The cover illustrates the lead article written by Ken Pagaard. The men want to get to paradise but seem to be avoiding the difficulty of fording the river.
Ken's first illustrations about shortcuts to cooking is interesting. Cake mixes were considered shortcuts in the 70s, but they are seen as the normal way to bake a cake today. As technology has increased, the idea of shortcuts has become even more entrenched in our society. I'm sure that Ken couldn't even imagine what the world is like today. Even though from this angle, the article is somewhat dated -- but in principle it is very timely. We certainly have grown in our desire for entertainment. The kind of drugs available have increased. We have a much more difficult time dealing with pain -- we want instant deliverance. Ken then quotes Huxley as he begins to provide a solution. The first item is to abolish inferiority.
Ken's article doesn't continue here, but the article presented by Larry Clark picks up where the first page of Ken's article left off. Larry writes about the problem of a low self-image. He gives us the picture of an orchestra where each of the instruments are important to the musical composition, but each instrument is very different from the others. Larry finishes with a nice conclusion and gives the glory to God.
Grace Cleary was such a part of the church for many years. At the time of this writing, she worked with Ruth Jamison in the church library. I thought she was old (how our perceptions change as we ourselves grow older.) Her article is really a spiritual encouragement to persist in our participation in the Here's Life campaign.
We always liked to have participation from the children. A good word about honesty from an eight year old.
Patricia Escalante was also a member for many years who passed away many years ago. She was a woman who had a difficult life. Here she writes about how we rationalize our own sins. Our own sins are never as serious as the other person's sins.
Bobby Dyal, another name from the past, brings an important word about the need for discipleship. It is not enough to just make a decision for Christ. The issue of discipleship, being immersed in the Christian life with a lot of support from others, was the real strong point of our community.
Our ministry in Bogota, Colombia was powerful. When I look back, I am amazed that a church like FBC Chula Vista could have a ministry like this. The letter was from Enrique, one of the leaders of the community in Bogota.
Doris and Dot Wiseman were twin sisters who were missionaries to Zaire. They both were a part of our community for a year or so. Doris lived with us in Westby House. After retirement they moved to Oregon. I did see them a few times at conferences. They were a real inspiration to me.
McFoone demonstrates the results of discipleship; the Disciples of Jesus look a lot like him.
Ken continues with the commentary on Huxley with a discussion our need to be loved and appreciated for our own worth. But the question that follows is, "What will make life in all of its aspects seem not only worth living but divinely beautiful and significant." Of course, the shortcuts enumerated won't bring this about. The only thing that really brings this about is Jesus himself. Finally, Ken concludes the article by discussing the fact that this comes at a cost; we must pay the price. There is no shortcut to paradise.
We actually had a very nice library for a church our size. It was actually my source of research for a significant part of the research for Seminary papers.
The "In the Family" section informs us again that we seemed to always have one or more teams traveling around the country.
I don't know who Lorraine Nicholls was/is. I assume that she was a part of the church.
The "I found it" button was a real part of the campaign. The follow on line was, "Ask me how." Then we could give our testimony. I always remember wearing the button as I went to the bank. It had been a long day. I was tired and was only thinking of getting the banking done and going home. Then the teller said, "I give up, "How?" I said, "What?" She said, "I want to know how." I said, "Lady I don't know what you are talking about, I just want to go home." She apologized and said that she just wanted to know about the button I was wearing. I really blew it. I tried to be more attentive after that.
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