It's sad that what the Lord did in a small group called Calvary Chapel over 30 years ago, he couldn't do now, as Lonnie and those like him not only would not be permitted to speak or minister in the church but would be promptly escorted out.

We have traded the Holy Spirit for comfort and familiarity, we have become Father Son and Holy Scripture. Calvary Chapels sadly are now ruled by nepotism, Simony, and "who you know", and by "who you know" I don't mean "Jesus", every pastor now has to be connected by blood, or by an old network of familiar faces, an old boys network. In one particular case a young Calvary Chapel pastor is married to another mega church's pastor's daughter, so he is given a senior pastoret in an established smaller Calvary Chapel, and the previous pastor comes to the mega church where he is now allowed from time to time and in the absence of the Senior pastor to preach to the thousands that attend this mega church, a small price to pay... it has become an employment agency for the extended family....It has been said, "it seems that every move of God begins with one man, and then it becomes a movement and finally a monument," well even though they try to erase him from memory, and sweep him under the rug of history, yet for better or worse "that man" that God used was Lonnie Frisbee, and the movement that God used him to beget has now become a monument....Calvary Chapel and the Vineyard's revisionist history is very different than how the Bible portrays the men God used in the Bible, men who were frail, faulted and struggling with sin, but we enjoyed their gifts, we used their calling and were amazed at their anointing, and when we got what we wanted, in the case of Calvary Chapels a movement with thousands of churches then we threw them away, threw away the spark, the catalyst, and the man God used into the darkness.

Men like Lonnie Frisbee come into our midst very seldom, maybe once in a lifetime to bring a fresh touch from God! and yet who was there for Lonnie when he needed help and understanding, who was there to lift him up rather than condemn him, "for when you do it to the least of these, you've done it unto me!" Calvary Chapel, Chuck Smith, Gregg Laurie, shame on you....and thank God for the man that God used, because of Jesus working through that man you are where you are today!

DANIEL:

What about saying:

“Larry Norman was my father” and because of him, I’m in this world, and God does work all things for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose, why give way to bitterness and rancor, though you may feel totally justified.

Who else was abandoned and forgotten, and not only abandoned and forgotten but betrayed and sold to the enemy by his own brothers, and yet the scripture “When your father and mother forsake you, then the Lord will lift you up” became a reality for him, for his heart was only full of love and forgiveness for those who hurt him, that when they feared his retribution, with tears in his eyes all he could say, was, how could you even think that I could hurt you, for what you meant for evil, God has used for good!

Let go of your bitterness and anger, and let the Lord take you up in his wings of healing and restoration and unfold the plan and path he has for your life, “a plan for good not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.”

Larry Norman’s book is already written and it’s a mixed bag with mistakes and triumphs, sin and forgiveness, defeat and victory, great achievements and great shortcomings, and all he did will be put to the test and tried as if by fire, and all shall be revealed.  But your book my young friend is still being written let the Lord’s guiding hand wipe away your tears and assure you that He is your true father, and you are his poema, His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, forgetting that which is behind go forth towards that which he has set before you….but let go of the past and forgiving those who have wronged you, you will in turn experience his forgiveness and power!

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God will ultimately judge all our works, "you look upon a woman with lust in your heart and you are guilty of adultery".

Have you been subjected to the same pressures and temptations, have you been heartbroken by your marriage ending causing such unimaginable pain and sorrow that you become vulnerable to the weakness of the flesh. Have you cried out to God for forgiveness and restoration, and knowing he has forgiven you, you realize other won't.....

Larry Norman was human after all.

As human as Solomon who in his weakness gave in to foreign women that ultimately brought his demise, but do we throw away the Song of Solomon or Proverbs, no, because God's calling and gifts are without repentance. Larry's sin is not unique to human frailty, but I don't blame Larry alone for his innability to come to grips with the consequences of his sin, but it is to be laid at the doorstep of the church, that even though God is forgiving and merciful, his church isn't, as evidenced by the pulling of Sandi Patti's albums from shelves and the boycotting of Amy Grant's albums, and the churches response to countless others who have fallen, yes the church has its own list of unpardonable sins, thus the church forces Christian artists or ministers who want to continue with a carreer or ministry to put up a wall of pretense and silence, and church becomes the place where masks are worn and where everyone has to pretend to be perfect.  In today's church Peter never could have continued with a ministry feeding God's sheep. So many fallen soldiers are trampled by selfrighteous pharisees, instead of giving a true hand of forgiveness, assistance and restoration!