Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 46 November 24, 1976

This is the Thanksgiving issue of 1976. It is hard to believe that this was 38 years ago. Clay Ford in his article talks about the Mission of the Church in the last quarter of the 20th century. It has come and gone. How quickly the time passes.

The issues of submission and obedience became quite controversial during the latter period of our community but Ken Pagaard provides a helpful exposition of the difference between a submissive spirit and legalistic submission. He provides examples when the Christian really can't submit, yet they can maintain a spirit of submission -- humility. Ken states the rebelliousness is, "Pride (which)is the refusing to bow before man or God. It is our own willfulness, the big 'I'. It is what Lucifer expressed in the heavens and what Adam and Eve insisted on in Eden."

The small article by Grace Cleary is a nice word on the hope which comes from God's grace and forgiveness. 

This is the first article on The Mission of the Church by Clay. This article really just begins to discuss the various views that exist as to the mission of the church -- or if there is even a contemporary mission.

I liked McFoone's guidelines for the Thanksgiving meal -- although it might bring on an attack of guilt. 

The report on the Mid-America Conference on the Holy Spirit is interesting to me. There are many names of people that are no longer with us but were important during this period of renewal. I remember most of them. 

I am also awed by those on the planning conference for the Kansas City Celebration. Of course the celebration itself will be discussed in later issues, but it was a major event in the Holy Spirit, Charismatic Renewal of the 20th century. I was there!

This page starts the "Quotable Quotes from the conference. The picture of the great men planning for the Kansas City Celebration is awesome.

Larry Clark was so faithful on providing the "Quotable Quotes." I remember Lynn Buzzard. He spoke at First Baptist the following year. He was funny -- I didn't know that Attorneys could be funny. 

My report on the Here's Life campaign is glowing. I (we) were quite excited about the results. The call center was in a local real estate office and was provided by Art Alari (I thought of him because today is his birthday.) But, my heart is saddened by the realization of how empty the long term results of the campaign were. I'm sure that some people became followers of Christ and have followed up until this day -- and that makes it worth it -- but, the results were not really what we hoped for.

Linda Coale was a good writer. She was always able to come up with a short article that had pithy teaching. 

The conclusion of Clay's article is on the page followed by a plea for subscription renewal. As expensive as the publication was in those days -- I'm glad we aren't doing it now.

Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 45 November 18, 1976

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. 

Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 44 November 11, 1976

The theme and lead article for this issue is the power of the words that we speak. This is beautifully illustrated by another fine cover from Abbagraphics. I am not sure who the real artist was; Gary Bell?

Emery Fryer wrote little articles from time to time for OLT, but I think that this was the only time that he wrote the lead article. Of course, Ken Pagaard was in Hawaii and Emery was the Head Elder. I don't think we ever thought of his position as The Chairman of the Board of Elders, even though that really was his position. Emery was a fixture in the church until 2006 when he passed away. He was a good friend and a real leader in the church for many years.

In the article, Emery retells the story of several ways in which the word was used throughout the Bible, but especially the way that Jesus spoke. Then he goes on to Paul's instructions in Ephesians that we only speak things that will build one another up; this is the key point that he is making. He mentions how we "fall into light, frivolous or even silly or levitous conversation." I remember when this was one of the things that we tried to foster; a more serious and spiritual talk. Right or wrong, it didn't work at Westby. Lots of humor. I unfortunately was known as a punster. Yet; Emery does give some real strong advice about the importance of weighing what we say. We are not to bring each other down, but to lift one another up.

Tim Pagaard was always able to make a nice point through his McFoone series.

Larry Clark provides an interesting article giving a rationale for leaving, even disobeying, our parents. He does make it plain that he is not talking about children, but adults. What he says makes sense and was a real issue in my life; my mother was appalled that I was moving into a "commune." Yet, I wonder what was going on in the life of the community at this time that caused Larry to write the article. I suppose that part of it was the controversy over groups such as the Children of God, which Larry mentions. The leader of the group against the Children of God lived in Chula Vista and lumped us into that kind of group. I think that Larry was trying to reassure us.

The Women's Bible Study on Tuesdays continued for a long time. Our experiments with personal prophecy had mixed results. I think that this is normal, because it is an inexact science. We did know that God speaks to each of us. We did want to hear the Lord.

Ken was ministering in the Maui Bible Church. I had completely forgotten that there was a small community over there. Ken's experience with meeting pastors from all over who read Our Life Together was also experienced by me after I became pastor. I don't think we realized the impact of this little periodical. At the time I'm sure that more people read it outside of FBC Chula Vista than here at home. 

I see that we were in the process of raising money for the Renewal Center. This was an idea that seemed right, but never came to fruition.

Preparations for the Here's Life campaign were in full swing.

Clay, why don't you tell us really how you feel about the things on TV? Just kidding. It is amazing what we have learned to tolerate on TV. The real sad thing is that things haven't improved since 1976. We do have to be careful about what we allow into our minds.

On this page, Larry concludes his article as Ken begins a teaching on Inner Healing. I still believe that the concept of God healing our memories, emotions as well as deliverance from the demonic are valid. I think that one of the problems encountered later on is that we tended to pick up on the teachings from some fringe, pop-psychologists rather than some more sound teachers. 

The notes on the upcoming Summer of 1977 bring back memories. That was a busy time. It was also a great time. I remember well helping out with the ABC Convention. Of course, who could forget the conference in Kansas City?

Clay finishes his article here. His remarks are really timeless.

Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 43 November 4, 1976

The issue starts with some nice cover art with a note from Cheri Ford -- "Who, who, who in the skies can compare with Yahweh?

Ken provides a great exposition of Luke 15 and the concept of lostness. He starts by setting the scene. Jesus eats with publicans and sinners and the religious were scandalized. Ken says that there are four kinds of lostness. The first is that of the sheep who has just lost its way. It wandered off without even realizing it.

He states that these kind of people are good people who are just spiritually adrift and need help. The second is like that of the coin, they just have no real value. These are the people who may be moral and upright, but have no value for the Kingdom, since they are not connected. The third is the prodigal son who deliberately decides to go his own way. Then there is the older brother who doesn't think that he is lost. Ken goes on to discuss how each of these gets lost and then, how they can be found. This starts with a loving God who wants his people to be found. Then we have the opportunity to return to him -- we have been found.

McFoone demonstrates how we can overcome life's trials. We are founded on a rock that is higher than us.

Clay writes of the excitement building for the Here's Life campaign. I think that I (as the co-chair) wrote the actual status report. This will probably be mentioned later, but we actually used the Coldwell Banker real estate call center. It worked very well.

Ken addresses some of the tensions within the church and our households by expounding on the parable of the wine skins. When the Spirit moves change occurs -- and this change is not always orderly. With most of us, this creates tension. As I remember it, there could be a lot of tension when things seemed out of order. Yet, I also remember how God seemed to put things back in order. It was a growing experience.

It looks like there were many children being born in our "In the Family" column. I guess that we grew in other ways than evangelism. I also note that Ken, Mona, Dave and Mary Fountain went to Hawaii for the convention. After I became pastor, the convention was held once more in Hawaii -- several leaders went -- they didn't send me, but I did get to go to Bakersfield twice. I also note that Ken was the Vice President of the Ministers Council at this time. This let to a hurtful incident later.

Then we end with a report of three baptisms. I confess that I don't remember any of these people. Of course, in those days we had so many baptisms that there were many that I didn't know.

Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 42 October 28, 1976

The old song, "This is my Father's World" is going around in my head. The picture helps me to think of the goodness of God's creation. As we shall see, Ken Pagaard has some things to say about this creation in the lead article.

One of the things that I need to state at the start is that this is a very short article for Ken. He starts with a statement gleaned from the book, "All My Children." This was a book that figured large in the Inner Healing Ministry. The author card mostly for people suffering from Schizophrenia. The treatment consisted of re parenting the patient. They would start from infancy and proceed through childhood and on to adulthood. We certainly bought into this as a part of the Inner Healing process.

Ken's point in this article had nothing to do with Inner Healing. He discusses how we see the world and the message that we bring back to our families. He emphasizes the fact that Jesus is still the Lord. From our perspective things may not look good -- but God has not left us. Satan may think he is in control, but he has been defeated. This is the message that we should accept for ourselves and then bring into our homes.

Jerry Jamison and Tim Pagaard seem to have worked together on this page, for McFoone really illustrates Jerry's article. Jerry discusses the problem that occurs in our households, families and the church when we feel attacked by others. This usually comes to us in the form of gossip. We then feel defeated and resentful. Of course, Matthew 18 presents a method for dealing with this problem. Jerry proceeds to present an exposition of this scripture passage.

Jerry concludes his article on this page. He does more than just parrot the scripture, he shows us how we might carry it out in real life. This is always timely.

Bob Granigan writes that he was a counselor for the disabled at Southwestern College. Bob was such a fixture and blessing at the church. He was a quadriplegic who had been injured in a diving accident some years before. He was a member of our community living at Lincoln Court House. He was since passed away. 

It was not unusual to be doing fund raisers and toy drives for our pre-school, School for Young Children.

This page relates to the article by Bob Granigan on the preceding page. It is an advertisement for Disabled Person's Awareness Week at Southwestern College. I notice that they were showing, "The Other Side of the Mountain" the motion picture story of Jill Kinmont. I remember the story because this happened while I was at UCLA and she was a student there.

Nancy Mitchell was a very talented woman. She wrote well and the little article presented here is typical of what she would write. She suffered from a lot of depression -- and she describes many of her own feelings. She has also passed away.

We didn't often print prophecies that were made in the church, but these came through our class on Prophecy. The reason we didn't write them was that we didn't want to give them the same weight as scripture.

I always appreciate the creativity of Linda Coale. This is a nice little piece about the seed -- and perhaps us as we painfully mature in life.

The issue closes with a very brief "In the Family."

Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 41 October 21, 1976

This appears to be another beautiful cover by Gary Bell. I love the birds. I suppose they are illustrating the coming of the heavenly dove, the Holy Spirit.

The lead article is written by Clay Ford. He is dealing with the question of why bad things happen to good people. If God loves us, why do these horrible things happen. He writes that God shows his care by sending Jesus to love us, heal us and ultimately to die for us. Clay then moves on to state that Jesus continues to demonstrate his care of others through the life that he gave us. We are now his representatives on earth. We have a responsibility for demonstrating God's love for others.

Bobby Dyal wrote "Tired of Running." I remember Bobby, but really don't know a lot about him. I don't know where he is currently -- or if he is even living. But, here again, is an illustration that OLT was written by the people of the body. Yes, Ken, Clay and Larry were the chief writers, but articles came from many people within the community.

Larry discusses the "Here's Life" campaign. Clay and I were the chairs the campaign for the church. I remember going door to door during the training. I remember leading one man to the Lord and was overjoyed. Then I never saw him again. Did he really convert? Did he go to another church? Was he just tryng to get rid of me by saying the little prayer? Over the years, I have driven by his house and these questions come to mind. Don't get me wrong, I am not opposed to witnessing, but I have become convinced, that effective follow-up -- preferably very personal follow-up is absolutely necessary. We do a real disservice when we fail to do this. 

McFoone knows that he has been forgiven. He doesn't need to accept condemnation. Way to go McFoone!

The Fall Festival was rapidly approaching. These festivals were an important part of the church for many years. They were called different names at different times. Some times they were strongly aimed at outreach, other times for children and their families. They were always successful. Of course, the flyer was a product of Brenda's artwork. 

I see by "In the Family" that Ken and I were in Omaha -- actually it was Lincoln, NE. I remember that it was game day for the Cornhuskers. Nothing moved in town -- everyone was at the game. They are real football fans there. This was the only trip that I ever made alone with Ken. 

Clay finishes his article on this page. He moves on to the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit not only gives us power, but he brings about community and a desire to help those in need. We are the instruments of God's love in the world. He closes with the sentiment that it would be good if we could say with Jesus, "If you have seen us, you have seen the Father." 

Marilyn Baker presents a nice little piece on how we minister to others. Marilyn is still a part of Fifth and E. She is also still friends with my wife -- the Linda in the piece. I spent time talking with her just this last weekend at a Memorial service for one of the members of Bay View Baptist. This really fits in with Clay's article in that it is the kindness of others that ministers the love of God.

Prophecy is always important. We want to hear the proclamation of God's word. I vaguely remember this Prophecy Class -- although I wasn't a part of it. Bob brings out the importance of worship, particularly singing in opening us up to the gifts of the spirit. This worship helps us to let our barriers down and flow with the Spirit.

Gwen is of course Brenda's mother. She is a very talented woman in her own right, but I don't remember much that she wrote for OLT. She is still living locally. I actually ran into her at Costco a few months ago.

The truth expressed by Maureen Brians about the needs around the world hasn't change with the possible exception that it may be worse now than then. She mentions Marian Boehr in the article. She came to the church and spoke many years later.

Eleanor Burger celebrated her 87th birthday last week. She and her husband, George, live in Oregon. They were special friends. She was quite a leader for our women.

I don't know why we were announcing this wedding. I do remember Denis Costello but don't remember how much he was involved. I also remember when his father became a deacon at St. Pius. The Costello's were a large family.

Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 40 October 14, 1976

The picture from the Sistine Chapel will be the prime illustration for Gary's article which starts on the next page.

 I remember this article from long ago. I have always appreciated it. I am not in any way a visual artist, but even those who do music or writing can appreciate where Gary is coming from. I should have said at the start that this is, of course, written by Gary Bell. He was not only one of the leaders of Abbacraft, but he was really the man behind Our Life Together. He was and is a very talented man.

I love his metaphor of God with the blank canvas before him as he begins his painting of the universe. This is a good way of beginning to understand creation without being bound to a literalistic seven 24 hour day creation taking place some 6,000 years ago. 

In his second paragraph on this page he discusses the painting of a beautiful picture and then adding the scripture to it. Gary is still at it. His postings on Face Book of  This Day in Belize captures this idea so beautifully. If you are unfamiliar with this, friend Gary -- his postings are must reading for me each day.

The Lewis/Marx article brings back some memories as I think of discussions concerning this. As the article says, read it carefully.

As usual, McFoone presents a real truth. Strive to understand and love the person -- then sow the seed -- then let the Holy Spirit do his work.

In the last issue, Larry Clark wrote an open letter to Calvin Miller. Here we have his gracious response.

This is the mission statement of Abbacraft. It certainly stands on its own. It was a great ministry in its time.

Boy does this catalog of prints bring back memories! I see some of Gary's work -- some of Brenda -- there is Cathy. Great memories.

More memories. I, like most of our members, had a lot of these bookmarks.

I see that these are 1976 prices!

Joyce has appeared in these pages many times. Joyce was a clever, intelligent woman. She brought many insightful ideas and wrote them well. I like her use of the Velveteen Rabbit. This story was used a lot during the community days. 

Clay Ford and I were partners in the Here's Life, Chula Vista campaign. Clay was a real evangelist (still is), I'm a good nuts and bolts assistant.

What a clever little piece this is by Linda Coale. She is another one that wrote many clever pieces for OLT. We were blessed with so many artistic people.

Bob Westbrook was a young Navy man -- or was he out by then? He became a member of the community and was with us for several years. Where is he now? I think that he was in the Burger's household.

In the good news section I see the arrival of Bruce Blankenheim. It was not that many years later that he was killed in an accident. He was a cousin(?) of Mona Pagard. I was the one that went with him to get him registered in the Adult High School. I liked young Bruce.

Dan and Sharon Stolebarger are now married, still are -- and currently in Israel. They are also very interesting to follow on FB.

Don't forget the Children's Fall Festival -- adults too -- a Halloween alternative.