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- Rev Brant Baker
| Rev Brant Baker; Shekinah Fellowship of Long Beach CA | |
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| Topic Started: Jan 23 2006, 01:59 AM (1,683 Views) | |
| surfer51 | Jan 23 2006, 01:59 AM Post #1 |
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'''Rev Brant Baker of Shekinah Fellowship''' Brant Baker was a Christian man with an anointing from God similiar to Kathryn Kuhlman's in the early seventies on the West Coast of America. His meetings could be called a sensational healing revival. He came into the spot~light in a strip mall located on 7th Street in Long Beach CA. His fellowship was best known for the healing meetings on Saturday nights at Pastor Billy Adams' First Foursquare Church in Long Beach CA. Pastor Billy Adams and his wife can be seen here: [http://www.music4us.com/shekinah.htm]Shekinah Fellowship eventually acquired the old West Coast Theater across the street from the Convention Center on Ocean Boulevard . Some say that the Marquee out front had Brant's name in large letters above the name of Jesus Christ in smaller letters. It read, "Rev Brant Baker appearing with Jesus Christ. This somehow reflected the slow decline of his ministry as he was falling back into his past that time. [http://www.cinematreasures.org/theater/1971/] Brant's life has been ex·punged from the records by Christiandom possibly because he died in 1985 of aids. Brant was introduced to Jesus Christ by Lonnie Frisbee who also died from aids. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonnie_Frisbee] A documentary of Lonnie's life has been put together by David Di Sabatino [http://www. Lonniefrisbee.com ] In the late sixties Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel fame would hold bible studies in Brant's mother's home in Newport Beach before taking the helm of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa located on Church Street in Costa Mesa CA. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvary_Chapel] Brant had a clothing store located on 17th Street in Costa Mesa across from The Builders Emporium hardware store. Brant gave away all the clothing to the Jesus People who were living in some of the communal homes of Calvary Chapel before going into the ministry. His Bible studies became noted for the moving of the Holy Spirit in powerful ways. As the study continued to grow a ministry that was called "The Fire Escape" on Beach Blvd in Huntington Beach CA closed it's doors and turned over their non~profit organization to Brant. Brant renamed the organization Shekinah Fellowship. Today Pastor Tilson Schumate has the original Shekinah Fellowship nonprofit organization that Brant operated under during his ministry. Pastor Schumate of Shekinah Fellowship speaking with Benny Hinn can be seen here: [http://www.care2.com/c2c/photos/view/33/445639943/people/Hinn%20Schumate.jpg.html] Assistant Pastor David Sloane of Shekinah Fellowship can be seen speaking on film clip "one" here: [http://www.lonniefrisbee.com/movieclips.htm] Brant told in testimony of how he was involved in the Hollywood scene before his salvation experience. He told of how he hung with the rich and famous of that crowd during the many parties that he would attend. He experienced the emptyness and the futility of that life. He told of the darkness and the allurement that he experienced during this period of his life Brant would attend every meeting at the Shrine Auditorium in LA that Kathryn Kuhlman had there.[http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathryn_Kuhlman After those meetings he would sit outside on the steps and plead with God for the same type of an anointing upon his ministry. He would cry for hours afterward, saying, "God I have got to have that anointing or I will die!". One day as Brant was praying for people God started to heal them. And as word got out that God was moving at Shekinah Fellowship through Brant,people started coming from all walks of life. As Shekinah grew in reputation Brant shaped and molded the ministry after Kathryn's. He had catcher's who stood behind people as he prayed over them because just like in Kathryn's meetings they would fall over backwards under the power of the Holy Spirit as he lightly touched them on the neck. He had a magnificient choir and several musicians in the fellowship. Brant had "workers" who moved in the word of knowledge who would be scattered throughout the crowd to prompt people who were healed during the meetings to go up and share the story of their healing. Today at Benny Hinns meetings you can observe the same format. As Brant continued to pattern his ministry after Kathryn's he rented out the Long Beach Municiple Auditorium. It was full of people who had come to see God work. Brant continued to rent adutoriums in CA, holding healing type meetings where people were getting healed of all types of afflictions. His popularity continued to grow and churches started inviting his ministry to visit them. Shekinah Fellowship got the attention of TBN the Christian television station. Paul and Jan Crouch invited Shekinah to their program. So Brant started to garner more followers as viewers became aware of his ministry. Brant was on his way to filling the space vacated by Kathryn... But such was not to be. Today no one at TBN will hardly mention Brant's name. Even Benny Hinn who eventually became Kathryns apparent replacement has not been told about Brant by TBN... not until Pastor Schumate told the Brant Baker story to Benny Hinn at a Christmas party recently (Christmas 2005). Just like Lonnie Frisbee who passed through the land like a modernday John the Baptist, Brant passed through the land like Jesus the healer. But strange as it may seem, no one wants to talk about Brant. Why? Because just like Lonnie, Brant died in 1985 from aids which can possibly be an embrassment to the fundamental evangelical mind set. Brant's life radiated the love of Jesus Christ for a few bright fleeting moments before dimming out in his unexpected death. People were stunned and devastated! Many of the workers in his ministry backslide or just wandered away in deep dissapointment. Some who recovered still hold fond memories of those magnificient times in the Lord when the ministry functioned like a well oiled machine. Brant's story is just as inspiring as other generals of the faith. He forged new territory when everyone else was involved in "cookie~cutter~christianity." As other churches were stressing correct theological and doctrinal foundations to the neglect of the supernatural side of God, Brant presented a Jesus Christ who loved everyone and demonstrated that love by healing the afflicted and making His presence known. Brant's sermons always presented the person of Jesus Christ. Brant's Christ's presence transcended words in a sense. In his first letter, apostle John expanded on that, saying that He was the Word of life that they heard and saw and touched. It was Christ's physical presence that sealed it for them and for us all. Those who followed Him experienced Him. They heard, saw and handled the word of life in human flesh as Brant presented Jesus to the people in a powerful "preaching" way. Brant never read from notes as he spoke. His voice would go from being soft and intimate to loud and authorative during the course of his sermons. It was an identifyable moment when the Holy Spirit would come in and take over the service as Brant was preaching. At that point Brant would start to call out the healings taking place around him. The lights were dimmed when Brant would speak. There would be a bright spotlight on him. He was dramatic to watch, almost like watching a stage performance. Brant Baker had the anointing upon him. If you stood face to face with him he you became aware of the childlike innocence he projected during ministry. There was that glowing sensation of the presence of the Holy Spirit that surrounded him. He was young, good looking,tall and thin, and always well dressed. He won over many people just by his likeable presence. Shekinah's choir could have been rated with some of the finest around. Towards the end of Brant's life he had dyed his hair blond and did not seem to care that anyone was aware of his return to some of his past short comings. Anyone who had the privelege of sitting under Brant's ministry would tell you that of a certainty God had anointed this young man of God inspite of his personal struggles. The Jesus People would bring the hippies from the streets to Brant's meetings where they would receive salvation. Some would come in vans full of hippies from as far away as Laguna Beach CA. Over time other churches started speaking against Brant's ministry and would publicly do so from their pulpits. This was hard on Brant who was very emotionally sensitive to what was being said. Like most sensitive people Brant often needed to be by himself to recenter his focus. There are those who are still struggling to recover to this day because of the way that Brant died from aids. Anyone with a Brant Baker Video, audio tape, testimony or pictures of Brant or Shekinah Fellowship who would like to share in the telling of Brant's story... Please contac us at: david.surfer51 AT gmail.com tshumate8 AT sbcglobal.net We at Shekinah Fellowship are currently attempting to put together the story of Brant Baker. We call it "The Brant Baker Project." Brant's story will not be told unless you help. Pastor Tilson and assistant Pastor David located Joe Ellen Baker, Brant's mother in the Palm Springs desert in the early nineties. Joe Ellen had all the video tapes and the audio tapes of Brant stored in an outside storage locker. She refused to release any of the material for a documentary about Brant. Perhaps now that the story of Lonnie Frisbee has been told by David Di Sabbatino, she will reconsider allowing Brant's story to be told by us... For a short period of time Joe Ellen Baker tried to continue the ministry that her son had started in Long Beach CA. Dr. Michelle Corral came out of this fellowship. [http://www.breathofthespirit.org/] Surfer51 [http://www.groups.msn.com/DesertMinistry] |
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| Stace4Jesus | Jan 23 2006, 03:29 PM Post #2 |
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Hey I hope that when you get more information that you will share it. I would like to see the film and I hope that they put it on the internet sometime. I did find this film showing Lonnie: Footage of Lonnie ministering. The quality was not good on my machine, perhaps it will be better on someone elses. To me, this story is just amazing. Oh, and by the way... Welcome to Crosslight  Stacie 
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| surfer51 | Jan 24 2006, 06:34 PM Post #3 |
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Joan, In reply to your statement to me: "As we are to seek after Christ Jesus and not man, I cannot image that you are posting about him and Lonnie just to imform us of their lives but more so, to make us aware of what God is about to do in this hour." I thought this section of your website was to honor "ministries before us." Lonnie Frisbee started the Calvary Chapel movement and the Vineyard movement. He was also my spiritual father in that he brought me to the Lord and dicipled me as a young man. I got ordained officially into the ministry through the ministry that Brant Baker started. A ministry that to this day has fruit on the earth that is still producing more fruit. Both of these men of God have been called home before us. Yes you are correct, God is telling me something. He has reminded me how inspite of Lonnie and Brant's struggles with sexual sin, they still believed that God could and would use them inspite of themselves. They believed that they could be anointed of God and were used in a people impacting way! We all can learn from them. Learn what? That inspite of our flaws and struggles as individuals, God wants to move through our yielded lives. I sense that God is waiting for "anyone" who will stand in the gap. Ezekiel 22:30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. The prophet Paul Cain has told us: There will be no public, reaping without some public weeping. The greatest reapers in this world are the greatest weepers. There is a gift that we need to ask God for in these days. It's the gift of tears. We need to come before the Lord, making ourselves available to Him in a deeper way.The gift of tears is more than a result of the suffering that comes from living in a fallen world. It flows from feeling the pain and the suffering that the Lord Jesus feels for us. He is our High Priest, touched by the feeling of our infirmities. We need to feel what He feels for America. We need to feel what He feels for the Church. We need to feel what He feels about sin and the abominations that are going on in the earth today. We must have tears if we are going to see revival. If we have no tears it's because our hearts are parched. Lord, give us tears that we may see revival! The next move of God will be known for people falling on their faces and weeping, weeping, weeping - all the while God is being magnified as the Church beholds His majesty, beholds His glory and becomes His glory. Lonnie Frisbee pleaded with the Lord to show Himself. Brant Baker cried and cried while asking God for His anointing upon his life to help others. Both of these young men accomplished much for the Kingdom of God as a result. Are we prepared to get on our faces before the Lord? The next move will be the people of God on their faces... Surfer51 |
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| Bill and Joan | Jan 25 2006, 10:56 AM Post #4 |
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Hallelujah!!! Praise be to God!!! Hi David, Thank you so much for responding. I knew there was something more than what you had written about these men's ministries. Yes, indeed, this site is for us recognizing other ministries that have gone on before us that we can learn from them. I hope you did not think that I was saying that you had posted incorrectly. That was not it. The reason why I sent you a personal message is because I sensed the Lord had more for you to say and say it you did. Praise God! Your words spoke to my heart and it will speak to the hearts of many. Brother, please do not allow the world, even personal world, to quiet the voice the Lord has given you. We need to know what the Lord is speaking in this hour through His prophets. You have spoken the heart of the Lord here and we need to hear His heart that it might touch our own. Truly, Lonnie Frisbee and Brant Baker's lives speak loudly to us today. It is not our own "perfectiveness" that calls us into ministry. It is His calling upon our lives that brings forth fruit because He is perfect in us and when the world sees that we are weak, there is hope for them as well. When the Lord is allowed to work through usinspite of our flaws, what a glorious testimony it is of His strength and ability in us, amen? David, I love you very much as my brother in Christ and as a great man of God because you have yielded your life to Him. I also sense a dam being broken in your life and the rivers of living waters being allowed to flow freely. Please allow those rivers to flow into the lives of His people and speak that which He has given you to speak. You are a vital part of the body of Christ. Brother, this verse came to mind in regards to you, "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." (Hebrews 1:9 KJV) Let us sow in tears before our Lord and reap in gladness for the things He is doing in this hour. All glory and honor is due Him! In His love, Joan |
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| Stace4Jesus | Jan 27 2006, 10:40 AM Post #5 |
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Hey, Thanks for this info on these two men of God. After you posted this information, I went to each of the sites that you mentioned, and to any other site I could find that would have more information. The thing that stood out with me most is the pain that they must have lived through at the end of their lives. I read on one site where one of them had not had a earthly father, so to say, and really leaned into two other ministers in our faith as father figures. In turn, these two men both rejected the young man. I think this was Lonnie. I am not sure. In essence, it did not matter which one it was, only that the "rejection" burned within me for days. As I sought the Lord on this over these past days, I have come up with two understandings that will be plumb lines for my walk while here on earth. The first, for my own life, is to never lean into man ... but lean into the Lord. The verse that stands out for me is this:
For me, my understanding is this: Anointed friendships are a blessing, and God will keep these. But, if we are in the position of being used by the Lord to touch the lives of others, we must have our feet so grounded with our Lord because today, people love us, and tomorrow they may hate us. I know that many have already realized this, but it something that we must own within our hearts. And the second thing that I have received from these men's lives is a distain for "rejection." I never want to allow the 'poison' of rejection to pour forth from my life in anyway. No matter what the offense, I want to always be available to someone and they not need to fear that I will reject them. This does not mean that I will agree with them on everything, just that I will not partake of a cruel and cold rejection of someone that will lead them to bitterness. I may be wrong, but it just seems to me that these two men of God came into the scene when there was a need for radical change. These two abnormal hippy men were able to break down the walls and limits of the Lord and open to greater changes for the Body as a whole. But, it seems like once the walls were down, and the men "not needed" anymore since the Lord was now moving in the Calvary Chapel and Vineyard Movements, that the "establishment" that had been uncomfortable with the "hippies" could not get back to a "more dignified" representation of the Body of Christ to the world. Thank you for sharing. shalom stacie |
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| surfer51 | Jan 29 2006, 12:28 AM Post #6 |
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Stacy, You hit the nail on the head or as some say, spot on. Brant's ministry waned after someone had revealed what he struggled with to Paul Crouch of TBN. Paul decided it was best to "pull" Brant from the program as a result. That marked the beginning of the end of Brant's ministry because he knew not how to handle this apparent rejection. When hit by rejection, it is uplifting to know we are not alone. Learning the correct way to respond to rejection is essential if we are to experience the joy and peace of Jesus Christ. In Genesis, God said: "… Let Us make man in Our image …" (Genesis 1:26). A basic truth in handling rejection is that we are made in the image of God. Nothing can separate us from His love and care. We cannot avoid rejection because we cannot control the way people feel about us. Some will like us automatically; others may reject us without reason. When we fail to accept ourselves, rejection has an open door to our emotions. The only way to combat rejection is to gain a strong understanding of your position in Jesus Christ. Your worth and personhood are not determined by those around you. Anytime you base your self-worth on what other people say about you, you set yourself up for possible rejection. Only God can meet all our needs. He is our sufficiency in every situation. We belong to God through our relationship with Jesus Christ. We hold a valued place in the family of God that no one else can occupy. (John 1:12; Romans 8:14-15) God has personally chosen us. (John 15:16) Our name is etched in the palms of His hands. (Isaiah 49:16) He promises to be our strength (2 Timothy 4:17; Philippians 4:13), Our sufficiency (2 Corinthians 12:9, and our redeemer. (Isaiah 54:5) God is so aquainted with rejection: 1 Samuel 8:7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. 2 Kings 17:15 And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them. Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. We are capable to work, live, and enjoy life because of the power that is ours in Jesus Christ. The next time rejection comes— * Identify the source of the rejection and the accompanying feelings. * Reaffirm your position in Christ. (Ephesians 2:6) Tell Him exactly what you are feeling. Know that He understands the heartache of rejection and will use every trial to draw you closer to Himself. * Recall the unchanging truth that you are unconditionally loved, totally accepted, and complete in Christ. Jesus Christ suffered the ultimate form of rejection. He was jeered, spat on, threatened, and finally put to death. His entire life was a sacrificial offering of forgiveness, acceptance, and unconditional love. Yet everywhere He went, He faced rejection. But man's view of Him never altered His focus. It could never damage what He knew to be true: He was eternally one with the heavenly Father, and He knew He was eternally loved. Victory over the world's rejection was His. He did not need the world's approval because He already had the Father's. We, too, are one with God. (1 Corinthians 6:17) The victory is ours the minute we apply the truths of God's Word to our life. We don't need the approval of the world or its favor. All we will ever need has been provided for us through Jesus Christ. We can rest in His sufficiency and be content in knowing that His grace is forever ours. God may not approve of all our behavior. As we grow in Him, He will change and sand away the rough areas of our life. But He will never reject us as a person. When we come to Him, we never come alone. Jesus Christ is our advocate (Hebrews 7:25), and we always can be confident of His love and acceptance. So wonderful to be a christian! We have Jesus Christ. Hebrews 13:5-6 ...for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Surfer51 |
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