“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” – 2 Corinthians 4:7

Much like when I investigated the controversy surrounding Smith Wigglesworth, there is some contention surrounding the ministry of Lonnie Frisbee. The movie Jesus Revolution could not address the full scope and power of his ministry. In addition, it does not address the stigma that almost had him erased from the recorded history of the Jesus revolution movement(s).

Lonnie Frisbee – Saintly Relentless Pursuer of God or Serial Sinner & False Prophet?
The person of Lonnie Frisbee and how God used him has intrigued me for decades. As mentioned in my previous post, we had some small contact with him but his life and ministry had a pivotal impact on our lives. Over the last few decades, I have read and watched everything that has become available about his life. Based upon his personal testimony and the testimony of those closest to him, I provide the following thoughts:

The Catalyst

Lonnie Frisbee was the catalyst God used to instigate and stir up several powerful moves of God – starting in California and moving across the country and across many parts of the Globe. He moved powerfully in the sign gifts of the Spirit. Yet, by his own testimony, he was a deeply damaged individual from the corruption of this world – experiencing mental, physical, and sexual abuse at a young age. Then the hippie drug culture of free sex led him into sexual encounters with both sexes. This sin was initially part of his testimony of what God had rescued him from but he was asked to remove it by church leaders as it was considered too controversial at the time.

However, a growing awareness of this as part of his past led to claims of Lonnie being a homosexual. The damage that led to his acting out in this way was ignored. Then when he confided in fellow church staff that he struggled with this, the confidence was broken and rumors began to spread. Those rumors plagued him throughout much of his later life, likely leading to further episodes of sin which led to his death from AIDS in 1993.

Lonnie always denied that he had ever embraced the homosexual lifestyle and always preached on its sinfulness.
Make no mistake, Lonnie’s dedication to acting on and being led by the Holy Spirit meant that He was a challenge to control for church leaders who rely more heavily upon and were more comfortable with 1 Corinthians 14:40, “Let all things be done decently and in order.” That meant for Lonnie, a repeated experience of being rejected by the father figures in his life.

Whatever encounters he had with the same sex was a response to his emotional woundedness that up until a few years before the end of his life, he had not fully addressed. The same churches that built their ministries on what God did through Lonnie failed to be there for him and even pushed him out. Very sad.

To be fair, these ministries and leaders were dealing with huge movements that demanded every moment of their time and attention. Their ability to focus on any one issue that they were likely not equipped to handle particularly, based on the social stigma of this issue at that time was very limited. There is evidence that some leaders tried to step in to help provide healing for Lonnie. Either the attempt was misguided or rejected by Lonnie as what he saw as another effort to remove him from ministry and abandonment. At some point, Lonnie became very leery and jaded with anyone’s attempt to correct or minister to him.

Yet, even with today’s “enlightened” society, we find that even in some of the most blessed and Spirit-filled ministries there are deeply emotional and psychological wounds that go unattended. As Christians, we say to those who are damaged, “Just Pray!”, “Just put it behind you and move on!”, “Just be more Spiritual!” and the damage is never truly healed. We often assume with our brethren there is complete healing at the point of “salvation”. But, that which we assumed has been healed has only been hidden.

REMEMBER TO FORGET
Back in January of 2021, I posted a study of one of my favorite sections of scripture found in Philippians 3:12-14 where Paul says that the one thing he does is forgetting – “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

What I did not really address is that in some cases, one of the elements of forgetting is actually remembering. We must open up the locked doors of our lives to let Jesus come in to do the required surgery. (Matthew 10:34, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.) Often opening up these dark places cannot be done on our own but with help from those skilled and gifted to assist in opening those doors for deeper healing. In the late 1980’s after his anger and resentment drove all he loved and ministered with away, Lonnie finally had a Christian counselor by the name of Rich Buhler who, along with other counselors, provided healing and the capacity to forgive opening the door for a revival in his life and ministry. Buhler wrote this in Part 3 of Lonnie’s autobiography (Not By Might Nor By Power: Set Free):
“As Christians, when we are pretending about this pain, we’ve sealed it off. We’ve sealed it into a container in our lives and don’t want to look at it. We don’t even want to know it’s there. We’ve not allowed Christ to enter that place, so we’ve prevented the gospel from happening in that broken part of our lives. People sometimes ask me, “Isn’t Christ enough? Isn’t the gospel enough? Isn’t Scripture enough?” The answer is yes. But if we have sealed off an entire portion—and really, the foundation of our lives—from the power of Scripture and the Holy Spirit, then we’ve not benefited from his power in those broken places. That’s why I call a good recovery almost like being evangelized all over again. It’s taking the gospel to a portion of my life that I have never applied it to before.”

What Does It Mean to BE Gay from a Christian Perspective?
I hear professional Christian Critique’ers – those who position themselves as “defenders of the faith” who hold to certain theological/doctrinal beliefs and opinions but tear down other Christians who hold different legitimate and Biblically defensible opinions, declaring the rumors that Lonnie was Gay to be the actual truth. How can that be true? I thought most Christians believed that no one is born a homosexual and that it is a perversion put upon by the enemy of this world? Then how can Lonnie be declared a “Homosexual?” It is a matter of same-sex attraction and living homosexuality as a lifestyle. There is no one I can find who testifies that Lonnie lived a gay lifestyle – only to the rumors.

Lonnie denied living this lifestyle and repeatedly acknowledged it as a sin and admitted his own sin. And those who were closest to Lonnie, many being long-time roommates and even his ex-wife (all solid Christians) deny that he was ever actively living a gay lifestyle as a Christian.

In a documentary video about Lonnie, several people made the claim that Lonnie was gay. Based on their testimony, I assumed this to be true. In the video, Kenn Gulliksen – A Pastor at Calvary Chapel, founder of The Vineyard Fellowship, and longtime friend of Lonnie Frisbee added to the claims by indicating that Lonnie was gay.

Now, after reading the 3 autobiographies chock-full of solid Christians who knew and lived with Lonnie for years, saying there was no indication that he lived this lifestyle. Kenn Gulliksen, himself testifies in Not By Might Nor By Power: Set Free with the following statement:
“In his own brokenness, Lonnie did sin (as we all do)—where he had unresolved wounds. But for those who hear and believe rumors, Lonnie was not a homosexual. I repent over perpetuating that lie. In a so-called Christian documentary, I was asked if Lonnie was a homosexual and answered “yes” due to false information that I was given from some church leaders. A great lesson is that in Christ we still sin, but we are no longer sinners by nature.”

So, was Lonnie’s contracting AIDS due to leading a homosexual lifestyle?
Accepting that what Lonnie and others closest to him claim that he never lived the homosexual lifestyle is true, we ultimately do not know the full extent of this sin in his life. As far as I can tell, there is no certainty as to when Lonnie contracted HIV/AIDS. More than likely it was during a 2-year period in the late 80s when Lonnie had backslidden, was living alone in a rough part of San Diego, and likely entered into this sin. Then when Lonnie started to come out of this period and began to be healed and restored, he claimed that on two different occasions, he was targeted and overpowered by sick men who trapped and raped him. Do we really need to know any more about this part of his story?

Do we have examples of heroes of the faith who failed in their flesh? The Bible and Church history is filled with them. Even Paul wrote in his letter to Romans 7:15-24, “For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do . . . For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice . . . O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

What about the Signs and Wonders? Does it always Accompany the Move of God?
Some in the Christian community do not believe Sign Gifts are for today and if they are practiced it invalidates the ministry. So they question the validity of Lonnie Frisbee’s ministry and of the movement. Yet, there is no denying the well-documented incredible Signs and Wonders that were often a part of Lonnie’s ministry experience, led thousands to see the reality of God and enter into a right relationship with God. God has used Signs and Wonders in many past significant movements of God and continues to do so. (the Asbury Revival)

However, I do find it really fascinating that when Lonnie began the process of deep healing he was led to a powerful ministry, not to be in ministry but to be ministered to. Lonnie, who God had used to do great and miraculous things, in the late 80’s early 90s ended up at Set Free, a church worshipping with hip hop and rap music, filled with bikers, ex-cons, and rough characters. This church experienced dramatic growth without the reliance on powerful Signs and Wonders. Their ministry was referred to as the “Biker church” – drawing in the hard edge of society. While the expression of their worship reflected this edgy culture, their theology was very conservative and relied upon imitating the sacrificial love of Christ with little emphasis on exercising the Sign Gifts of the Spirit. It was there that Lonnie was loved on and restored and even where most of his family came to follow Christ.

I would say that the lynchpin to any movement of God is that it is a powerful expression of God’s love. No clanging cymbals just pure love. How God chooses to reveal His love is up to God.

Did Lonnie’s Life have a Happy Ending?
Some would describe Lonnie’s life as a tragedy with a sad ending. There is no doubt that sin is tragic and leads to tragic consequences. In the end, Lonnie accepted and admitted that fact. He sought forgiveness, was forgiven, and rested in peace. In spite of the tragic beginning to his life, God saw the deep desire in his heart and turned what was meant to destroy him, blessed Lonnie, and glorify God.

Happy ending? That all depends on what you call a happy ending. Having been used to dramatically impact the world for God’s Kingdom, seen God work in miraculous ways, experienced the deep intimacy of God’s loving grace, fallen to sin and then forgiven to ultimately declare God’s goodness, and in the end, to go home to be with God in glory. A portion of his life was tragic but not a happy ending?

I’ll always have a soft spot for Lonnie Frisbee. He is part of my spiritual roots that led to me and my Wife’s salvation and by extension has impacted and continues to impact many for Christ.

EMPTIED

In my book, Emptied, I make the case that Jesus, the Son of God, chose to empty himself of His power and prestige to walk the earth fully as a man by the guidance of the Father and under the power of the Holy Spirit. In his humanity, He is our perfect example to follow. Some Christians believe that there are limits to how fully we can imitate Christ. We may limit ourselves but I believe that God does not limit us as to how far we can imitate Christ in his humanity.

Lonnie believed there were no limits and even in his brokenness, he lived His life striving to be the fullest imitation of Jesus possible. Very few Christians that I know of or am aware of strive to imitate Christ in the ways Lonnie Frisbee did. Those closest to him testify that ministering with Lonnie was enthralling and even scary. Scary, for his determination to follow the Father’s will and act upon the leading of the Holy Spirit – doing what the Father showed Him to do and saying what the Father told him to say. As far as I can tell that produces powerful results but not necessarily an easy life.

I honor the life of Lonnie Frisbee for being something like the Apostle Paul who even as he wrestled with failing to always do that which was right, could boldly proclaim as in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”

Lonnie’s life is a testimony of what God can do with a broken vessel exercising his faith to the fullest of God’s provision. Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

I choose to thank God for Lonnie Frisbee and believe the man deserves his due as it says in Proverbs 3:27 – “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. If you have the power to do good, do it as unto the Lord. God bless and do tell the Lord thank you.”

For Lonnie Frisbee I say – Thank You, Lord!