- Lonnie Frisbee
Infobox Celebrity
name = Lonnie Frisbee
birth name = Lonnie Frisbee
caption = Lonnie Frisbee in the 1960s
birth_date = birth date|1949|06|06
birth_place = Costa Mesa,California , United States
nationality = American |
death_date = death date and age|1993|03|12|1949|06|06
death_place =
occupation = Evangelist
salary =
spouse = Connie (divorced in 1973)
networth =
website = [http://www.lonniefrisbee.com/ www.LonnieFrisbee.com]
footnotes =Lonnie Frisbee (6 June, 1949, Costa Mesa,
California – 12 March, 1993) was an AmericanPentecostal evangelist and self-described "seeingprophet " andmystic in the late 1960s and 1970s.cite web | last=Frisbee | first=Lonnie|url=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6833129779160574833 |title=Lonnie Frisbee ministering at Vineyard Church in Denver, CO; Senior Pastor Tom Stipe |accessdate=2007-05-18 ] Despite hishippie appearance and being acloseted gay man, Frisbee had notable success as a minister and evangelist.Contemporary accounts attributed his accomplishments to his incredible
anointing of theHoly Spirit . Frisbee was a key figure in theJesus Movement and eyewitness accounts of his ministry documented in the 2007 Emmy-nominated film "Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher" explain how Lonnie became the charismatic spark "igniting" the rise of two worldwide denominations (Chuck Smith'sCalvary Chapel and theVineyard Movement ). It was said that he was not "one of the hippie preachers", "there was one."cite web | last=Barkonsty | url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDOee1zkZis |title=teaser for the documentary FRISBEE: The Life & Death of a Hippie Preacher |accessdate=2007-05-18 ] cite web
last =Coker
first =Matt
title=Ears on Their Heads, But They Don’t Hear: Spreading the real message of Frisbee
publisher=Orange County Weekly
date=April 14, 2005
url =http://www.ocweekly.com/film/film/ears-on-their-heads-but-they-dont-hear/14935/
accessdate=2007-10-21]Frisbee, who functioned as an evangelical preacher also privately socialized as a gay man both before and during his evangelism career. This is held in tension with the fact that he said in interviews that he never believed homosexuality was anything other than a
sin in the eyes of God and both denominations prohibited gay sexual behavior. Both churches later disowned him because of his active homosexuality removing him first from leadership positions then, ultimately, firing him. As part of hisostracism from his former churches his work was maligned but he forgave those who tried to discredit him before his death fromAIDS in 1993.cite video | people = David di Sabatino | title = Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher | medium = Documentary movie | publisher =David Di Sabatino | location = United States | url=http://www.lonniefrisbee.com | date= 2001 ]Life
Early life
Frisbee was raised in a "broken home". At 15 he entered
Laguna Beach 'sgay underground scene with a friend.Early evangelism
Frisbee's unofficial
evangelism career began as a part of a soul-searching acid-trip as part of a regular "Turn on, tune in, drop out " session of getting high. On one pilgrimage with friends to Tahquitz Canyon outside Palm Springs instead of finding meaning again in mysticism and the occult Frisbee started reading theGospel of John to the group and eventually led the group to Tahquitz Falls and baptized them.Later Frisbee moved to San Francisco and was a student at the San Francisco Art Academy when he met members of the
Haight-Ashbury 'sLiving Room mission. At the time, he talked about UFOs and practicedhypnotism and spoke about dabbling in occult and mysticism.cite web | last=Bill (Wam957) |url= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvHSP3kT16A |title=The Son Worshipers, 30 minute documentary on the Jesus Movement circa 1971. Edited by Bob Cording and Weldon Hardenbrook. |accessdate=2007-05-18] When Christian missionaries first met him, they said he was talking about "Jesus and flying saucers".Frisbee soon converted to
Christianity and quit the art academy to move to the Christian communityLiving Room house inNovato , California, and later reconnected with his former girlfriend Connie whom he soon married. The community was soon dubbedThe House of Acts after the community of early Christians in theActs of the Apostles . Frisbee designed a sign to put outside the house, but was informed that if he gave it an official name, it would no longer be considered a mere guest house and would be subject to renovations. The community took the sign down to avoid the financial obligation.Fact|date=May 2007Jesus movement, Calvary Chapel
Frisbee and his wife had left the commune of the House of Acts to go to Southern California. Chuck Smith, meanwhile, had been making plans to build a chapel out of a surplus school building in the City of Santa Ana, near
Costa Mesa when he met Lonnie Frisbee. Lonnie and his wife Connie joined the fledglingCalvary Chapel congregation and Smith was struck by Lonnie's charisma, "I was not at all prepared for the love that this young man would radiate."cite book | last=Balmer | first=Randall |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=syUupeVJOz4C&pg=PP7&dq=%22lonnie+frisbee%22&sig=nrccuCxZmjrUvLduimFuR5i2uqA |title=The Encyclopedia of Evangelism, page 227 |accessdate=2007-05-18] Frisbee's attachment to thecharismatic Pentecostal style caused some disagreement within the church since he seemed focused more on gaining converts and experiencing the presence of theHoly Spirit than on teaching newer converts Biblical doctrine. Chuck Smith, however, took up that job and welcomed Frisbee into his church. Frisbee's appearance helped appeal to hippies and those interested in youth culture, and he believed that the youth culture would play a prominent role in the Christian movement in the United States. He cited Joel theprophet and remained upbeat despite what the young couple saw as unbalanced treatment as Frisbee was never paid for his work yet another person was hired full-time as Smith's assistant. Under Frisbee's ministry his most visible convert was evangelistGreg Laurie whom he mentored and has since gone on to establishHarvest Christian Fellowship , the eighth largest church in America with over 15,000 members.Frisbee became one the most important ministers in the church when on 17 May ,1968 Smith put the young couple in charge of the Costa Mesa
rehab house called "TheHouse of Miracles " with John Higgins and his wife Jackie, within a week it had 35 new converts. Lonnie led the Wednesday night Bible study which soon became the central night for the church attracting thousands.cite book | last=Balmer | first=Randall |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=syUupeVJOz4C&pg=PP7&dq=%22lonnie+frisbee%22&sig=nrccuCxZmjrUvLduimFuR5i2uqA |title=The Encyclopedia of Evangelism, page 227 |accessdate=2007-05-18]The House of Miracles grew into a series of nineteen communal houses that later migrated to
Oregon to formShiloh Youth Revival Centers , the largest and one of the longest lasting of the Jesus People communal groups which had 100,000 members and 175 communal houses spread acrossNorth America .cite book | last=Richardson | first=James T. |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=w4OH5LOOICIC&dq=%22Shiloh+House%22+communal&lr= |title=Regulating Religion: Case Studies from Around the Globe, (2004) Springer, ISBN 0306478870 |accessdate=2008-01-09] This may have been the largest Christian communal group in US history.Fame
"
Jesus Freaks " as they were often called, were documented in media including theKathryn Kuhlman "I Believe In Miracles" show where Frisbee was a featured guest talking about Jesus, prophets and quoting scripture.cite web | last=Bill (Wam957) |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0-r4XbTJrw |title=Jesus Freaks 4 (part of my collection of rad videos of early 70's Jesus freaks on the Kathryn Kuhlman show) |accessdate=2007-05-17 ] By 1971, theJesus Movement had broken in the media with major media outlets such as "Life", "Newsweek " and "Rolling Stone" covering it. Frisbee, due to his prominence in the movement, was frequently photographed and interviewed.It was also in 1971 that Frisbee and Smith parted ways because their ideological differences had become too great. Smith discounted
Pentecostal ism, maintaining thatlove was the greatest manifestation of theHoly Spirit while Frisbee was strongly involved in theology centering onspiritual gifts andNew Testament occurrences. Frisbee announced that he would leave California altogether and go to a movement inFlorida led byDerek Prince andBob Mumford which taught a pyramidshepherd ing style of leadership and was later coined as theShepherding Movement .Divorce
In 1973, the Frisbees divorced because Lonnie's pastor had an affair with Frisbee's wife. Frisbee mentions this in a sermon he gave at the Vineyard Church in Denver, Colorado a few years before he died.cite web |first=Erik|last=Jansson|url=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6833129779160574833 |title=Lonnie Frisbee ministering at Vineyard Church in Denver, CO|accessdate=2007-10-18 ] Connie later re-married. Lonnie left the organization.
Vineyard Movement
Meanwhile, in May 1977
John Wimber was laying the groundwork for what would become theAssociation of Vineyard Churches , also known as theVineyard Movement , he had witnessed the explosive growth of Calvary Chapel and sought to build a church that embraced the healings and miracles that he had previously been taught were no longer a part of Christian life. He began teaching and preaching about spiritual gifts and healings which did occur but it wasn't until May 1980 when Lonnie testified that thecharismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit took hold of the church.Lonnie was invited by
John Wimber to go to what was then aYorba Linda branch of the Calvary Chapel movement, to preach. Since his early days at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, Lonnie had made a shift in his emphasis from evangelism to the dramatic and demonstrative manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit. After speaking Lonnie invited all the young people 25 and under to come forward and invited theHoly Spirit to bring God's power into their lives. Witnesses say it looked like a battlefield as young people fell and began to shake and speak in tongues.cite book | last=David A. Roozen, James R. NiemanBalmer |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=sujGN-vRdYoC&pg=PA134&ots=6AsoE1ObRz&dq=%22lonnie+frisbee%22&sig=5DcZacfPeWjm2qgapdjUtWMGamA#PPA134,M1 |title=Church, Identity, and Change: Theology and Denominational Structures in Unsettled Times - Page 134 |accessdate=2007-05-18] The young kids, many in Junior High and High School, were so "filled with the Spirit" that they soon started baptizing friends inJacuzzi s and swimming pools around town. The church catapulted in growth over the next few months and the event is credited with launching the Vineyard Movement.cite book | last=Jackson | first=Bill |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=sujGN-vRdYoC&pg=PA134&ots=6AsoE1ObRz&dq=%22lonnie+frisbee%22&sig=5DcZacfPeWjm2qgapdjUtWMGamA#PPA132,M1 |title=A Short History of the Association of Vineyard Churches |accessdate=2007-05-18]After this time, Frisbee and Wimber began traveling the world, going to such places as
South Africa andEurope ; Frisbee being a much sought-after preacher with his "Jesus -like" look getting him instant recognition fromSouth Africa toDenmark . While there, they claimed to have performed many healings and miracles for people.Fact|date=April 2007 As reported by many who were there, Frisbee was integral to the development of what would become Wimber's "Signs and Wonders theology".Homosexuality revealed
Although Lonnie's homosexuality was documented as a "bit of an open secret in the church community" and he would "party" on Saturday night then preach Sunday morning many in the church were unaware.cite web | last=Barkonsty|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipvvaPRmqsE |title=trailer for documentary FRISBEE|accessdate=2007-05-18 ] Eventually some church officials felt that his inability to overcome what the church considers sexual immorality became too big of a hindrance to his ability to minister.
In "
The Orange County Weekly " article "The First Jesus Freak," which chronicles Frisbee's life, Matt Coker writes, "Chuck Smith Jr. says he was having lunch with Wimber one day when he asked how the pastor reconciled working with a knownhomosexual like Frisbee. Wimber asked how the younger Smith knew this. Smith said he’d received a call from a pastor who’d just heard a young man confess to having been in a six-month relationship with Frisbee. Wimber called Smith the next day to say he’d confronted Frisbee, who openly admitted to the affair and agreed to leave."Coker, Matt. [http://www.ocweekly.com/features/features/the-first-jesus-freak/19081/?page=1 "The First Jesus Freak"] . "OC Weekly ", March 3, 2005. Retrieved on May 17, 2007.]In a 2005 interview by "
Christianity Today " film reviewer Peter Chattaway with David Di Sabatino, the documentary director of "Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher", the two spoke about addressing Lonnie's homosexuality with his family. Said Di Sabatino, "I brought to light some things that not a lot of people knew. I've been in rooms with his family where I've had to tell them that he defined himself as gay, way back. Nobody knew that. There's a lot of hubris in that, to come to people who loved him and prayed for him, and to stand there and say, "You didn't really know this, but..."cite web | last=Chattaway | first=Peter |url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/interviews/daviddisabatino.html |title=Documentary of a Hippie Preacher |accessdate=2007-05-17 ] In the same interview Di Sabatino also stated, "His early testimony at Calvary Chapel was that he had come out of the homosexual lifestyle, but he felt like aleper because a lot of people turned away from him after that, so he took it out of his testimony—and I think that's an indictment of the church."cite web | last=Chattaway | first=Peter|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/interviews/daviddisabatino.html |title=Documentary of a Hippie Preacher |accessdate=2007-05-17 ] Di Sabatino commented on Frisbee's homosexuality as a flaw and stated that Frisbee's brother claimed Frisbee was raped at the age of 8 years old and postulated that an incident of that nature "fragments your identity, and now I can't say that I'm surprised at all." In other research Di Sabatino revealed that Frisbee had come from a broken home and entered intoLaguna Beach 'sgay underground scene with a friend when he was fifteen.Death
Frisbee contracted
AIDS and died from complications associated with the condition. At his funeral, Calvary Chapel's Chuck Smith eulogized Frisbee as aSamson -like figure; that being a man through whom God did many great works, but was the victim of his own struggles and temptations.cite web | |url=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5904960697485300854 |title=Video of Lonnie Frisbee Memorial Service at Crystal Cathedral, Chuck Smith, Phil Aguilar and guests...|accessdate=2007-05-18] Some saw this as further maligning Frisbee's work and an inappropriate characterization at a funeral service."Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher"
Jim Palosaari narrated "Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher" and the documentary received anEmmy Award nomination from the National Television Academy of Arts and Sciences (San Francisco/NorCal chapter).Finished in March 2005, Frisbee was first accepted to the Newport Beach Film Festival where it sold out the
Lido Theater not far from where in the late 1960s the Frisbees ran the Blue Top commune, a Christian community of younghippie believers. The documentary was also accepted to the Mill Valley (2005), Reel Heart (2005), Ragamuffin (2005), San Francisco International Independent (2006), New York Underground (2006) and Philadelphia Gay & Lesbian (2006) film festivals. The edited movie showed on San Francisco's KQED in November 2006, and was released in DVD form in January 2007.
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