Kathryn With Duane Pederson and Chuck Smith - Part 1 — Jesus People

I have as my guest today two of the greatest leaders of the Jesus movement in the United States. And I mean that. I want both of you to know that I think an awful lot of you. And remember something, we're in it together.

These are his children and they're our children. And it's just like that. Dwayne Pedersen, you're doing one of the greatest works for the youth that I know anything about. And I want you to know, Chuck Smith, you know one of the greatest compliments that could possibly be paid to you was paid to you by this young man.

I think you are the one. Are you Lonnie? Yes. I thought so. And Chuck, you don't know, but Lonnie called me up the other morning. You know nothing about this. And he said, Captain Kuhlman, I'm Lonnie.

And he began talking with me and he said, you know, and when he referred to you, he referred to you as Daddy Chuck. You didn't realize, but that's the greatest compliment you could have paid to him. Maybe you better just call me Mama Catherine.

Do you know, Chuck, no greater honor could be bestowed upon you when I think of the millions of millions of people who live and die and who have never really lived, not real. They've never had a real thrill, not really.

They've lived and they've died and they've wasted their life and they've wasted their time and it's a waste. But here literally thousands and thousands of teenagers call you Daddy Chuck. That's love. That's love.

Sure it is, Lonnie. All right, Dwayne, and you have this great newspaper. It's, it's, what is it? The Hollywood Free Paper.

The Gospel in the Hollywood Free Paper

It's an underground newspaper in which we tell people about Jesus Christ. And, you know, a lot of people, you know, have got strange ideas about it. Oh, I know. Sometimes when they first see it. And, you know, in the book of Romans, the first chapter and 16th verse, Paul the Apostle is talking and he says that the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation.

And so it's not the articles or the cartoons, which we may have in the paper, and we have quite a few of them. But inside of each of the articles and the illustrations and the cartoons that we have in the Hollywood Free Paper, we have the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And this is the power of God unto salvation. That's right. What's the circulation? Right now, and we're down a little bit for the summer, but right now it's at 425 ,000. Which means... Come on, come on.

You see, I'm one of you, too. You see, I'm part of the Jesus movement, too. I don't hear what the world calls it, but if you know Jesus as your personal Savior, if you've had that new birth experience, then that's what we're talking about.

But I want to go on record that I am one of them. Know that. And Chuck Smith, dear me, the daddy of thousands, and millions of people reading Look magazine and reading Time magazine, world-renowned magazines, have seen your face.

Your face is nothing new to millions and millions of people, and yet millions of people have never heard your voice, have never really known what you've stood for. The same way with Dwayne. The same with these young people.

Millions have seen pictures, but they have never... The news media has never allowed these young people to speak. And that's the reason we're here today. It's all yours. I give it to you, gentlemen. Tell me about these wonderful Jesus people of whom I am a part.

The Jesus Movement as a Continuation of Acts

Talk about us. Start it, Chuck. Talk about us. It's a movement that began about 2 ,000 years ago. I remember so well. And we're sort of Johnny-come-lately's in it, but we're so thrilled. And this is nothing new.

Oh, no, no. You see, that's what gets me when people call this a fad. It isn't a fad. It began way back there with Jesus, didn't it? Right.

That's right. Turned on people for Jesus Christ. You know, it began... The book of Acts is full of it, you know. Just people who found that Jesus Christ was all that he said he was, the Son of God, the Savior of the world.

And he's not a myth. Oh, no. Oh. A myth could not change all of these lies. That's right.

That's right. That's right. A myth could not have changed your life. Know that. It takes the very power of the Son of the living God. Oh.

The Light of Christ in a Dark World

It's a beautiful thing to see in a world that is very dark. When you listen to the news today, and you look at all of the things that are happening, and we see the articles that deal with the young people and the problems, and we are living in a very problemed world, and there's darkness on all hands.

But in this dark world, there is a brilliant light that's now shining, and it's in the faces of these people who have accepted Jesus Christ and the light of Christ coming through. And to me, this is really the only hope in the world today is among what's happening right now with these young people being turned on to Jesus Christ.

Not only the only hope for America, because this is... Worldwide. Worldwide. That's right. That's right. That's right. It's important. I'm so glad to be a part of it. Oh, yes. Wayne, I look at you and think of the wonderful work that you are doing with your newspaper, and yet it's not really something that, oh, we say the editor of the Los Angeles Times are, you know...

I'm not really an editor. It just sort of happened. Well, it hasn't just been the same with all of us. It just happened.

We just all of a sudden found ourselves... You know, I think the important thing is to just open up yourself to Jesus Christ and allow him to work through you. And all of a sudden you find yourself doing something which you never knew you were able to or even have really the education or the capabilities of doing, but you just find yourself doing it.

Opening to the Holy Spirit and Following Its Flow

And it's happening today as people are just opening themselves to the Holy Spirit, and he is beginning to work through them. So much is happening, and we're seeing it everywhere, just everywhere.

And the man who stands back and says, Well, we'll just wait and see what's going to happen. And he just waits. And nothing ever happens.

And time's running out. We have a saying, find the flow of the Spirit and flow with him, you know. Just be open, just people.

I want to ask you something, Chuck. You're soon going to have me calling you Daddy Chuck. I think you're awfully nice, you know that? I think you're nice too. You know why? It's because we love the same Jesus.

That's right. Now, with the millions of people who saw the pictures of you out in the waters of the Pacific, baptizing thousands of the youth, how many have you baptized?

The Global Reach of the Jesus Movement

Well, actually since when? Yeah. We have about 500 a month that are being baptized, and so just figure how many months back you want and you can determine how many have been baptized. But we've been going down there for about two years now, and it's just increasing and increasing.

We started out with, actually, well, three years ago, we started out with 60 or 70 a week, and it's just increased on up to now it's about 500 a month that we're baptizing down there in the ocean.

I know, but this whole movement is really taking the world. It's taking the world. Right? Now, I want to ask you something, because millions saw the picture in our leading magazines, and much has been done through the pictures regarding the immersion, the baptizing of these young people.

In an eastern city, I was to have been on a talk show, and would you believe it or not, the very first thing that they asked me, Catherine Kuhlman, what do you think about the youth being baptized and what we saw of these young people out in the waters?

What do you think about it? I told them, but now Chuck, you tell them.

Baptism as Burial of the Old Life

I feel that baptism by full immersion is a very important step in their faith. Many of these young people that you see have had rather sordid backgrounds, Catherine. They've been in drugs. They've been in prostitution.

They've been in everything you could possibly think about. Baptism in the Christian sense actually signifies a burying of the old life. It's the end of the road for the old man, and so many times as I'm walking out into the water, I'll say to the young person, well, this is the end of the road.

We're going to bury all of the past. If any man's in Christ, he's a new creature, and they'll say, wow, far out old. Let's bury it, you know. I even had one young man the other day say, hold me down a long time, Chuck.

I've got a lot to bury.

How many of you young people, that's exactly the way you felt about him. Go on. I've got a lot to bury. That's right.