Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Bought And Sold

Federal Communications Commission

Legal scholars have pointed to the possibility that federal agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had been captured by media conglomerates. Peter Schuck of Yale Law School has argued that the FCC is subject to capture by the media industries' leaders and therefore reinforce the operation of corporate cartels in a form of "corporate socialism" that serves to "regressively tax consumers, impoverish small firms, inhibit new entry, stifle innovation, and diminish consumer choice". The FCC selectively granted communications licenses to some radio and television stations in a process that excludes other citizens and little stations from having access to the public.

Michael K. Powell, who served on the FCC for eight years and was chairman for four, was appointed president and chief executive officer of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, a lobby group. As of April 25, 2011, he will be the chief lobbyist and the industry's liaison with Congress, the White House, the FCC and other federal agencies. Meredith Attwell Baker was one of the FCC commissioners who approved a controversial merger between NBC Universal and Comcast. Four months later, she announced her resignation from the FCC to join Comcast's Washington, D.C. lobbying office. Legally, she is prevented from lobbying anyone at the FCC for two years and an agreement made by Comcast with the FCC as a condition of approving the merger will ban her from lobbying any executive branch agency for life. Nonetheless, Craig Aaron, of Free Press, who opposed the merger, complained that "the complete capture of government by industry barely raises any eyebrows" and said public policy would continue to suffer from the "continuously revolving door at the FCC".

Cable Lobbyist Tom Wheeler Confirmed As New FCC Chief. No conflict here..."The U.S. Senate confirmed Tuesday the nomination of a new chairman to the Federal Communications Commission. Wheeler is a former investor and head of telecommunications industry groups. President Barack Obama said, when announcing Wheeler as his choice in May, that 'for more than 30 years, Tom has been at the forefront of some of the very dramatic changes that we've seen in the way we communicate and how we live our lives.'"
"Regulatory capture", what a nice sounding name for Graft [wikipedia.org]: ", a form of political corruption, is the unscrupulous use of a politician's authority for personal gain."

I guess that is what you have to call corruption and graft now it is so common/the norm amongst our ruling elites. Brings new meaning to the phrase "politically correct"...

You know a government is corrupt when they don't even bother to hide it anymore. Next up, we put bank robbers in charge of bank security, because who has more experience with bank security than bank robbers?

Will Wheeler use his new found power for political purposes. Considering the choice, its not a stretch, whether you agree with his position or not. And to be fair, Neither Obama or any other senator, Democratic or Republican "had any problems with this cable industry lobbyist guy being appointed head of the FCC" either.

Wednesday Weedout Intertube

Let em' think that they were successful in evading arrest, then swoop in when they stop somewhere and get out thinking that they are safe from incarceration..."The BBC reports that police in the U.S. are now using 'GPS bullets,' a device they can shoot at fleeing vehicles in order to track them. They're designed to make high-speed chases safer. The pursuing police car presses a button, a lid pops open, and a GPS bullet is fired which becomes attached to the fleeing car. The car can then be track from a distance in real-time without the need for a high-speed pursuit."
Old 666 could not be stopped! This photograph, a team effort by nine men, is the most honored picture in U. S. History.
Nokia stands up to it's reputation...According to a Swede citizen Roger Nilsson, he recently found a Lumia 800 smartphone that was lost three and a half months ago in a lake. Except that the device is not rated for water resistance and is vulnerable to damage like any other standard smartphone in the market today.
Kony will be caught now!American forces are assisting local troops in African nations and collaborating with the group behind last year’s viral video.

THE CHURCH OF THE JEDI

IN THE YEARS AFTER THE FIRST STAR WARS TRILOGY, A GROUP OF DEDICATED FOLLOWERS BUILT THEIR OWN RELIGION: JEDIISM. FACING PERSECUTION AND RIDICULE, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FAITHFUL BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF THE FORCE AND ADHERE TO THE JEDI CODE, MUCH AS OBI-WAN AND YODA DID. AWAY PUT YOUR PREJUDICES, BECAUSE SERIOUSLY DEVOTED THEY ARE.

Unfortunately, it seems that music fans will never know who Mike Millard was. Whenever his recordings have been officially released, his name never appears in the credits. Hidden from history because of his illegal recordings, Mike the Mike lives on only in the underground music communities to which he originally belonged.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Tuesday after Tuesday after Monday

The Pentagon May Retire "Yoda" It's 92 Year Old Futurists..."Of all the weapons the Pentagon relies on to defend the United States, one of the strangest and most secretive is Andrew Marshall, a 92-year-old man who's spent the last 40 years staring into the future trying to predict the next big threat to America. Known fondly as "Yoda" to his many fans in Washington, Marshall heads up the Office of Net Assessment—the Defense Department's think tank tasked with taking a long view, out-of-the-box approach to defense strategy. In his role as the Pentagon's visionary sage, Marshall is credited with predicting the fall of the Soviet Union, the rise of China's global prominence, the role of autonomous weapons and robots in warfare, and even helping end the Cold War. Now, facing budget cuts, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is considering reorganizing or possibly even shuttering the futurist think tank, Defense News recently reported."
The Future Of Gaming Equipment...'"InfinitEye is a prototype head mounted display that uses dual 1280×800 displays to create a massive 210 degree field of view. I traveled to Toulouse, France to be the first journalist in the world to go hands-on with the unit. These are my thoughts on the trip, the team, and the HMD itself. 'Natural and Panoramic Virtual Reality' is the best phrase I can come up with that summarises the InfinitEye's capabilities. If using the Oculus Rift is like opening the sunroof on a virtual world, the InfinitEye takes the roof clean off — at least if you base your opinion solely on horizontal FOV. But the new HMD also offers 1280×800 per eye in comparison the current Oculus Rift Dev Kit's 640×800 (and only slightly fewer pixels per eye than the Oculus Rift HD prototype)."
During the first half of the 90's Dell Computer was the one to buy. They had great customer service and very reliable products. Then they went downhill on all levels. That may be changing in the near future..."StreetInsider.com reports that Dell, Inc. completed its go-private transaction by Michael Dell, Dell's Founder, Chairman and CEO, and Silver Lake Partners, a leading global technology investment firm. Stockholders will receive $13.75 in cash for each share of Dell common stock they hold, plus payment of a special cash dividend of $0.13 per share to stockholders of record as of the close of business on Oct. 28, 2013, for total consideration of $13.88 per share in cash. The total transaction is valued at approximately $24.9 billion."
O Ya Steve's Gone, No Doubt About It...A glitch in iOS7 has cost "a significant number" of Apple users their Wi-Fi access, according to ZDNet. But they also report that Apple is now censoring posts in their "Apple Support Communities" forums where users suggest possible responses to their loss of WiFi capabilities (including exercising their product warranty en masse). "We understand the desire to share experiences in your topic, 'Re: wifi greyed out after update to ios7,'" read one warning sent to Lawrence Lessig, "but because these posts are not allowed on our forums, we have removed it." Lessig — who co-founded Creative Commons (and was a board member of the Free Software Foundation) has been documenting the ongoing "comments slaughter" on his Twitter feed, drawing attention to what he says is the Borg-like behavior of Apple as a corporation. Lessig "is now part of an angry mob in Apple's forums who upgraded to iOS 7 and lost Wi-Fi connectivity," ZDNet notes, adding that as of this morning their reporter has been unable to obtain an official response from Apple."
The Chinese Mindset In China...The Chinese tradition of maintaining mistresses is based on what good Christians would refer to as adultery - a sin; yet in China it is mere custom - a habit.
Finally the out of control Nazi get reeled in.The country's intelligence leaders shuffle off to Capitol Hill for excoriation on Tuesday, even as the Obama administration and Congress plan new limits on their powers. It's a bad day for the NSA — but rest assured, the spies will not go quietly.

Tuesday After Monday

The Mac to want? Yes! This is the one to get...Although I still do this on an old Windows 7 Toshiba laptop with a few keys that my parrot has removed. Why replace something that still works fine? Well..."Apple's late 2013 edition iMacs are largely unchanged in external form, though they're upgraded in function with a revamped foundation that now pairs Intel's Haswell 4th Generation Core processors with NVIDIA's GeForce 700 Series graphics. The Cupertino company also outfitted these latest models with faster flash storage options, including support for PCI-E based storage, and 802.11ac Wi-Fi technology, all wrapped in a 21.5-inch (1920x1080) or 27-inch IPS displays with a 2560x1440 resolution. As configured, the 27-inch iMac reviewed here bolted through benchmarks with relative ease and posted especially solid figures in gaming tests, including a 3DMark 11 score of 3,068 in Windows 7 (via Boot Camp). Running Cinebench 11.5 in Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks also helped showcase the CPU and GPU combination. Storage benchmarks weren't nearly as impressive though, for iMacs based on standard spinning media. For real IO throughput, it's advisable to go with Apple's Flash storage options."
"From the article: 'In a statement to MPs on Monday about last week's European summit in Brussels, where he warned of the dangers of a "lah-di-dah, airy-fairy view" about the dangers of leaks, the prime minister said his preference was to talk to newspapers rather than resort to the courts. But he said it would be difficult to avoid acting if newspapers declined to heed government advice.' So that will achieve something won't it? Don't these politicians understand that blocking publication in just the UK achieves nothing? The information is held outside the UK, and will be published there; all he's doing is showing his real colors."

O What Have I Done!?Even the author of the "Patriot Act" Is Trying To Stop The NSA"Republican Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner will introduce an anti-NSA bill tomorrow in the House, and if it makes its winding way to becoming law, it will be a big step towards curtailing the NSA's bulk metadata collection. Wisconsin Rep. Sensenbrenner, along with 60 co-sponsors, aims to amend one section of the Patriot Act, Section 215, in a bill known as the United and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ending Eavesdropping, Dragnet Collection, and Online Monitoring Act — also known by its less-clunky acronym version, the USA Freedom Act."
"The BBC reports "Home broadband in the US costs far more than elsewhere. At high speeds, it costs nearly three times as much as in the UK and France, and more than five times as much as in South Korea. Why?...'Americans pay so much because they don't have a choice,' says Susan Crawford, a former special assistant to President Barack Obama on science, technology and innovation policy. We deregulated high-speed internet access 10 years ago and since then we've seen enormous consolidation and monopolies, so left to their own devices, companies that supply internet access will charge high prices, because they face neither competition nor oversight."
The Hippie generation was fascinated with this. Lonnie Frisbee warned them to stay clear of it because the Bible forbids such things. He also said that you could become possessed by demonic entities by using it... The Strange and Mysterious History of the Ouija Board

Google's smartwatch is in late-stage development and the company is in talks with Asian suppliers to begin mass production of the device, people familiar with the matter said.
"Almost a third of Samsung's Galaxy Gear Smartwatches sold are being returned, a leaked document has revealed, which shows that over 30 percent are being returned after sale at Best Buy locations in the US. The higher than expected return rate could be due to that realisation, with customers impulse buying and then realising that the smartwatch isn't everything it's cracked up to be."
A New Tow~In Big Wave Record May Have Occurred During A Rainy Day In Brazil (Video)

Monday, October 28, 2013

KWVE

Tribute To Pastor Chuck Smith Recap And Such Along With How Calvary Chapel Of Costa Mesa Actually Begun

David Sloane Central Park Manhattan New York

I want to free range a bit today...

It was a sad day and yet a wonderful day for the 'spiritual children' of Costa Mesa's Pastor Chuck Smith yesterday evening. Everyone had gathered together to pay tribute to the man of God. Some experienced concert goers to the Honda venue remarked that "The place was completely packed." Coming from them that means something.

The old guard had shown up, but not everyone. Greg Laurie, Raul Ries, Mike Macintosh, John Courson and Skip Heitzig, showed up along with a few others.

Jackie Alnor has reported on her Facebook that John Higgins, a staunch traditionalist, has left the Calvary Chapel movement. Here is what he has said:

“We feel that the original calling and vision for Calvary Chapel in 1966 was from the LORD. Therefore, we at Tri City have withdrawn from the present day hype, by notifying the CCA and Chuck Smith personally that we are no longer associated with the CCA or Costa Mesa. I have spoken of this at conferences with interesting results. We speak of being a independent fellowship of believers.This took place right after the June pastors conf in Marietta when Greg and Bob Coy presented their plan for integrating with the apostasies of today.

Our church reps walked out and never returned. As a result, we have lost fellowship with many of the “Calvary’s” in our area as they have embraced these false teachers in hope of growth and (in my opinion) the hope of monetary gain.

We at Tri City go back to 1966 when we were called into the battle field. And not wanting to change our name, (we say they should), are looking to incorporate the idea of the date 1966 in our logo.
However, that is yet to be completed. Our fellowship know where we stand and we are strong in the strength of our Lord.

I hope this gives you and your associates a clear understanding of our position.
We are not fighting against CCCM and its ways but we are fighting for the Truth of God’s Word.
In Jesus,
John

Some say John is not what he appears to be.

As each speaker came up to the podium I could see the tole that age has taken upon their faces over the long years. Greg Laurie mentioned that when it was his turn to speak. The zealousness of youth had long past. I had seen these same men of God from the days of my youth, during the Jesus People Movement. Each man was obviously touched with emotion at the loss of 'Papa Chuck."

No one seemed to want to appear as anything more then what they are. What I mean is no one was in that mode where they wanted to show anything to anyone of themselves, they were each humble and just one of us.

Now it was different for some of the videos that were shown on the big screens, there was a bit of posturing to be observed in some of the vignettes.

Oden Fong was working hard at holding back his emotions as he got up to play his set for the congregation. I know that Oden has a great love and respect for Chuck Smith. He worked under him for over ten years in administration. Every time I had spoken with Oden he always spoke with a tone of admiration when the conversation drifted in Chucks direction.

Love song were still good after all these years. A few of the members looked worn out but could still stand and deliver.

Mike Macintosh was not himself. He winged it on his own and it showed. Usually Mike goes with the Holy Spirit's direction and it always turns out well...it did't go as well as it could have from my perspective.

Tom Stipe was the same Tom that we all saw at the Saturday Night Maranatha Concerts at Calvary during the 70's. Only now he was more mature and not as comedic as he used to be. Gone was the big curly hair that i remembered. He kind of talked to the door to address the window in a sense when he said that it was "Fun" back in the day. People used to show up early because it was fun to go to church.

We can get somber and stiff in our Christianity if we are not careful.

Brian Broderson has some hugh shoes to fill; to his credit he didn't try. He seemed a bit nervous and fumbled when he introduced one of the speakers. Not easy to read your notes and look up and make that all important eye contact with your listeners. I don't know if there was any tension up on the platform between he and the others, but I do know that it would not be easy to be one of the speakers among such polished pastors that were present.

Calvary Chapel on Church Street in Costa Mesa CA

I first arrived in Costa Mesa in 1965, as did Chuck Smith. And as fate would have it, I lived directly across the

Pastor Chuck Smith

street from a very small building that had a sign out front that said, "Calvary Chapel." I to this day have a vivid memory of Chuck standing out on the steps greeting people as they were leaving after the service. His smile got noticed by my 14 year old mind as I passed on my way to the Sunday mass at Saint Joachim's Catholic Church a street over.

Next time that I saw Chuck was in 1967 in an old converted school on Sun flower Street. Only this time I not only saw his great smile, I heard him speak. The first words I heard from him were, "Kids, Jesus Christ loves you." Now this got my attention. Jesus Christ was that dead guy up in front of the Catholic alter that I saw on Sundays. I never heard anyone say those words because back in those days the mass was all in Latin so no one really learned anything at the Catholic mass.

Let me explain. Jesus Christ was only some dead guy statue at the catholic church for me until I heard Chuck Smith put flesh and blood on Him. Chuck taught me that Christ was very much alive and that He loved me deeply.

When I asked Christ into my life it was very real for me. As if a fog had cleared and I could now see more clearly. I was not alone, it was happening for a lot of other people around me.

Intercessors

I totally attribute the existence of Calvary Chapel to the intercession of Kay Smith and some of her close friends who also had the gift of intercession on the earthly side of things. The intercession of Kay coupled with her deep compassion, that goes along with the calling of intercessor, bridged the gap that brought in a whole generation of lost hippies. Chuck came around from his disgust at the dirty hippies to entering in with Kay's intercession for them.

During the winter of 1967 Kay had asked Chuck to drive her to the Huntington beach pier area to observe the hippies there. As she watched the aimless lonely looking young people, dressed weird and wandering around, her calling as an intercessor kicked in big time. Along with her natural affection as a mother with an instinct to care for children, Kay was emotionally geared to want comfort and safety for these lost children. Compassion for these lost souls drove her to tears, as she said, "Chuck, we've got to do something about this." The calling of intercessor is like that, it drives you with compassion for those targeted for intercessory prayer by Holy Spirit. You can't stop until your task assignment has completed.

Hippie Evangelist Lonnie Frisbee

It was at this point that Chuck asked his kids to bring home a hippie so he could see what they were all about first hand.

Men are usually project oriented, and Chuck being a man started the project that would last him a lifetime.

The Lord stepped in and delivered Lonnie Frisbee. A young man who had grown up in Costa Mesa that the Lord had contacted out in a canyon in Palm Springs.

The combination of Chuck's stability and maturity in Biblical knowledge along with Lonnie's sensitivity to the Holy spirit and his anointing as an evangelist were catalytic. Lonnie knew how to address his generation and Chuck knew how to build a firm foundation under them with the Word of God.

Christ said He would not leave us abandoned or alone as an orphan without parents or direction, but that He would send us a Comforter. The Greek word for "Comforter" is parakletos. The word parakletos is derived from two words that mean, "to go along side of to help." It also means, "one who pleads the case for another as an intercessor. As the Comforter, the Spirit is always with us, we are never alone. He stands alongside of you at all times to help aid you, especially in times of weakness.

Thus Calvary Chapel grew exponentially as more and more people were added daily. All taking place with out cell phones, pagers, the internet, only word of mouth and evangelicalism by the kids themselves. The Holy Spirit was on the move!

One can only imagine what it would have been like if Facebook and Twitter were involved, but they were way in the future.

Yes Kay Smith and her calling of intercessor were the biology behind what actually happened. The unction from heaven imparted the compassion in her mother's heart that fueled her prayers of intercession that bore fruit that we all got to see yesterday. Whole generations were represented at Honda center, all because of one intercessor performing in her calling.

But we all know that it was Almighty God that got up off His throne and came down to earth and poured out of His Spirit into Kay Smith's heart.

Chuck who was janitor at the Market Basket that Judy Meston's dad managed on 17th street in Costa Mesa had no idea how big his call to the ministry was going to be. Back in those days people could smoke in the store and one of Chuck's biggest beefs was that the floor of the supermarket was not an ash tray.

He was the one who had to clean up after the smokers and he didn't like it one bit. This was the same supermarket that Lonnie Frisbee "dumpster~dived" in the back dumpsters for food to feed him and his wife. A lot of hippies discovered that they could eat still good expired-date food for free from the dumpsters behind super markets. Lonnie had to continue to dumpster dive for food even though the church was growing fast, Chuck quit sweeping floors at the supermarket. Lonnie's first wife, Connie, is still miffed about that to this day.

On any given day one could see Chuck picking up cigarette buttes on the Calvary Chapel property. Young guys like Greg Laurie, took to doing the same because it was what Chuck was modeling by example. They wanted to please Chuck.

Must have worked...Greg is where he wanted to be, where he belongs in the Lord. I think that even though Brian B is at the helm of Calvary Chapel now, it is Greg that people will be drawn to. Not that Brian cares about such things. It is just my observation. Greg's now the "Moses" of the movement as far as I can discern. I honestly expect to see the anointing upon Greg to increase in these last days.

I think it is going to astound him when he realizes it himself. Greg is not the type of man to seek such things for his own sake. I knew him when we were young men, he is sincere, what you see is an evangelist~teacher.
Greg has suffered greatly.

Don't get me wrong, Brian is the perfect choice for the work of the ministry. Things will go according to plan for the "extension of presence" for Pastor Chuck. Just like J Vernon Magee and his "Bible Bus" and Adrian Rogers. The entire extended Smith clan will be cared for right down to the 33 great grand children.

This is a family that is loved by a congregation that prospered in their walks with God because of pastor Chuck Smiths tireless shepherding. They will all continue the work of the ministry that Chuck loved so much.

As for those of us that are nameless faceless ones who were there from the beginning, we will continue to seek after that which once was. And hopefully we will find it!

A place where the presence of Jesus Christ is manifested and the people of God love one another unconditionally.

En Agape'
David Sloane

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Just now found out that my friend Gary Arthur has moved on to be with the Lord

I am the fellow on the right with the long hair.

A friend of mine from the "Jesus People" days has graduated to be with the Lord. Gary Arthur was an incredible brother in the Lord. He and his brother, Larry were some of the first people that i had met who were on fire for the Lord. I think the pictures were from one of Calvary Chapel's summer camps or perhaps a winter camp. We were all so young back then.

Here is an article written by another wonderful friend of mine, Tom Delamater.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Gary Arthur: He Pointed The Way!
A Few of His Many Friends Remember Him

By Tom Delamater
Special to ASSIST News Service
SAN CLEMENTE, CA (ANS) -- When I heard that my friend Gary Arthur had unexpectedly passed on New Year's Day, I was deeply saddened. Like so many others, I was first influenced by his music, but was later fortunate enough to know the man behind that music.

Picture taken from clip of Gary Arthur's
memorial service

Gary was a founding member of the Jesus Music band, The Way. The band was most active in recording and touring from 1971-76. In addition to tracks scattered among early Maranatha! Music compilations, they recorded two full band albums: The Way (1973) and Can It Be? (1975).
Eventually Gary also joined the very influential band Parable. After these “band years”, Gary faithfully served as a worship leader at various Calvary-Chapel-affiliated congregations, his longest tenure being at Maranatha Chapel in San Diego, CA. He was a multi-talented songwriter, vocalist and versatile musician, playing bass, acoustic guitar, piano, and percussion.
Proverbs 27:17 teaches, “As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend”. Gary modeled what it was to be a friend of Christ, and a trusted friend to his brothers and sisters in the Lord. You could always count on Gary for prayer, encouragement, and laughter. Praise and worship was his calling. And, as Scripture reminds us, “God inhabits the praises of his people”. My wife, Pita, in discussing my research for this article, put it very succinctly: “There are very few who would scale the fence for the Lord Jesus, as well as on behalf of others, like Gary Arthur”. Amen.
Here, then, are some remembrances from a few of the many who knew and loved this extraordinary musical servant of Christ:
Darrel Cook:

The Way in Concert

“In early 1974, while living in New Jersey, I heard The Way, and then, when I moved to Southern California a few months later, one of the first guys I met at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa was Gary and we became friends and ‘bass buddies.’ Soon I too was touring the country as a part of Mustard Seed Faith, another of the Jesus Music bands that flowered in the early 1970's. When Gary offered to sell me either one of the two basses he had, I bought the 1963 Fender Precision, which became my only bass for years. I still have, and love this bass, and it will always remind me of Gary, and the friendship we had”.
(Darrel, among his many credits, has recorded and toured with the Praise Series Band. Check the credits of any early Maranatha! Music album, as Darrel is probably listed. He continues his longtime work with the Johnny Rivers Band.)
Malcolm Wild:

Fools Wisdom cover
by Malcolm & Alwyn

“Gary was one of the first of the Jesus People musicians to reach out and make Alwyn and I feel welcome in California. We shared the stage with The Way at the Knott’s Berry Farm ‘Love Song Festival’, and Gary went out of his way to make us feel at home. When we toured the U.S., we listened to two albums as we drove across the country – that of Love Song and The Way”.
(Malcolm Wild, along with musical partner Alwyn Wall, was busy helping to invent the Christian Music genre in the UK while the Jesus Movement was starting in the U.S. After several albums, countless concerts, and mentoring church musicians, he transitioned to Calvary Chapel Merritt Island, FL where he still serves as Senior Pastor.)
Greg Laurie:
“I have known Gary for well over 30 years now, going back to his days with The Way and later with Parable. But more recently, Gary was doing sound for us here at Harvest Orange County. He also led worship and frankly, whatever needed to be done, he did it. He went to the Fred Jordan Mission, which is run by my aunt, Willie Jordan, and helped homeless people. He was a group leader for our men’s Bible study. The list goes on. One word comes to mind when I think of Gary Arthur: It is faithful! I am certain he has already heard the Lord say to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord!’ Gary will be deeply missed by all of us here at Harvest Orange County. He was and is loved by many, including myself”.
(Greg Laurie is the Senior Pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, CA which also encompasses the Harvest Orange County campus in Irvine, CA. Harvest OC was Gary's home church at the time of his passing.)
Kim Hutchcroft:

The Way: Left to Right: Dana Angle, Bruce Herring, Alex MacDougall, John Wickham and Gary Arthur

“I accepted Christ as my Savior in 1975 while living in Hawaii. Then my wife and I moved to Los Angeles, fellowshipping at Church on the Way in Van Nuys, where we sat under the ministry of Pastor Jack Hayford. Seawind, the band that I was in at the time, was both recording and touring heavily from 1976-79. In 1977 I was brought in for session work on Parable’s second album, Illustrations. Years later, when Gary was the worship leader at Maranatha Chapel in San Diego, he invited me to a sit in with the worship team at their worship conference, affording me my first opportunity to do so. Gary was a friend who will be greatly missed”.
(Brilliant saxophonist and founding member of Seawind, Kim is now Music Director at The Packinghouse in Redlands, CA.)
Steve Willems:
“Gary and I did audio together many times, and he always did what he said he would do. I found him to be one of the few people who was consistent to his calling”.
(Friend, audio engineer, co-owner of Maranatha Village in Santa Ana, CA. Maranatha Village, which occupied Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa’s original meeting space, was one of the largest and best-stocked Christian bookstores in the Country for many years running. As a musician, if your album was there, you were “legit”.)
Steve “Bugs” Giglio:
“1971 found Debby Kerner [Rettino], The Way, and myself, all piling into a van, as we toured the United States. We slept on a mattress that was laid across the top of our gear, sound system, you name it! Those were great days. I miss them ... and I will miss him”.
(Bugs served as road manager for Andraé Crouch, Donna Summer, Promise Keepers, etc. He's had a long-time association with Maranatha! Music and has known and worked with most, if not all, of the musicians mentioned in this article. In other words, he’s been there and done that.)
Jon Robberson:

Taken April 21, 1972 in El Paso, Texas, by Elmer W. James, a local photographer, this was The Way’s first tour and they had very crude equipment with no sound man, according to a
band member

“The fellowship of believers and the Christian music community owe a great debt of gratitude and sense of appreciation to the Jesus Music musician-missionaries who paved the way for the sweeping spiritual influence Christian music has had in the past five decades. Brothers and sisters like Gary Arthur answered the call to use music to make a difference for the Kingdom, and as a result of their faithfulness tens-of-thousands, if not millions, have heard the Good News of Jesus Christ”.
(Jon is the Director of Celebration Concerts and Spirit West Coast)
Alex MacDougall:
“Gary Arthur. What a strong name! And he was. I first met Gary in late '72 or early '73, prior to the recording of The Way’s first album. I had been asked to rehearse and play drums on the project. Not long afterwards, I joined the band for seven years, touring North America with Gary as a band member. Those Jesus Movement years of the early ‘70’s were vibrant years of evangelism in action. I know that when Gary entered Heaven's gates there were thousands who welcomed him because they had heard his message down here. Gary always thought in Kingdom ways, filtering things through the lens of the scriptures. He was a warm spirit, and I will miss him very much”.
(Alex, among many accomplishments too numerous to list, was a member of The Way and Daniel Amos, and has recorded and toured with many artists such as Larry Norman, Tom Howard, and was formerly a VP at Vineyard Music. He’s currently an adjunct professor at Dallas Baptist University as part of the Music Business Degree program.)
Bob Bennett:

Bob Bennett

“Like so many others, I was introduced to Gary through the music of Parable. That awareness came in 1977 when I came to a serious faith in Jesus Christ. Most of the time I spent with him was, gig-related. At various times and places he was a worship leader or part of a worship team. Wherever Gary went, he always figured out a way to invite me to come to sing. Having helped early on ‘to write the book’ on this kind of stuff, he was very in tune, and supportive of us newer-on-the block musicians. He was always so kind to me, and enthusiastic about my music. I can certainly add my voice to the chorus of those who all agree that Gary was, every day, first and foremost, a Man of the Gospel. The Kingdom of God and service to his beloved church were constantly on his mind. Music was the means of expression a good deal of the time, but the subject was always Jesus”.
(Bob Bennett is a singer-songwriter, recording artist. He also contributed to this article.)
Ron Sukut:
Pastor Ron Sukut, pastor of Cornerstone Community Church in San Clemente, California, said, “Gary was a good friend, and valued ministry partner. Each time we went to Haiti, following the earthquake, his worship ministry pretty much kept the team going. We would gather completely exhausted, after a long day of clearing rubble and rebuilding walls at an orphanage, and he would take us up to the heavenly place of worship and refreshment. In a place as utterly devastated as Haiti, Gary actually took a group of aspiring musicians with beat-up instruments and, in short order, turned them into a cohesive praise band. Only Gary could have pulled that off”.
(Ron is the pastor of Cornerstone Community Church in San Clemente, CA.)
Karen Lafferty:

Karen Lafferty today (Photo: Dan Wooding)

“I can't think of that life-changing time for many of us in the Jesus Movement without picturing Gary’s infectious smile as he ministered on stage with The Way. His songs, worship leading, and servants heart, all reflected how he totally embraced the God he loved. As this seed has fallen to the earth, I believe we will see new fruit for the Kingdom of God spring forth”.
(Karen Lafferty is truly one of early pioneers of Contemporary Christian Music. In addition to decades of recording and touring, she pioneered Youth With A Mission’s vibrant Musicians for Missions program. Her simple chorus “Seek Ye First” may be as widespread and recognizable in modern church history as “Amazing Grace”.)
Dana Angle:
“Bruce Herring, Gary, and myself, along with John Wickham, and Alex MacDougall, toured for many years after having released several albums that were moderately popular among young Christians. I shared a room with Gary when we first formed the band, and we went to Bible studies together. Gary was devout, and always had a minute to share the Gospel with anybody that wanted to listen. His faith, and his wanting to be close to God, was evident in the lyrics of the songs he wrote, like ‘Jesus Is All That We Need’ and ‘Closer to God’ that were just two examples of his dedication to the Lord. Gary and I always kept in touch, and spent many days together in our preparation for The Way reunion in 2010. We praised the Lord together at Irvine Park, for hours at a time, at the Calvary Musicians Reunion. Up until he passed, he was ready, at the drop of a hat, to serve the Lord any way he could, whether it was as volunteer labor, or setting up, leading, or mixing Christian music performances. He is with the Lord, and I can't wait to visit with him again someday. His friendly voice and caring smile are greatly missed”.
(Dana Angle co-founded The Way and continues to write and record in Southern California. His characterization of The Way’s impact as “modest” is, in itself, quite modest. The Way was definitely a vital and utterly well-known part of the Jesus People era soundtrack.)
“For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them”. (Ephesians 2:10)
To hear The Way singing, Can You Feel the Change, go to: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv4xAuCXkWs
Commenting on this track, Bettie Russo, wrote: “Rest In Peace my dear friend Gary Arthur. He played in this band on this LP and Praised God his whole life. I remember the early days of 1970 in the ‘Little Chapel’ and listening to The Way play at church every? Sat. Night. Now, I await the day I can be there with all of my friends and Jesus as that Big Band in the sky plays for us all. I love and miss you my friend. God Bless.”

(Tom Delamater is a former radio host, record company sales manager, concert promoter, and artist manager. He volunteered extensively for relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and currently works at developing corporate commercial signage. He and his wife Pita live in Southern California.)
(Bob Bennett is a singer-songwriter with ten solo albums released since 1979. He’s still gratefully “at it”, concentrating on small-scale House Concerts and what he calls “House Call Concerts” for longtime fans who are facing serious illnesses and end-of-life situations. For more information:www.bobbennett.com.)