Looking At Lonnie Frisbee: A Real Jesus Freak?
By Steve Mitchell Power To Stand Ministries
Jesus Movement historian,
David DiSabatino has just released a new documentary film entitled: Frisbee:
The Life and Death of a Hippy Preacher and its caused quite a stir in film
festivals and churches. It documents the life and times of a hippy, Lonnie
Frisbee, who many believed was gifted with great power from God after being
extraordinarily commissioned and sent. He became influential in the histories
of two large church movements – Calvary Chapels and Vineyards, and it is
alleged in the film that because he practiced homosexuality and died of AIDS,
his part in the formation and growth in these churches has been marginalized
and all but written out of history books.
Many testimonies weigh in
with their versions of who Lonnie was and what he did and, it can be said, this
film attempts to accredit Frisbee for his contributions and feats accomplished
through a “powerful anointing”. The subtitle of the film even includes the
phrase: “A Bible Story”
I first heard the name
Lonnie Frisbee after I got ordained in Calvary Chapels in 1997. It was merely
passing mention made by a pastor friend of mine and the only detail I knew was
that he had been a hippy preacher that had died of AIDS. At the time I never
knew any other details about Lonnie’s life.
It wasn’t until 2005, when I
heard YWAM Hawaii Director, Danny Lehmann mention how God had used his friend
Lonnie Frisbee in the early days of the Jesus Movement. Lehmann had been
teaching some very aberrant things and promoting some unbiblical teachings and
ministries and so I wondered about this Lonnie Frisbee. Danny had apparently
ministered for a year with Frisbee in those early days and this film documents
several elements of Lonnie’s life and ministry.
I would be somewhat shocked
with what I saw when I ordered David DiSabatino’s Frisbee: The Life and
Death of a Hippy Preacher. What follows is a look at the content of this
documentary. All direct quotations are cited from the 60-minute film, the DVD
“Special Features” section, or the website: http://lonniefrisbee.com/
The documentary opens with
film footage of Lonnie baptizing multitudes on a California beach. He looks
like a biblical figure, or at least the popular artistic portrayals commonly
seen. He even likens himself to the famous forerunner:
“I kind of relate to down
in the wilderness baptizing in the river Jordan, sometimes. It’s really neat to
see how each one reacts in a different way but I can feel the presence of God
comin’ down upon me and upon the person being baptized just all over the
place…” (Lonnie Frisbee).
“Lonnie Frisbee was a
hippy seeker who came of age during the 1960s. At the end of his quest for
truth, he embraced Jesus Christ and became a Christian.” (David DiSabatino, Director).
“He became influential in
the southern California evangelical scene, sparking the rise of two
denominations that planted churches across the southwestern United States.” (David DiSabatino, Director).
Well, this is the claim and
it very well may be true, but we need to look closer at the peculiarities of
Lonnie’s “walk of faith”. This documentary is very revealing about Lonnie’s
initial “experiences” as documented by his friends and ministry associates. As
you will see, these give great cause for concern and are very problematic.
Far Out, Man!
Early on, we see footage of
Frisbee on stage with false teacher Kathryn Kuhlman where he describes his own
idea of what God was doing:
“The church for so long has been expecting a
certain mold of what a Christians should look like or what a Christian should
be or what a Christian should say and God is blowing everybody’s mind because
He’s saving the hippies and nobody though a hippy could be saved.” (Lonnie Frisbee)
Mind-blowing is right!
Lonnie definitely broke all the molds in his day but even in these words we see
something that should be cautionary to us. I rejoice that the Lord moved in the
60s counterculture and that many hippies were saved but Lonnie’s earlier
assessment of the church here will be relevant to his own involvement later in
his life. The “mold” that Lonnie rebelled against was broken right off the bat
as the documentary recounts the tale of Frisbee’s conversion. Lonnie’s actual
“conversion” is definitely unorthodox. Frisbee experimented with all manner of
drugs, false religions, and meditation practices:
“All the things that went along with the
mystic. It just wasn’t quite enough for me. I kept on searching and searching.” (Lonnie Frisbee).
This early search was
typical of many in the hippy movement and no one at that time could be faulted
for their base practices as they were yet unsaved. But then, DiSabatino
introduces a problematic twist that I believe has severe bearing on Lonnie’s
alleged conversion account.
“One of the ironic twists of the 60s was that
many openly stated that drugs, LSD in particular, played a large part of their
experience in Christian salvation.”
(David DiSabatino, Director).
Steve and Sandy Heefner,
identified on the film as “Early Hippy Christians”, weigh in on this heavy
phenomenon:
“I took my LSD, laid down on the floor a couple of hours and when I could get together to get up, I got up as a Christian. Its just that simple…”
Simply preposterous. One is
hard-pressed to see accounts like this as any kind of true conversion. Where is
the repentance of sin and the understanding of rebellion. Who preached the
gospel to them? How can one be truly saved without hearing the truth of the
Gospel? The Bible says:
“How shall they call on
Him whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they
have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?…so then, faith
comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:14,17).
In John 17:20, Jesus prayed
for all who would believe in Him through the disciple’s “word”; the preached
gospel message.
Acts 15:7 records Peter
saying: “by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and
believe.”
I do not doubt that many who
have been on drugs have had spiritual experiences of many types but I am afraid
that many misunderstood the reality that true regeneration or truly being
converted to Christianity is antithetical to the counterfeit experiences one
can be caught up in while being high. Many hippies saw the “Christian
experience” as just another “trip”. It may have been referred to as the “real
high” and may have lasted longer that any drug or drink stupor but eventually
one needed to “come down” and be sober in order to really be able to accept and
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am judging noone’s
ultimate salvation here but I believe that many of these testimonies are
extremely dubious given the fact that the alleged new converts to Christ were,
in fact, stoned and in altered states of consciousness. Anyone who has done
drugs can tell you that LSD and other hallucinogenics so rampantly and
consistently used can duplicate the most mind boggling and radical false realities
imaginable. Meeting “Christ” on drugs is more than an ironic twist, it may very
well be counterfeit, especially if the “christ” or “god” you encounter fails to
tell you of repentance and the gospel. Lonnie seems to have met “Christ” on one
of these trips. Here are the disturbing details surrounding Lonnie’s
conversion:
Lonnie’s high school friend,
Judy Meston, recounts: “So we drove
out to Tahquitz Falls and we hiked up- he wanted to go to the very top falls.
And once he got there, he opened his back pack and he spread out- and he had
LSD, and he had marijuana, and he had all of his oil paints and he had togas,
and he told us to put on togas, so we did. And he proceeded to paint a
picture of Jesus on the rocks, a full-sized picture of Jesus on the rock. Then
he pulled out his Bible and he got into a kinda yoga position and he says
‘We’re gonna read the Bible now.’ He was reading about John the Baptist and how
John the Baptist baptized and he baptized us up at Tahquitz Falls, even though
we were all on drugs…”
DiSabatino continues:
“Sometime in 1967 at the age of 17, Lonnie Frisbee took another trip into
Tahquitz Canyon. There he took a hit of LSD, removed his clothing and began to
pray in a relatively unorthodox but sincere manner. He would later recount that
it was here that God came to him in a vision and told him of the unique role
that he was soon to play.”
This vision? “He saw like
the Pacific Ocean emptied out of water but filled people raising their hands
and crying out to God to be saved. He says he saw a sea of humanity crying out
to the Lord. He said the Lord told him that he would have a unique ministry and
that he was not to be afraid.” (Neal Liebig, “Pastor”)
Lonnie continues: “When
the Lord called me, I was going into the desert and I was taking all my clothes
off and I was going ‘God if You’re really real, reveal Yourself to me!’ And one
afternoon, the whole atmosphere of this canyon I was in started to tingle and
get light and started to change and I was going ‘Uh-oh!’ I didn’t want to be
there!”
Could drugs have contributed
to these special effects? Most assuredly, and with such a bent towards
mysticism and occult practice, a young Frisbee was wide open for a dangerous
visitation. None of the actualities of this account can be verified or believed
to be from the True God because of the self-admitted state he was in. I’ve had
addict friends who saw very vivid manifestations and convincing deceptions
while on drugs.
“Early Hippy Christian”,
David Sloane reveals: “All of a sudden the Spirit of God hit him hard and he
went almost into a trance and he saw himself standing up there with a Bible and
he was preaching the gospel powerfully to young people and God told him He was
going to use him to bring young people to Christ.”
So according to the film, a
high, naked Lonnie receives a vision from a being he identified as “God” who
especially selects him for a mission. Although this film is referred to as a
“Bible story” and continuously makes comparisons between Frisbee and Bible
characters like John the Baptist, Jesus, Samson, and David, one is hard pressed
to find any such episode in the lives of these men in the Scriptures. Why is
this any kind of credible testimony? Why should any true believer in Christ
believe that this was anything other than a counterfeit? Both his “conversion”,
confrontation with God, and his subsequent alleged commission all happened
while he was high on LSD. Please understand I am not judging whether Lonnie was
ever saved or unsaved by his life’s tragic end. All I am saying is that these
details don’t indicate this particular series of events to be genuine.
It is alarming to me that
these testimonies were left unexplained and largely unclarified throughout this
film. I just have to ask, is this evidence we are asked to believe pointing
towards a true conversion to Jesus Christ? Is this drug-addled experiential
episode the real thing or could it be a counterfeit spiritual experience whose
falsehood would be revealed in later fruits of Lonnie’s ministry?
Director DiSabatino offers
this perspective concerning whether these experiences were authentic or not:
“The history of human spirituality ifs full of moments like those here the recipient claims to receive a message from God, but the significance of these events is not found in the vision of light or the burning bush but rather what happens afterwards – the tremendous zeal by which the person embraces the calling. Whatever happened to Lonnie Frisbee in the canyon that day so transformed him that it shaped the course of his entire life.”
First off, Lonnie’s
phenomenon cannot in any way be compared to Moses and the burning bush. Was
Moses high when he saw that? Hardly. Secondly, tremendous zeal to embrace a
“calling” as the aftermath of an experience like this is not indicative as to
whether this was really God or not. Thirdly, the whole after the fact account
is relegated by DiSabatino to “whatever happened to Lonnie” in the canyon and
that is where we must leave it at this point. If more details were provided
such as repentance from drugs and a true turning away from homosexuality then
one might argue the validity of a true conversion. What DiSabatino appears to
be doing is what we all must do: marginalize the glaring problems with this
alleged conversion account if we are to really believe that Lonnie was so used
by God as the rest of the film claims. What follows is more testimony
concerning the change that Frisbee underwent after this bizarre scenario.
Lonnie himself believes he
was changed: “He just changed my life. I entered into something that the
Bible calls the ‘born again experience’. I was transformed on the inside. I
became a new creature in Christ Jesus and the old things passed away…I wanted
everybody to experience the experience of Jesus Christ. When I first turned on
to drugs I thought that was the truth so I turned everybody on to drugs.”
I believe Frisbee was
sincere. Something had definitely happened to him. Note his constant use of
“experience”, the “born-again experience”. The “experience” of Jesus Christ.
True to many in the Jesus Movement, Christ and salvation was an experiential
encounter often perceived to be totally real as a result of a heavy trip while
under the influence. All that can be said is that Lonnie had an encounter but
we must ask “was it genuine?” Just because he was sincere in his belief about
what happened does not make it actual or genuine. If Lonnie truly met God,
where was the call to repent of his drug use? If God actually came to him in
his drug trip, one would think that he would be told to repent for his sins,
but there is no mention of this occurring. We must be wary of anyone who claims
to be commissioned by God to serve Him without being told anything about
repentance from their sinful lifestyle.
The sad part as featured in
the rest of this film is that we will have to acknowledge that not all of the
old things were left behind. There just seemed to be no fruit of real
repentance, therefore no credible evidence that Lonnie was really saved. The
drug use didn’t stop right away either as this testimony of one of Lonnie’s
early Bible studies shows:
“I think that Lonnie must
have fixed this one particular room up. There were candles lit and everything.
The room filled up with people and we had taken some LSD and he was reading the
Gospel of John out loud, and we’re goin’ through the whole gospel. And we get
to the end of it, it’s the crucifixion stuff, everybody’s crying, you know, and
not one person left the room. And then it was over. He was a planner of
experiences.” (Connie Bremer-Murray,
“Lonnie’s Ex-wife” Special Features section)
Is he zealous? Was he
sincere? Did he “do” a lot of stuff? Absolutely, but that doesn’t really mean much because Christ said that by our
fruits will we know someone (Matt. 7:15-20) . “A
good tree bears good fruit…” (Matt. 7:17). This is not to say that
we all don’t struggle or that anyone is perfect. I certainly am not pointing
fingers without first acknowledging my sins before God and that I fall as well.
But when false teaching and erroneous belief consistently characterize
someone’s life and public ministry, we must be careful to just automatically
attribute the power behind that person to the God of the Bible, especially if
there is no repentance evident. Sadly, Lonnie’s “Christian” life is riddled
with erroneous belief and what can best be described as counterfeit signs and
wonders associated with false revival and the presence of sexual immorality.
Life in the Big House
Soon after this experience,
Frisbee moves to another part of California and meets a similar group of folks
who have started a commune called the Big House in the Haight Asbury district.
Frisbee fits right in. The leaders weigh in on some of the bizarre beliefs held
by Lonnie concerning Christ. One must ask how sober or “with it” Lonnie was
when he began sharing about his experiences and his newfound faith. It is hard
to believe that he was able to comprehend what had actually taken place in that
canyon.
Ed Wise, Leader of the Big
House Commune: “Some of the times he would be talking about Jesus being from
another world, coming out of a flying saucer, which is not unusual in those
days.”
The leaders of the Big House
allegedly steered Lonnie towards a “more orthodox” understanding of the
Christian faith but a major problem still remained:
“His thirst for
experimentation did not stop.”
(David DiSabatino, Director)
Again, these terms are not
descriptive of any of the men that God ever appeared to in the Bible to be
given a special commission. I find it hard to believe that the very man that
God had actually appeared to and personally commissioned to do mighty things
could still entertain thoughts of Christ in a flying saucer or other things,
especially experimentation in drugs. Again, where’s the call to repent that is
integral for a real relationship with God?
“Fringe” Benefits?
This hunger in Lonnie drove
him to seek out some of the stranger elements of Pentecostalism, especially in
the practices of dramatic manifestations like being slain in the spirit,
bizarre miracles, and ecstatic utterance. By these references I have in view the unbiblical “fringe”
practices of some hyper-Pentecostal preachers and their churches where I
believe Lonnie was largely influenced in how he wanted to do ministry. I
believe in the Bible’s accounts of men who were unable to stand in the presence
of God but don’t believe people falling and hitting the floor or violently
thrown around in church has any connection to the biblical examples. I also
believe that God can heal and do whatever miracles He ordains as well as even
cause someone to have the gift of glossalalia, biblically defined. These gifts
and practices have been abused and twisted in teaching and practice by many
churches today so I need to define my terms. Lonnie’s ministry, by all accounts
in this film, is empathetic to the abuses mentioned above, as we will see.
Early on, Lonnie begins to
teach the doctrine of subsequence, or the baptism in the Holy Spirit (the
“second blessing” version or a derivative thereof), obviously taught to him from
the Pentecostal ministers he was attracted to. This area becomes sketchy
because many of these practices cannot be supported biblically and much error
and heresy has emerged in churches that don’t have a biblical understanding of
doctrine or the gifts. The evidence exists in this film that something
otherworldly seemed to accompany Frisbee’s practices but we cannot be certain
this was from God.
When Lonnie prayed for Steve
Toth to receive subsequence,: “I felt the Spirit of God come down upon me in
such a powerful way and Lonnie was kind of encouraging me to start speaking in
this unknown prayer language.”
It’s obvious that Frisbee
has now fallen into ranks with some of these Pentecostal teachers whose
ministries have been characterized by major aberrance and in some cases, abject
error. Typically Frisbee was hailed to be from God because things happened when
he prayed and put his hands on people. We can see the manifestations increase
as his ministry grows and many testify to amazing powers coming from Lonnie as
the Lord allegedly worked through him.
In these early years,
Frisbee begins to embrace strange practices associated with the heresy of being
able to transfer the Holy Spirit. This doctrine in its most popular form
relegates the Holy spirit to an “it” or a force that can be thrown around a
room, thrown on people, and hit folks with such force that they are knocked
around, sometimes violently. Many people erupt into ecstatic gibberish or even
animal sounds (as is the case in the Vineyards), which is a counterfeit version
of tongues-speaking and completely violates the guidelines for exercising that
gift as found in 1 Cor. 12-14. Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland and a host of other
false teachers refer to this power as the “anointing”. Again this is utter
heresy and sadly, Lonnie seems to have picked up this wickedness from false
teachers in his day.
As Lonnie’s popularity grew,
so did a tendency for weirder stuff:
“Then at one time, Lonnie
had a feeling that if he took his deerskin, of course he was a little
eccentric, we probably all were, and he painted a picture, a likeness, of
either Jesus or himself- its debatable. And he wore it around his shoulders and
that was pretty good…But then he got the idea that if he put this sheet over
people they would manifest the Holy spirit and begin speaking in other tongues.
And it did – it happened that way a few times…Then he thought this is his
ministry.” (Steve and Sandi Heefner,
“Big House leaders”).
Lonnie elaborates: “I got
a deerskin to be my mantle and I painted a picture of Jesus on it and I wore it
like a cape. So when I would pray for people and the Spirit of God would come
on ‘em, I’d take off my cape and throw the mantle over the top of them I
think.”
Eccentricities like this
seem to characterize Lonnie’s new ministry practices and also show his penchant
to be influenced by some of the aberrant and bizarre fringe methodology of some
Pentecostal practitioners. So where is this “steering” to better orthodoxy that
supposedly happened at the Big House?
Lonnie Marries Connie
Lonnie witnesses to Connie,
a girl he had known from earlier in his life and she believes and is baptized
by Frisbee. In April 1968 they were married but it wasn’t all well. Lonnie gave
certain indicators early on of a battle that would be with him throughout his
life:
“When Lonnie asked me to
marry him, at that particular time is when he told me that he was gay. He
didn’t say it as though he was still gay but that he had gotten saved out of
that lifestyle.” (Connie
Bremer-Murray, “Lonnie’s Ex-wife”).
More on this issue later,
but noteworthy in this film is the presence of quite a lot of confusion
concerning Lonnie’s sexual orientation. Lonnie himself seems to clarify it
later in the film.
I appreciate the love Pastor
Chuck Smith developed for the hippies and for the many he ministered to. For
the most part, those who sat under his teachings for an extended period of time
were taught the true gospel and many were truly saved. It was under Chuck’s
ministry that the Bible was expounded and truth was proclaimed and, I believe,
is one of the places where many hippies, who had formerly had these wired
experiences and continued to use drugs, thinking they had been truly saved,
perhaps first heard the actual message of salvation. The Holy Spirit cut
through the fog in many minds during those days and I believe God’s Word was
honored with the fruit of seeing many young people pass from death to life in a
genuine way.
DiSabatino and the voices in
the Frisbee film would have us believe that it was basically with the advent of
young Lonnie Frisbee, that all of these things began to really take place.
Pastor Chuck’s ministry was rejuvenated and the real movement began under
Frisbee’s influence.
I’ll say initially here that
this circumstance may have been partly true although I believe that Chuck’s
teaching of the Word was far more instrumental in the growth and development of
Calvary Chapels than was Frisbee’s presence which was, at times, extremely
troublesome and laden with error. I believe Pastor Chuck, who is given a rather
negative light in this film should be commended for eventually separating from
Lonnie because of the presence of such error that eventually came to a sort of
fruition with Wimber and the Vineyards.
Pastor Chuck also
acknowledges a power that accompanied his first meeting with Lonnie. He
attributes this to the power of the Lord:
“And Lonnie extended his hand and there was such a warmth of love manifested in his greeting, I was caught off guard. There was an instant bond. There was the power of God’s spirit that was very easily recognized.”
Whether this was a true
assessment or not we may never know. Obviously Pastor Chuck and everyone else
on this video believed wholeheartedly that Lonnie was indeed truly saved and
about ready to be used explosively for the Lord. All I can say is that what
follows really fortifies my concerns and misgivings concerning the claim that
God Himself was truly leading Lonnie’s ministry. Again, I mean no disrespect
and I realize that all I have to go on is what this film documents but I think
my concerns will be validated.
Chuck Smith Jr., Chuck’s son
and pastor of Calvary Chapel Capo Beach has been rightly chastised by his
father because of his involvement with and promotion of false teachings and
error of the Emerging church. Nonetheless, he was close to Lonnie and is
featured quite frequently in this film and shares several observations about
Lonnie. He definitely concurs that his father and mother were enamored with
Lonnie when they first met him. His mom Kay Smith gave a prophecy concerning
Frisbee and he was welcomed into the ranks of ministry in the early days of
Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.
Honestly, it was a bit
disturbing to see the film’s still photo of Lonnie onstage with Pastor Chuck
being commissioned to essentially “impact the world” as was prophesied by Kay
Smith. Knowing what would occur after this, the reason for being disheartened
is evident. Here’s some background about hat prophecy:
“There were 15 of us at
the altar praying and the Spirit of God came through a prophecy with Kay Smith
and said to us: ‘Because of your praise and adoration before My throne tonight,
I’m gonna bless the whole coast of California’…And when we started to receive
the word as from God, the Spirit of the Lord fell upon us and we began to weep
and the Lord began to give people visions of that prophecy and then the Lord
continued on to say that it was going to move across the United States and then
go to different parts of the world…”
(Lonnie Frisbee).
Chuck Smith, Jr.: “My dad
and mom were so convinced that this was a wave of God’s Spirit and that all of
these people coming to Christ represented the new church.”
Was this prophetic word
really from the Lord? Well DiSabatino and the contributors to this film would
have us believe that Lonnie should truly be recognized and accredited for being
used mightily by the Lord and even globally. In fact, according to this
documentary, he was the reason for the big beginnings of this movement. But I think
the following quote hits on the real reason for the growth of Calvary Chapels
which also was present around that time:
As recounted by Henry
Cutrona, “Christian Musician”,: “For the first four years I was there, all
he(Pastor Chuck Smith) preached on was love, because love at that time had so
many different meanings and I think Chuck hit the nail on the head. He just
basically said ‘God is love.’”
I have trouble believing
that Lonnie Frisbee, who may have been involved even then in immorality behind
the scenes, and who most definitely separated himself from the biblical
direction Pastor Chuck was going in the following few years, was really the
groundbreaking reason God has blessed and continues to bless many in the
Calvary Chapel movement, then and now. I believe that it was the teaching of
God’s Word. Insofar as Lonnie towed that line and taught some truth, then God
chose to work, but I think the overwhelming evidence shows Lonnie’s penchant
for ministry and methodology that was largely unbiblical and, if I may be so
bold, downright dangerous in its subsequent manifestations.
But DiSabatino and others
attribute this massive growth to Lonnie’s influence and the “power” that seemed
to follow him in his endeavors:
“Throughout the Bible, we
are confronted with historical figures said to have held special power, granted
by God to perform acts that promote faith but defy rational explanation.” (David DiSabatino, Director).
While this is true, many of
these giftings and callings were unique. God can certainly do miracles and work
supernaturally today, but from what this film declares, any belief that Lonnie
was on par with the apostles and prophets of Holy Scripture in terms of his
gifting and authority should be thoroughly tested. Truth be told, I find it hard
to believe with the evidence that will emerge in this documentary that Lonnie
was the spiritual powerhouse/powder keg that others claimed he was. I’m afraid
that abundant evidence exists that there was a hearty mixture of truth and
error in his ministry and practice. More info is needed but the portrayal here
is clear. Here’s a few eyewitness accounts mentioned in the film:
“Early on, he was a
little whacked out, but he was powerful…” (David Sloane).
Whacked out and powerful? A
dangerous combination to be sure.
Eccentricities aside: “God’s
anointing always got on him. People tried to copy him and do what he did…” (John
Ruttkay, Lonnie’s Friend).
Cutrona tells of a blind man
someone brought to Frisbee: “He looked at the guy and says ‘In the name of Jesus
Christ, you can see!’ and the man got his sight back.”
Kenn Gulliksen, “Pastor”: “I
was scared to be with Lonnie because my faith, born out of Lutheran tradition,
meant that you had a certain level of Norwegian social grace involved in your
relationship. To be with Lonnie was not to be safe, and everywhere Lonnie would
be God was doing things.”
One testimony called him a “bag
of dynamite.”
Debbie Kerner-Rettino,
“Christian Musician”, describes how Lonnie was followed by these
manifestations: “These miracles and
phenomenal things happened. Lonnie didn’t ever try to force that…”
“I don’t know anybody
else who I’ve ever felt this way about and I’m rather skeptical today when it
comes to the claims of the charismatic, but with Lonnie it was like walking
with an apostle, someone who was tuned into a divine frequency.” (Chuck Smith Jr.)
“ I watched, people did fall down in the Spirit and then I
started hearing stories about healings that lasted…He spoke his mind. He didn’t
care what he said. And that had a big impression on me. This guy’s got the
power of God. How could I deny it?” (Darrell
Ballman, “Lonnie’s Friend”).
“I saw the power of God moving through him.” (Danny Lehmann, YWAM Director, Hawaii”).
This film features extensive
testimonies to miraculous acts like the abovementioned. It seemed to many that
Lonnie was a sparkplug and an actual conduit for the supernatural. The things
others professed or taught about, Lonnie allegedly actually did. This “signs
and wonders” outpouring may actually have really been that dynamic but will
become a major problem in ensuing years. We must soberly evaluate what the
reality may actually be. DiSabatino
also leaves the interpretation and believability of these deeds and miracles
open to question:
“Q: The movie recounts some events that border on the mystical. Do you really believe that Lonnie did the things that people say he did?”
DiSabatino replies: “I am
not sure there ever was a time when people did not exaggerate spiritual
phenomenon. If I am not mistaken, the region of Galilee where Jesus’ ministry
was centered was teeming with these wonderworkers and spiritual snake oil
salesman of the day. Our age is no different, and I understand the skepticism.
I think it is healthy to ask questions and raise an eyebrow when someone makes
such grandiose claims.
But many of the people I
interviewed cannot simply be categorized and marginalized as “true believers,”
those folks that are so desirous to see a miracle that everything is parsed as
an extraordinary event. Many of the people in the movie are skeptical of a lot
of stuff in the religious world, but they believed that Lonnie was the real
deal. I don’t think that one should spend too much time trying to prove things
pertaining to faith, since, by definition, that doesn’t make much sense. But
those skeptical interviews were compelling to me. And besides, whether you
believe the stories or not, who cares? It is a mesmerizing story regardless.” (FAQ Section from the Frisbee website: http://lonniefrisbee.com/faq/).
In other words, these may
not be true accounts. And, by the way, it is extremely important whether or not
these accounts are true, especially if Lonnie was truly the man of God others
portrayed him to be. Sadly, Frisbee may have been a false “wonderworker” or
even a “spiritual snake oil salesman” (I.e. dispenser of a false anointing)
albeit; I don’t think he was necessarily aware of it.
David Sloane, “Early Hippy
Christian”: “And it was almost like a fun thing to do to sit there and watch
when the anointing would hit him, because it was like two different
people. He was goofy and kinda almost embarrassing when he was himself and then
all of a sudden almost at some point, the Spirit would hit him and this
authority would come on him and he would speak with absolute authority.”
Ken Fish, “Lonnie’s Friend”:
“If you’ve been near someone who’s a carrier of the anointing,
somehow there’s something that happens as a result of that. Somehow it changes
your life forever.”
This is of course the all
too common heresy regarding this belief in
“the anointing” held by some in the third Wave movement, Word/faith
movement, Vineyards and a growing number of other groups today. They get this
error of the anointing “hitting” someone or that someone can be a “carrier”
from false teachers and practitioners who distort and twist the Word of God.
All too often and, at the origins of these heresies lie the work of demons as
well, deceiving and misleading many who believe they are experiencing the true
Holy Spirit.
Lonnie’s unpredictability
and change of demeanor seemed to coincide with a manifestation of “the
anointing” which again is not biblical in the way it is viewed here. I believe
in situational boldness as given by the Holy Spirit but is this what is being
expressed here? The testimonies point to the fact that there was far greater
mystical phenomenon that surrounded Frisbee when he ministered. At least
implied is this emerging belief in Lonnie’s life of a forceful manifestation or
eventual transference of the “Spirit” in times of ministry. Benny Hinn says his
children don’t recognize him and are in fact afraid of him when he is “in the
anointing” and this error is quite pervasive throughout these accounts. This
theology develops more as Frisbee gets involved with the Vineyards.
DiSabatino shows a few books
on the anointing by false teachers like Benny Hinn and explains: “
Conservative Christians especially Pentecostals, will use the catchphrase “The
Anointing” to describe these unique individuals. An anointed person is
recognized by the power and presence of God upon their life.”
I trust you can see what is
actually happening here. These new versions are really old and foul attacks on
the truth of God’s Holy Word. 1 John 2:18-27 clearly teaches us what the
“anointing” actually is. Taken in context with other teachings in Scripture, we
must understand that the true “anointing from the Holy One” (1 Jn. 2:20) is
something that every believer possesses and is a description of the power and
work of a real Person of the Triune God, the Holy Spirit. This precious
anointing is the guidance and discernment that we have as part and parcel of
the inner ministry of the Holy Spirit that resides in all who are truly “in
Christ”. As such, the anointing has been given to us by God, and teaches us concerning
all things ( 1 John 2:27). This reality is not a force or a strange substance
that some believers have more of than others. The Holy Spirit is a Person, not
an “it” and cannot be transferred to other people or thrown around a room. All
of these distortions come from heretics like John Wimber and others associated
with the counterfeit “signs and wonders” false revivals of the Vineyards,
Toronto, Pensacola and other evil outpourings. The sad fact remains that
perhaps Wimber received this foolishness from Lonnie Frisbee! It’s tragic to
see a young Lonnie get caught up in and perpetuate these things. One wonders
where was the true discernment, the true guidance of the true Holy Sprit in his
life and ministry.
Because a counterfeit is
convincing, we can see why it is so dangerous. It is no coincidence that the
true Holy Spirit inspired the apostle John to write these teachings clear as
day and in close context with the warning against “antichrists” (1 John 2),
which were falsely anointed deceivers by Greek definition. They are with
us today and more prolific than ever. (For more info on the Holy Spirit’s
ministry in/to/through believers: 1 Cor. 2:6-16).
These manifestations and
this particular twist on the doctrine of the anointing have proven in many cases
to be counterfeit signs and wonders with no biblical basis or real revival
result. Frisbee’s friend Darrell
Ballman, mentioned earlier that “people would fall down” or be slain in the
spirit when they were near Lonnie and he claims Lonnie never did anything to
encourage that. It just happened. This leads us into the next phase in the
film, which talked about the fallout Lonnie experienced because of these
manifestations and his promotion of them. I believe it is clear that these
miracles were largely of the counterfeit kind and the implications, then, are
not pretty or pleasant but we must discern here.
As the falling down and
other phenomena increased around Lonnie’s ministry, Pastor Chuck rightly
stepped in to put a stop to the nonsense. Allegedly, Chuck Smith told Lonnie,
“ If you pray for people
and they fall down, you’re going to lose your job. He did not want this
happening at Calvary Chapel, and so Lonnie said, ‘Debbie, we cant let em fall
down’. So we’d be praying for people and holding them by the hair to hold em up so that they couldn’t fall”
(Debbie Kerner-Rettino, “Christian
Musician”).
I praise the Lord for Pastor
Chuck’s discernment. God allowed him to see that these were manifestations that
were a combination of learned behavior, hypnotic induction combined at times
with demonic deception. I think Chuck’s function as a shepherd and watchmen of
this flock protected many people from being deceived and engaging in
counterfeit practices that are dishonoring to God.
Needless to say, the proper
exercise of Pastor Chuck’s discernment wasn’t received well by Lonnie and he
viewed this restraint as a restriction to his calling. In addition to this, the
film portrays Pastor Chuck’s philosophy of ministry as harmful to Lonnie’s marriage.
Here’s the testimony of Chuck Smith, Jr. and Lonnie’s ex wife:
“My dad’s philosophy of
ministry had harmed Lonnie and Connie’s marriage…And my Dad’s belief was that
the hierarchy of values was God, ministry, and family.” (Chuck Smith Jr.).
“Chuck Smith looked at me
and said, ‘The only thing that’s important right now, Connie, is that people
are getting saved’. I could tell that Lonnie now had a “carte-blanche” to be as
irresponsible as he wants to be.”
(Connie Bremer-Murray, “Lonnie’s Ex-Wife”).
I had to ask while watching
this film, “Is this really all true?” Well, sadly, I have seen quite a few men of God who admit to being
“workaholics” in the ministry and have at times struggled because of issues of
family neglect. If Pastor Chuck’s own son is critical of his father’s approach
to ministry, then is it really true that Chuck told these things to Connie. I
am inclined to believe that this may have been the case although I would like
more details concerning that conversation between Connie and her pastor. I pray
that this was not really the issue as described but it is also a warning
nonetheless.
Insofar as we trust
DiSabatino’s version of what happened we see these two areas set the stage for
Lonnie’s departure, but as we shall see, I think it was definitely the
healthiest development possible as far as Calvary Chapels were concerned.
DiSabatino: “Feeling his
brand of Pentecostal ministry wasn’t being appreciated, Lonnie accepted an
invitation from another ministry to leave Calvary Chapel…”
Frisbee later returned to be
an associate pastor under Smith once again, but Lonnie was definitely unhappy
and the hunger to be released from his perceived restraint was gnawing at him.
Again we see this hunger for experience and experimentation. Was Lonnie’s drive
in ministry dictated by a love for the Lord and His Word or a passion to “see
the stuff” as Wimber would later describe signs and wonders? I believe that
Lonnie’s love of mysticism and experimentation combined to justify his lengthening
departure from biblical truth and God-honoring ministry. What was perceived as
“quenching the Spirit” was actually discernment exercised on the part of Chuck
Smith to protect the flock at Costa Mesa.
Notice something. Lonnie
left Pastor Chuck for four years and according to the film, during those four
years great growth happened:
“In only four short years
Calvary Chapel had expanded into a movement with satellite locations all over
the western United States. Chuck Smith had replaced the aggressive Pentecostal
dynamic with a focus on Bible teaching, and rather quickly, Lonnie realized he
was an uneasy fit and started to look for other outlets to express his more
aggressive Pentecostalism.”
(DiSabatino, Director).
I think we cannot overlook
the significance of the above circumstance. In Lonnie’s absence, Chuck
began expository preaching and great growth happened. Lonnie didn’t fit in with
that type of ministry nor did he want to apparently. I believe this is
extremely telling as to where Lonnie was at in his philosophy of ministry and
it wasn’t biblical but experiential.
Enter the next experience of
Lonnie’s journey: John Wimber and the Vineyards, who at the time, were still
affiliated with Calvary Chapel. This section is, I believe the most revealing
into the nature and possible source of the “signs and wonders” wrought by
Frisbee. History has declared that the “Toronto Blessing”, Vineyard phenomenon,
and the Pensacola outpourings were counterfeit revivals. The false teachings,
prophets and bizarre unruliness that permeate much of these participating
churches have, thankfully, been exposed for what they are. Jesus warned that in
the Last days, false prophets, lying signs and wonders, angels of light, lots
of false anointings, and counterfeit spirits would infiltrate the Church.
Sadly, the Vineyard fellowships, especially under the ministries of Wimber and
others have proven to be a volatile hotbed of these dangerous manifestations in
recent years.
Imagine my shock to see this
film, which attributes the onsets of these perverse practices to none other
than Lonnie Frisbee. He felt Pastor Chuck’s take on ministry was too stringent
and left Calvary Chapel only to return four years later but not for long.
Lonnie was about to become the apparent catalyst for a large outpouring of
counterfeit signs and wonders in the Vineyards. I’m glad he left Calvary
Chapels, although it appears or seems to be the case that Lonnie was
instrumental in leading several churches out of the Calvary Chapel movement and
into what was characterized as the Vineyards. In other words, Lonnie’s
influence on Wimber and others caused them to view Pastor Chuck and Calvary
Chapels in the same way Lonnie did; as quenchers of these manifestations and by
implication not conducive to the “power” that Lonnie and others were so hungry
to see. Pastor Chuck Smith described the Vineyard churches as having embraced
evry error of the pent898090909
But the prime time player
and bringer of these deceptions is, according to DiSabatino’s film, Lonnie Frisbee.
I must note, however, that the testimonies of the vineyard occurrences are more
glowing than condemning. Lonnie is still believed to have had great power from
the Lord but I disagree with that assessment partially based on the info we’re
given in this film. At any rate, there are testimonies of Lonnie’s “power
ministry” methods and the ensuing aberrance.
Feeling uneasy in Calvary
Chapel, Lonnie looked toward John Wimber, of Calvary Chapel satellite location
in Yorba Linda, California which eventually became the most prominent
fellowship in the Vineyard movement. It was in the presence of Wimber that
Lonnie felt he had found an avenue for his “aggressive Pentecostalism” which
was so contrary to the biblical direction Pastor Chuck Smith was headed in.
John Wimber was hungry for signs and wonders and Lonnie was apparently the man
with the power. According to Lonnie, this was a divine partnership:
“John and I met three
years ago at a pastors conference and the Lord told us that he was going to
join us together but its taken three years top do it because I’m a chicken.” (Lonnie Frisbee).
John gave Lonnie a Sunday
night, Mother’s Day service in 1980 and the rest was history. Lonnie, on that
night said:
“I think the Lords gonna meet us tonight in a special way so I want you to be in expectancy for a move of the Spirit of God.”
“Lonnie got up and very
quietly said, speaking into the microphone said ‘The Holy Spirit has been
quenched by the church but don’t worry about it. The Holy Spirit isn’t mad.
Matter of fact, He wants to come tonight and minister to you.’” (Steve Zarit, “Vineyard Church Member”).
With that invitation, the
“stuff” as Wimber later referred to signs and wonders began to happen but what
must be noted is that many of the practices that happened under Lonnie’s
ministry there at Wimber’s church were unbiblical and unaccompanied by biblical
preaching and teaching. Much of it cannot be characterized as decent and “in
order” which needs to be the case when we are testing phenomena by God’s Word.
I believe that much of what these Vineyard testimonies tell us in the film were
nothing less than the beginnings of the false spiritual experiences of the
counterfeit revivalism that many Vineyard churches became famous for. At the inception,
here apparently under Lonnie’s influence and presence, were the beginnings of
some of the most shameful wickedness the church has ever seen. Those present
gave these testimonies:
“He asked people 25 and
under to come forward, so probably 300 or so go forward. He just says the words
‘Holy spirit, Come’. Almost immediately, everybody just fell on the floor. They
were sort of like trees in a forest falling on each other. It wasn’t a clean
thing…One of the kids, Ricky, when he fell to the floor, he pulled the
microphone down. A lot of them started speaking in tongues, others were crying.
But the sound was shocking and I didn’t know what to do. I stared at this
thing. I didn’t know Lonnie. John was shocked. He was trying to figure out
what’s going on. A lot of people got up and left. They were angry and
whatever.” (Bob Fulton, “Vineyard
Church Leader”).
Another Vineyard leader
testifies: “He went like this with his hand, and I was part of that group
that everybody just went over. The whole group, we couldn’t get up. It was like
dominoes. It wasn’t like people knocked me over either, you just felt that
“Whoosh” of the Spirit. Everybody just went down.”
I, for one, am so glad
Pastor Chuck protected Calvary Chapels from this. Lonnie interpreted the
ensuing chaos as a “tremendous outpouring” but anyone can see that a biblical
sermon and orderly conduct would have been the true desire of the Lord for
those folks. Its just tragic and I’m rather sickened at this kind of nonsense
being attributed to the Holy Spirit. I can’t accept that this spirit had
anything to do with God.
Even some of the leadership
was troubled; rightly so and called a meeting to discuss the aftermath of that
Mother’s Day debacle but as we see in the film, attempts at organization are no
match for a zealous Frisbee:
“ We had to have a
special meeting a couple days later with all the elders. They want to know what
in the world is going on here. Lonnie comes back up and disrupts John and says
‘Listen, the Lord just spoke to me. I don’t care what kind of issues you have
here. What needs to happen is you need to have an encounter with God.” (John Ruttkay, “Lonnie’s Friend”).
The supernatural forces
Lonnie brought with him also invaded this same meeting:
“All of a sudden, I’m
seeing this guy next to me, this Ph.D. in Microbiology, begin to shake and he’s
begun to shake under the presence of God. The presence of God’s coming. So I
begin to stand up. The power of God knocks this guy down and he began to roll
under my feet on the ground, screaming hysterically. And the whole room began
to- the power of God came down on everybody in the room. And it was just
absolutely mind-boggling. I mean we went from zero to ten in the Spirit like
that.” (John Ruttkay, “Lonnie’s
Friend”)
I think we are seeing accounts
of a demonic element of disorder and danger manifesting in Lonnie’s presence.
These “signs” bear no resemblance to biblical examples of the Holy Spirit’s
ministry to the Church. “Self-control” is one fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:23)
and the Holy Spirit would not violate the Word by causing hysterics and mayhem,
yet the Vineyards have promoted this type of false manifestations for years and
apparently Lonnie brought a heightened level of this type of activity. In fact,
if we are to take this documentary as our source, Lonnie was the bringer of
these initial occurrences.
Apparently Wimber himself
became subject to this influence and broke off from the Calvary Chapels to
start Vineyard Fellowships, so that this new power could be spread in the name
of “signs and wonders” theology. He even enticed some fellowships to leave
Calvary Chapels as they followed the signs and wonders wrought by this new
leader. Although John Wimber is largely known for that, the film claims that it
is Frisbee’s influence and power that began this movement.
The counterfeit continues
with a new dynamic duo leadership team:
“So John would speak and
Lonnie would minister. They were the dynamic duo. Lonnie got up there and he’d
wave his leather coat and the power of God would come and people would be
falling all over these old pews in these Baptist churches. And Lonnie would
start climbing over the pews and start laying hands on people saying ‘Speak in
tongues! Speak in tongues!’ And he’d hit them in the forehead and they’d
instantly begin to speak in tongues. So I was blown away by that…” (Steve Zarit, “Vineyard Church Member”).
Ken Fish, “Lonnie’s Friend”
testifies that Lonnie cast some sort of demonic spirit out of his mother, which
healed her mouth lesions. It was a “deliverance” type reaction where she began
to retch and gag.
“Vineyard went through a
phase where we were seeing cancers healed, brain cancer healed, lumps in the
breast disappearing. We saw all sorts of things there. Actually saw and
witnessed it.” (Phil Mahlow).
All these incidents brought
the “Wow” Factor with them as testimony after testimony unfolded concerning the
pervasive power that surrounded Lonnie and the fact that he seemingly never had
to “work it up” or cause it to happen:
“’You right there! The
Holy Spirit’s comin’ upon you right now!’ And I’m like ‘What’s happening to
me?’ I was starting to get baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. None of
this could’ve been suggestion,
(Mercedes; “He had no paradigm for it.”), Hypnotism, nothing ‘cuz I had- I
didn’t know what was happening. It was happening to me and I didn’t know it. It
was happening to me before he even got close to me.” (Brian and Mercedes
Marleaux, “Lonnie’s Friends”).
David Owen, “Pastor”: “Then
(he) lifted up his hands like this and just pointed towards people and said
‘The Holy Spirit is resting on you’.”
Here’s my concern with these
stories. First off, if anyone disagrees with them it is tantamount to many to
denying God or not believing in the power of the Holy Spirit. Some also take my
caution as words of attack toward “God’s servant”, Lonnie Frisbee. But please
understand, these things must be tested for validity and all I can say is that
Biblical Christians need to be extremely wary of anyone who behaved or taught
the things Lonnie did and yet seemed to have this extraordinary power. Just
because things happened doesn’t automatically stamp someone as being anointed
by God. In fact, many of these sign and wonder experiences again happen apart
from teaching the Word or in contexts where abuses routinely were accepted and
participated in. We cannot also rule out the fact that none of these events
have been medically confirmed or documented and the eyewitnesses appear to be
quite undiscerning because they are approving of some of Lonnie’s unbiblical
practices. These testimonies do serve to show how influential Frisbee was in
the early 80s among people who were extremely famished to see “signs and
wonders”.
DiSabatino makes something
very clear:
“Though little credit is given to Lonnie, he was influential in what the Vineyard church movement called “Signs and Wonders Theology” – a paradigm of teaching that suggest that all Christians could operate in a similar manner to Lonnie; that they too could perform miracles like they’d read in the New Testament…”
Again Frisbee is hailed as
some sort of a catalyst for the growth that followed in this movement. So,
according to the Frisbee movie, he was the person behind the scenes almost that
God allegedly used to spark the incredible growth of two famous church
movements, Calvary Chapels and the Vineyards.
Chuck Smith, Jr., “Pastor”:
“John told me; he was very outspoken about the fact that it was Lonnie that
really brought the Vineyard into the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit into the
Vineyard…”
While attendances may have
mushroomed and people apparently flocked to see Frisbee in both of these
movements, we still cannot take this as any kind of gauge for whether God was
behind all that Lonnie said and did. Again, more details would be needed about
his conversion and subsequent teachings for some of these points to make any
sense in formulating the opinion that Frisbee was indeed doing these things by
the power of the true God. While that has thus far been the assertion of
DiSabatino’s documentary, it appears that what has actually been uncovered is
some of the dubious and dangerous origins of the counterfeit revivals and the
Vineyards and the prolific abuse of hyper Pentecostalism. Thus far, the best
player in this drama seems to be Pastor Chuck who, apparently equally concerned
about the developments surrounding Frisbee as some of the rest of us, took the
higher path of teach God’s Word and testing ministry antics of Lonnie and
others who seem to be getting carried away by hype and heroism.
Lonnie’s Tragic
“Secret”(?)
The conclusion of this film
is extremely heartbreaking, tragic, and yes, revealing. Where there is false
doctrine and false practice, where there is unorthodoxy in ministry, there
usually exists a lifestyle of the same ilk (2 Peter 2). Often hidden for a
while but inevitably brought to light because God is not mocked (Gal. 6:7).
This issue is primarily of Lonnie’s homosexuality and is something the church
really needs to discern.
Chuck Smith, Jr. tells us
how he discovered evidence leading towards what would become the final scandal
that ended in Lonnie’s death:
“I got a telephone call one day that this young man who was in the church here at Laguna Beach was feeling really bad, really convicted, really guilty and he confided in his pastor that he had had a six-month affair with Lonnie…One night I went to the Vineyard on a Sunday night and John and Carol asked my wife and I if we wanted to go out with them and have a cup of coffee after church. We started talking and I said ‘John I want to ask you a question. As far as Lonnie goes with his homosexuality, is that something that you just show him mercy with?’ And John said, ‘How do you know Lonnie’s homosexual? Has he told you himself?’ And I said ‘Yes, he has.’ The next day John called me. He said ‘I spoke to Lonnie today. I asked him if this was so, and he admitted it. He confessed that it was so.”
In the rest of the film,
this claim is never disputed or denied. Regardless of what several other
questioning voices said, if we are to believe Chuck Smith, Jr.’s testimony,
then Lonnie himself admitted he was a practicing homosexual. Lonnie Frisbee was
apparently practicing homosexuality. Other testimonies confirm that this was
the case. However several in his life didn’t believe that he was actually gay,
but merely struggled with it:
“Opinions are sharply
divided as to whether Lonnie was a homosexual. His friends believed that even
though he may have once defined himself as being gay, that after his conversion
to Jesus Christ, he renounced homosexuality and always maintained that it was a
sin. Though he may have lapsed into this behavior on occasion, so they reason,
he was never a practicing homosexual again.” (David DiSabatino, Director).
Many who spent time with
Lonnie were never able to see through his deception or that he was struggling
so bad:
“I remember fishing around with Lonnie to
what his attitude was towards homosexuality and I remember us together on the
streets witnessing to gay guys in which Lonnie would be very strong in that
homosexuality is a sin. It’s a sin that needs to be forgiven but it’s a sin
that can be repented of.” (Danny
Lehmann, YWAM Director, Hawaii”).
John Ruttkay, “Lonnie’s
friend, doesn’t believe he was “practicing homosexuality”
Director DiSabatino, is
asked on the website: Q: Do you think Lonnie Frisbee was a homosexual?
His reply: “The only one
that knows that is Lonnie Frisbee. I can only tell you what I know. It is
imperative to understand that after his conversion at no time did Lonnie ever
justify homosexuality. He always maintained it was a sin. And I have many tapes
of him talking about this.
The problem being, that
his actions suggested that this was an area where he continued to involve
himself. What most of his friends believe is that if this kind of thing
occurred (and in their mind there is still a definite question as to whether
the allegations are true or they are from people intent on slurring Lonnie’s
memory), it was the occasional lapse. There are those, of course, that argue
that his continuing in this behavior suggests something innate.
I would hope that people
would listen to his own testimony and not read in to his life without giving
great weight to Lonnie's own beliefs. He never believed homosexuality was
anything other than a sin in the eyes of God. He is not the poster child for
"gay Christianity." That being said, neither is he so easily placed
in a Christian framework that tends to view conversion as the moment where
these sorts of things are forever renounced. I'm comfortable with this being
unanswered territory.”(http://lonniefrisbee.com/faq/).
These assertions aside, one
thing is abundantly clear in this film: many who were close to him or spent
time with him had no idea that he was engaged in salacious activities. That’s
the nature of the beast. Sin wants to stay hidden and many of us are great at
that. Lonnie is no exception. We must keep in mind that, although we don’t want
to believe that someone who did so much in the Church was homosexual, he
admitted to Chuck Smith Jr. and John Wimber that he indeed was. A six-month
affair, which Frisbee admitted to, is not indicative of merely struggling or
lapsing occasionally. That is a lifestyle; every bit as staggering as recently
exposed Ted Haggard.
What are the implications/
Well, 1 John 3:4-6 clearly tells us: “Whoever commits sin also commits
lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that he was manifested to
take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. Whoever abides in Him does not
sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.”
This passage and others is
clear when it tells us, by divine inspiration, that a true believer in Jesus
Christ will not continually practice sinning as a lifestyle. There is no way
around that truth. The evidence that is given us in this film is indicative of
a lifestyle that Lonnie lived with secret, extended affairs and outright
admissions. Around some he would proclaim a biblical view towards homosexuality
but in private and with others, he would practice this sin.
Other evidence points to the
fact that Lonnie was indeed a practicing homosexual:
Hi ex-wife Connie confirms
that he told her he was gay when they married but understood it to mean that he
was saved out of that. One wonders why
he would tell her he was actually gay if that was truly the case. She also testifies:
“At the end of the
marriage he told me that he had been staying late in some gay bars.” (Connie Bremer-Murray, “Lonnie’s Ex-Wife”, from the
“Special Features” section).
Steve Toth: “It was a
hard thing for me to understand, how he could party on Saturday night and
preach on Sunday morning and the Spirit of God moved and there was no doubt
about it.”
Danny Lehmann, “YWAM
Director, Hawaii”: “One of the little controversies I ended up having with
God was ‘Lord, I’m giving up all this stuff for you and I’m being so careful –
I don’t dance, I don’t do all these things, and yet, Lonnie, he’ll go out and
he’ll boogie down and do stuff like that. And he’ll go out and do what I would
consider questionable things, but yet I saw the power of God moving through
him.’ Of course as I grew in the Lord I realized the gifts and calling of God
are from God and they’re not based upon your works anyhow.”
One cans see how Lonnie’s
lifestyle caused many to stumble and again, it is debatable that what was at
work in Frisbee was really “the power
of God”. However much his friend and family wanted to attribute Frisbee with
being mightily anointed by God and validated by signs and wonders, they must
realize the danger of their assertion in light of the fact that he admitted to
being a practicing homosexual. The Bible disagrees with the notion that the
“gifts and calling of God” would be administered to a homosexual without first
requiring repentance and regeneration which of course does away with that
lifestyle. Most assuredly, the counterfeit transferable anointing he practiced
was heretical and has nothing to do with the biblical reality of the Holy
Spirit. It is sad to see so many people that surrounded Lonnie fail to discern
such prolific error. Yes, I do have a problem with believing that God placed
gifts and callings on a practicing homosexual.
Ken Gulliksen’s assessment: “
I think that’s one area of his life that never got- it was never broken. He was
never free of it and it remained hidden away and would manifest itself very
secretly, very privately.”
Another referred to Lonnie’s
“moral failings” as an “open secret” and still another Vineyard spokesman, Bob
Fulton, described Lonnie as a
“practicing homosexual” and revealingly explains an all too popular
concept concerning Homosexuality:
“The kingdom of Satan has stronger demons. I
just think that homosexuality is a stronger demon.” (Bob Fulton, “Vineyard Spokesman”).
Faulty at the core because
the Bible says that it is a sin of the flesh. I do not doubt that demons can be
influential in this and other areas but primarily Homosexuality is an
abominable lifestyle choice made by fallen men and women who are given over to
licentiousness. This is not to say that people don’t have struggles in this
area but we cannot put the blame on homosexuality being some “stronger demon”
that completely controls someone, especially in Lonnie’s case where he claims
that he was truly saved. The obvious implication here, especially with the
realization that he never ‘fessed up until he was caught, is that Lonnie had
never truly repented of his gay lifestyle.
Ken Gullicksen, “Pastor”
responds to the interviewer’s question: “Do you think he was a homosexual?”
Gullicksen: “Oh yes, yes. I believe Lonnie had homosexuality in his
background growing up. H e came to Christ, was filled with the Spirit, became a
new creation, became a saint, not a sinner. I think that’s one area of his life
that never got – it was never broken, he was never free of it. It remained and
got hidden away and would manifest itself very secretly, very privately. He had
a long-term relationship with someone at Camp Pendleton – an officer.”
If this is true we must ask
Gullicksen and others the pertinent question: “Has the precious and complete
work of God’s salvation met its match with homosexuality?” In other words,
these statements cannot actually be true if Lonnie Frisbee was truly saved. He
was either entirely a new creation or a practicing homosexual. The Bible does
not allow for both as simultaneous coexistent realities (1 John 3:4-6). While
saints still sin, the Bible clearly teaches that they do not practice sin as a
lifestyle. We can’t reinterpret what God’s Holy Word says in light of even the
most charismatic of human beings.
Remember Lonnie admitted to
a long-term relationship. Pastor Ted Haggard after being caught also fessed up
and accurately labeled himself a “deceiver and a liar”. We need to be honest
with what scripture actually says and sorrowfully we need more info on Lonnie’s
life and even his conversion to feel confident as to whether he was truly born
again.
Here’s a major problem. If
this film is true then we must say, “Hold everything!” It is imperative that we
take a closer look at the facts of his life and if we are biblical Christians
we have no choice other than to conclude that Lonnie’s life was marked by great
deception, lies, and the reality that he definitely wasn’t fit for ministry at
all. It cannot be winked at or sluffed off, nor excused on the basis that all
kinds of powerful signs may have surrounded this poor fellow. The scandal of
hailing a practicing homosexual as “anointed by God” to perform apostolic
miracles and putting him in ministry flies in the face of what the Scriptures
teach and the qualifications of leadership in the church. A Leader in the
church who is going to minister and teach must be, among other things,
“blameless” (see 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9) and the scandal that surrounded
Lonnie Frisbee, with both his false teaching and lifestyle disqualify him
completely for the role he was given.
Wrestling with the
Truth
Because of the deception
that apparently was being practiced, long term, by Frisbee himself, it is
understandable why even Pastor Chuck Smith would not have been able to see the
danger of putting him in ministry. Now the scandal rocks church history as
DiSabatino’s film reveals some awful details. I think it absurd that some
featured on this film would point fingers and blame the church for not
accepting Lonnie anyway or anything like that. Are we to love and care for
those who are in this lifestyle and struggling with these feelings? Absolutely,
but they should not be hailed as any kind of hero or someone likened to the
biblical prophets and apostles. Those men had their flaws but the Scriptures
also speak strongly that homosexuality is and abomination, something that God
hates:
To Israel: “You shall not
lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.” (Lev. 18:22).
“If a man lies with a
male a he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination…” (Lev. 20:13)
In the New Testament: “Likewise
also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for
one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in
themselves the penalty of their error which was due.” (Rom. 1:27)
“Who, knowing the
righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of
death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” (Rom. 1:32).
“Do you not know that the
unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither
fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will
inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Cor.
6:9-10).
These will suffice and they
carry a heavy message to all of us, whether we want to accept them or not. All
of us must examine ourselves to make sure we are not deceived and practicing
these things as a lifestyle.
DiSabatino acknowledge that
some Christians take these verse for what they say but that a “minority”
believe they should be reinterpreted. Emerging church leader Brain McClaren
also believes this despite what God has already clearly revealed about
homosexuality. He believes the church should take a 5-year “moratorium” on the
issue to try and figure out what we all are supposed to think about it.
Hmmm…Scripture is clear, should we believe false teachers like Tony Campolo and
Brian McClaren or God’s Word? The answer to true believers is simple.
The commentators on
DiSabatino’s film weigh in with some quite disturbing comments:
Chuck Smith, Jr.: “Lonnie’s
misfortune is he got caught because there are a lot of charismatic homosexual
ministers right now. I’m not saying that it’s okay as long as you don’t get
caught. I’m saying we need to find a way for them, find a way within the Body
of christ to love and minister and accommodate them.”
Gay activist Mel White is
featured, as is the homosexual “pastor” of the Metro fellowship are featured in
defense of being homosexual and saved.
He also blames the church for their attitude towards homosexuals and even
alleges that they are forced to go out and do their wickedness all the more
because the Church rejects them. They denounce those in the church and blame
those of us who believe in God’s Word for even making them be more sinful.
Both of these comments are
extremely troubling. Do we need to love those involved in this abomination?
Absolutely? But what does it mean that we must “accommodate” gay ministers
within the church? This is absolutely revolting and needs clarification. Lonnie
was accommodated in public ministry because few knew what he was really doing,
although if it was really an “open secret” then it’s debatable who knew what at
what time. All that can really be said is that this whole thing is tragic and
needs to be clearly rebuked in terms of excusing or promoting homosexual
activity among ministers and people who profess to be genuinely born again.
DiSabatino includes
testimony that is sympathetic to Lonnie as coming from other homosexual men
making a mockery of the high calling of the ministry before God:
Q: Why did you interview (Metropolitan Church founder) Troy Perry and (gay activist) Mel White?
DiSabatino: “Who better to understand being marginalized by the evangelical movement? I went to them because I had questions that couldn’t be answered by someone who didn’t go through a similar sort of journey as Lonnie did. I don’t agree with everything they believe, but I sure liked and admire their honesty. But neither did I agree with everything that other people told me. And neither do either group believe everything that I do. That is the blessing and bane of free will.” (From the website:
http://lonniefrisbee.com/faq/)
Tragically, Frisbee
was a hit at gay and Lesbian film festivals and this mixed message is being
promoted on a wide scale now. I definitely don’t think it beneficial to Calvary
Chapels and it adds yet another blemish on the worsening testimony of Youth
With A Mission and other groups represented on there. DiSabatino’s film amounts
to n endorsement of Lonnie’s alleged power and a sympathetic view of Vineyard
heresy and homosexuality. Not to mention the negative light in which Pastor
Chuck Smith is painted. I, for one, wouldn’t want my name attached to this
thing in any way, especially if I was working with Calvary Chapels.
Lonnie’s Bitterness
Wimber had no recourse but
to terminate Lonnie after he admitted to being homosexual. For all the bad
things associated with the low discernment levels among the Vineyards, this at
least was preferable compared to letting him remain as a minister. The rest of
the film chronicles Lonnie’s bitterness towards those who he felt had either
restricted his ministry or just flat-out abandoned him because of his sinful
scandalous lifestyle.
Tragically we learn that
Lonnie had been molested as a child and of course, we sympathize. But what’s
really going on here? Does even these awful circumstances entitle one to be bitter at almost everyone he had worked
with?
Chuck Girard, “Pastor”: “
It was many year years I didn’t see Lonnie, and when I did the thing I was most
impressed by was, ‘cuz you’re going for the truth here, how bitter he was. He
would just come in and it was almost like a person who didn’t have personal
restraint. He would just go off on how he had been used and abused and trashed.
You know, kind of pathetic in a way.”
“ Knowing my brother, one
thing he suffered from was unforgivness. And he had bitterness. He had
rejection issues. Sometimes we would get bitterness from his preaching.” (Stan Frisbee, “Lonnie’s Brother”).
“He blamed his dad,
blamed his step dad, blamed Chuck Smith and then John Wimber.” (John
Ruttkay, “Lonnie’s friend”).
“I need to tell you that
I moved in big circles with big bozos…” (Lonnie Frisbee).
Definitely vitriolic.
Lonnie’s Last Days
In the early 90s Lonnie was
diagnosed with AIDS. He felt ashamed about having contracted this, obviously as
a result of his sinful lifestyle. This part of the film does tug at one’s heart
and have compassion for him even though I don’t believe he should have ever
been in public ministry in the first place due to even some of the other
aspects we have already looked at. That said, I must mention that testimony was
given that he had indeed been somewhat repentant before he died shortly after
contracting the virus. He did mention to others that hew as sorry for
everything and wanted a clean slate with everyone he had wronged or worked
with. I don’t know from the film but there was no real mention of his repenting
from his homosexuality to God but that may have occurred between God and him.
We just don’t know and that makes this final chapter of Lonnie’s life all the
more sad.
If Lonnie truly knew the
Lord, I believe that what Chuck Smith said at his funeral after talking to
Lonnie a week before he passed away was extremely timely and the most gracious
way to express the concerns over what the situation may have been:
“A man who knew the
powerful anointing of Gods Spirit on his life, but unfortunately a man who
never experienced the optimum of potential. I often wonder what he could’ve
been.” (Pastor Chuck Smith, at
Lonnie’s Funeral).
Lonnie’s ex-wife and closest
friends immediately followed this comment in DiSabatino’s film with testimony
of extreme anger at Chuck’s comments. Chuck was painted as being “arrogant” and
less than compassionate towards Frisbee because he distanced himself from the
powder keg and said those final remarks at his funeral. Chuck Smith, Jr.
implies that his father’s refusal to let Lonnie minister was an abandonment and
hypocritical:
“ Lonnie’s bitterness, I
think he was entitled to it. If I can say that, I mean if anyone’s entitled to
bitterness… I think that both my dad and John were like father figures to him
but fathers who rejected him and that had to be extremely painful for Lonnie
and I think its part of the tragedy of his life.” (Chuck Smith, Jr., “Pastor”).
“My dad made the
announcement ‘If we have to turn away one young person because they’re
barefoot, and their bare feet are going to ruin our carpet, then we’ll pull out
the carpet, remove the pews – we’ll sit on the concrete floor. These kids have
nowhere else to go to connect with God. If we turn them away where else will
they go?’ Now, we can say that about drug-dealing, free-sex rock-n-roll hippies
but not say that about homosexuals. If the church says to anyone ‘You cannot
come here. You cannot engage in the life of the church’ to anyone, then where
are you supposed to go to find Jesus?”
(Chuck Smith, Jr., “Pastor”).
I agree with the above statement
except that I don’t believe it necessarily applies to Lonnie’s situation.
Lonnie was apparently a practicing homosexual who insisted that he had to be in
ministry. That is quite a different scenario than allowing the unsaved, of
whatever sexual orientation, come and hear the gospel so they can get saved.
That was not the case with Frisbee. He was not able to continue ministering
because he was apparently unrepentant until close to the very end, if that was
true repentance. Lonnie was a “seeker” and as such, had every opportunity to go
to Calvary Chapel, to name one place, to sit and hear the truth of God’s word.
If that happened, great. We are not told, though, and his subsequent ministry,
teachings, and lifestyle leaves a lot to be wondered about concerning where
Frisbee was really at with the Lord.
The viewer is left at films
end with the feeling that Lonnie was some sort oft tragic hero or a “reformer”
who was misunderstood, maligned, and mislabeled by leaders in the church, and
for that I guess a feeling of shame is intended for all those, like myself, who
question the sketchy details and the clear implications of this narrative. Even
after the facts are out, albeit perhaps incomplete in some areas, many still
defend Lonnie as someone who definitely had an anointing from the true God and
is looked at as a minister of the gospel who was mightily used by God.
“Lonnie wasn’t wise
enough to understand that people constantly wanted to use him for his anointing
and throw him away as a human being…he said they like the goodies Darrell, but
they hate me.” (Darrell Ballman,
“Lonnie’s Friend”).
DiSabatino laments the fact
that Calvary Chapel and Vineyard fellowships make no mention of Frisbee as per
his influence in these various movements. And again, this caused great
bitterness in Lonnie’s life.
I think the fact that this man could emerge as somewhat of an
unsung hero shows the low discernment level of many in he church today who
would come against any who would question Lonnie’s conversion, ministry and
lifestyle and some who would wink at his deception and bitterness without
denouncing him as a leader in the church who doesn’t deserve this level of
credit or acclaim.
A few more testimonies will
suffice to show the near veneration, and whitewashing Lonnie Frisbee receives
by people that are either biblically ignorant, devoid of discernment or perhaps
not even saved themselves:
Kenn Gulliksen, “Pastor”: “God
was just, I believe, sending this clown – God wanting to receive the glory is
almost laughing in Heaven in delight and joy at this silly little man with his
silly beard doing these silly things.”
No, Pastor Gullicksen, God
was most certainly not laughing off the serious tragedy that was Lonnie’s life
struggle. Being a practicing homosexual in ministry is not “silly” or laughable
and definitely not glorifying to God.
Rich Buhler says that God “placed
his spirit on a homosexual”.
No, He did not.
The final concerns I have
center on the claim that Frisbee’s story is “A Bible Story”. Here’s what
DiSabatino had to say in response to that query on the website:
Q: At the beginning of the movie, you call it "A Bible Story." What is the significance of that? Surely you don't mean that this story is in the Bible.
DiSabatino: “Well, yes
and no. First, all of those who have conversation with God are adding chapters
to a dialogue that does not end with the Bible. Those people in the Bible were
flesh and blood. They were real. They were just like Lonnie, and just like you
and me. When we distance ourselves from the struggles they entered, I think we
do people a disservice.
Second, I think Lonnie
resembles a number of biblical characters. He is a little bit of Ezekiel, a
little bit Samson, a little bit of Elijah and Elisha, a little Jacob and some
John the Baptist as well. When I heard the stories told by his wide-eyed
friends, it wasn't hard to make connections.
Finally, who said the
canon of Scripture is closed?”
One need only to carefully
watch this film and one thing is stunningly clear: Aside from some cursory
parallels and mannerisms that might resemble these Bible characters, Lonnie’s
actual situation is not the same as the men God used. The closest is indeed
Samson but it’s interesting that no parallels are cited from the church age. That
is because the Bible clearly condemns the lifestyle and leadership practices,
and heresies and errors that characterized much of Lonnie’s ministry.
As for the canon of
Scripture being closed? Sorry, Dave, it most certainly is and only those who
want to cast off that restraint and be open for whatever “comes through” in
these last days will see Frisbee as any kind of credible or actual parallel to
a biblical prophet.
One final concerning
statement by DiSabatino: “I think if you met Lonnie, you’d have probably
seen a very attractive part of Christianity, one that allowed a wide berth for
humanness.”
That “wide berth for
humanness” refers to Lonnie’s own deceived perception of ministry, teaching,
the gifts, and the engagement in homosexuality and the “humanness” is precisely
what we all need to be rid of through the power of Christ. Indeed, it was
nothing to be celebrated in Frisbee’s life because, ultimately, the “old man”
was the reason for the scandalous characteristics surrounding the life and
death of this hippy preacher.
I myself found this
documentary extremely interesting albeit sympathetic to Lonnie and other
homosexuals. Perhaps there is more info on the “Making of’ documentary that
needs to be shown but as far as can be told, there’s no reason to believe that
the powers he displayed were from God. Having said that, I cannot judge
someone’s salvation. I do not know where Lonnie was or is with Christ or
whether that is the case. I pray that he eventually repented for real and
entered Heaven via the same mercy and grace that all of us must lean on both
now and when we leave this earth. Until then, we must be vigilant watchmen, “Test
all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” – 1
Thessalonians 5:21,22.
Steve Mitchell www.powertostand.org powertostand@yahoo.com