Lonnie Frisbee
A couple of weeks ago, our Bible study watched the documentary Frisbee, the Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher (to order, go to www.lonniefrisbee.com).
Lonnie Frisbee was the preacher by whom in 1969 and 1970 the Jesus Movement made Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel a big deal, instead of just another uptight, powerless little fundamentalist church.
He was also the preacher who in 1980 brought miraculous signs and wonders to the Vineyard Christian Fellowship, making it and John Wimber a big deal.
He was also a homosexual, and so both denominations painted him out of their histories, like the commissars disappearing from portraits of themselves with Stalin when they were led away in the purges.
The question Lonnie's life poses is, "How could God so powerfully back up a homosexual, while hiding himself from supposedly faithful preachers like Chuck Smith?"
As we finished watching the movie, it became obvious. Frisbee had a problem with sexual perversion, which he knew was a problem, and which he did not say was OK. The church leaders who used him and disavowed him had a problem with loving this world - and they teach in every way that that is OK. They shill shamelessly for their favorite empire, for its violence, mass murder, and robbery of other people. They tirelessly promote their own survival and glory in the sight of men, distancing themselves from Frisbee because it doesn't look respectable for their ministries to have originated in the preaching of a homosexual, rather than embracing this inconvenient truth because that is how it went down, how the God of truth chose to do it.
Lonnie Frisbee had a sexual perversion, which nobody even tried to help him with. They have - and love - a spiritual perversion, the love of this present world. They love its pride of life and its empty praise. They love being called by men teachers, leaders, pastors. They love the sea of upturned faces. They love being respected and thought important by men, and so they take care not to be associated with an embarrassment like Lonnie Frisbee's sex problems.
And they love this world's power - its marching men, its cruise missiles and bombs and aircraft carriers, its flags fluttering in the breeze, its "shock and awe" - and they love to hide from the bloodshed and the cry of the oppressed upon which all of this "glory" rests. They love to identify with all this and show off how on board they are with all of it.
All of this is friendship with the world, and as James says, this is how they make themselves enemies of God. They do not realize that all this "glory" is wholly incompatible with the glory of God that is found in the shame of the cross - and that's why they are strangers to the glory that God revealed in Lonnie Frisbee.
It seems strange to Christians that God would back up a homosexual like Lonnie Frisbee rather than all these well-behaved Bible teachers, but if we consider Adolf Hitler the mystery vanishes. Hitler was almost certainly a homosexual, but hardly anybody cares, including these men who think it's the biggest issue of our time. In Hitler other sins appear more serious, such as wanton aggression and mass murder - the crimes these "Christian leaders" and their followers heartily support today in Iraq and around the world.
As Frisbee documents, God seems to feel that way too. Being a screwed up homosexual bothers God less than being bathed in innocent blood and being a friend of this world - in love with its lying, its pretense, its robbery and murder, and its oppression and cruelty. If we have sexual screwups, let's get that worked out, but if we're enemies of God by loving this world and all its ways, let's get on THAT today!
If we diddle with that, leaders and teachers, shutting our ears to the cry of the poor and being partners in shedding oceans of innocent blood, let's not be surprised if God backs up a homosexual while giving us the back of the hand, just as he has done to John Wimber and Chuck Smith.
Lonnie Frisbee was the preacher by whom in 1969 and 1970 the Jesus Movement made Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel a big deal, instead of just another uptight, powerless little fundamentalist church.
He was also the preacher who in 1980 brought miraculous signs and wonders to the Vineyard Christian Fellowship, making it and John Wimber a big deal.
He was also a homosexual, and so both denominations painted him out of their histories, like the commissars disappearing from portraits of themselves with Stalin when they were led away in the purges.
The question Lonnie's life poses is, "How could God so powerfully back up a homosexual, while hiding himself from supposedly faithful preachers like Chuck Smith?"
As we finished watching the movie, it became obvious. Frisbee had a problem with sexual perversion, which he knew was a problem, and which he did not say was OK. The church leaders who used him and disavowed him had a problem with loving this world - and they teach in every way that that is OK. They shill shamelessly for their favorite empire, for its violence, mass murder, and robbery of other people. They tirelessly promote their own survival and glory in the sight of men, distancing themselves from Frisbee because it doesn't look respectable for their ministries to have originated in the preaching of a homosexual, rather than embracing this inconvenient truth because that is how it went down, how the God of truth chose to do it.
Lonnie Frisbee had a sexual perversion, which nobody even tried to help him with. They have - and love - a spiritual perversion, the love of this present world. They love its pride of life and its empty praise. They love being called by men teachers, leaders, pastors. They love the sea of upturned faces. They love being respected and thought important by men, and so they take care not to be associated with an embarrassment like Lonnie Frisbee's sex problems.
And they love this world's power - its marching men, its cruise missiles and bombs and aircraft carriers, its flags fluttering in the breeze, its "shock and awe" - and they love to hide from the bloodshed and the cry of the oppressed upon which all of this "glory" rests. They love to identify with all this and show off how on board they are with all of it.
All of this is friendship with the world, and as James says, this is how they make themselves enemies of God. They do not realize that all this "glory" is wholly incompatible with the glory of God that is found in the shame of the cross - and that's why they are strangers to the glory that God revealed in Lonnie Frisbee.
It seems strange to Christians that God would back up a homosexual like Lonnie Frisbee rather than all these well-behaved Bible teachers, but if we consider Adolf Hitler the mystery vanishes. Hitler was almost certainly a homosexual, but hardly anybody cares, including these men who think it's the biggest issue of our time. In Hitler other sins appear more serious, such as wanton aggression and mass murder - the crimes these "Christian leaders" and their followers heartily support today in Iraq and around the world.
As Frisbee documents, God seems to feel that way too. Being a screwed up homosexual bothers God less than being bathed in innocent blood and being a friend of this world - in love with its lying, its pretense, its robbery and murder, and its oppression and cruelty. If we have sexual screwups, let's get that worked out, but if we're enemies of God by loving this world and all its ways, let's get on THAT today!
If we diddle with that, leaders and teachers, shutting our ears to the cry of the poor and being partners in shedding oceans of innocent blood, let's not be surprised if God backs up a homosexual while giving us the back of the hand, just as he has done to John Wimber and Chuck Smith.
posted by Peter Attwood at 3/08/2007 05:29:00 PM
6 Comments:
I don't doubt I'm an idiot, since I receive fresh evidence of it every day; that's what the path to wisdom looks like to anybody who travels on it, which is why so few choose to go that way.
But it might help me wise up if you could be more specific, Anonymous. Otherwise the proverb comes to mind, "The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes than seven that can give a reason." "A gold earing and an ornament of fine gold is a wise reprover to an obedient ear" would be better for both of us - if you can find such treasure for my ear.
But if not, why prove I'm right by showing that you can speak only emptiness?
I also saw the documentary and believe that Lonnie was deeply hurt. It was terrible that even at his funeral Smith was still focused on his sin. However, Wimber was a man of integrity and great leadership who was put into a position where one of his top leaders was dealing with sexual immorality. He had a responsibility to his flock not to allow that to continue. This shows to me wimber's ability as a man of God who was not concerned with signs and wonders over faithfulness and the Kingdom. Lonnie was hurt in this instance because the limelight was off of him. We must consider that while sin is sin and we all have our own, God is the one that gives power and raises institutions...not single individuals.
The question remains, then... why take Lonnie out of a position of leadership for his sin while John Wimber's sins were so glaring?
Your explanation is that the reason God chose Lonnie Frisbee is because sexual perversion is not as important as many other sins, including love of this world.
But there is another explanation: It's that God sees homosexuality as natural, and not sexual perversion. That God chose a homosexual because he was trying to tell this to the leaders of the church. The spiritual gifts and spiritual revival were only the messenger, but Lonnie himself was God's message to the church.
But instead of listening to what God was telling them, they rejected the message and made revival an end in itself because it filled their churches and they greatly profited from it. They hated Lonnie Frisbee and twisted God's message into a very profitable lie.
Sorry R. Stephen Hanchett,
The bible (God's word) tells us in Romans 1:26-28 that God is not OK with homosexuals. It's very clear. But God still loves the sinner yet hates the sin.
As far as Lonnie goes, I'm sure he loved God and God used him to make others see the truth. But there must have been a time were gave up the fight and gave in to his sin. We all have our weaknesses but we must not give up the fight.
I agree that God see's our sin's as a barrier to him, and that in gods eyes all sins are forgivable if only we ask with a true heart, and a real desire to abstain from sinning. but as all are aware sinning is our problem and to god its a problem in him we can overcome our sins. but it takes time for man, not god, man.. to make the effort required to do this. Lonnie had issues same as us all, but god uses our weakness for his strengths to overcome and be a witness to others that in him all things are possible. being gaye to god is not an issue of unforgivable sin, its an issue like all other sin;s that they must to be overcome for the glory of jesus who ied for all our sins, and as you all point out from the president to the queen from the heads of state to those in church leadership to those in the congregation, all are sinners if they were not they would be beside the throne of god alongside jesus.
remember our lords word "Let they among you who are without sin cast the first stone" so before you get into splinter of wood in your fellow mans eye get the plank of wood out of your own. you would be surprised how much clearer you can see and how less irritated you re when staring your brother/sister in the face when chatting. as you not foused on looking for specs of wood, your just releived your own irritating sliver has gone. in jesus name and love for my brothers and sisters who suffer with eye complaints may god go with you, nd a word to all who scoff t my words. any doctor will tell you, if you dont remove that plank from your eye yo will end up going blind, and if you think its hard finding your way into the kingdom with your eye site intact imagine how difficult it is when your wood impared.
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