Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 35 September 7, 1976

The face of Human Resolve is on the cover. I have no idea who Barron Storey is, but it illustrates the first article very well.

I find it interesting that this issue contains articles, not only by Ken Pagaard, but by two of the next three pastors to follow him. Of course, I directly followed him (and wrote nothing,) Clay followed me and Randy followed Clay and is the current pastor of FBCCV. 

I also found interesting that Clay uses Daniel as the example for resolve since, according to posts on FB, Clay is currently involved in following the Daniel diet. Life's little coincidences are always fun to look at (at least for me.) Of course, Clay's point is that there is great power in our resolve. I think he is right. Randy's article continues on the next page and I will comment there.

Randy writes that he wants to see a time when different kinds of Christians can get along; experience unity. He states that the wrong way is to try to persuade everyone to be like us. We must be tolerant of others. It is love that will bring about unity. Randy has lived this out because he is now Pastor of FBC, an American Baptist Church, but has been a pastor in a church of a different denomination for many years.

Jesus said, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me." Linda Coale has written several little stories for OLT over the years. This one is about the fact that when we are yoked with the Master, Jesus in charge, we don't really lack freedom, we are taken care of.

This is another pithy article by Ken. The last sentence sums it up well. "He has not called us just to follow his orders, or to follow his example. He has called us to let him live his life in us."

Larry Clark provides an exposition and testimony regarding James 5:14-16. He tells how he came to believe it and to put it into practice.

I suppose that "The Lord's Mountain" by Brian Gire is a flyer for an upcoming concert? More Abba Graphics.

I like the artwork "I am the vine, . . ."

I remember Elizabeth Fisher, but have no idea where she is at present. I believe that she wrote several poems for OLT.

Our church library was really neat for its time. Yet, seeing this article, it seems quaint at the present time. It was used a lot during the 70s.

Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 33 August 24, 1976

Once again the cover demonstrates the theme of Acceptance. It shows Jesus accepting us because he became one of us. Dallas Willard in "Divine Conspiracy" states that Jesus doesn't just announce the Good News, he is the Good News.

Ken's lead article on acceptance was not new to those attending First Baptist Church in those days. Certainly it was not new to those living in our Community Households. We were taught to accept people as they are, not as we would like them to be. Of course, to our shame, we didn't always do this. There were a lot of examples of volatile situations that occurred when behavior was bad -- or perceived as bad -- and the reactions began. We became quite familiar with what we called the "sandpaper" ministry. We all tended at one time or another to rub one another the wrong way. But these interactions began to smooth out the rough places in our lives. We need to learn the lesson of acceptance in the church today. Rick Warren makes a point that we should not expect those outside the church to have the same values as those who are believers. Remember, Jesus Christ accepted us just as we were at that time.

Pat Vos, now Frehafer gives a nice testimony about here acceptance with us at 5th and E.

Clay Ford begins an article on this page about our standard of living. He begins by pointing out the ministry of Mother Teresa and Billy Graham's encounter with her. The issue of standard of living was an issue within the community when the Heads of Household would gather together. On one hand, all of us were trying to live a frugal life, but on the other hand, each person's idea of what was necessity and what was not frugal was different. Therefore each household was a little bit different on how we lived. This was sometimes a source of contention.

I believe that the artwork is that of Gary Bell. Art was important to our community -- visual, drama, music and even dance. 

As Clay continues the article, he discusses some of the contention within the different households. I remember in the early 80s when the Share Program started, meeting with Deacon Shelton (sp) who started the ministry. This was a food distribution program which First Baptist became involved in. I asked the deacon where his idea came from. He told me that he had been a successful businessman, but felt called of God to go to Calcutta and serve with Mother Teresa. After serving with her for some time, she told him to return to the United States and develop a program to help the poor in a country with a very different living standard than India. He returned and developed Share.

Then follows and advertisement for workers in Abbacraft. This was also an important ministry in the church, but also nationwide through Christian Bookstores.Of course, it was Tim Pagaard's McFoone challenging people to sign up.

This is a continuation of a report on our ministry in Columbia written by Dale Hunter. Dale was a leader in our church for several years after his return from Columbia. He passed away a few years ago while still too young to leave us. For those who haven't read earlier issues, we had a team living in a Catholic Community called El Minuto. This ministry was quite fruitful. The Priest of that parish, Father Garcia Hererros (sp) was a leader nationally in Columbia in the Renewal in the Catholic Church.

For those who were in the church at that time, the In the Family column is always interesting.

In this day and age, the title "The Homemaker's Ministry" seems dated. Marcia Hadfield was a missionary wife. I can't remember where they were stationed (New Guinea?) If anyone knows, I would be glad to hear from you. Her article is really about creativity. I used to hate anything said about creativity -- I didn't feel creative. I think of art classes in Elementary School where teachers would ask me what I was doing and give a fake smile as they said, "Very nice Richard." My own Granddaughter said to me when she was five -- we were drawing pictures together -- "That's OK Grandpa -- you tried." Yet Marcia has a real point, we are all capable of creativity. I guess my area has been music -- working on preaching -- hoping to learn to write. My wife makes beautiful quilts. Each of us has our own gifts. I am still learning.

The wedding announcement is for Ted and Linda Walker. They have been -- and still are -- faithful missionaries in Israel. I certainly remember them well.

Ken puts his finger on a very real problem. I really feel for the young man/woman who went from Christian Schools to Christian College and then to Seminary then immediately into pastoring a church. I was unprepared for ministry when I first became pastor. Seminary gave me part of the solution. Frankly, 20 years of living in a secular world, working a secular job (Naval Officer) prepared me more. I am thankful that there are options today for more help in the spiritual aspect of the pastorate; I think of John Piippo at Redeemer School of Ministry. There are others. With this said, Pastoral Training still remains an issue.

Ken pleads for articles regarding the Charismatic Renewal in the American Baptist Churches. With this request, Our Life Together became the "Official Newsletter" for the ABCF.

On this page, Marcia Hadfield continues her article. One of the things pointed out in this article is still a real truth; the home can be a wonderful venue for ministry. Hospitality is an important gift for the church (as well as life in general.) The Next page will be for McFoone, right side up.

A good word from McFoone about the issue of a stiff upper lip -- or faking faith -- to carry us through. Whether healing comes supernaturally or through medical efforts, healing is more than pretending that everything is OK. Oh the stories that could be told about situations along this line.

Larry Clark could be relied upon to read widely and report on his reading. I never read the book, but the review is interesting. Larry never read Bultmann -- but I struggled through a large volume for my "Synoptic Gospels" class at Bethel Seminary. I agree with Williams and Larry.

I remember attending the Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts. This became somewhat controversial as years passed. It was a good experience when I attended with a large group from 5th and E. Judy Lind is a name from the past. I remember her well but have no idea where she is at the present time.

Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 32 August 17, 1976

The cover art of this issue also illustrates the theme Come Follow Me. The lead article is a continuation of the interview of Graham Pulkingham.

Graham begins by dealing with barriers to giving oneself to community. He describes a housewife whose whole life is bound up in her husband. As he finds fulfillment in community, she may feel threatened and left out. This section seems somewhat anachronistic to me. Community life was difficult for most of us. I think it was particularly difficult for married couples; more so for those with children. Linda and I certainly had tough times and yet, we really loved the life (as did our children.) Graham goes on to discuss the loss of our independence and autonomy in making life decisions. This is the real difficult issue. We never really solved this; it was always a source of tension -- and contention.

As Graham's interview is completed, Gary Bell starts a new article about how we should react in the face of opposition. He states that in the book of Acts opposition was not seen as a sign that ministry should be stopped but they prayed for more strength to continue the mission in the face of that opposition.

Of course Tim's McFoone speaks for himself.

Gary completes his article with several more examples of how the church reacted in the face of persecution.

Elizabeth Fisher gives some of her thoughts as she reflected on W. H Auden's "In Praise of Limestone." I remember Elizabeth; I can picture her, but I can't remember much about her. If anyone has more information, add that to the comments.

First Baptist Church of Chula Vista (Fifth and E) and the Ministering Community always had an interest in world missions. We were also involved in mission. This letter is by Dale Hunter. Dale and his wife Beverly were in Bogota, Columbia for an extended time (two years?) They were working with Sam and Elizabeth Ballesteros and others from our community. When Dale and Bev returned they were a part of our community and active in the church until around 1990. Dale was the chairman of our board during the major renovation of the church. Bev was principal of our Elementary School. Their marriage didn't survive. Bev lives in Northern CA. Dale passed away a couple of years ago.

Another of "our" missionary couples was Bill and Darlene Macpherson. They didn't really come from 5th and E. They were already serving as medical missionaries in Zaire when they became connected to us through Ken's ministry. They did stay with us periodically. Their son Billy lived with us at Westby Household for a while. 

The next two pages sum things up. There is a report of the good news associated with our witness and the results of the Billy Graham Crusade. Then there is "In the Family." This is always interesting to those of us who were there.

Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 31 August 10, 1976

This issue is filled with a heavy discussion of Ken Pagaard's vision. This is followed by a discussion on Leadership presented in an interview with Graham Pulkingham originally published in Sojourners magazine. The cover art illustrates Ken's vision -- Love.

 
Ken's vision for community can really be summed up in the phrase, Unconditional Love. Community living was the laboratory for learning to love one another as Christ loved us. This wasn't an easy life -- but it was good. One of the statements made by Ken was that Community was not a means to an end; it was the end itself. Evangelism, discipleship, worship; all of the activities of the church were meant to be a result of community. This may have caused controversy in our city and in other American Baptist Churches, but this wasn't controversial in those of us living in community at that time. As we get to the end of the page, we do begin to move into an area that was to be controversial throughout the remainder of the life of the Ministering Community; Inner Healing.

Here I would like to interject a few thoughts about Inner Healing as I understand it and the controversy surrounding Ken's involvement. There was not controversy at First Baptist Church itself. We understood that prayer could bring healing in the area of unresolved memories that kept us from moving forward in our healthy maturity. I, along with others, were involved in the Inner Healing Ministry. Yet, I believed in and consulted Psychologists and Psychiatrists. The first problem that Ken encountered was that he really felt that he had no peers in his understanding of how Inner Healing should be performed. This led him into conflict with the elders. In the beginning, I think that all of the elders supported Ken, yet they expressed some concerns; he was spending virtually all of his time to ministering to some very needy women. Some were concerned that Ken was neglecting the pastorate of the church and others that he was spending too much time with these women; did this not work with men? I confess that I had concerns, yet I trusted Ken very much; he was my mentor and my friend. I remember when Ken had his "confrontation" with the young men in Westby Household -- his Mt. Moriah -- Akeda moment. This controversy continued to swirl around Ken and eventually was at the heart of the death of The Ministering Community. It was tragic. The next two pages will finish this part of the issue.

 

 The poem above is by Judy Lind. Judy was introduced to us by Mabel Dannenberg, a leader from the First Baptist Church of El Centro. Judy was going through some troubles when she came, but stayed with us and became a steady member of the church for several years.

 

The next article is a continuation of Graham Pulkingham's interview and it introduces another controversial issue in our community; leadership. The issue of how leaders were chosen was not a major controversy in itself; we really believed that leaders were ultimately chosen by God and ratified by the church. The controversy was really over three issues: 1) How much authority rested on individual leaders (the Elders), 2) How were decisions really made, and 3) were there any checks and balances. The third issue was the one evident within the eldership. If the Elders sensed God's leading in an area -- such as Inner Healing -- could Ken override the elders decision, or did he need to listen (and obey)? Graham's interview deals with some of these issues from his perspective. 

 

The next two articles, one about life on a Kibbutz and the other a historical lesson from Jamestown (by Clay Ford), are presented in the following pages with really no commentary. There really discuss commitment to the common goal which is understood to come from God.

 

Finally the last two pages conclude the issue. None of the three articles along with the "in the Family" section need much commentary. Of course, Larry Clark actually functioned as the Assistant Pastor of the church (I have no idea of what his title was -- if he had one). Margaret Oliver and Pat Escalante were two women members of the church. They weren't in leadership positions, but they were good members. I personally remember Pat with a lot of fondness -- a good lady.

 

Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 30 August 3, 1976

This lead article in this issue is a continuation of the interview with Graham Pulkingham on Community. The cover with the picture of the communion elements really illustrates the spiritual center of our Ministering Community.

This page of the interview with Graham is his lengthy response to the question regarding what happens when we resolve to live as a family. Of course, this was the most difficult part of the equation. When Linda and I moved into Westby House along with our two children, there were also the Pagaard family, the Woodend Family and the Pletcher family. This was difficult! I was fortunate enough to be sent on deployment to Westpac with the Navy, so it was my wife and children who had to make this difficult adjustment. By the time I returned, the Woodends and the Pletchers were gone. Still over the years, we had single parents, unaccompanied children etc. I think the parenting of children was the most difficult part. My wife really had difficulty with who ran the house -- the kitchen etc. Who was responsible? The philosophical issues weren't terribly difficult; it was practical living that was difficult.

The conclusion of the interview continues with how the idea of living with an extended family stretches our current understandings of living as a nuclear family. Most of us know how difficult it is to live with adult parents and grandparents -- but when the blood relationship disappears, there is another level of difficulty. To be perfectly honest, I had no problem with living in community 90% of the time. I really loved it. It was that 10% when things didn't go right that was the problem; strong emotions! Yes, I lost it a time or two -- as did most of us.

One of the neat things about OLT was the freedom that anyone had to write a little article and submit it for publication. Here we have three small articles by Janet Scott, Mike Lee and Ken Mays. 

This is a little Theology Lesson submitted by Larry Clark which really needs no explanation.

This picture of Jesus the Good Shepherd looks like Brenda's work to me -- but I'm not sure.

The article "The Other Side of Trial," by Judy Alsop expresses her feelings as she struggled to submit to giving up so much as she moved in community. Many of us can identify with the feelings whether we would express them exactly the same or not. Community life was great -- it was horrid -- it was difficult.

Of course, the issue ends with news of the "Family."

Our Life Together Vol. 4 Nr. 29 July 27, 1976

The cover on this issue is one of Brenda Gire's (now Smith) delightful drawings of animals and plants rejoicing in the Lord. I personally always looked forward to seeing her artwork. Linda and I along with our family had the privilege with living with Brenda in the Westby household. When we moved out of the community household, Brenda went with us to our new home for a few months until she relocated. I understand that she is still very active in her artwork.

The cover article is an abbreviated interview with Graham Pulkingham published in Sojourners magazine. Graham was the Episcopalian pastor of Church of the Redeemer in Houston, Texas. This church (along with Graham himself and his writings) were very instrumental in the formation of our community. They didn't give us the idea; we were already on the way. But, they helped us to understand what God was doing and how we could have more structure. We had many teachings by Ken Pagaard about the idea of the church as a family  -- and our first priority. This article described not only Houston, but our understanding of what life in the church, or in community, was meant to be. The sad news is that Graham began to form other communities elsewhere and took most of the Redeemer leadership with him. Redeemer began to get weaker and weaker. Finally, Graham himself really went through some major difficulties. This is discussed in "Days of Fire and Glory; The Rise and Fall of a Charismatic Community" by Julia Duin. If you are interested in the subject, the book is a good read.

The interview of Graham Pulkingham concludes on the page and a report on the Westby vacation, written by Ken, starts. My wife and I are not campers, so we were not upset about the fact that we didn't get to go on this vacation. We had spent the month of June (along with our family) on a trip to Ohio to attend my cousin's wedding. The trip described by Ken sounds great -- but as I said, we aren't campers. I remember well the books recommended by Ken; "Prophecy" by Bruce Yocum and "The Primal Scream" by Janov. "Prophecy" was a great book. "The Primal Scream" was interesting, but I think it lead us down a real dead end as we incorporated it into our Inner Healing Ministry. It seemed good at the time, but it really didn't end that way. On another note -- this was the introduction of Bruce Blankenheim into Westby house. He was a neat kid and came to an untimely death within a few short years.

On this page, Ken's article concludes and one by Larry Clark on "Dancing before the Lord" begins. I remember Larry very well. He loved to do a little shuffle and jumpy dance while clapping when the music was joyful. I am lucky to clap in rhythm (which seems unusual since I was the choir director). I think I was just inhibited. 

Larry concludes his article on this page. The rest of the page is an advertisement for the West Coast Regional conference which was held at the Community Concourse. This proved to be a great event. Our music group, "The Hallelujah Chorus" was privileged to be a part of the worship team leadership. 

The next page is a short article by Clay Ford about the expectancy for revival. This was not only his conviction and hope, but it seemed to be confirmed from many sources. I'm sure that we will have more on this as we get closer to the upcoming Billy Graham Crusade.

Finally, Helen Fast writes about her twins, Misty and Cher. This was a major story in the life of our community, not just for Helen. I can't improve on what Helen wrote. This is well worth reading. I guess I will add that her discussions of the difficulties during the various hearings is an understatement. There were many ups and downs.

This page is the conclusion of Helen's article

Finally, the issue concludes with "In the Family."