p.3 The Aftermath of Frisbee’s Mystical Encounter

What happened in Haight Ashbury and in the Canyon?

Frisbee says he,“went off to college in late 1966, way up north in San Francisco. Subsequently, Subsequently, I moved to the Haight-Ashbury during the much-publicized Summer of Love in 1967. I lived right in the midst of it all.”

He explains, “I was not a hippy-hobo-freak when I arrived in the Haight-Ashbury . I was a letterman in high school wrestling. I was a clean-cut kid. I had what I considered to be good morals from my church background even though I had been experimenting with drugs, sex, and rock ’n’ roll . Nevertheless, I had a genuine love and concernfor people. The seed that God birthed in my heart at age eight was definitely still there.”

Biblically speaking, good morals is hardly what he was involved with as he states ‘we did everyone and everything’ living in Haight Ashbury. He makes no distinction of looking clean and living clean which are two very different matters.

As we go into his time at Haight Ashbury and his conversion in the canyon, the timing of these are skewed, as he says, “for almost the entire first year of living on my own, I went wild.” He continued doing and selling acid and participating in all the licentious living that was taking place there at the time. As we will see, Frisbees timeline from his Canyon’s mystical experience intersects with his time in Haight Ashbury, which is integral to the reliability and truthfulness of much of what Frisbee says about himself, along with the many other varied accounts, and dates that are conflicting, given by himself and others throughout his life and after his death.

“At seventeen I dropped out of high school and enrolled in the art college. Frisbee tells us he was in college on an art scholarship, receiving the Julius David Epstein scholarship to the prestigious Academy of Arts in San Francisco. A high school teacher had moved there and helped me get accepted into the college. I lived with this family in San Francisco when I first arrived. I moved to “the community” as soon as I could, where the rent was cheap (but not anymore!). I gravitated from my teacher’s place, moved to the Haight, and rented a place of my own. I lived right in the midst of it all.’ (At this time he had an art scholarship and he was still selling and doing LSD.)

He left the Art college after he met the Christians at Novato when he came back from the canyon. He tells a story of the principal of the Academy of Art begged him to stay and that he had a “multi-thousand-dollar scholarship. You can even go to art school in Europe”, but Lonnie says in his book that God spoke to him to leave, but that he would be rewarded. Frisbee said that the Lord said: “I’ll bless you as an artist” (which never happened).

We are also told by Lonnie that he was dropping acid before he went to Haight Ashbury, on the weekends while going the TV dance show during the week (not on the show) until that ended for him. Fresh off the dance show ‘Shebang’ he went to Haight Ashbury. One of the few times we see Lonnie on the show Shebang, dancing (May 16, 1966 -1st Anniversary Show posted on youtube) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5PRUdWV9C4 . He was at Shebang when Tom Jones was there, he also says, “I remember when the Doors came on the show” (the Doors appeared 6/27/67), which means he was still attending then in June. During this time period he apparently was also attending Kuhlman’s TV ministry once a month as well (for 7 years), claiming to see miracles, apparently at the same time living as a heathen in Haight Ashbury in 1967.

Frisbee’s time during ‘The summer of love’ 1967

Some say the ‘summer of love’ began in the actual summer of 1967, when 100,000 people gathered at the Haight Ashbury suburb of San Francisco. Others say it actuallybegan on Jan. 14, 1967 when 30,000 people gathered in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Timothy Leary spoke the next day at the ‘Human Be-In’, a counterculture event.

The term "Summer of Love" originated with the formation of the Council for the Summer of Love during the spring of 1967 as a response to the convergence of young people on the Haight-Ashbury district. (Wikipedia)

San Francisco is 46 sq. miles. Haight Ashbury is located in the center of San Francisco close to Golden Gate Park and Buena Vista Park, anywhere in San Francisco proper is walking distance to Haight and Ashbury streets. To get an idea of the size of it’s compared to San Jose it is one-fourth the size,and one-fifth the size of Chicago. Everybody in the city was close to the so-called hub of the movement.

The Academy of Arts he attended is less than 3.9 miles away from Haight Ashbury area. How could Lonnie make such a big point to move to there for the summer of Love when he was already living in San Francisco area in late ’66? Frisbee tells us he was among many others who congregated in San Francisco there to experiment, where“ the entire first year of living on my own, I went wild.”

“So here I was, getting quickly and completely caught up in the wild, rebellious, but exciting atmosphere all around me. My hair grew longer and longer, and my style changed. I might have gone in looking like a seventeen-year-old preppy, but believe me, I came out looking like our friend Paramahansa Yogananda.” …My pompadour morphed into extremely long hair, I grew a full-length beard and wore beads, bells, robes, and sandals. Let’s not forget the flowers in my hair.”

Our friend, The Yogi? The fact is, Frisbee did not grow out his hair or look like this until later 1967-1968, after he was converted. We see photos and video of him at the time where he is dressed like a normal person, not a hippie (this is shown in a video from December 1967 when a famous preacher named David Wilkerson visited the San Francisco halfway house Christian outreach, that Frisbee had become a part of.

He formerly described himself as a ‘nudist-vegetarian hippie,’ but from what we have seen in pictures it was only later, after living at the commune in Novato with Christians that Frisbee, grow his hair long and start growing a beard.

This time he mentions from after ‘66 through ’67. But this timing does not fit the rest his story that he was in the Canyon in early1967 when had his mystical experience. We cannot reconcile this with his time being in Haight Ashbury living as a hippie for a whole year through ‘67.

As we will see these times seem to overlap and do not clarify at all what took place and when. Most people would not notice the contradictions in his storyline, we spent good amount of time trying to piece it together.

Before and after moving to San Francisco he continued visiting the canyon “A couple of times we went to the desert looking for UFOs.” After being in San Francisco (before Novato), “ the months rolled by, I’d occasionally hitchhike back down to Southern California.” “We loved to go to Tahquitz Canyon up near Palm Springs, get nude, and seek God. One time about a hundred of us––guys and gals––were arrested for being nude and smoking dope .”

This is implied to be late 1966 to early ‘67 but we could find a record of this. This has become an integral part of the Lonnie Frisbee story that everyone uses. Of the several times people were arrested for trespassing there was not a hundred nudist hippies (nor was it before Frisbee was with Calvary Chapel). So this becomes a large problem in his storyline (we will continue to look into this to see if this can be found during the time claimed and correct this).

This is the only story that comes close to his, and it is during Easter week, April in 1969, the paper reported of hippies, bikers, concert goers, and college kids rolled into Palm Springs and raised hell in Tahquitz Canyon. The college students came for spring break. The hippies came on a pilgrimage to Tahquitz Canyon, Some say more, 1,500 people drinking wine and smoking pot at the canyon’s seven waterfalls.

Scouts See Nude Hippies in Tahquitz (carried by the Desert Sun, Volume 42, Number 228, 28 April 1969). UCR found on California digital newspaper collection

Story by JULIE BAUMER The hippies are still determined to turn Tahquitz Canyon into a sort of Garden of Eden and that's the bare truth! It seems that a half dozen or so of the long-haired youths and their female companions are enjoying the wonders of nature at the first fall in nothing more than their birthday suits.

The nude hippies were intermingled with some 25 other boys and girls in various stages of dress last weekend as they wandered around the trail, splashed in the water and sunbathed.”

This of course could not be referring to his story of being arrested with 100 people, 2 years after his conversion.

Another time after it is reported six persons were arrested Sunday for trespassing in the Tahquitz Falls area. The article names all 6 (Desert Sun, Volume 43, Number 19, 26 August 1969).

40 youths were arrested at Tahquitz falls reported by Desert Sun, Volume 43.

Desert Sun, Volume 42, Number 295, 15 July 1969 nudists in the canyon were not arrested

All the arrests of any consequence are listed from 1969 or later, not before.

Greg Laurie writes, “ Not too long after Lonnie Frisbee’s summer of ’67 arrest for public nudity and drug possession, he hit his favorite canyon again, this time without a hundred of his closest friends”

The Fateful Day

In early part of ‘1967, that he went to Tahquitz falls by himself, and had his alleged supernatural experience (He had never mentioned going there alone or being alone prior to this).

This is where his timeline is nearly impossible to fit into his succession of stated events. Frisbee said he was in Haight Ashbury for approximately one year (living as a full-fledged hippie), since late 1966 he came to San Francisco, a few months later moved to Haight district of the city. All before his main Tahquitz Canyon experience. The Tahquitz Canyon experience does not fit into his one full year timeline.

Lonnie also said that he was converted months before meeting Connie, (his future wife) at the Canyon. The timeline has him witnessing to Connie in April 1967; as he was already living with Christians in Novato. Connie says she was brought to Novato in April 1967, and they were married one year later, (April ’1968), so he could not have moved to Haight-Ashbury in the ‘summer of love’ in 1967 and been there for a year at the same time.

Frisbee also stated:I was still in my late teens” “I labored for the next year and a half with my brothers and sisters in the Living Room ministry,”which again does not fit the timeline. It is not possible.

If he met the Christians from Novato a month (or more) before he met Connie in the canyon, how did have this year and a half long time spent at Haight Ashbury as a hippie?

Let me break down the time spread; these events took place are from the end of 1966 to April 1968 which is approximately 1 ¼ years or slightly more; Frisbee’s timeline of events adds up to 2 ½ years. How does any of this work with Lonnie saying he first lived as a hippie for a whole year and then living in Novato after his canyon conversion for another 1½ years. It is not possible because you would have 2 ½ years of time that would only be able to be lived out in 1 ¼ to possibly1½ years at the most in real time, besides the conflicting events.

Roger Sach’s writes in the book, “ Some of his accounts will sound like a Hollywood script from some gifted writer with a huge imagination, but that is not the case. This is the truth, with documented evidence that is overwhelming (book)

Sach’s is well aware of how Frisbees stories come across, and no, (there is minimal documented evidence), at least not in any accurate form of documentation. What there is a lot of exaggeration and embellishment told by Lonnie’s own view that is questionable.

Sach’s fully endorses his story. Legendary stories are attributed to Frisbee with most of the events not being verified. There are so many conflicting stories and timelines that they can only be considered anything but accurate. This is why we are quoting what was said by those directly involved and by Frisbee himself explaining the timeline. To understand the actual story of Lonnie Frisbee we must stick with and deal with the facts. And these spin out when looking at the timeline.

Frisbee’s Return from the mountain to Haight Ashbury

Fresh back from his supernatural encounter he states, “ At eighteen years old, I was being called by God to serve him… I came off that mountain a different person. I still didn’t have all the answers, but I knew for sure that Jesus was real. He had responded to my desperate cry. I had an instant revelation of my calling ….” Since he was born Jun 6, 1949, he was still 17 at this time, not 18.

He claims to have a revelation of his calling but still had no revelation of who Jesus actually was. Who Jesus is, is far more important that any personal calling, especially since Frisbee supposedly, and specifically asked if God was ‘really real!’ Biblically, to know the one calling you is the most important thing.

Frisbee in his book said that at that time, “I was carrying on about opinions that I had. It was a mixture of Christianity and Rainbow. The Rainbowmovement, a vague blend of Timothy Leary’s LSD cult…” He also said, “I realized that the written Word of God was true and supernatural. God was invading my life, and it was so powerful and absolutely wonderful. I didn’t need drugs anymore!”

Does God invade us like a conqueror, or, do we give things up, surrender, relinquish portions of our life for him to fill and have control over? It is here where his struggles continued because of a lack of understanding of how God works.

How does this timeline work out in his story?

Lonnie tells us as he was still living in the Haight-Ashbury district (at 18 years old), he first preached the gospelhe ran into an older Pentecostal couple boldly preaching on the neighborhood street (calling them Pentecostal grandma and grandpa couple, in their 60’s) boldly preaching, ‘the pure gospel,” shouting,“Love the Lord!” and “Jesus is the answer!”After he joined them they had him carry a sandwich sign they asked him to preach. Lonnie said, “I have something that I want to say to you,” and a crowd of people stopped on Market Street and started listening to me. It was my first time sharing Christ that I ever felt that special feeling from a crowd of people .”

“He joined this couple who told him he was an evangelist.” Frisbee tells us he didn’t even know what that meant at the time, even though he read the gospel of John, the evangelist.

We know when the trip is to have taken place, the conflict is that it occurs before summer of love 1967. But we are told by Lonnie that it was for a whole year he lived as hippie, but the timeline places him within that same time in Novato? This becomes confusing when it should be simple.

To further complicate the story he tells us when he met her in the canyon “She was a runaway and had just dropped some acid. I knew this girl and had witnessed to her before ” (book). He witnessed to her prior?

Both Lonnie and Connie tell us it was “an entire year after being at the Navato house that he and Connie were married.”Which meansit wasbeforeApril 1967 when he went and got her at the canyon and brought her back to Novato. How is this possible, according to his timeline, would all be before he moved to Haight Ashbury for the summer of Love.

This again presents a problem in the timing since he is supposed to be from late 1966’ through the summer of 1967’, living as a hippie, for a year. Let me make this perfectly clear, there is no time to have moved to Haight to party for year if he is already commissioned by the Lord at the canyon and witnessed to Connie in April, a year before he married Connie (in April of 1968).

With this timeline, these dates become meaningless in the storyline. This has us question his supernatural experience he claims to have had all alone in the canyon.

Meeting the Christians from Novato

Greg Laurie states, “Lonnie returned to San Francisco, and though there are different versions about what happened next, he evidently met some Jesus People on the street in the fall of 1967.”

These different versions include different timings and details which actually matter in the overall story, because they are so contradictory. As we will see more and more, the entire succession of events have too many overlaps that leave out details that would make it more cohesive, that would otherwise make his stories much more credible.

With all the variations and time differences it makes one question if his book contains the truth from his memory, or is his memory this wrong. Or, is it being reinterpreted through Sach. Why are the stories so conflicting? Especially on his being born again, and again, three different times at different locations!

Frisbee states his conversion was the result of God coming to him on `an acid [LSD] trip' while naked in Tahquitz Canyon (Why was dropping LSD not in his testimony of the canyon in his book?) Him being a former evangelist for LSD who turns to Christ on LSD, this does not sound right. The details in his history sequence become very confused at this point, even Sherlock Holmes would be hard pressed to make sense of it.

Novato is the Christian community that he says he got involved with two weeks AFTER his LSD Canyon experience. He says “I hitched back to the Haight-Ashbury on fire for God.”Which puts this a month or two earlier than April 1967. But he also tells us he moved to Haight and Ashbury in the summer of love in 1967 where he was already living as a hippie. How does the timing fit? Frisbee says, “I withdrew from art schoolshortly after moving to Novato.” If one considers the summer of Love at Haight Ashbury in his timeline, it would have to be late summer 1967. There is simply not a way to work all these events into the timeline.

Frisbee also said he became a Christian convert through the witnessing of some brothers from the Novato commune house in San Francisco which he renamed "The House of Acts." As we are told, “Steve, the former radio disc jockey from the House of Acts”went with Lonnie when he quit art school.

In his testimony Frisbee told the Calvary Chapel congregation, “. . . he began using drugs in high school. He so zealously believed this was the answer to life’s problems he turned on his brothers and most of his friends to drugs. . . . . ‘I studied eastern philosophy and religion. I went through Haight- Ashbury when it was supposed to be where it was at. And then one day some brothers from the House of Acts commune told me where it was really at. And I accepted Jesus Christ. And man, it’s true, Jesus is where it’s at!’

Is that his testimony? Because it is completely contrary to the other ‘two testimonies’ he already said that he was saved by. It all sounds genuine until we further examine his claims; and we find sincerity and genuinely accuracy are two different things.

This makes it the third time he was born again, which would invalidate the supernatural canyon experience as true. If he was born again a third time, how then could the second or the first time be true? (And why is this testimony not included in his book?) We are left to believe that he went to Haight Ashbury after he was converted at the canyon and then was saved again at Novato.

First, he is born again as a child of eight years old, then a second time in the Tahquitz canyon, and now a third time later after the canyon, through the witnessing of 'some brothers from "The big House" mission while in San Francisco (which he renamed while being there the House of Acts). How many times does one need to be born again? Biblically, a person can only be born again one time according to Scripture.

Frisbee’s, more than unusual "conversion" from God, and his subsequent alleged commission all happened while he was on LSD. Meeting the Novato crew few weeks after? Which does not coincide with the timing of him saying he was doing drugs being in Haight Ashbury during the summer of love, (for a year).

All the variations, the different times and dates bring confusion and doubt not validation to his stories. They make his stories suspect as not being accurate, or true.

Unfortunately, taking LSD when one has had such a tumultuous childhood can bring havoc to their psyche. Frisbee’s mind seems to have been greatly fragmented possibly from his LSD use, his immorality and the confusion and pain of being a victim of childhood abuse. All could be contributing factors to his memories.

But despite these sad things, we have a responsibility to separate truth from non-truth because of the importance of all this being related to church history. Even though it was only for a very short time, Lonnie Frisbee did play a very significant role in Christian Church history in both Calvary Chapel and much more so in Wimber’s Vineyard.

His conversion from a hippie to believer in the canyon is more than questionable. His claim he was commissioned by God while knowing nothing about the Bible. There is no Biblical way God spoke of or gave him similar spiritual experiences to Isaiah, or Saul on the road to Damascus, or to be called as a John the Baptist with his minimal and flawed understanding of Jesus. Both his lack of understanding the Scripture and the timeline brings all of this into question. This is why I personally do not believe his supernatural encounter with God in the canyon occurred as he says.

He had been going to church, to Kathryn Kuhlman meetings (and others?) on and off during his teenage life, for many years before he went to San Francisco, before he came to Calvary Chapel. Does his stories reinforce that he was “a hippie who had come to Christ in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco." With this much confusion on the when, and where, can we accept the how?

p.4 The Lonnie Frisbee most do not know- From Haight Ashbury to Novato

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