Our Life Together Vol. 3 Nr. 27 July 8, 1975

This is one of the great graphics that was produced by Abbagraphics. It illustrates the pithy quote by Nancy Mitchell. Abbagraphics was one of our ministries of the arts at First Baptist Church of Chula Vista in the 70s. We had a crafts ministry that made banners, calendars, book marks and other items which were sold across the country. Abbagraphics illustrated OLT and designed many of the items used in making the crafts. We also had our own printing ministry. Of course we also had other ministries in the arts such as music, dance and drama. All of this came from a relatively small church of about 500 members.

The Abbagraphics people came and went over the years, but the leaders were Jerry Jamison and Gary Bell. A real mainstay was Brenda Gire (now Smith). This was a very talented crew. I almost forgot, Cathy Skoor (I completely forgot her maiden name -- but it will come back to me).

Nancy Mitchell was a talented writer/poet. She came up with nice pieces for several years. She passed away a few years ago from cancer. She was a good friend. I still hear from one of her sons Michael who is on Facebook.
Clay Ford had a difficult time while he was in England. He writes of that time in this article. He also presents the truth that many of us has discovered, that some of these difficult times can bring out the best in us.
This was certainly one of the shortest issues, if not THE shortest. It is a real tribute to the people who made OLT possible that it was issued week after week with a lot of meaty articles in it. Of course, Ken Pagaard was the driving force and the prolific teacher. But Gary Bell and Jerry Jamison did a lot of the work. Later, after Jerry left, Gary was the driving force and the creative spirit behind this publication. I might add that the reason that I am able to upload these issues is because he has loaned me his collection -- which may be one of the very few in existence.

Our Life Together Vol. 3 Nr. 26 July 1, 1975

Ken actually wrote this article while the group was in Atlantic City for the American Baptist Convention. A correction to the title appears in the next issue. It should read, "The Prevenient God," the God who goes before. At this time, Ken was always one who believed, trusted and obeyed God. In this article, he really marvels at how God has led him through the trip to England and was now taking care of him and the team at Atlantic City.

The next two articles are little testimonies by Tom and Shirley McCulloch about how much they appreciate being a part of the community at FBCCV. They believed that it was the unity expressed within the community that brought them success in ministry.

The next piece is by Dan Stolebarger who was to become my co-pastor in 1982. We actually served together for over 5 years. This was remarkable because we were so different from one another. At the time of this issue, Dan was one of the young leaders of the House of Abba. He was a very talented young man with high leadership qualities. Dan had accompanied Ken to England. His article is interesting in showing his understanding of what was happening in England regarding spiritual renewal.

I am also always impressed at what a large number of young men were in the church who were gifted in teaching. We had Bible studies every day; Dan on Monday, Clay Ford on Wednesday, Mike Sandez (now a professor at Liberty Law School) and me on Friday. I mentioned on Facebook that I had completely forgotten that I was teaching one of these daily Bible studies at this time.

Several people mentioned on Facebook that they liked the little piece "A Christian Garden."

The Summer of travel is reaching its end; the teams are returning home. I was glad to see Ken return. I was new to community living, but I functioned as head of the Westby Household in his absence. It was a big responsibility. Even with Ken and the team away, there were over 20 people living there. I enjoyed leading things -- but I was also overwhelmed.

Our Life Together Vol. 3 Nr. 25 June 24, 1975

Ken's article reemphasises of the primary focuses of our community, the power of our life together. Of course this is the name of this blog and, more importantly, the name of our newsletter. Ken write a lot about the ministry in England. He also discusses how well he and the team had been received there. He quotes from Paul's letter stating that the church was his letter of recommendation. Ken states that the church and community standing behind him and praying for him is his letter of recommendation to the churches in England. Of course, the graphic is an illustration of the strength we have together. I many be weak, but when we stand together with the Lord, we are strong!

This issue may contain the only article by Bill Marsden. I suppose we could come upon his name in the future, but this is at least his earliest article. He has an interesting testimony about learning to appreciate change in his life. Bill is still around. He is one of my friends onFacebook and comments regularly on OLT when it is posted there.

One of the things I like best about these old issues is the pictures from so long ago. The picture is of Emmanuel House which was headed by Leonard and Linda Frey. They became close friends of ours in 1968. I thought that I had orders (from the Navy) to move to Hawaii, so we needed to sell our house. Leonard had just gotten out of the Air Force and needed a house. So we got together. The day the house entered escrow, the Navy told me that my orders were changed; I was to stay in San Diego. Well, everything worked out and we became great friends. I don't know the identity of all of the people. I would love to hear from any of those who were familiar with them as to the names. I know Linda, Leonard, Lisa and Marci (their girls), Penni Wilson (now Neely) and her children Shawn and Lindsey, and John Adair. Some of the others look familiar, but I can't remember their names.

Our Life Together Vol. 3 Nr. 24 June 17, 1975

I thought the articles by Clay and Ken regarding the situation in England was quite interesting. I have mentioned before that Ken traveled quite a bit, but this particular trip was a major milestone. It was the biggest international trip that FBCCV had participated in. We had two teams traveling to England. I think that there were actually eight people in all. For a church our size this was a major undertaking.

Most of us, including Ken, had the sense that England was spiritually dead. They had a lot of churches and a lot of history, but no current life. This trip was eye opening. England may not have had the large crowds that we had in the US, but they did have a deep hunger for more of the Lord. They were ready to receive all that God had in pouring our His Holy Spirit upon them. The people were also open to life in community. This was a great blessing to our teams -- and a great surprise.

The article on the Oleander Non-residential household opens up a discussion of another part of our community life. Approximately 30% of the congregation of FBC lived in our residential households. Most of the rest of the people were involved in our not-residential households. These households were headed by some of our more mature leaders, several of whom were elders. They would generally have weekly meetings. They would eat together, have a teaching, a time of worship and prayer. They would also gather for special occasions such as the camping trip discussed in the article. It wasn't the same as living in a household, but it was the next best thing. Our family was a part of one of these households, led by Wallie and Louise Gray before we moved into Westby.

Our Life Together Vol. 3 Nr. 23 June 10, 1975

Ken discusses an issue that was important in the Charismatic Renewal. Evangelical Christianity was very "word" oriented. Word in this context meant the Bible. Most of us in the Renewal (particularly those of us in Baptist Churches) were basically Evangelical Christians who were "baptized in the Spirit". But we also believed that God still spoke to us in the present (the rhema word). Ken was a good teacher walking the thin line of respect for the Bible on one hand and yet being open to a current word from God on the other hand.
As Ken pointed out, it was easy to become extreme on either of these understandings.

One of the important Bible teachers in the early days of the American Baptist Charismatic Fellowship, was Dr. Howard Ervin. Howard was an ordained American Baptist Pastor who had been touched by the Pentecostal movement. Of course this led him to participate in the Charismatic Renewal. During these early days, Dr. Ervin was Dean of Graduate Studies at Oral Roberts University. He was able to keep us grounded in Theological Orthodoxy. Meanwhile, Kenneth Hagin, a pentecostal preacher located in Tulsa OK as was ORU, started Rheman Bible College. Kenneth Hagin was really the father of the "Word of Faith" movement which was sometimes also called the Health and Wealth Gospel. One of his colleagues was Kenneth Copeland (more on him later). The reason I mention these two gentlemen was that while they gave a lot of lip service to the Bible, they were very much into the Rhema as authoritative. In fact, Howard Ervin mentioned one year that one of the greatest heresies coming out of the Charismatic movement was the teaching espoused at Rhema Bible College and its founder, Kenneth Hagin.

Howard Ervin was not only important to our movement, but he was very important to me. During the years when I was becoming pastor of FBCCV, and ABCV was becoming organized, I roomed with him during our many foundational meetings. He became a mentor to me. I really appreciated his balanced outlook. So I was blessed with two very balanced mentors, Ken Pagaard and Howard Ervin.

I just have a humorous anecdote in which Kenneth Copeland figures. Rob Mahan (my associate) and I attended the Ecumenical Charismatic Conference held in the Super Dome in New Orleans in 1987. We were trying to save money so we booked the cheapest hotel on the list -- a no name -- at $30 per night. As we entered town on the bus, I was watching the addresses -- but didn't see my hotel. I got off the bus anyway and asked the doorman at the Double Tree where the "no name" was. He said the the Double Tree had bought them out. I went in and asked if our reservations were still good. The clerk answered in the affirmative. I then said, well can I sign up for my room. The clerk then said, "Well there is a problem. We had a fire last night and there are no rooms for you." Well, my heard sank. I was on a very limited budget. "What can I do?" Then she informed my the the New Orleans Westin would honor our reservations. "For the same price?" "For the same price." Wow, the Westin was the speakers hotel! Rob and I stayed in $125 per night rooms for $30. We rode the elevators with Kenneth Copeland and Richard Roberts. We lived high on the hog -- even though we usually ate at Burger King. Riding the elevator with Kenneth Copeland was my only personal experience with him.

Our Life Together Vol. 3 Nr. 22 June 3, 1975

Well, first things first. This is quite out of order, but I believe that you can sort it out. I uploaded as I usually do -- but on a different computer -- and things are out of order. The second thing I will mention is that, in this issue, once again we have the widespread ministry of Ken and the church. Ken is just finishing his ministry at the Pittsburgh Charismatic Conference. He and his two teams are leaving for England. Upon their return, they will be at the American Baptist Biennial Convention. Finally, the plans for the American Baptist Charismatic Conference at Green Lake is in full swing.

The important issue of course is that of the results of the City Council meeting. R1 zone is that of single family residences. At that time the law was that no more than 6 people unless related by blood, marriage or adoption could live in one house. R3 zoning allowed for apartments and didn't have the restrictions of R1. Larry and Bud write bravely about our response to this defeat. I am not disagreeing with them. We did go ahead as we felt that God was leading us. I might say though that this bravery came after our prayer meeting, not after the City Council meeting. We were pretty discouraged as we left the meeting. Yet, after prayer, God seemed to speak and we went ahead. This was no show of bravery, we were really fortified by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The attorney was mentioned in Larry's article. I don't know whether we started with another attorney or not, but we were finally represented by Bill Cannon. He was a wonderful man and a great attorney. As we go along with the story, you will see some of the things that he did for us. We actually used him a few years later with an entirely different matter. He was very good to us. He is now a judge -- unless he has already retired (time goes too fast).

I also must discuss Ken's article. He actually taught on this several times. Being unschooled in the Bible, I had never thought of such things as context. I, like many people, just assumed that Jesus was just saying that if we find objective truth through academic and scientific research that we would be set free. Set free from what, ignorance, superstition? Ken presented this to me (us) in an entirely new light. If I was a disciple, if I heard the word, if I was obedient to His word, then I would no the truth. This truth would set me free from the oppression of sin. Wow, this is a different meaning all together. Thank you for this teaching, Ken. I have used this many times in my ministry.

Our Life Together Vol. 3 Nr. 21 May 27, 1975

The first thing of obvious note on this issue is the absence of the two dominant writers for OLT, Ken Pagaard and Clay Ford. Of course, we know from the previous issue that they are en route to England. Thus the front page article is by Larry Clark. Larry was really the Assistant Pastor at this time. He was an ordained American Baptist pastor. He preached quite a bit and was the primary person to fill in for Ken when absent. Larry's wife, Joyce, was the pastor's secretary; she ran the office -- and made OLT possible.

Larry sets forth another theme from the 70's; openness in relationships. He does note that there is a place for secrecy. He also states that we must be careful in our openness. But the tenor of the article is that, all too often, we are so protective of our selves that real relationship is impossible. As mentioned above, this was a theme that was emphasized over and over during the community days. I am not being negative about this; I think that this is an important facet in dealing with real relationships. I am merely stating that this was a real sub theme of community.

As I mentioned on facebook, what I really loved in this issue is the pictures. I think the picture of Kathy(?) being thrown in the water is great. I wish the pictures of Brian Gire and Larry Clark were larger. Then there is a nice picture of Madrona Household, which was headed up by Tom and Shirley McCulloch. Those pictured are (I need some help here), 1st row, Mary McCulloch (wee mother -- Tom's mother), Beverly Miller (or is it Barbara) now Beverly Peterson; 2nd row, Stephanie (Harris) Mahan, Shirley, Tom, (?) Margi Secor and Dolores (Joy) Trejo; 3rd row, Aeja King, Nancy Schukrantz, (?) and Sharon McCulloch(?) This was one of the earliest households. Ken and Mona Pagaard had originally owned this house, but as their household began to expand, they moved to the new house (Westby). The McCullochs started a new household on Madrona street.

Bob Granigan was a regular in our church during the 70's. He was confined to a wheelchair. I didn't know Bob very well. I just know that he was at the center of our life during this period.

I suppose I should also mention Brian Gire. He was a great musician. He was always writing songs. He was also a regular "performer" and leader in worship. I understand that he is still an active musician.