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.

Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 39 October 5, 1976

I find this to be an interesting cover. Of course, it illustrates the lead article by Ken Pagard (He hadn't changed it to the Danish spelling yet.) All of those statements speak to virtues in our American culture, yet all of them can hold us back in our spiritual growth.

Ken's article is unusually short for him. Yet it speaks eloquently to the issue. It is our pride that can keep us from submitting to God. I know that I grew up with the idea that I wanted to be a self-made man. It wasn't until I realized that I wasn't doing a very good job at it that I could relax, submit to God and be made new.

I will talk more about Gary and Georgia at  page 5 where Gary's article concludes.

Once again, McFoone illustrates a great truth. Both of the issues illustrated were points of discussion among the elders. We were not very Baptistic in our practice of communion. We celebrated communion at least every week and sometimes every day. This was a very meaningful time for most of us, but the possibility of it just becoming something routine was very real. We were also a church full of huggers -- McFoone nails it.

I have not read many of the books by Calvin Miller. He is an interesting writer. He doesn't write like a theologian, Bible scholar or preacher; his works are fiction and poetry. I actually met him at the 1000 Pines camp at a Ministers Retreat either in the late 80's or early 90's. I found him quite interesting. Larry gives a good review of our Ministering Community.

I must confess that I had completely forgotten the Eleanor Burger worked in (managed?) the book store owned by the McCullochs. The books she recommended are certainly dated but I also enjoyed being in the store. It was a nice, relaxing place.

Remember, we didn't celebrate Halloween. It was the Fall Festival. It was always a lot of fun.

I remember so well when Jacque and Linda started the sewing ministry. This has always been at the heart of Linda. She loved to sew in those days -- and especially baby and children's clothes. I remember shopping at Sid's Yardage with Linda after returning from Westpac -- he told me how grateful he was for my financial support. Linda still has a heart for the babies and children. Now it is quilts that she makes. She heads up a quilting ministry at Bay View Baptist Church. 

The article by Gary is a neat article about love. He neatly ties in marital love and the love that bound us together in community. Gary and Georgia are still married and serving as missionaries in Belize. If any of you are on Face Book, be sure to Friend Gary so that you can see his This Day in Belize -- it is well worth it. I should also note that the OLT's that I am uploaded are a result of Gary's collection of them. I am in possession of that collection (Gary -- I have it when you want it -- I am taking good care of it.)

I really don't know who wrote all of the information on the next couple of pages on World Hunger, the Biblical Imperative and what we should do about it, but I do find it interesting, because I don't think that much has changed in all of these years. I do remember that for years we fasted every Friday evening for dinner and gave the money to world hunger relief.

Larry's article concludes on this page. Then we have In the Family. One item of interest is that in this article we have the birth of April Wetzel -- this week she posted on Face Book that she was celebrating her 19th wedding anniversary. Where does the time go.

For many years we really had no formal rules for membership other than a profession of faith followed by baptism. We began to see membership as something deeper than merely attending church, so we developed a system of rules for membership. Later I was one of the teachers of the Basic Principles class.

At this point, I had never met Bill Zuspan, but I came to know him in the 90's. He moved to California and became the pastor of the American Baptist Church in Rancho Bernardo. Small world.

Our team camped out in the basement of Central Baptist Seminary in Kansas City.

The issue closes with the write of an oral prophecy. There is also a poem by Dawn Schmid. She wrote pretty regularly for OLT.