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Dean Blackwell - Year Entered 1952

Dean Blackwell

 

 

 

 

Church of God Memorial:
Dean Blackwell

 

Dean Blackwell - 1957
 
 
Dean Blackwell died on April 14th 2003, after a series of strokes. His wife, Maxine, had passed away four months earlier.

Dean enrolled at Ambassador College in 1952 and went on to serve as a minister and evangelist in numerous capacities until 1996. I have vivid personal memories of Mr. Blackwell. He baptized me in 1974 and taught some of the Bible classes I took at Ambassador, Big Sandy. When Big Sandy closed in 1977, I had planned to take two standardized tests for the 12 course units that I lacked, graduate, and go get a computer job in Texas or Arkansas. It was Mr. Blackwell who convinced me to go to Pasadena, forever changing my life.

In 1979, when a court appointed receiver was threatening to forcibly enter the Pasadena Hall of Administration with a large group of police, Dean Blackwell preached for hours to several hundred of us—hoping that the receiver would not break up an "ecclesiastical service". On the other side of the coin, Mr. Blackwell made trips to local WCG churches in the 1990s and humbly asked if any of the local leaders had any difficulty with the new doctrines being taught from Pasadena. He gained the confidence of many who expressed their disagreements to him—only to find themselves relieved of significant church duties a few weeks after he left.

Written by Norman Edwards courtesy of Servants News

http://www.thejournal.org/memorial/names/dean-blackwell.html

http://www.thejournal.org/memorial/names/dean-blackwell.html



 
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05/03/15 03:00 PM #1    

Steve Frandsen (1975)

I know the Blackwell family was promininent in the AC circle. I'm pretty sure that I heard Dean Blackwell speak. One thing I remember is someone said he baptized so many members that he was known as "Dean the Baptist". My condolences.

 


06/30/15 10:15 PM #2    

Richard Houghton (Scott) (1969)


    A caricature of Blackwell I drew for him, when Dean left Kansas City/Olathe for Big Sandy (c. 1972). The load on top of his car was his large library of books, resulting in a total vehicular melt-down in this fantasy work of art.

    On 10-1-1971 Blackwell baptized myself and, then at Big Sandy, three years, one month and one week later he also baptised my future wife Anne, almost three years before we met for the first time in Pasadena (after she transferred there upon the closure of Big Sandy in 1977 to complete her last year as an AC student, before that college also closed following her 1978 graduation).

    We met on the solar year anniversary of my baptism (on 10-02-1977), and were planning to ask Dean to perform our wedding, before we eloped in late July 1978 to Las Vegas, where we were married outside of the WWCG, not long before we finally left that group permanently on January 22, 1979 (during the Hall of Ad sit-in and first-ever WWCG demonstration).

    Once, during services in Olathe, Blackwell commented about my boisterous bass singing during services, about a budding soloist in the crowd. Those who stood next to me during songs learned to cover the ear facing me, or they couldn't hear themselves singing!

    For Anne and myself, Dean certainly earned his apt moniker: Dean the Baptist.


07/01/15 02:33 PM #3    

Howard Colby (1958)

First met Dean in the Chicago church in 1957. His Bible studies at the time were on the early history of the church and he would bring in dozens of his books and read to us from them.

His Sabbath circuit included St Louis, Chicago and Milwaukee. Actually went with him on one ocassion to these services. St Louis was Friday evening not far from where the ball park was located so we'd get to hear the cheering from the stadium. Then it was off to Chicago for the late morning service there. Shortly after concluding, it was back to the car and driving to Milwaukee. It was a grueling circuit and left you exhausted.. But meeting all the church people was a great blessing. I met Ken Fischer in Milwaukee and later his son would be one of the students in my Jr Hi English class. Met the Steeps there as well. I wish my memory was as Sharp as Andy Voths. So many people came from that Chicago congregation to attend AC and later work in Pasadena.

But I'll always remember Dean Blackwell and his foundation building from history of a much different Church than most have been exposed to.


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