The Disciples in the Pacific Southwest Region: The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), 1959–2009

By Edwin C. Linberg

The life and ministry of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in The Pacific Southwest Region from 1955 into 2009 is chronicled in this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Nov 20, 2009
• ISBN: 9781440170867

Edwin C. Linberg

Dr. Ed Linberg is a native Californian and life-long Disciple. He grew up in the Bethany Christian Church of Pasadena, now part of the Pasadena Christian Church following their merger in 1968. He is a 1957 graduate of Transylvania University. He was awarded both the B.D. and the Th.M degrees by Lexington Theological Seminary in 1961 and 1964 respectively. He was ordained on July 23, 1961 at his home church in Pasadena. He received the D. Min. degree from the Claremont School of Theology in 1975. He has served Disciples' congregations in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, Los Angeles, Temple City, Mission Viejo/Laguna Niguel in California, and Hutchinson, Kansas. He served as Moderator of the Regional Church during the 1977-78 biennium. He currently serves First Christian Church, Fullerton, California, as its part-time Associate Pastor. He and Mariette, his wife of nearly 52 years, are the parents of two daughters, Catherine of Reston, Virginia and Marti of La Crescenta, California. They have three grandchildren: Eric, age 17; Jenna, age 14 and Greg, age 13.

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The Disciples

in the

Pacific Southwest Region

Edwin C. Linberg

iUniverse, Inc.

New York Bloomington

The Disciples in the Pacific Southwest Region

Copyright © 2009 Edwin C. Linberg

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ISBN: 978-1-4401-7085-0 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-4401-7086-7 (ebook)

iUniverse rev. date: 11/18/09

Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

Dedication

Chapter One:

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Preface and Acknowledgments

The impetus for this book was a brief visit in September of 2001 to what was the Bethany Christian Church in Pasadena, California. It is now Morningstar Baptist Church. While there, the Associate Pastor showed me Bethany’s cornerstone, which was leaning against a wall. He said: We don’t know anything about the church that was here before us. I shared some information about Bethany and sent him what Clifford Cole had written about Bethany in his book: The Christian Churches of Southern California. A couple of weeks later I was riding with Don Reisinger to Bill Terbeek’s Memorial Service. I related the details of my visit to Bethany and said: Cole’s book is over forty years old, someone ought to update our region’s history. To which he replied: You’re right and I think you are the person to do that job. After thinking about it, I decided to tackle the project.

Don and the late Lester McAlister met with me to talk about the project. Don said I’d need about $10,000 to publish this book. He agreed to help raise the needed funds. To back up his word he and his wife, Marge, gave a generous gift. Later, a large gift came from the estate of Lucia Gregg, a long-time resident of CCH and a member of Temple City Christian Church. She assigned the portion of her estate earmarked for Disciples’ work to the Temple City Christian Women’s Fellowship. They designated $2,000 for this project. I am especially grateful that DSF agreed to receive and handle all of the funds. Mary Anne Parrott, Disciples Seminary Foundation President from 2000 to 2009, oversaw the finances, with assistance from Lori Ruff-Schmalenberger.

Don and Lester described the research materials I’d need: regional publications, minutes of board and committee meetings and any other printed resources I could locate. They also suggested that I interview people who were part of the region’s ministry since the mid-1950s. I put out the word that I was looking for printed records about the region’s ministry going back to the mid-50s. I conducted interviews with forty-two different people during 2002 and 2003. Dan Oliver, then Director of Church Relations for Chapman University, lined up a Disciples student, Amber Dixson, to videotape the interviews using their camera. Sara Laroche, another Disciples student, videotaped a few interviews when Amber was unavailable. After Amber graduated, Rod Parrott videotaped the remaining interviews.

I am most grateful to everyone I interviewed, especially to all of the former Regional Ministers: Charles Malotte, Peggy Owen Clark, and John Wolfersberger, plus Don Shelton. Many thanks as well to others who served on the Regional Staff.

In 2004 Mariette and I went to the Disciples of Christ Historical Society in Nashville, Tennessee. We spent two days reviewing their records from the region. I was assisted by then-President, Peter Morgan, his wife, Lynn, and, especially by Sara Harwell, Archivist.

Once the interviews were completed, the taped material needed to be put into print for ease of use in writing. After exploring options for doing this task, I was talking with Marta Carroll about it. She volunteered to transcribe the interviews. In addition, she knew two men in the North Hollywood congregation whom she believed could transfer the interviews from videotape to disks: Karl Klein and John Fuller. After they transferred the interviews, Marta began transcribing them. It took more than a year for her to complete this task. Words are inadequate to express my gratitude to Marta.

I am indebted to Mary Anne Parrott for access to materials in DSF’s Cole Library. This included copies of regional periodicals going back to the 50s, such as The Unified Informer, Direction, and New Directions, plus copies of the annual Year Book & Directory of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and copies of the Program Books from Area Assemblies, Regional Assemblies, and State Conventions. She also loaned me Regional Board minutes from DSF files. The family of the late Ernie Chapman gave me his files about the regional church after his death. Dwaine Cerbin, former pastor in this region now retired in Arizona, sent me two boxes of files and correspondence he had from Jim Parrott’s ministry. Audrey Anderson gave me the files she’d accumulated from her years of service. A host of clergy and laity provided me with important documents and pieces of information as I wrote and rewrote.

As originally planned the book was going to have a series of appendices about the units in the region. However, as its length expanded, it was decided that this material would be put on the Regional Church’s website. I was aided by the following persons, who wrote most of the material for the appendices: Rex Hopper, Bethany Towers; James Stricker and Judy Thorndyke, California Christian Home; Dean Echols, Chapman University; and, Larry Hixon, Eastmont Community Center. Saundra Bryant provided information concerning All Peoples Christian Center, while Don Reisinger, Mary Anne and Rod Parrott did the same concerning DSF. David Downing provided the material about Gay and Lesbian Affirming Disciples (GLAD), an organization newly related to the region. Clarice Friedline wrote the section on Women’s Ministries for the final chapter.

As the book was being edited many persons read parts of it and made helpful suggestions for changes. These include: Bill and Mary Kay Backstrom, the late Lester McAlister, Rod and Mary Anne Parrott, Dave Petteway, Don Reisinger, the late Ken Scovill, and Don Shelton. However, the most significant help in the editing process came from our daughter, Catherine. A former senior production project manager for Thomson/Wadsworth Publishing, upon learning of my plan to write this book she said, Daddy, when you’re ready, I’ll do the copyediting. She kept her word, although at times I’ve wondered if she regretted making such a promise. Her work, in addition to saving the cost of the editing, was monumental. She asked hundreds upon hundreds of questions about what I’d written, especially the endnotes, and made innumerable suggestions for improving my work. Thanks, again and again, Cathy! Her husband, Mike Blanpied, gave her substantial assistance in handling the myriad electronic files we used through the years.

Late in the project, I asked David Styffe, a photographer and graphic artist from the Fullerton congregation to take pictures for the book. We spent a great day together traveling from Fullerton to Orange, Lynwood, East and Central Los Angeles, Hollywood, Altadena, and Claremont before returning to Fullerton so he could take pictures. Just before the manuscript went to the publisher, he also scanned pictures of all of our Regional Ministers for inclusion in the book.

Mary Kay Backstrom, Marta Carroll, Lindy Scott, and Bruce Indermill have been most helpful by responding to my inquiries and requests for materials from the Regional Office.

I appreciate the assistance of Don Dewey and Susan Gonzales Dewey in arranging for the services of Kay Gustafson, Attorney-at-Law, to check out legal issues. She provided most helpful counsel.

More than other any person, Mariette has supported me throughout the seven-plus years it took to complete a project I originally assumed could be done in four years. She’s put up with innumerable requests for just a few more minutes when a meal was ready, or when it was time to go somewhere, so I could write a few more sentences. The room that houses the computer used to write this book has been stacked with papers, program books, files of minutes, notebooks, and much more junk for much too long. There’s also been a host of file boxes sitting in the middle of the garage during most of these years. She’s consistently overlooked the mess. When I’ve been unable to find things using my own orderly filing system, she’s calmed me down and patiently helped me to find the item for which I was looking.

I’m certain there are mistakes in these pages, even though I did everything I could to avoid any inaccuracies. I take responsibility for the mistakes. Updating the history of our region has been a labor of love. I trust you, the reader, will enjoy reading this book and have a greater understanding of and appreciation for the ministry of the Pacific Southwest Region.

Ed Linberg

August 2009

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my wife, Mariette, with gratitude for the wonderful journey we have shared as partners in ministry for more than fifty-one years.

I also dedicate it to the host of women and men who’ve partnered with each other and me in the ministry of the PSW Region.

Chapter One:

Transition at Mid-Century

Introduction

At the close of his book, The Christian Churches of Southern California—A History, published in 1959, Dr. Clifford A. Cole, made this observation:

We are encouraged to believe, by comparison with other years, that the position of the Disciples of Christ is much stronger and more promising than ever before in its history of fourscore years, as glorious as those years have been. The West Coast, and Southern California particularly, constitutes the last frontier of the American trek westward, and the future holds in its destiny what promises to be the strongest sector of the national and religious life of America.¹

The West Coast, especially California, has probably exceeded all of Cole’s wildest dreams about the future when he wrote these sentences. For example, if California were a separate nation, its economy would rank in the top ten of all nations around the world. Its political clout is considerable, measured in part by having the largest delegation of any state in the U.S. House of Representatives. Further, it is has long been proclaimed things happen first in California and then move across the nation. This has been demonstrated repeatedly. Trends in diet and nutrition, clothing styles, fast-food restaurants, and leisure activities, for example, are frequently born in California and migrate to the East Coast. On the religious front, California—and Southern California in particular—has been in the forefront of the mega-church movement across the nation. The Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove and the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest have long been recognized as models for ministry and church growth. Classes and seminars led by their respective pastors, Dr. Robert Schuller and Rick Warren, have drawn crowds of pastors and church leaders who want to replicate their success in the communities in which they minister.

Although the Disciples of Christ have made a mark on the southern part of California—not to overlook the Las Vegas area in Nevada and the Hawaiian Islands—Cole might be disappointed with what the Disciples have become since the 1950s, when he saw such promise for us. Then again, if he was aware of the cultural and political upheavals through which we Disciples have passed since then, he might well understand who we are in these, the early years of the 21st century. This book will attempt to describe these changes in some detail and chronicle how the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of the Pacific Southwest Region, which is the successor organization to the one Dr. Cole served, responded to them.

Clifford Cole Steps Down—and Looks Ahead

Giving an overview of his nearly eighteen-year tenure in the role of State Secretary, Cole wrote this regarding himself:

His occupancy of the position of State Secretary . . . saw many changes in the operation of the Society and in its organizational formulation. The unifying of all the departments of the co-operative program of the churches was effected, making the State Secretary the General Administrator of the activities of the several departments as well as the State Society. . . ."²

In the latter part of his tenure, Cole provided leadership to deal with the greatest challenge the Disciples of Christ faced during the Cole years. It was the development of a concerted effort to establish new congregations in Southern California in response to the region’s significant growth before and (especially) after World War II. That program was known as Mid-Century Church Extension. The growth of Southern California presented a major challenge to the Disciples of Christ, and all other denominations. It caused Cole to observe thus:

We suppose that in no era of the history of mankind has there been anywhere as wide and intensive a transformation of a sizeable geographic area than was experienced in the ten counties that constitute Southern California within the two decades beginning with 1940. . . . It has been stated with authority that, of all the [homes built] in the United States in the year 1950, 10% were within twenty-five miles of the city hall of Los Angeles. The 1950 federal census shows that Southern California had a population of 5,864,457—an increase from 1940 of 2,023,993.³

Commenting further about this growth—primarily for the Disciples of Christ, Cole wrote:

The increase of that decade was larger than the entire population of Kansas or Nebraska, and the entire population was greater than the combined population of those two states plus that of Oklahoma. These typical states had more than 1,150 Christian Churches, whereas Southern California had but 152 at the time.⁴

Moving beyond 1950, Cole added this comment:

From 1950 to 1958 the growth has been just as phenomenal. The average increase of population for these eight years approximated 350,000 per year, or the equivalent of twenty-five cities of 14,000 annually. . . . The great question that faced the Disciples of Christ as well as other religious bodies was Who will furnish these new citizens with churches and Sunday Schools?⁵

Mid-Century Church Extension Aims to Start New Churches

By 1948 it was obvious that the old way of establishing churches would not keep up with this amazing growth. Cole and others were convinced something had to be done. In response, the State Board adopted a plan called Mid-Century Church Extension. With approval of the State Convention and the Commission on Budgets and Promotional Relationships of the International Convention of the Disciples of Christ (Christian Churches) the plan was approved and set in motion in 1951. Initially it was approved for a four-year period and then extended for an additional three years.⁶

Mid-Century Church Extension called upon the churches to give over and above their usual contributions the combined sum of $100,000 per year. These funds were to be used for the purchase of potential sites for the establishment of churches and the erection of initial units on the property. These units included a chapel for worship and an educational building. The goal was to start two or three new churches a year in the many new communities that were being developed in Southern California. The program fell short of its ambitious goals. On average, little more than $60,000 was raised annually over the seven years of the program. Thirteen new churches were established at a total cost of $650,000. By 1958 these thirteen churches had a combined membership of 3,500, with Sunday School enrollment standing close to 4,500.⁷ Cole’s vision was only partly realized. So committed was he to this vision that upon resigning as State Secretary in 1956, he took on the responsibility of serving as Director of Mid-Century Church Extension until he retired from ministry in 1957.

In a letter to the State Board, dated May 14, 1957, Cole tendered his resignation. He wrote:

It has been my purpose for several months to relinquish my staff connection with the State Society this coming Summer. I am therefore announcing my decision to resign as Director of Mid-Century Church Extension as of September 1, 1957, completing at that time nineteen years of leadership as State Secretary and Director of Mid-Century.⁸

Cole continued:

I think you should know some of the reasons leading to this decision. 1.) You have been aware that Mrs. Cole has for several months been hospitalized and is now recuperating . . . It is evident that I must now be closer to home when she returns than daily employment will permit me to be. . . . 2.) While there has been an unusually congenial relationship between predecessors and successor, I feel that Mr. Parrott might be less embarrassed or hampered in any program he proposes or launches without my presence as predecessor on the staff. . . . 3.) Many times during the years I have been urged by what seemed to be well-meaning people of our Christian Churches in Southern California [to write a history of our churches in this region]. We have been making history for three-quarters of a century but no one seems to have had time to write about it. I have found it impossible to even start the task. . . . I am not at all sure that I have the ability to do it, but it is my aim to try a hand at it.⁹

Cole fulfilled his intention to write the book mentioned in his letter of resignation. His work, The Christian Churches of Southern California—A History, was published in 1959.

Cole’s Successor: James Parrott

Photo1_James_Parrott.tiff

Following Cole’s resignation, the Reverend James Parrott, Pastor of First Christian Church, San Bernardino, California, for the nine previous years was called to succeed him. Parrott began his service as Executive Secretary of the Southern California Christian Missionary Society in March 1956. Commenting about Parrott’s work in the State Society prior to his becoming Executive Secretary, Cole wrote the following: Mr. Parrott had held positions on national commissions . . . and was active in various assignments for the State Society. He served as President of the State Convention in 1952.¹⁰

Although Parrott had served a brief time when Cole published his history, he described his successor’s brief ministry as follows:

Since coming into the leadership of the State Society he has given much thought and zeal in making its work more effective and closer related to the local church. District responsibility for making state work more effective has been a major accomplishment. District Presidents have been placed on the State Board and have been charged with planning and executing the programs of work. His program of putting as many people to work as is possible widens responsibilities and enlists the interests of ministers and laymen.

One of the physical achievements has been the development of a long-wanted campgrounds and a location for holding conferences and retreats in the securing of Loch Leven Conference Grounds near Redlands.¹¹

With this brief comment from Cole about his successor’s initial work as State Secretary, we now turn to a brief summary of the ministry of James Parrott.

Parrott Brings Change, and More Change

If one word could describe the ministry of Dr. James Parrott, change would be that word. In the comment from Cole, quoted above, it’s clear changes came early in Parrott’s tenure. The major changes in the life and ministry of the State Society and Convention that emerged under his leadership include:

1. Development of Loch Leven Conference Grounds

2. Establishment of the Committee on Ministry

3. Efforts at restructuring the Christian Church in Southern California; that is, changing from the State Society to the Area Church

4. Relocation of the state office in Los Angeles

5. Establishment of the Disciples Seminary Foundation in Claremont

6. Emphasis upon small-group ministry, culminating with The Teaching Stance.

This list of major changes will be explored in detail in Chapter Two.

Before launching into an overview of the ministry of James Parrott to and with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Southern California, a brief profile of the man is in order. As noted earlier, Parrot came to his role as Executive Secretary of the Christian Missionary Society of Southern California following a nine-year pastorate with First Christian Church, San Bernardino. He was the thirteenth man to hold this office. Although the State Society was formed in 1900, the first full-time and paid State Secretary was not called until 1903, when it became clear that the State Society could not function with an unpaid and overworked administrator.¹² It was very fitting for Parrott to come to this leadership role because the San Bernardino congregation had a long history in Southern California. B. F. Standefer held services in a carpenter shop in San Bernardino beginning on December 2, 1868. However, Standefer’s abrupt move to Downey a month later doomed the small group’s existence in San Bernardino.¹³ The San Bernardino ministry was reactivated in 1872, making First Christian Church, San Bernardino the second-oldest Disciples’ congregation in this region.¹⁴ However, since the First Christian Church of Downey chose to affiliate with the independent congregations known as Christian Churches, without the secondary title Disciples of Christ, San Bernardino is the oldest congregation with a continuous relationship to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in this region.

Parrott was a native of El Paso, Texas. He was educated in its public schools before matriculating to Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas, and Phillips University, Enid, Oklahoma, for both college and seminary work. Chapman College, Orange, California, (now known as Chapman University) granted him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 1968, a year-plus after he came to his leadership role with the denomination. Prior to serving in San Bernardino, he held pastorates in both Missouri and Oklahoma.¹⁵

Unfortunately, the full details of Parrott’s call to be State Secretary are not available among the records of the denomination. Hearsay from that era suggests that his selection for the leadership role was highly politicized. It is also fair to say that a number of prominent pastors in this region never accepted him as being qualified for the responsibilities of his office, as will be documented in later sections of this book.

For now, it should be noted that Dr. Parrott did not serve the churches of this region by himself. He inherited a staff that included the following persons: Rival J. Hawkins, Secretary of Christian Education; Edgar Weakland, Director of Youth Activities; Ada Harsin, Director of Children’s Activities; Milton O. Aney, Director, Christian Men’s Fellowship and Evangelism; Mrs. H. R. Shaffer, Secretary, Christian Women’s Fellowship; and Clifford A. Cole, his predecessor, Director of Mid-Century Church Extension. These persons were all serving on a full-time basis with five secretaries assisting them. The State Society’s office was housed adjacent to the Monroe Street Christian Church, in Los Angeles, on land owned by that congregation.¹⁶

Endnotes, Chapter 1

1. Cole, Clifford A. The Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ) of Southern California: A History. Authorized by the State Convention of Christian Churches, Christian Board of Publication, St. Louis, MO, 1959, p. 321.

2. Same, p. 110.

3. Same, p. 158.

4. Same.

5. Same, p. 159.

6. Same.

7. Same, pp. 159–160.

8. Minutes, State Board of the Christian Missionary Society of Southern California, May 14, 1957.

9. Same.

10. Cole, p. 112.

11. Same.

12. Same, p. 101.

13. Same, p. 38.

14. Same, p. 40.

15. The Unified Informer, published by the Christian Missionary Society of Southern California, Volume 16, No. 1, November 1955, p. 2.

16. The Unified Informer, Volume 16, No. 5, March 1956, p. 2.

Chapter Two

A Ministry of Change

Whenever an organization experiences a change in its leadership, an organization undergoes transformation. This dynamic was in evidence from the beginning and throughout James Parrott’s tenure as State Secretary of the Southern California Missionary Society. The following six major changes occurred during the thirteen years he served as State Secretary, and (after a change in name) as Executive Pastor of the Christian Church in Southern California and Southern Nevada.

Change Number One:

A New Location for the Camp and Conference Programs

Early in 1915, the State Board sent this resolution to the State Convention: The State Board recommends to the Committee on Future Work that serious consideration be given to employing a Bible School secretary or evangelist for the ensuing year.¹

Apparently this proposal was approved, because Cole reports Edgar Lloyd Smith, a graduate of Drake University, was nominated . . . for the position and was called to the work.² The unique thing about this new position was that Smith worked in a joint arrangement with two other regional bodies of the denomination at that time, the counterparts of the State Society in Northern California and Arizona. He worked ten months of the year in Southern California and one month each in the other two areas.³ Work in the early years under Smith, and his successors, concentrated on the establishment and support of Christian Endeavor, a program begun in New England in 1881.⁴ Christian Endeavor was a major program in congregations of many denominations, including Christian Churches. Building upon this very successful program, churches began holding Summer youth camps and conferences. Because the Christian Church in Southern California did not own a campground, space for these events was leased. For many years, probably beginning in the 1930s, camps and conferences were held at Idyllwild Pines, located in the mountains above Hemet. The terms camp and conference were used to distinguish the ages of the participants. Camps were provided for junior high students, while conferences were for senior high students. Disciples held two camps and two conferences at Idyllwild Pines simultaneously over two consecutive weeks in late June and early July each year. During the years I participated in these programs, from 1947 through 1953, I often heard the adult leaders say: We Disciples need our own camp!

Late in the 1940s the Christian Churches of Southern California entered into a lease agreement with the United States Forestry Department for a ten-acre campground at Frazier Park, just beyond Gorman, located in the northernmost part of L.A. County. The objective was to have our own space for our camp and conference program. Since it was only ten acres, the site was limited. This was chronicled in a report of the Conference Grounds Department to the State Board in November 1961.

1. The ten-acre area necessarily limits the use to a proposed maximum of sixty persons for extended program periods.

2. The philosophy adopted in the camp and conference program, centered around small groups living and working together, directs us to build facilities that will fit this type of program.

3. Facilities should serve year-round local church needs, i.e., retreats, youth groups, Fellowship groups, Sunday School classes, officers’ planning conferences, etc.

4. There is a need to maintain a facility that will allow for the junior high camp program, family camping, which demands areas for primitive outdoor living and programs.⁵

This report clearly indicates that the State Board felt a campground, other than the one at Frazier Park, would be a better option for the growth and development of its program.

The desire to have our own space, unrealized by the Frazier Park site, was finally fulfilled with the purchase of the Loch Leven Conference Grounds, located in the San Bernardino Mountains just above the tiny community of Mill Creek on California Highway 38. Purchase of this 160-acre tract was authorized by the 1956 State Convention.⁶ The October issue of The Unified Informer carried this report about Loch Leven:

The property went into a 90-day escrow on September 21st. The initial payment of $20,000 requires an additional $20,000 to be pledged and subscribed by individuals and groups. This is the first step in a $130,000 campaign approved by the State Convention that will purchase the conference grounds and put it into operation.⁷

The Christian Missionary Society of Southern California took possession on October 24, 1956. The November issue of The Unified Informer spelled out a condition regarding the second $20,000 commitment as follows: The second $20,000 will need to be raised before January 24, 1957, to meet the terms of purchase. This figure will be part of the overall goal of raising $130,000 in capital funds needed for purchase, initial operation, and improvements.⁸

The members of the committee that worked to acquire Loch Leven included: Chairman Homer Hill, Dean Canady, Dwaine Cerbin, Merle Fish, Jr., Don Jarman, Paul B. Kennedy, Ralph McConnell, Fred W. Nemoede, James Pierson, Lucile Short, Robert E. Sigars, and Vilas M. Spoor. The first on-site managers of the conference grounds were Mr. and Mrs. Ralph McConnell. He was Minister of Education for First Christian Church, Alhambra, prior to taking this position. Bookings began to be taken on December 17, 1956.⁹

The promotional campaign to purchase Loch Leven was led by Lewis R. Eloe. He was hired to contact church leaders about underwriting the cost of this new facility from November 19, 1956, through April 1, 1957¹⁰ At the beginning of 1957, a campaign to raise the needed $20,000 was launched under the theme: 20 Great Days for $20,000!¹¹ Apparently the January 24, 1957, obligation was met. (Records indicating its being met could not be found.) However, in May 1957 the following report was made: The churches will be glad to know that $20,782.86 had been received in cash by April 1 from 85 congregations. Pledges total $59,998.63. A little more than $80,000, either paid or pledged toward the $130,000 goal to be met by June 30, 1958, is in hand.¹² It was also announced in this same article that Eloe was being retained on a part-time basis after April 1, 1957 as the Promotional Counselor for this effort. He worked a day or two a week to verify pledges and to secure additional pledges of the needed $50,000 and to counsel interested persons in their support of Loch Leven.¹³

The first Summer conferences conducted for CYF (high school), 9’ers and Chi Rho (junior high school) students Loch Leven were held in the Summer of 1957. Because development was not complete by that time, only seven of the seventeen weeks of Summer conferences were held at Loch Leven in its first year of operation. The remaining ten weeks were held at Idyllwild Pines.¹⁴

In the early years of operation of Loch Leven, it became clear that a master plan for the development and future use of the site was needed. In 1959, to assist the State Board in developing a master plan, the Conference Grounds Committee, chaired by Robert Danner, engaged the services of Dr. L. B. Sharp, Director of the Outdoor Education Association of New York. He visited Loch Leven, as well as Bethany Pines, in May 1959. Sharp’s report helped the Conference Grounds Committee to develop a master plan for Loch Leven. Their report, submitted to the State Board on March 15, 1960, requested these actions:

1. Accept Dr. Sharp’s report, with some modifications, as the backbone of what’s desired for Loch Leven.

2. Set the maximum number of campers at 200.

3. Upon acceptance of Sharp’s report, a basic master plan, including a financial plan to make it happen, will be developed.

4. With the approval of the State Board’s committee on Business and Finance in February, an architect has been retained to develop plans for meeting building needs at Loch Leven and Bethany Pines.¹⁵

Although it quickly became a beloved facility, largely because of its charming main building, Campbell Lodge, from the beginning Loch Leven confronted the churches with problems. Sharp discussed some of them and made these recommendations in his report:

1. Campbell Lodge and Ross Hoose are inadequate in size for the current maximums of 50 and 21, respectively.

2. Tear down Dye Hoose. Convert space to a lawn for recreation.

3. Suspension bridge over Snow Creek is unusable.

4. Swimming pool below Campbell Lodge is too small for needs of camp. It needs costly repairs to be operable.

5. The fish hatchery should be eliminated. It provides no benefit to the program of Christian education.¹⁶

All was not gloom and doom in Sharp’s report. He noted that there are two springs on the property, producing 400 gallons of water a minute and 250 gallons a minute respectively. Of them he wrote: These springs are indeed great assets. . . . It is unusual to have this quantity of water in springs.¹⁷ In addition, the overall tenor of his report indicated great potential for Loch Leven, assuming the financial resources would be available to create additional housing and a new central dining hall within a reasonable period of time.

Change Number Two:

Establishment of a Committee on Ministry

One of the most significant changes made during Parrott’s ministry was the establishment of the Committee on Ministry, later known as the Department of the Ministry. There is no record of the existence of such a group within the organizational structure of the State Society prior to this.

What motivated the establishment of the Committee on Ministry? What purpose was it designed to fulfill? Who were the movers and shakers in its coming into being? My memory, although I was a seminarian at the time, is that Parrott was the key person in the formation of the Committee/Department of the Ministry. His rationale for creating this group is hinted at in a news release announcing he was completing ten years of service as Executive Pastor. His colleague, William Terbeek, commented: During the past ten years, the area church has undergone considerable change, and Dr. Parrott has led in much of it. He is happiest when many exciting frontiers are open, when new opportunities are presented, and when the church can move ahead with pride and achievement.¹⁸ Later in this news release Parrott was quoted: I am valuable in my ministry only as I am closely related to my colleagues in the life of the area church. These include not only those men and women on our staff but the clergy and key lay leaders in the congregations of the Christian Churches. . . .¹⁹

These statements give evidence of two things. One validates my contention about Parrott’s willingness to make changes he felt were needed to make the Area Church more effective in carrying out its mission. The other demonstrates Parrott’s understanding that the ministry of one is enriched when it is intentionally shared in partnership with the ministry of others.

The Responsibilities of the Department of the Ministry

In a document attached to a report of the Department of the Ministry, I found the group’s job description. (It should be noted in advance that the document reflects its time in that ministers are assumed to be male, not female.) This department has the responsibility to deal with any interest, problem or concern having to do with the minister, his relationship to a church, to the Church, his profession, or his personal life.²⁰

The department was to advise Parrott in matters pertaining to the ministry. The work was assigned to three commissions. Their titles provide an overview of the work of each of them:

Commission 1 – The Ministry Recruitment, Training, and Standards

Commission 2 – The Ministry and the Church

Commission 3 – The Ministry as Profession

Commission 1 was charged with the responsibility of enlisting young people, overseeing their training on both college and seminary levels, ‘in-training’ care, licensing, and ordination. This commission also interviewed, . . . advised, and recommended persons desiring to enter ministry with the Disciples from other denominations. Finally, they were responsible for informing boards, ministers, and Elders in congregations, plus ministerial candidates, concerning standards for training and experience desirable for ministerial candidates."²¹ This was a bold, radical step. Up to this time among Disciples, the responsibility for recruiting young people--almost exclusively young men—for ministry was the job of local congregations. This was due to the fact that local congregations set the standards for ordination because they, not the State Society, ordained ministers.

On a personal note, there were Elders in my home congregation in Pasadena who spoke with my parents about ordaining me before I transferred to a four-year college from Pasadena City College. They thought there was no need for me to attend, much less, complete seminary. They thought so much education would ruin my faith. In their opinion, this would make me unfit for ministry! Fortunately, my parents stopped that process in its tracks. They believed that a person needed both college and seminary to be adequately prepared to engage in ministry, and they were convinced I needed these experiences. I’m certain none of the persons who were advocating that I be ordained before completing college, much less seminary, consulted with other congregations about the wisdom of what they were advocating be done for me, much less discussing with them my fitness for being ordained at age nineteen.

Ordination was then the private activity, indeed the private right, of each congregation. No other congregation was fit to question, much less challenge a decision about ordination made by a sister congregation. Sadly, the congregations that ordained a person for the ministry in those days rarely, if ever, called one they had ordained to be their pastor. Instead, they foisted them off on their sister congregations to call to be their pastors. That there were not more disasters than there were with this system is undoubtedly the work of the Holy Spirit!

Commission 2 had the responsibility of working with the Area Secretary to determine the best way to deal with situations in which tensions existed between a minister and lay leaders of the congregation.²² Given the hallowed Disciples’ concept of local autonomy, particularly as this relates to the call and/or dismissal of a pastor, this commission was moving into uncharted territory. It was not uncommon for a congregation to dismiss its pastor without any consultation with the State Secretary until they wanted to call a new pastor. Intervention to try resolving a dispute that led to a pastor’s dismissal was generally not an option. I suspect there were many local church leaders who were not happy to learn that Parrott would use Commission 2 to empower an intervention in what had always been a congregation’s private business. Even worse, they probably feared the possibility that he might share their dirty linen with outsiders. However, this action affirmed that the overall health of the ministry was a concern shared by all of the congregations, and not just the private business of a congregation that terminated its pastor. Commission 2 also was charged with helping ministers carry Brotherhood responsibility, including sharing in ministers’ associations, involvement in district and community life, and for seeing that churches are a part of the cooperative work of the Brotherhood.²³ In other words, this Commission was assigned to encourage local pastors to be intentional about ministry beyond their local congregation and community.

Commission 3 took on a more unique role than the other two commissions. Its task was to counsel and advise ministers who are having difficulty in their ministry because of personal or family problems. In addition, this commission was charged to help ministers resolve personal problems enabling them to remain in the ministry, or to help them to other lines of employment if their continuation in the ministry did not seem advisable.²⁴ These objectives were to be accomplished in a variety of ways. Among them were informing ministers of refresher courses, convocations, and other opportunities for professional growth, and encouraging congregations to provide both time and finances to make it possible for ministers to pursue said opportunities.²⁵ It is now commonplace for pastors to be encouraged to pursue psychological counseling to deal with personal problems. Not then. It is also now commonplace for pastors to be expected to participate in continuing education experiences to learn new skills or to sharpen their less well-developed skills. Not then. In my opinion, Commission 3 was pioneering in terms of clergy support and development. While congregations guarded their autonomy, as suggested in the discussion of the work of Commission 2, individual ministers among Disciples were reluctant to let anyone, especially a colleague, know about their personal problems. Why? In a word, fear kept ministers from being open about their personal or professional problems. Personal information that was less than flattering, if known by colleagues, could be used to impede or thwart an individual minister’s career advancement or his being considered for leadership roles within the State Society, or within the denomination as a whole. This group was taking initial steps in the development of a greater sense of collegiality among the ministers who served Christian Churches in Southern California.

It is impossible to know how effective Commission 3 was in doing the work assigned to it. However, based on my understanding of the way personal and professional problems of the clergy are dealt with now, I believe the work done by this group laid the critical groundwork for the work being done by today’s Commission on the Ministry. The commission and this region are indebted to Parrott for his vision and his courage in the establishment of the Department of the Ministry. I’m certain he was not the only one championing such a body in our various state societies. However, he paved the way for what emerged regarding ministry in this region following Restructure in the late 1960s.

In the documents that outlined the responsibilities of the three commissions of the Department of Ministry, the chairmen of these groups were as follows: George Crain, Pastor of Bethany Christian Church, Pasadena, chaired Commission 1; Gerald Bash, Pastor of First Christian Church, Santa Ana, chaired Commission 2; while Rival Hawkins, a former member of the State Staff, but then Pastor of the Coachella Valley Christian Church, Indio, chaired Commission 3.²⁶

Change Number Three: Efforts at Restructuring

the Christian Church in Southern California—

Moving from the State Society to the Area Church

When Parrott succeeded Cole, his official title was Executive Secretary of the Christian Missionary Society of Southern California. Like his predecessor, Parrott was usually referred to as the State Secretary. The annual meeting of the Christian Churches of Southern California was simply known as the State Convention. These terms were inaccurate. The organization only included congregations located in Southern California, not the entire state. Disciples’ congregations north of the San Luis Obispo/Morro Bay area along the coast and north of Bakersfield were part of the Northern California Christian Missionary Society.

The records of this period are not plentiful, but those I did find reveal that these terms were changed during Parrott’s tenure. By action of the 1960 State Convention, the Articles of Incorporation of the Christian Missionary Society of Southern California, dated February 1, 1904, were amended. The opening section of that resolution read as follows:

WHEREAS the 1957 State Convention authorized a committee representing all areas of church life to develop a unified organization for the agencies working together on behalf of the Christian Churches of Southern California, and

WHEREAS this committee has developed by-laws for such unification, and

WHEREAS amendments to the present Articles of Incorporation for the Christian Missionary Society of Southern California make the necessary changes in the name of the corporation without interrupting our history from February 1, 1904:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the 1960 Convention of the Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ) of Southern California adopts the Articles of Incorporation and the by-laws in the following document:

DIGEST OF ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION

1. The name of the corporation shall be: Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ) of Southern California.

2. The primary or principal purpose of this corporation shall be to establish and maintain Christian Churches and to continue and expand the work of the Christian Churches of Southern California.

3. The place where the principal business of the corporation is to be transacted is in Los Angeles, California.

4. The term for which the corporation is to exist is perpetual.

5. The number of directors in the corporation shall be at least nine and may be as many as the by-laws provide.²⁷

The major reason behind the amendment of the Articles of Incorporation was stated in the one-word title of Resolution #19 of the 1960 State Convention. That one word was capitalized in the Business Docket. It was UNIFICATION. Prior to 1960, the work of the Christian Churches in Southern California had evolved to the point where it was then administered through these five bodies: the State Convention, the Christian Missionary Society, the Department of Christian Education, Christian Women’s Fellowship, and Christian Men’s Fellowship. Each group had its own officers and its own governing structure. Although they cooperated with one another and, most likely, had some overlap in personnel, they were legally separate entities. The rationale for the unification of these five groups was spelled out in these sentences from Resolution #19: "These agencies share a unity of purpose. Therefore merging their interests will strengthen them to more effectively serve the Southern California churches, the Brotherhood, and the Ecumenical Church.²⁸

Within the full text of Resolution #19, I found the first use of the term Assembly instead of Convention. This is what was adopted as Article IV – Assembly in the 1960 By-Laws for the Christian Churches of Southern California:

Section 1 – Purpose

To provide Christian fellowship and inspiration; to receive and act upon objectives, programs, and reports from the Board of Directors, the Executive Secretary, and the Committee on Recommendations; to elect officers and committees and to conduct business.

Section 2 – Delegates

A. Each member church shall be entitled to three delegates and alternates plus the minister. In addition, each church having a resident membership of more than 300 shall be entitled to one delegate and one alternate for each additional 100 members or major fraction thereof, exclusive of members of the Board of Directors.

B. Each member of the Board of Directors shall be a delegate. . . .

C. To be accredited as a delegate or an alternate, one must be elected by his church before February 1st of the year of the Assembly and be present at the Assembly.

D. Business of the Assembly shall be transacted by the office delegates or alternates.

E. Voting privileges may be extended to all registrants by delegate action.²⁹

Other sections of Article IV spelled out the policies regarding such matters as Membership, Quorum, Officers, and other pertinent issues. Section 5 provided that the Assembly would meet annually, continuing the pattern that had long been followed by the State Conventions of the denomination in Southern California.

Changes in Nomenclature and Beyond

With the approval of the amended Articles of Incorporation and by-laws, significant changes were made. The State Convention became known as the Area Assembly. Although the by-laws continued to use the term Executive Secretary for the person holding his office, Parrott’s title became Area Pastor. What had been called the State Office became the Area Office. These changes were significant in many ways, but two dominate the others.

First, what had previously been a gathering of interested persons from any and all of the congregations in Southern California, all of whom had the right to vote simply by registering for and attending the State Convention, was now a delegate body. While Section E of Article IV of the by-laws adopted in 1960 made it possible for the Assembly to extend voting privileges to everyone who registered for a given Assembly, to my knowledge this action has never been taken. Further, in all these years, I do not recall any delegate even suggesting this option be discussed. The practical result of this action was that the Assembly became a meeting of elected delegates. Over the years fewer and fewer persons with non-voting status have participated in the Assemblies. In spite of significantly lower attendance at these annual events, the interest of the delegates, and the congregations they represent, in the business and work of the Assemblies has increased. This is due, in my opinion, to there now being a stronger feeling of ownership of the work of the Assembly by those who serve as voting representatives of their congregations or service units.

Second, the move to using the term Area Church encouraged the congregations and their members to think of Church in a larger context. The term Area Church automatically challenged people to think of the Church as more that their local congregation. Given the Disciples’ dogged commitment to local autonomy, and the way we relish our freedom to do as we please, this was a much-needed corrective. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to prove that congregations are now less enamored with local autonomy than before this term came into use. However, one cannot use the current term, Regional Church, without thinking of something much bigger than my congregation on the corner in my community. So, the decision to begin using Area Church as the shorthand name for the Southern California Disciples represented a significant break with the past.

Further, it is interesting to note that the use of the term Area Church pre-dates the work of the Commission on Brotherhood Restructure. That body created The Provisional Design for the Christian Church.³⁰ That document proposed the term region for all of the geographic areas where Disciples are found in both the United States and Canada. It was adopted in 1969 during the first General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Seattle. The shift from State Society to Area Church came before the changes the denomination made in the late1960s.

Change Number Four: Relocation of the State Office

When Parrott became Executive Secretary of the Christian Missionary Society of Southern California, the organization’s office was located at 4160 Monroe Street, Los Angeles. The office stood on the corner of Monroe and Madison Streets, just east of the campus of Los Angeles Community College. The property belonged to the Monroe Street Christian Church. A long-time member of the congregation donated it to the church in 1944.³¹

At the beginning of Parrott’s ministry, many leaders felt it was desirous to find a better site for its office. Part of the rationale for this feeling was due to the fact that Chapman College had left its Monroe Street campus, located across the street from the State Office, for its new campus in the city of Orange. This happened in 1956. People could no longer combine trips to the State Office and Chapman. More significant reasons for seeking a new office site had to do with accessibility and space. Monroe Street was several blocks in each direction from major streets in Los Angeles in the days before freeways cut across Southern California. With the staff and the ministry expanding, there were space limits with which to contend. In addition, the effort of Christian Board of Publication, based in St. Louis, to open a bookstore on the West Coast also played a role. In a report entitled Evaluation and Perspective, dated January 2, 1957, Parrott wrote the following: We should not forget that the Christian Board of Publication is going to open a bookstore in the Los Angeles area and, in my judgment, they desire to locate in a very near proximity to our State Office. This raises the question as to what is the permanent location of our State Office.³²

On January 8, 1957, the following information was shared with the State Board. M. Owen Kellison, Chairman of the Bethany Bookstore Committee, reported they had met three times. In their third meeting, Dr. Cramblet and Mr. Keifer from Christian Board of Publication, St. Louis, had been present. It was suggested that a building be erected for the permanent headquarters of the Brotherhood of Southern California.³³ It was further suggested this building house the Bethany Bookstore, State Offices, and a Chapel to seat 200 to 300 persons for ministers meetings and other church functions.³⁴ After discussion the following motion was adopted by the State Board: . . . that a separate committee be appointed to study location of bookstore and possible State Offices from a long-range planning standpoint.³⁵

The minutes of the February meeting of the State Board do not mention any follow-up action concerning a new State Office. However, in his report to the State Board for this meeting, Parrott informed them he had been contacted by Dr. Forrest Weir, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Church Federation. Weir had learned of their discussion about the possibility of securing, or building, a new State Office. He informed Parrott that several denominations had been talking about establishing a Protestant Center in the city to serve the needs of all the denominations in the Los Angeles area.³⁶ The Minutes of the State Board’s March meeting also reveal no action taken about either the composition of or the work of the committee authorized by the Board in January to consider housing the Bethany Bookstore and the State Office at a common site. However, minutes of the State Office Relocation Committee, dated March 14, 1957, indicate action had been taken to carry out the State Board’s decision regarding this matter on January 8, 1957.

These minutes reveal that Merle E. Fish, Jr. was the chairman of the committee. Serving with him were Willis Whitaker, M. Owen Kellison, Rival Hawkins, Howard Scantland, J. C. Mason, and Mrs. R. W. Robertson, with Parrott in an ex-officio capacity. In this meeting, five alternatives concerning the location of the State Office were discussed. Those five were listed as follows:

1. Moving in with the Los Angeles Church Federation;

2. Staying on the Vermont Avenue Campus that formerly housed Chapman College providing an income-producing home for elderly people is established on this site;

3. Moving to Chapman College’s campus in the city of Orange;

4. Staying in our present quarters; or,

5. Moving to a new location on our own.

The desire of the Christian Board of Publication to be adjacent to the State Office in a new location was also noted in the minutes of this committee meeting.³⁷ The minutes indicate the following decisions were made about these five alternatives. The Los Angeles Church Federation was ruled out because of its inaccessibility to the freeway, plus the fact that both the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches in Southern California had already built their own headquarters. This left the Congregationalists as the only denomination committed to the option advocated by the Los Angeles Church Federation, which had limited parking. The committee felt there was no advantage of moving to Chapman College in Orange as this would put the State Office too far away from the headquarters of other denominations in the Los Angeles area. It was decided that the most desirable alternative was to wait and see what developed with the idea of turning the Vermont Avenue Campus, the former home of Chapman College, into a home for the elderly, and, if that worked out, to be part of this development. This action was carried unanimously and enthusiastically.³⁸ It was the committee’s belief that moving to a new site that would enable the State Office and the Bethany Bookstore to be adjacent to each other was too costly. So the decision was made to stay at the Monroe Street site until the status of Vermont Avenue project was determined.³⁹ However, to keep some of these options on the table the committee decided to plan a joint meeting in late May to involve the Bookstore Committee, with Dr. Cramblet from Christian Board of Publication, the Committee on the Vermont Avenue project, and representatives of Chapman College, plus the State Office Relocation Committee.⁴⁰

The foregoing action of the State Office Relocation Committee was reported to the State Board at its regular meeting on April 9, 1957. In addition, it was reported that Roy Martindale had investigated the possibility of converting the former Chapman College property into a home for elderly citizens. In light of his report, this action was approved: . . . a committee be appointed to work further on the possibilities of converting the Chapman College property into a home for elderly citizens; the officers of the Society to appoint the committee.⁴¹ And at its May 1957, meeting the State Board heard a report from Joe Fish on the feasibility of using a portion of Chapman College buildings located on Vermont for a home for senior citizens. Following his report, they took this action: . . . that a committee be appointed to further investigate possibilities of establishing a home for senior citizens and to bring a definite recommendation to the State Board.⁴²

When it met in June, the board appointed the following persons to serve as the Christian Church Center Committee: Rhodes Rule, Chairman; Joe Fish, Secretary; Vera Oster, Mrs. C. O. Goodwin, James Bishop, Wilbur Tunison, Dick Donald, Art Hixon, and R. B. Wright.⁴³ Although this name had not been previously employed and the minutes did not link it with the prior months’ discussions about converting the former Chapman College campus to housing for elderly persons, I assume this was the task assigned to this newly created committee. I was unable to locate any records of State Board meetings between June 11, 1957, and July 31, 1958. It is therefore impossible to report actions the Board may have taken about these issues. The next mention of this matter is from the minutes of the September 1958 meeting of the State Board.

In September, Mrs. Charles Goodwin, a member of the Christian Church Center Committee established in June 1957 presented a report. It was about the Christian Center and Bethany Bookstore. Reporting in the absence of Rhodes Rule, Chairman of the Christian Church Center Committee, Goodwin told the Board these things:

1. Articles of Incorporation for the Christian Center Corporation had been filed with the California Secretary of State.

2. A site for a home for aged near Hollywood Boulevard was under consideration. There is a building on the site that has 91 apartments, mostly for single persons. The building is of A construction throughout and is still sufficiently modern.

3. Christian Board of Publication is not interested in establishing a Bethany Book Store until a permanent center has been established for the State Office.

4. The Los Angeles Church Federation is interested in building an Ecumenical Center for several Protestant denominations and has asked that the State Society appoint someone on the committee to represent the Christian Churches.⁴⁴

In response, the Board voted that the Executive Committee appoint a person to represent the State Society on the Ecumenical Center Committee of the Church Federation.⁴⁵ No mention of the work of the committee chaired by Rhodes Rule was found in the minutes of October 1958. In the November meeting Lloyd Keyser reported for Mr. Rule regarding the Christian Center. The Board voted to grant a loan not to exceed $500 to the Christian Center Corporation for current and operating expenses, to be repaid by June 30, 1959.⁴⁶

In his report to the State Board in December, Parrott made this statement:

I refer now to . . . the Christian Center Corporation. In taking steps to incorporate it was found that this title was not available with the