Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 49 December 16, 1976

This is a real nice cover. I like the statement, "Beneath the breast of Jesus beats the heart of God."

Ken starts the article discussing how central the Incarnation is to a proper understanding of Christianity. He starts in the Gospel of John where Jesus is asked by Philip to show him the Father. Jesus answers by saying, "He who has seen me has seen the Father." This is a good article on the subject.

Then there is an announcement of the children's dance program to be performed on Christmas Eve.

Shelly Hendrickson wrote a nice little poem about surrender to God. Almost every issue I marvel at the people who were a part of the Community in those days. Shelly is still in the local area. I see her every once in a while.

The major article on this page is Clay's writing on The Mission of the Church: The Church as a Counter-Culture. This is partly a rationale for living in community as we were doing. His statement, "We are to live in the church and go into the world instead of living in the world and going to church," gets to the point. We are to live different kind of lives. Clay and I don't live a communal life-style any longer -- and don't want to -- but the principles expounded are still a major part of our lives.

Ken also completes his cover article on this page.

Larry's article is an exhortation to "hang in there." When we are growing in the Lord, it may seem that everything is getting worse, but this is temporary. He uses the example of Jesus being led into the desert to be tempted by Satan immediately after being anointed by the Holy Spirit. Larry is talking about some specific situations, but I can certainly attest that it was during the difficult times that I grew most rapidly. Even though I really like good times, they aren't usually times of major growth.

Clay's testimony is just wonderful. As we like to say, "There are no coincidences." These kind of stories were not unusual in those days. I still think that is meant to be normal Christianity.

Earl Kuester of Gardena was one of the circle of pastors who were growing as part of the Charismatic Movement. He presents a mini-book review about a writing on the "proofs" of Jesus as the Messiah. I never read the book. Whether I read the book or not, I know that Jesus is the Messiah, my Savior and Lord.

Pat Vos (no Frehafer) is one of my friends on Facebook. She is still working with the Lord. Her testimony is similar to the one from the last page. God was alive and working in our midst. 

The issue closes with a Christmas Poem. Roger Jump was one of the ministers who worked for the Region.

Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 48, Dec. 9, 1976

I really like the cover. Evil is the reverse of Live. Then the theme scripture surrounding those two words. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. Rick Warren wrote "The Purpose Driven Life." Jesus also lived a purpose driven life -- he destroyed the works of the devil.

Ken Pagaard wrote the cover article. He started with the theme verse and then moves into the purpose of the devil. John 8:44 says that Satan is a destroyer of life -- a murderer from the beginning. Jesus reverses this by giving us the gift of life. Jesus not only surrendered his life, but he also gives us new life. Satan is a deceiver and liar; Jesus is the way the truth and the life. Satan is at work in the darkness; Jesus is the light of the world. This is a great article on what Jesus did for us as opposed to what Satan's plans are for us.

While Larry Clark's article is about the legacy of Jesus rather than the purpose of Jesus, the theme is very similar. Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to give us life and to empower that life. The purpose of the legacy of Jesus intertwined.

For those of you who were around at this time, read the In the Family -- interesting.

Clay Ford continues his series on Ephesians 4:11-12 by discussing the Pastoral Ministry. He discusses how he really became aware that the traditional pastoral ministry -- visiting, counseling and calling on the sick -- usually reserved for ordained clergy, is really the ministry of the family. Of course, here, by family, he is discussing what we had in the Ministering Community. We had 13 communal households that lived like a family. We also had many non-resident households that functioned as an extended family. Yet, I believe that what Clay discovered is still true even in congregations without the Community. The church is a family and all of us must function as a family. This is a word that still works today.

Gerald Pearce writes about learning to become compassionate rather than judgemental. He uses the book Please Get Your Hands Off My Throat, by David Wilkerson to demonstrate the point. Here again, the point made by Gerald, and I suppose also by David Wilkerson, is still timely. I remember Gerald. He came to the church for years. The last time I saw him, he was attending First Baptist Church of National City. I haven't seen him for years.

I like the little piece by Cindy Hazard. I have no idea where she is now. She used to be a member of the Oaklawn House. She also went in the same van as I did on one of our long trips. One of those really nice people that have just dropped out of your life. Normal, but sad.

I suppose that Larry Clark put together the Points to Ponder. He was always active in providing quotes of conferences. They certainly don't need any commentary. They are all from National Leaders at the time.

Ron Alsop was the leader of one of the non-resident households. This article is a reflection of one day, one meeting. We are guilty, we are forgiven -- then let's live for this day. Ron and his wife Judy are still active in ministry. I haven't seen them for some time but they are Facebook friends, so I get to keep up with them.

This page contains the completion of the articles written by both Ken and Clay. Of course there is also a happy heart -- with a happy face. 

Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 47 December 2, 1976

The cover sets the stage for Ken's lead article on the healing of the lame man at the pool of Bethesda which is found in John 5.

Ken wisely lays the groundwork; healing occurs when one wants to be healed. I do question the statement that 80%of all illness is psychosomatic. Of course, this is written in the 70s! I do agree however that we deal with not only physical illness but emotional and spiritual components to that illness. We are all complex individuals. Actually this is a very practical exegesis of the problem of healing. It is basically still applicable today.

Larry's article on Words of Appreciation is still timely. I don't think that we fully understand how to appreciate people in our congregation, or to accept a compliment. We seem to feel that if we give someone a compliment, that we think that they are just performing; remember it is all for the Lord. Then there is the person who sings well and someone compliments them. "Oh, it wasn't me! It was the Lord." I always tried to tell the people in the choir that when complimented just say, "Thank You!" Certainly Larry is right, we are trying to do these things for the Lord. Yet, it is nice to be appreciated.

The picture looks a lot like the Sonshine household (or was it earlier when it was Skyhill Ct.?) I see Clay, Cheri and their kids; Kerry, Carolyn Farrer and child. Most of the household has been cropped out. Clay really has written a nice article on the importance of family -- not just the nuclear family, but the church as family. I think that this was the strong point of our Ministering Community. No, I don't want to go back -- but the seven years that I lived at Westby Household was a major high point of my life. 

Bob and Irene Biccum were members for a few years. They were among the real old (probably late 50s or early 60s -- seems young now.) I believe that they were originally from Canada. They held no "position" in the church and they weren't in one of the residential households. They were strong members of the church.

Bobby Dyal wrote a lot for OLT. They were usually like this, short little articles. He was another of the old ones. Patty Hendricks -- I remember her -- whatever happened to her? I don't know who Steve Spohn is. Then of course "In the Family" always brings back memories to me.

One of the amazing things at this time was the size of the Basic Principles (New Members) class. We had several of these classes every year. I eventually became one of the teachers of this class. These were such exciting days. Something was always happening. 

Janet Scott is discussing our Halloween festival. We didn't call it Halloween -- it was an alternative. We continued to hold alternative festivals for years. They took many forms, but they were always great times.

Danny Stolebarger found it! I was always jealous of his ability to grow facial hair. He could have a beard one day, shave the next and have another beard the next day. I could go weeks without shaving and no one noticed. I still like keeping up on him and his family through face book.