I am currently writing a reflection on the importance of rejection in the Christian Story and how we as Christians have become the biggest rejecters instead of rejectees so to speak. A classic example of this is Lonnie Frisbee (pictured above) who was rejected out of the Histories of the Vineyard and Calvary chapel movements he helped start. See below for more info
Imagine if John the Baptist came of age during the 1960s counter culture, the charisma of Jim Morrison flowing from the mantle of an Old Testament prophet. Meet Lonnie Frisbee, a seeker turned Jesus freak evangelist who compelled thousands towards a profession of Christian faith. It was during a trip into a canyon that Frisbee claimed that God gave him a vision of his future as an influential evangelist to the hippie generation.
Four years later the vision would be fulfilled as pictures of Lonnie baptizing teenage converts were splashed across the pages of Time and Life magazines forever celebrating him as an icon of the Jesus movement.
Despite the stories of spiritual prowess that surround his life, his enduring struggles overwhelmed him. And even though he was the charismatic sparkplug igniting the rise of two worldwide denominations (Calvary Chapel & Vineyard), his name has all but been removed from their histories. Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher is the powerful story revealing the risk-taking nature of God, aligning himself with the most unlikely of characters as if to send out the message (yet again) that everyone is invited to participate. www.lonniefrisbee.com
Talking of Institutional Church Short Memory Syndrome. Oral Roberts University website managed to delete all mention of one of there most famous students within hours of him beginning to experiance some difficult times (I am meaning Ted Haggard here). It is great to see your old mates sticking by you through thick and thin. See the commentary on selective Haggard editing at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leOnaJqDOXo
