped but they prayed for more strength to continue the mission in the face of that opposition.

Of course Tim's McFoone speaks for himself.

Gary completes his article with several more examples of how the church reacted in the face of persecution.

Elizabeth Fisher gives some of her thoughts as she reflected on W. H Auden's "In Praise of Limestone." I remember Elizabeth; I can picture her, but I can't remember much about her. If anyone has more information, add that to the comments.

First Baptist Church of Chula Vista (Fifth and E) and the Ministering Community always had an interest in world missions. We were also involved in mission. This letter is by Dale Hunter. Dale and his wife Beverly were in Bogota, Columbia for an extended time (two years?) They were working with Sam and Elizabeth Ballesteros and others from our community. When Dale and Bev returned they were a part of our community and active in the church until around 1990. Dale was the chairman of our board during the major renovation of the church. Bev was principal of our Elementary School. Their marriage didn't survive. Bev lives in Northern CA. Dale passed away a couple of years ago.

Another of "our" missionary couples was Bill and Darlene Macpherson. They didn't really come from 5th and E. They were already serving as medical missionaries in Zaire when they became connected to us through Ken's ministry. They did stay with us periodically. Their son Billy lived with us at Westby Household for a while. 

The next two pages sum things up. There is a report of the good news associated with our witness and the results of the Billy Graham Crusade. Then there is "In the Family." This is always interesting to those of us who were there.

Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 31 August 10, 1976

This issue is filled with a heavy discussion of Ken Pagaard's vision. This is followed by a discussion on Leadership presented in an interview with Graham Pulkingham originally published in Sojourners magazine. The cover art illustrates Ken's vision -- Love.

 
Ken's vision for community can really be summed up in the phrase, Unconditional Love. Community living was the laboratory for learning to love one another as Christ loved us. This wasn't an easy life -- but it was good. One of the statements made by Ken was that Community was not a means to an end; it was the end itself. Evangelism, discipleship, worship; all of the activities of the church were meant to be a result of community. This may have caused controversy in our city and in other American Baptist Churches, but this wasn't controversial in those of us living in community at that time. As we get to the end of the page, we do begin to move into an area that was to be controversial throughout the remainder of the life of the Ministering Community; Inner Healing.

Here I would like to interject a few thoughts about Inner Healing as I understand it and the controversy surrounding Ken's involvement. There was not controversy at First Baptist Church itself. We understood that prayer could bring healing in the area of unresolved memories that kept us from moving forward in our healthy maturity. I, along with others, were involved in the Inner Healing Ministry. Yet, I believed in and consulted Psychologists and Psychiatrists. The first problem that Ken encountered was that he really felt that he had no peers in his understanding of how Inner Healing should be performed. This led him into conflict with the elders. In the beginning, I think that all of the elders supported Ken, yet they expressed some concerns; he was spending virtually all of his time to ministering to some very needy women. Some were concerned that Ken was neglecting the pastorate of the church and others that he was spending too much time with these women; did this not work with men? I confess that I had concerns, yet I trusted Ken very much; he was my mentor and my friend. I remember when Ken had his "confrontation" with the young men in Westby Household -- his Mt. Moriah -- Akeda moment. This controversy continued to swirl around Ken and eventually was at the heart of the death of The Ministering Community. It was tragic. The next two pages will finish this part of the issue.

 

 The poem above is by Judy Lind. Judy was introduced to us by Mabel Dannenberg, a leader from the First Baptist Church of El Centro. Judy was going through some troubles when she came, but stayed with us and became a steady member of the church for several years.

 

The next article is a continuation of Graham Pulkingham's interview and it introduces another controversial issue in our community; leadership. The issue of how leaders were chosen was not a major controversy in itself; we really believed that leaders were ultimately chosen by God and ratified by the church. The controversy was really over three issues: 1) How much authority rested on individual leaders (the Elders), 2) How were decisions really made, and 3) were there any checks and balances. The third issue was the one evident within the eldership. If the Elders sensed God's leading in an area -- such as Inner Healing -- could Ken override the elders decision, or did he need to listen (and obey)? Graham's interview deals with some of these issues from his perspective. 

 

The next two articles, one about life on a Kibbutz and the other a historical lesson from Jamestown (by Clay Ford), are presented in the following pages with really no commentary. There really discuss commitment to the common goal which is understood to come from God.

 

Finally the last two pages conclude the issue. None of the three articles along with the "in the Family" section need much commentary. Of course, Larry Clark actually functioned as the Assistant Pastor of the church (I have no idea of what his title was -- if he had one). Margaret Oliver and Pat Escalante were two women members of the church. They weren't in leadership positions, but they were good members. I personally remember Pat with a lot of fondness -- a good lady.

 

Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 30 August 3, 1976

This lead article in this issue is a continuation of the interview with Graham Pulkingham on Community. The cover with the picture of the communion elements really illustrates the spiritual center of our Ministering Community.

This page of the interview with Graham is his lengthy response to the question regarding what happens when we resolve to live as a family. Of course, this was the most difficult part of the equation. When Linda and I moved into Westby House along with our two children, there were also the Pagaard family, the Woodend Family and the Pletcher family. This was difficult! I was fortunate enough to be sent on deployment to Westpac with the Navy, so it was my wife and children who had to make this difficult adjustment. By the time I returned, the Woodends and the Pletchers were gone. Still over the years, we had single parents, unaccompanied children etc. I think the parenting of children was the most difficult part. My wife really had difficulty with who ran the house -- the kitchen etc. Who was responsible? The philosophical issues weren't terribly difficult; it was practical living that was difficult.

The conclusion of the interview continues with how the idea of living with an extended family stretches our current understandings of living as a nuclear family. Most of us know how difficult it is to live with adult parents and grandparents -- but when the blood relationship disappears, there is another level of difficulty. To be perfectly honest, I had no problem with living in community 90% of the time. I really loved it. It was that 10% when things didn't go right that was the problem; strong emotions! Yes, I lost it a time or two -- as did most of us.

One of the neat things about OLT was the freedom that anyone had to write a little article and submit it for publication. Here we have three small articles by Janet Scott, Mike Lee and Ken Mays. 

This is a little Theology Lesson submitted by Larry Clark which really needs no explanation.

This picture of Jesus the Good Shepherd looks like Brenda's work to me -- but I'm not sure.

The article "The Other Side of Trial," by Judy Alsop expresses her feelings as she struggled to submit to giving up so much as she moved in community. Many of us can identify with the feelings whether we would express them exactly the same or not. Community life was great -- it was horrid -- it was difficult.

Of course, the issue ends with news of the "Family."

Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 29 July 27, 1976

The cover on this issue is one of Brenda Gire's (now Smith) delightful drawings of animals and plants rejoicing in the Lord. I personally always looked forward to seeing her artwork. Linda and I along with our family had the privilege with living with Brenda in the Westby household. When we moved out of the community household, Brenda went with us to our new home for a few months until she relocated. I understand that she is still very active in her artwork.

The cover article is an abbreviated interview with Graham Pulkingham published in Sojourners magazine. Graham was the Episcopalian pastor of Church of the Redeemer in Houston, Texas. This church (along with Graham himself and his writings) were very instrumental in the formation of our community. They didn't give us the idea; we were already on the way. But, they helped us to understand what God was doing and how we could have more structure. We had many teachings by Ken Pagaard about the idea of the church as a family  -- and our first priority. This article described not only Houston, but our understanding of what life in the church, or in community, was meant to be. The sad news is that Graham began to form other communities elsewhere and took most of the Redeemer leadership with him. Redeemer began to get weaker and weaker. Finally, Graham himself really went through some major difficulties. This is discussed in "Days of Fire and Glory; The Rise and Fall of a Charismatic Community" by Julia Duin. If you are interested in the subject, the book is a good read.

The interview of Graham Pulkingham concludes on the page and a report on the Westby vacation, written by Ken, starts. My wife and I are not campers, so we were not upset about the fact that we didn't get to go on this vacation. We had spent the month of June (along with our family) on a trip to Ohio to attend my cousin's wedding. The trip described by Ken sounds great -- but as I said, we aren't campers. I remember well the books recommended by Ken; "Prophecy" by Bruce Yocum and "The Primal Scream" by Janov. "Prophecy" was a great book. "The Primal Scream" was interesting, but I think it lead us down a real dead end as we incorporated it into our Inner Healing Ministry. It seemed good at the time, but it really didn't end that way. On another note -- this was the introduction of Bruce Blankenheim into Westby house. He was a neat kid and came to an untimely death within a few short years.

On this page, Ken's article concludes and one by Larry Clark on "Dancing before the Lord" begins. I remember Larry very well. He loved to do a little shuffle and jumpy dance while clapping when the music was joyful. I am lucky to clap in rhythm (which seems unusual since I was the choir director). I think I was just inhibited. 

Larry concludes his article on this page. The rest of the page is an advertisement for the West Coast Regional conference which was held at the Community Concourse. This proved to be a great event. Our music group, "The Hallelujah Chorus" was privileged to be a part of the worship team leadership. 

The next page is a short article by Clay Ford about the expectancy for revival. This was not only his conviction and hope, but it seemed to be confirmed from many sources. I'm sure that we will have more on this as we get closer to the upcoming Billy Graham Crusade.

Finally, Helen Fast writes about her twins, Misty and Cher. This was a major story in the life of our community, not just for Helen. I can't improve on what Helen wrote. This is well worth reading. I guess I will add that her discussions of the difficulties during the various hearings is an understatement. There were many ups and downs.

This page is the conclusion of Helen's article

Finally, the issue concludes with "In the Family."

Our Life Together Vol.4 Nr.28 July 20, 1976

Another beautiful cover illustrating the accompanying poem by Dawn Schmid. Dawn contributed quite a bit to OLT. She reported, wrote little articles and poems such as we have here on the cover. She was very active in the Hospital Ministry.

The main article is written by Ken Pagard on Humility. It is really quite good and sets out the case for humbling ourselves before God. He states that this sets the stage for our being lifted up and becoming what God created us to be. By humbling ourselves, He is free to take responsibility for us. Ken also applies this to the example of husbands and elders. He is right, but he doesn't deal with human fallibility; not all husbands are good husbands; all husbands don't take their responsibilities seriously; elders mistake their own opinions for the "word of the Lord." Ken does provide a picture of the relationship between having authority and being under authority.

On the following page, Ken concludes his article. This is followed by a report on a World Vision Conference submitted by Stan and Ruth Jamison. They are the parents of Jerry Jamison who is still alive and well in Chula Vista. At this time, he was one of the leaders of our Abbagraphics and Abbacraft. Ruth and Stan have both passed away, but they were wonderful members of the church and supporters of the ministry of the church. Their article is interesting in that it discusses the decline of the USA. This discussion still persists with two radically different interpretations of what is causing this decline. Some things really don't change very much.

 This is the "right-side-up" of Tim Pagaard's "McFoone.

This is another example of the neat artwork coming from members of the church and community. I think this is from Gary Bell -- Right? I am not sure about that. It is meant to illustrate Tim's poem on the following page.

This is a beautiful poem by Tim Pagaard. I don't know whether it was a song or not (or perhaps I just don't remember.) I also don't know whether Tim did the calligraphy or whether another of the people in Abba Craft did it.

Larry Clark presents a rationale for "singing in the Spirit." It was very helpful at the time, for many in the church did have questions about this practice. I think that most enjoyed it and found it beautiful, but there were theological questions. Larry was good at dealing with issues like this. I am currently reading "Paul, the Spirit and the People of God" by Gordon Fee. This book also discusses singing in the Spirit. Larry was very much in agreement with Dr. Fee.

The Good News from Sonshine emanated from Clay and Cheryl Ford who were the heads of that household. Clay is currently Pastor of the Baptist Church in La Jolla as well as Chair of Holy Spirit Renewal Ministries. The woman described in this article, Janis, was a very troubled young woman, as was her husband Frank. They were both associated with the church off and on for years. Frank at one time was our live in custodian. He died homeless. I performed a memorial service for him.

As usual, the "In the Family" column contains interesting little tid-bits about the people living in community. We also note that Gary and Georgia (missionaries in Belize) are newly weds.

The issue closes with "The Hymn of Grace," Ephesians 1:3-10. A beautiful picture with the scripture in nice calligraphy. Who of the Abba Craft workers did this? 

Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 27 July 13, 1976

This cover illustrates at least to me what Community was all about; loving one another. It is also another example of the artwork that adorned Our Life Together.

As Ken starts this cover article he very clearly articulates why the term "ministry" may be over used. He wants to do away with roles and let each of us just be who we are; loving and serving one another. Ken clearly demonstrated this in his "ministry." Ken was just Ken -- although he could be bigger than life in some of the Elders meetings. He did insist on his prerogatives and authority. But his point was very well taken. I think that this concept was one of the high ideals practiced in community. He does take a swipe at professional counseling -- one of his pet theories. He didn't believe in the professional way of doing things and he really believed that he knew best. Of course, at the time, I agreed with him -- Seminary began to change my concepts. Looking back, Ken was right in some instances (on this issue of counseling) and wrong on others.

Perry Yates begins an article above which he continues on this page. It is a report of the "Green Lake" conference. Even in these days, the broad scope of speakers was amazing. I still marvel at what was happening in the 70s in the church. As Perry nears the end of the page, he begins to recount some of the personal things that he learned at the conference. I believe that Perry still lives in Chula Vista. He is a talented musician and a great cabinet maker.

Tim Pagaard presents another McFoone strip about discarding sin in order to feel God's presence.

As Perry's article is concluded, another article begins entitled "Gleanings from Green Lake." It starts with a little description about the conference grounds. The first speaker discussed was Leo Shlegal from Aloha, Oregon. I don't know the current whereabouts of him or what condition the church is in currently. The next speaker was Garfield Judkins from Ohio, who gave a testimony regarding physical healing. Then our own Stephanie Harris (Mahan) discussed the ministry that she had with the young girl Nancy Shukantz. Of course, Stephanie is still in the San Diego area, but I don't know what happened with Nancy. The page ends with a discussion of Ken's ministry there.

After Ken's article, Larry Clark continues "Quotable Quotes" from the conference. Howard Ervin was very active in the ABCF (American Baptist Charismatic Fellowship) for many years. He was dean of Graduate Studies at Oral Roberts University, and an Old Testament Scholar. He was a gentle, kindly scholar. He used to "wow" us with his vocabulary. But, I remember him most in the early 80s when I was a beginner pastor when he came alongside me and mentored me when we were at the conferences and other leadership meetings during the year. I miss him, but I don't even know for sure whether he is still living or not. He was a great man in our movement.

"Quotable Quotes" continues on this page with a short discussion about the "Word of God" community in Ann Arbor MI. My team and I had the opportunity to visit this community in 1979. I enjoyed meeting with their Music Leader -- this community had a great music ministry. I asked him how they got so many talented musicians. He said, "We targeted the University of Michigan music department as an evangelistic outreach. Many from that department are a part of our community and our music ministry." This had a real impact on my understanding of goals and objectives in ministry.

Pat Escalante presents an article on judging. Pat was a neat woman who had a tough life. Yet, she was kindly and upbeat. She worked with children at the church and I always appreciated how she ministered to my son. She finally died of cancer -- I believe that it was in the late 90s.

The children participated in dramas based upon the Narnia Chronicles of CS Lewis for several years. Mona Pagaard was the teacher and director of these efforts. The children loved the Narnia stories and the opportunity to participate in the dramas. Of course, we parents also really enjoyed them.

Clay and Cheri Ford attended the Green Lake conference. Now Clay is the National Director of Holy Spirit Renewal Ministries (HSRM) the current incarnation of ABCF. There is also a little note about Julie Scott's healing. The page and the issue really concludes with an appeal for more funds to take care of expenses relating to the conference.