The Current State of Calvary Chapel: Part 1
For better or worse, this site has become the “go to” place for information about Calvary Chapel.
We still get lots of inquiries about the state of the movement, though I find it less than compelling anymore to find answers to those inquiries.
I believe what we’re seeing in CC is the end of a particular time in the history of American evangelicalism and what we’re hearing are the death rattles of what once was.
Calvary Chapel’s place in church history is first of all as the fulcrum of a genuine revival and secondarily as innovators who used contemporary music styles combined with fundamentalist Bible teaching to give that revival structure.
As is common with true revival, the action was on the edges of society and CC exploded by accepting the marginalized youth of the day.
Also as is common with revival, the revival doesn’t last, but the structure does.
Then the structure becomes institutional, and over time denies it’s own origin and history.
This is the story of CC in my opinion and the reason that the group split and is no longer a “movement” at all, but a stagnant institution with little vision of the future other than a fruitless attempt to grasp it’s former glory.
Calvary Chapel in it’s heyday was a personality driven movement… first with Chuck Smith and Lonnie Frisbee, than with Smith alone as he navigated the church away from the fringe and into the mainstream of American evangelicalism.
Smith’s unique personality and business acumen set the parameters of what his “affiliate” churches would look like.
When Smith died, there was no one of his stature in the group who wanted to take over, but plenty of lesser lights who desperately wanted the position.
A split was inevitable, and even then, the lack of charismatic leadership on both sides meant neither would succeed in unifying the tribe.
What is left is splintered and irrelevant, the emotions of both the founders death and the bitter divorce having dissipated like the revival that birthed the movement.
The cultural fringe is now something to preach against, not to minister to.
The ability to innovate musically and artistically has been replaced with a continual nostalgia for what once was.
The power of the untamable Holy Spirit has been replaced by the power of authoritarian pastors and dogmatism.
The current leadership is aging and the younger generation is less inclined to fully identify with the brand.
A lot of pastors simply don’t care about the conflicts or the brand anymore.
In the coming days, I’ll look more closely at the state of both sides of the split…but there’s not much worth writing about…
The seeds of obsolescence were planted early on. Principally in the Moses leadership model.
The Moses Model is nothing more than the senior pastor system under a different monicker… which was around long before CC.
Michael
I had a telephone conversation last week with an old friend who has been in the Christian music industry for close to 40 years and we were talking about what has happened, not to music, but to the whole revival we were both a part of in the day. He made the comment that, “We’re to blame for what has happened”. When I asked him to explain, he said that we were far to willing (indeed, eager) to enter the mainstream, along with the opportunities, money, positions, etc.., that the mainstream offered. When we did, we forgot about where we came from and what that revival was really all about. Now, today, we’re paying the price. We can go from church to church and hear the same abysmal U2 tribute praise bands, see the professional show, hear people trying to sound like Chuck, but the heart of it is gone. It has become a genre, that’s now shows itself in a pale, vapid imitation across the independent and mainstream church world. It may be the normal cycle of such things, but all of us who were there bear some responsibility for what has happened… I think my friend was correct, at least in part.
Duane,
Well said on all counts…I think your friend nailed it.
“U2 tribute praise bands”
…it’s because we still haven’t found what we’re looking for
Over and over lately I am struck by the tendency of a group to ‘despise their birthright.’ I think this is the story of Calvary Chapel and more or less true of its subsidiary spinoff, the Vineyard. Participation here clarifies for me that the driver is often, perhaps always, economic. Ultimately as Charles Fromm made clear in his doctoral thesis, economic considerations determine outcomes. Fromm analyzed Calvary Chapel through the grid of the routinization of charisma.
A movement like Calvary Chapel creates an economy via the process of turning momentum into market share. Exploitation of that market share fuels that economy. Anything that threatens that market share becomes the enemy to be snuffed out. Ironically the charisms that built the market often turn into the problem. Perpetuation of those charisms as they existed in the primary state often predetermines a lesser market.
Calvary Chapel can be explained quite easily in these terms. Its current state is essentially that of a diminishing market share for all kinds of reasons. Vineyard advanced through this process much more rapidly and much more dramatically. The charisms that founded Calvary Chapel were expelled essentially when Vineyard was spun off. There are of course all kinds of other factors that mitigate this simplistic explanation.
However, the same impetus that led to Vineyard being spun off also led to Vineyard undergoing a virtually exact process. Vineyard created a huge buzz, eclipsed CC in the music market, then experienced their own crisis when the charisms that birthed them came to threaten their market share. The Toronto ‘revival’ (I am leaving room for dissent with my grammar) caused an uproar in the Vineyard churches leading Wimber to spin out Toronto the way he perceived himself to be spun out by Calvary.
Calvary Chapel, continued to build the brand after rejecting the charismatic moment that exploded them onto the scene by shifting the focus to end times prophecy. Unfortunately they also fell into the trap of exclusivism with their emphasis on discernment ministries. The former emphasis has a shelf life that is failing fast the latter emphasis devours your own.
Underneath it all is the children’s greed for inheritance, that is, securing their financial gains.
The beneficiary is the historic church which is receiving back her youthful rebels who are now looking for the stability of things that remain when other things are shaken. That is illustrated beautifully by the constituency of this blog.
Dread Not
Ah,
I see that before I could submit my comment Duane had more succinctly made the point.
Laborious Dread
BD,
That was excellent…you and Duane have done us all a service…
BD
Your comment is much appreciated and right on target…
Leaven got into the movement early — Chuck did not fully drain the swamp when he expelled Lonnie and Wimber — he tolerated Fromm and Chuck Jr — thereby quenching the Spirit and then Wagner’s business model for church growth – that Chuck resisted for years — got inside via the family and other Sr. pastors who turned to Fuller to learn how to operate in the flesh. IMHO
“A move of the Spirit”… I found. that phrase almost insulting to God… Yes, the Holy Spirit “moves” among us… but I associate that phrase of the recent past with the child who hides in the living room to catch Santa coming down the chimney…
Yes, the Holy Spirit did move some years ago, bringing many here to see and choose. Christ… Perhaps men like Chuch Smith and, yes, Billy Graham were tapped by God as was Jonah and other O.T. heroes…. by God’s grace and mercy when we failed to pass the Faith to the next generation (Lutherans excepted ?)
But then so many waited, like the child, for another “move of the Spirit”. – not all, by any means, as the PhxP peeps demonstrate… We need pastors and teachers … God seems to raise up evangelists, but leaves the pastoring and teaching duties to the unsung, and often unheard, heroes of the Faith … or so it seems to me… Dunno
“Yes, the Holy Spirit did move some years ago, bringing many here to see and choose. Christ…”
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” – Jesus
I remember reading about the “routinization of charisma” a decade ago.
I think it’s common for younger leaders to rebel against status quo and for the older generation to be conservative. A long enough memory allows one to notice someone who has taken their turn in both camps.
If there was a blanket rule that no one was allowed to get rich from ministry, we might have been spared a lot of trouble.
Back in my early Ocean Hills days, Chuck From was a member and a board member. He was one of those who sold out the church to Skip.
And then he left the church because he and Skip did not get along.
Miss ODM has graced us with another viewpoint that I think has at least some validity. There is no doubt that the business model got into CC. Income streams is the essence of business and CC excelled there. I do not think Wagner can be faulted though his voice as a church growth man did not think critically about the matter. However, he strayed far from business model promotion after the 1980s and likely during that time.
It is easier to pick the bones than to grow the flock and Chuck certainly did that in his day as did Wimber.
#13 a blanket rule cannot be made in our milieu humble observations can. Money always tends to corrupt us.
I do not think my own tribe has passed the test of money nor do I think it will. Not sure to what degree I have passed that test myself.
Miss ODM seems to think that some form of CC early days is the purest form of faith ever seen on the planet, that would be hard to sustain in an argument. I do love the borrowing of the phrase ‘drain the swamp.’ It amuses me
I assume Jean’s scripture quote at 12 is an elaboration, not a disagreement with my pontifying . …. ?
I think when you strive to sustain an emotion for a long period of time it will either twist into something unhealthy or it hardens into a mask that covers And if you try to experience again what happened “back then” it becomes more the nostalgic memory of that experience than a truly new one.
That seems to be the case when it comes to trying to keep that original feeling of the Calvary Chapel of the olden days or when we try to recreate Azusa Street or restore the true revival days of the Great Awakening. We are sinners in a fallen world- our emotions are too fractured and fickle to keep it up year-after-year. But we can commit to Him to be His followers even through times when the emotions are cooled and the “best times” seem to be in our past.
I trust that there will be more sweet moments up ahead, just not the same ones I experienced a decade ago. He remains the same through it all, but how I relate to Him does evolve and hopefully matures.
I think the same can happen with a church, a movement, or a denomination. Is it a dying off of the fervor or is it maturing from infatuation into a mature commitment- no matter what we are feeling? Wondering…
Who are the disenfranchised in my community – that is the only question I want answered. I regularly ask our fellowship, and don’t get answers. I tell them we should be uncomfortable every Sunday.
@6, 15
I spent some time at Bethel last year, and my thought was that they are making the same mistakes Calvary Chapel made.
I was around Calvary from the tent days. I saw a move of the Spirit in different manifestations, including some on a small scale of what I saw at Bethel.
Looking back, the polemical “us vs them” was inherent in the messages that I heard being taught. We were the new wineskin, the place where the Spirt was moving. We rejected dead (or so we thought) orthodoxy. I remember many of the musicians at a huge outreach in San Bernardino by Harvest Church taking pot shots at a gathering that same night in Ontario that was called “California Jam.” We lost our humility, although I suspect some never had it to begin with.
@14
“then he left the church because he and Skip did not get along.”
Not surprised in the least.
@19 — lets talk about that. I am not as close to the Bethel culture as I was a few years ago. Then it was vibrant and alive. I did not hear much of the us vs them ideology. I did see the messes but I always see messes…
I do think you are correct if you mean the issue of the money
In my view, the ‘glass ceiling’ of CC has always been an issue. There is little or no room for ‘advancement’ or progression as experience, education, interests, or opportunities change. There is little networking, coordination, or open lines of communication between churches or staff members of different churches except back channels and ‘poaching.’ One is always ‘welcome’ to leave and start his own work, far enough away, and as God guides, He provides…aka, don’t ask for any cash for transition. I think the money thing comes into play when the starving pastor and wife finally can get paid and the dollars are there…and he is ‘in charge’ of the finances. He paid his dues, now its time to take care of the fam. Just my observations from my corner of the sandbox.
@20
I didn’t hear any negative comments from any of the speakers. It was all from the people that I was able to meet and talk with during the conference I attended. We had a breakout session, and they split us up into groups. They asked us to introduce ourselves, and one guy in his late 40’s told us he wants to be in ministry and has moved to Redding to be a part of the BSSM. He told us that he didn’t need to go to a “cemetery”, but the BSSM was what he needed. I told him he might want to hold on to that judgment about seminaries, and then introduced myself as pstrmike, a seminary student, who is here doing research for my doctoral dissertation. The guy was embarrassed, and I just smiled and let it ride. I met a lot of really nice people there, it was a Medical Healing Conference and the most of the people were a joy to meet, but there was this thinking that the Bethel format was THE way to do church. Reminded me of “new wine Calvary” back in the early to mid 70’s. Such latent elitism morphs into an expectation of power manifested in thinking that we are actually leading something rather than following the Wind that we cannot tell where It comes from or where It is going.
CC was a movement for the times. It reflected, in many ways the values of the times (60’s and 70’s) music was a big thing, as was turn on tune in and drop out, go against the organization, CC struck a chord with that movement—at least in it’s presentation.
Behind the scenes it was a dysfunctional organization at best. It collapsed for the reasons mentioned but also because it refused to adapt to a changing culture, and prepare for change.
Those who observed the movement were amazed at it’s success in light of it’s lack of organization. But behind the scenes things were crumbling on the inside.
At this point as has been stated, CC is irrelevant. Not really worth criticisim or scrutinization any more.
@20 thanks… love to hear about your doctoral research
babylonthegreatfallen@yahoo.com
Having been at CCCM from when I lived across the street on Church street till Jeff Smith invited me to leave and start my own church in the early 90’s, I have another viewpoint.
At the first there was a lot of freedom for the Holy Spirit to function in His role at Calvary. Chuck and almost every adult was astonished at what God was doing with the youth and did not want to interrupt.
Once the land was purchased for CCCM’s current location, and the tent was set up, things started to get serious. Attendance was increasing and more control was needed.
Around 1972 is when the Holy Spirit started to not have the freedom He used to be allowed. There is an old saying, fish rots from the head down. Leadership started to take control and routine became the norm.
Then a religious Spirit took over. That is when subtle aspersions upon other churches started to become obvious.
The spiritual exercise of the gifts of the Holy Spirit took a back seat. What was once called “The after glow” where the gifts of the Holy Spirit were freely exercised after the main Bi le study became just another Bible teaching session by one of the younger pastors.
This is when I was invited to leave if I was’t happy because I wanted to talk about what was happening.
Hard to explain what I mean by saying Calvary got a religious spirit. People went from freedom in the Spirit to ritual and routine. Where as before the Holy Spirit would powerfully manifest during those early meetings, things changed to man’s control and there started to be a hierarchy behind the scenes.
No one seemed to notice but a few hard core originals who got invited to leave as a result.
Then along comes John Wimber who simply asked Chuck when are going to do the stuff?
You know, the stuff we see happening in the book of Acts?
Chuck’s answer was textbook for anyone who questioned how things were being done at Calvary. He got invited, if he was not happy about things, to go and start his own church.
John left and started his own Church, not affiliated with Calvary at all, The Vineyard Association of Churches.
Chuck did not speak against the Vineyard. He was called to equip people with knowledge of the Bible and was uncomfortable with allowing the gifts to be freely exercised. But John on the other hand went full tilt bogey into moving in the gifts with little teaching of the Bible.
Chuck always relied on God to handle everything. Sometimes appearing to be negligent.
I believe that he honestly felt that God would replace him if anything happened. So after Chuck got called home we see that God obviously has other plans.
This generation will never be reached by irrelevant cycles from the past. God always relates to a people on their level of understanding. Thusly we see new moves of God take place and we see older moves become just another denomination.
Michael is right, Calvary is pretty much done. They functioned as the gateway for the hippie generation to come into the faith. Now it is time for others to reach their own generation.
Some harsh things were said about Calvary, some reality others not so much.
Today thousands know what the Bible says and can quote scripture because of Chuck Smith.
I am gratefully pleased that God assigned me to attend Calvary for decades. I have a good foundation of knowing what the Bible says today because of learning at Calvary.
CC was in some aspects noble but by accident. There is no denying it was born out of one man’s inability to be accountable to elders, but on the other hand, the things he was not accountable about were noble, he wanted to get rid of the things that were side issues that stopped people from attending. The problem was he threw out too much baby with the bathwater. If he had only refrained from trying to water down theology to “Keep pews filled” they might be in full force today, alas it ended up being Americas Fast food religion, and moralistic therapeutic deism was the menu from day one because that was one man’s theology and one man ran the show. I interact with Calvary people weekly, nice nice people but they are as a whole superstitious, know little of context and generally think anyone not in a Calvary is apostate. I have hope though, the future crop seem to quote a more historical Christianity.
Man
Message
Movement
Machine
Monument
Memory
Sad but thankful that we got ground up and spit out by the Machine, and don’t have to endure the current pain of the Monument and the cold hard stone it is. We’ll always have fond Memories of sweeter times, love, fellowship, simple folk worship, and honest study of God’s Word (primitive though it was).
there is a leadership conference in Europe. The pastor at the main cc in Budapest who is very friendly with cca randomly picked up and left and Brian Broderson is going to be speaking there.
In my humble opinion, CC’s beginnings as well as its eventual downfall can be summed up as an overly pragmatic man centered approach to the church with an occasional reliance on the Holy Spirit at least in confession and word. I honestly can not think of a more Narcissistic church than CCA which in essence is celebrity personality driven along with a fundamentalist moral-ism with Israel and rapture theology more prominent than Christ, him crucified and risen for us. I hope this would grab the ears of the old time big name CCA pastors who some could care less about some fringes in their own congregation and neighborhoods with some of them that they have spit out and never to be remembered by their own corrupt machinery. Shameful!
I think this thread is evidence that people have unrealistic expectations of pastors, churches, and “movements”.
NEWS FLASH — The apostasy in the church is almost at its height — Calvary Chapels, however powerless, still has a little light — while the mainline denominations and the signs-followers are further down the road to perdition. All this criticism of this fellowship of churches is due to the fact that they’re the last domino and they have not quite fallen yet — there’s still many individual churches within CC who have not bowed their knee to Baal. — Name one denomination or group of churches that holds truer to the Word of God. Go ahead and I’ll knock it down with one hand tied behind my back — all you living in glass houses!!
Thanks Alan for hesitant vote of support to my post.
“Go ahead and I’ll knock it down with one hand tied behind my back”
….pfft…..HAHAHAHAHAHA
Chill out, ODM. Get out some.
The lack of self-awareness it takes to type something like that is hilarious and astonishing.
I was fortunate that my interaction with CC was early enough in their history that it was still a primitive movement. I joined the military and went overseas before the move toward conventionality was made. I was never in the ‘inner circle’, so I saw the results without seeing conflict.
8 years ago I left another church that had started during that same time period with a similar vision. I am not convinced that it is necessarily a negative thing when people leave an ‘unconventional church’ for a more historically foundational church. I think, in some ways, revival movements are like an emergency triage center; great in an emergency in restoring life, but not as good at preventive medicine and long-term care. The historical churches seem to have a better grasp on this and we should support them.
Celebrate what they were for the time they were in God’s economy; but let them go when appropriate.
Mrs. ODM,
“Name one denomination or group of churches that holds truer to the Word of God. Go ahead and I’ll knock it down with one hand tied behind my back — all you living in glass houses!!”
The LCMS. I look forward to your response. And please be specific.
Easy to do Jean — they teach and practice baptismal regeneration – a false teaching. Their liturgy is by rote, not inspired by the Holy Spirit. In fact, they don’t even believe in the gifts of the Spirit as given in 1 Cor 12 — and they are drawn back to Rome. Anathema – What Calvary Chapel would go along with false ecumenism – see link:
https://lutheranreformation.org/theology/lutherans-roman-catholics-today/
Did you use both hands? Be honest.
Okay, Ms. ODM, here’s a list of denominations with given number of members. Since it’s seemingly not hard for you to do, you should be able to address the apostasy in each one of these specific denominations and have them all sufficiently knocked down within minutes (all while typing with one hand behind your back). 🙂
Catholic Church – 1.285 billion:
Latin Church – 1.255 billion:
Prominent movements (incomplete list):
Catholic Charismatic Renewal – 160 million
International Alliance of Catholic Knights – 150 million
Schoenstatt Apostolic Movement – 30 million
Blue Army of Our Lady of Fátima – 20 million
Legion of Mary (active and auxiliary) – 10 million
International Catholic Conference of Scouting – 8 million
Cursillo – 5 million
Worldwide Marriage Encounter (ME) – 5 million
Marian Movement of Priests – 5 million
Catholic catechesis – 3 million
Militia Immaculatae – 3 million
Knights of Columbus – 1.9 million
Neocatechumenal Way – 1 million
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul – 0.8 million
Catholic religious order (brothers & sisters) – 0.72 million
Secular Franciscan Order – 0.4 million
Focolare Movement – 0.14 million
Opus Dei – 0.095 million
Community of Sant’Egidio – 0.05 million
Regnum Christi – 0.02 million
Our Lady’s Rosary Makers – 0.017 million
Personal Ordinariate for former Anglicans – 0.012 million
Emmanuel Community – 0.007 million
Eastern Catholic Churches – 16.3 million:
Alexandrian Rite Ethiopian Catholic Church – 0.2 million
Coptic Catholic Church – 0.2 million
Eritrean Catholic Church – 0.2 million
Antiochene Rite Maronite Catholic Church – 3.1 million
Syro-Malankara Catholic Church – 0.4 million
Syriac Catholic Church – 0.1 million
Armenian Rite Armenian Catholic Church – 0.4 million
Chaldean Rite Syro-Malabar Catholic Church – 3.8 million
Chaldean Catholic Church – 0.4 million
Byzantine Rite Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church – 4.3 million
Melkite Greek Catholic Church – 1.3 million
Romanian Greek Catholic Church – 0.7 million
Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church – 0.5 million
Hungarian Greek Catholic Church – 0.3 million
Slovak Greek Catholic Church – 0.2 million
Italo-Albanian Catholic Church – 0.1 million
Belarusian Greek Catholic Church – 0.1 million
Byzantine Catholic Church of Croatia and Serbia – 0.05 million
Georgian Byzantine Catholic Church – 0.01 million
Albanian Greek Catholic Church – 0.01 million
Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church – 0.01 million
Greek Byzantine Catholic Church – 0.01 million
Macedonian Greek Catholic Church – 0.01 million
Russian Greek Catholic Church – 0.01 million
Canonically irregular groupsSociety of Saint Pius X – 0.5 million
Protestantism – 920 million:
Historical Protestantism – 300-400 million:
Baptist churches – 75-105 million:
Southern Baptist Convention – 15.2 million
National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. – 7.5 million
Nigerian Baptist Convention – 5.0 million
National Missionary Baptist Convention of America – 3.1 million
National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. – 3.1 million
Baptist Union of Uganda – 2.5 million
Baptist Community of Western Congo – 2.1 million
Baptist General Convention of Texas – 2.1 million
Baptist Convention of Tanzania – 2.0 million
Brazilian Baptist Convention – 1.6 million
Progressive National Baptist Convention – 1.5 million
Baptist Bible Fellowship International – 1.2 million
American Baptist Churches USA – 1.2 million
Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention – 1.1 million
Baptist Community of the Congo River – 1.1 million
National Primitive Baptist Convention of the U.S.A. – 1.0 million
Myanmar Baptist Convention – 1.0 million
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship – 0.8 million
Baptist General Association of Virginia – 0.6 million
Baptist Convention of Kenya – 0.6 million
Council of Baptist Churches in Northeast India – 0.6 million
Nagaland Baptist Church Council – 0.6 million
Korea Baptist Convention – 0.5 million
Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches – 0.5 million
Orissa Evangelical Baptist Crusade – 0.5 million
National Baptist Convention (Brazil) – 0.4 million
Church of Christ in Congo–Baptist Community of Congo – 0.4 million
Baptist Convention of Malawi – 0.3 million
Garo Baptist Convention – 0.3 million
Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches – 0.3
Ghana Baptist Convention – 0.3
Union of Baptist Churches in Rwanda – 0.3 million
American Baptist Association – 0.3 million
Baptist Missionary Association of America – 0.2 million
Conservative Baptist Association of America – 0.2 million
National Association of Free Will Baptists – 0.2 million
Convention of Visayas and Mindanao of Southern Baptist Churches – 0.2 million
Manipur Baptist Convention – 0.2 million
Baptist Community in Central Africa – 0.2 million
Lutheranism – 70-90 million:
Evangelical Church in Germany – 21.9 million
Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus – 8.3 million
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania – 6.5 million
Church of Sweden – 6.3 million
United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India – 4.5 million
Batak Christian Protestant Church – 4.5 million
Church of Denmark – 4.4 million
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland – 4.0 million
Church of Norway – 3.8 million
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – 3.8 million
Malagasy Lutheran Church – 3.0 million
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod – 2.2 million
The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria – 2.2 million
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea – 1.2 million
Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil – 0.7 million
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia – 0.7 million
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa – 0.6 million
The Protestant Christian Church – 0.5 million
The Indonesian Christian Church – 0.5 million
Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Republic of Namibia – 0.4 million
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod – 0.4 million
Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ – 0.4 million
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Cameroon – 0.3 million
Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Austria – 0.3 million
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe – 0.3 million
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia – 0.3 million
Christian Protestant Church in Indonesia – 0.3 million
North American Lutheran Church – 0.2 million
Church of Iceland – 0.2 million
Simalungun Protestant Christian Church – 0.2 million
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil – 0.2 million
Protestant Church of Augsburg Confession of Alsace and Lorraine – 0.2 million
The Lutheran Council of Great Britain – 0.2 million
Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia – 0.2 million
Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Hungary – 0.2 million
Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church – 0.2 million
Methodism – 60-80 million:
United Methodist Church – 12 million
African Methodist Episcopal Church – 2.5 million
Church of the Nazarene – 2 million
Methodist Church Nigeria – 2 million
Methodist Church of Southern Africa – 1.7 million
Korean Methodist Church – 1.5 million
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church – 1.5 million
The Salvation Army – 1.4 million
United Methodist Church of Ivory Coast – 1 million
Free Methodist Church – 0.9 million
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church – 0.9 million
Methodist Church Ghana – 0.8 million
Methodist Church in India – 0.6 million
Methodist Church in Kenya – 0.5 million
Wesleyan Church – 0.4 million
Evangelical Free Church of America – 0.4 million
Methodist Church of Great Britain – 0.3 million
Methodist Church in Brazil – 0.2 million
Calvinism (Reformed churches) – 55-85 million:
Presbyterianism – 40-50 million:
Presbyterian Church of East Africa – 4.0 million
Presbyterian Church of Nigeria – 3.8 million
Presbyterian Church of Africa – 3.4 million
Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDong) – 3.0 million
Presbyterian Church of Korea (TongHap) – 2.9 million
National Presbyterian Church in Mexico – 2.8 million
Church of Christ in Congo–Presbyterian Community of Congo – 2.5 million
United Church of Canada – over 2.0 million
Presbyterian Church (USA) – 1.8 million
Presbyterian Church of Cameroon – 1.8 million
Presbyterian Church of India – 1.3 million
Church of Central Africa Presbyterian – 1.3 million
Church of Scotland – 1.1 million
Presbyterian Church of Brazil – 1.0 million
Presbyterian Church in Sudan – 1.0 million
Presbyterian Church in Cameroon – 0.7 million
Presbyterian Church in Korea (HapDongBoSu II.) – 0.7 million
Presbyterian Church in Korea (BaekSeok) – 0.6 million
Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana – 0.6 million
United Church of Christ in the Philippines – 0.5 million
Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa – 0.5 million
Presbyterian Church in America – 0.4 million
Presbyterian Church of Pakistan – 0.4 million
Korean Presbyterian Church – 0.4 million
Presbyterian Church in Korea (Koshin) – 0.4 million
Presbyterian Church in Ireland – 0.3 million
Uniting Church in Australia – 0.3 million
Presbyterian Church in Rwanda – 0.3 million
Presbyterian Church in Taiwan – 0.3 million
Continental Reformed churches – 20-30 million:
Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar – 3.5 million
Protestant Church in Indonesia – 3.1 million
United Church in Zambia – 3.0 million
Protestant Church in the Netherlands – 2.5 million
Evangelical Church of Cameroon – 2.5 million
Swiss Reformed Church – 2.4 million
Christian Evangelical Church in Timor – 2.0 million
Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NGK) – 1.1 million
Christian Evangelical Church in Minahasa – 0.7 million
United Church in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands – 0.6 million
Protestant Church in Western Indonesia – 0.6 million
Evangelical Christian Church in Tanah Papua – 0.6 million
Protestant Church of Maluku – 0.6 million
Reformed Church in Hungary – 0.6 million
Reformed Church in Romania – 0.6 million
Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa – 0.5 million
Toraja Church – 0.4 million
Reformed Church of France – 0.4 million
Lesotho Evangelical Church – 0.3 million
Evangelical Christian Church in Halmahera – 0.3 million
Evangelical Reformed Church in Angola – 0.3 million
Christian Church of Sumba – 0.3 million
Karo Batak Protestant Church – 0.3 million
Reformed Church in America – 0.3 million
Christian Reformed Church in North America – 0.3 million
Christian Reformed Church of Nigeria – 0.3 million
Reformed Church in Zambia – 0.3 million
Kalimantan Evangelical Church – 0.2 million
Javanese Christian Church – 0.2 million
Indonesia Christian Church – 0.2 million
Church of Christ in the Sudan Among the Tiv – 0.2 million
Church of Lippe – 0.2 million
Evangelical Church of Congo – 0.2 million
Evangelical Church of Gabon – 0.2 million
Christian Evangelical Church of Sangihe Talaud – 0.2 million
Central Sulawesi Christian Church – 0.2 million
Evangelical Reformed Church in Bavaria and Northwestern Germany – 0.2 million
Congregationalism – 5 million United Church of Christ – 1.2 million
Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola – 0.9 million
United Congregational Church of Southern Africa – 0.5 million
Anabaptism – 4.0 million:
Mennonites – 2.1 million
Schwarzenau Brethren/German Baptists – 1.5 million
Amish – 0.3 million
Hutterites – 0.05 million
Hussites – 1 million:
Moravians – 0.825 million
Czechoslovak Hussite Church – 0.14 million
Unity of the Brethren – 0.035 million
Quakers (Religious Society of Friends) – 0.4 million
Modern Protestantism – 400-500 million:
Pentecostalism – 280 million:
Assemblies of God – 67 million
Apostolic Church – 15 million
Fangcheng Fellowship – 12 million
International Circle of Faith – 11 million
China Gospel Fellowship – 10 million
Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) – 6 million
International Church of the Foursquare Gospel – 9 million
Church of God in Christ – 6.5 million
Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide – 5 million
International Pentecostal Holiness Church – 4 million
United Pentecostal Church International – 4 million
The Pentecostal Mission – 2.5 million
Christian Congregation of Brazil – 2.5 million
True Jesus Church – 2.5 million
The Church of Pentecost – 2.1 million
Universal Church of the Kingdom of God – 2 million
Pentecostal Assemblies of the World – 1.5 million
Apostolic Faith Mission of South Africa – 1.2 million
Church of God of Prophecy – 1.5 million
Association of Pentecostal Churches of Rwanda – 1 million
God is Love Pentecostal Church – 0.8 million
Nondenominational evangelicalism – 80 million:
Calvary Chapel – 25 million (just let us know how many of the 25 million are apostate as apparently there is a remnant that is still holding true)
Born Again Movement – 3 million
Association of Vineyard Churches – 15 million
Christian and Missionary Alliance – 4 million
Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) – 1.2 million
African initiated Protestant churches – 60 million:
Zion Christian Church – 15 million
Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim – 10 million
Kimbanguist Church – 5.5 million
Church of the Lord (Aladura) – 3.6 million[153]
Council of African Instituted Churches – 3 million
Church of Christ Light of the Holy Spirit – 1.4 million
African Church of the Holy Spirit – 0.7 million
African Israel Church Nineveh – 0.5 million
Seventh-day Adventist Church – 20.0 million
New Apostolic Church – 10 million
Chinese-originated and Chinese Independent Churches – 10 million
Local churches or Church Assembly Hall – between 1 and 10 million:
Eastern Lightning – 1 million
The Shouters – unknown, probably less than 1 million
Restoration Movement – 7 million Churches of Christ – 5 million
Christian churches and churches of Christ – 1.1 million
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) – 0.7 million
Community of Disciples of Christ in Congo – 0.7 million
Plymouth Brethren – 1 million
Anglicanism – 85 million:
Anglican Communion – 80 million:
Church of England – 25.0 million
Church of Nigeria – 18.0 million
Church of Uganda – 8.1 million
Anglican Church of Kenya – 5.0 million
Episcopal Church of South Sudan and Sudan – 4.5 million
Anglican Church of Australia – 3.9 million
Church of South India – 3.8 million
Anglican Church of Southern Africa – 2.3 million
Episcopal Church in the United States – 2.1 million
Anglican Church of Tanzania – 2.0 million
Anglican Church of Canada – 2.0 million
Church of North India – 1.5 million
Anglican Church of Rwanda – 1.0 million
Church of the Province of Central Africa – 0.9 million
Anglican Church of Burundi – 0.8 million
Church in the Province of the West Indies – 0.8 million
Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia – 0.5 million
Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean – 0.5 million
Church of Christ in Congo–Anglican Community of Congo – 0.5 million
Church of Pakistan – 0.5 million
Church of Ireland – 0.4 million
Church of the Province of West Africa – 0.3 million
Anglican Church of Melanesia – 0.2 million
Continuing Anglican movement and independent churches – 0.6 million:
Traditional Anglican Communion – 0.4 million
Anglican Church in North America – 0.1 million
Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa – 0.1 million
Eastern Orthodox Church – 270 million
Autocephalous churches – 224 million:
Russian Orthodox Church – 150 million
Romanian Orthodox Church – 23 million
Church of Greece – 15 million
Serbian Orthodox Church – 11.5 million
Bulgarian Orthodox Church – 10 million
Georgian Orthodox Church – 3.5 million
Greek Orthodox Church of Constantinople – 3.5 million
Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch – 2.5 million
Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria – 1.5 million
Orthodox Church in America – 1.2 million
Polish Orthodox Church – 1 million
Albanian Orthodox Church – 0.8 million
Church of Cyprus – 0.7 million
Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem – 0.14 million
Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church – 0.07 million
Autonomous churches – 13 million:
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) – 7.2 million
Moldovan Orthodox Church – 3.2 million
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia – 1.25 million
Metropolitan Church of Bessarabia – 0.62 million
Orthodox Ohrid Archbishopric – 0.34 million
Estonian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) – 0.3 million
Finnish Orthodox Church – 0.08 million
Chinese Orthodox Church – 0.03 million
Japanese Orthodox Church – 0.02 million
Latvian Orthodox Church – 0.02 million
Non-universally recognized churches – 27 million:
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv Patriarchate) – 19.5 million
Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church – 0.8 million
Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church – 2.4 million
Macedonian Orthodox Church – 2 million
Orthodox Church of Greece (Holy Synod in Resistance) – 0.75 million
Old Calendarist Romanian Orthodox Church – 0.50 million
Old Calendar Bulgarian Orthodox Church – 0.45 million
Orthodox Church in Italy – 0.12 million
Montenegrin Orthodox Church – 0.05 million
Other separated Orthodox groups – 6 million:
Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church – 5.5 million
Old Believers – 5.5 million
Greek Old Calendarists – 0.86 million
True Orthodox Church – 0.85 million
Evangelical Orthodox Church – 0.07 million
Oriental Orthodoxy – 86 million
Autocephalous churches – 84 million:
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church – 48 million
Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria – 15.5 million
Armenian Apostolic Church – 9 million
Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin – 6 million
Holy See of Cilicia – 1.5 million
Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople – 0.5-0.7 million
Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem – 0.34 million
Syriac Orthodox Church – 6.6 million:
Jacobite Syrian Christian Church – 1.2 million
Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church – 2.5 million
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church – 2 million
Autonomous churches – 1 million:
French Coptic Orthodox Church – 0.01 million
Churches not in communion – 1 million:
Mar Thoma Syrian Church – 1.1 million
Malabar Independent Syrian Church – 0.06 million
British Orthodox Church – 0.01 million
Restorationism and Nontrinitarianism – 35 million:
Latter Day Saint movement (Mormonism) – 16.1 million:
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – 15.9 million
Community of Christ – 0.25 million
Jehovah’s Witnesses – 8.3 million
Oneness Pentecostalism – 6 million:
United Pentecostal Church International – 4 million
Pentecostal Assemblies of the World – 1.5 million
Minor denominations – 4.4 million:
Iglesia ni Cristo – 2.3 million
La Luz del Mundo – 1 million
Unitarian Universalism – 0.6 million:
Unitarian Universalist Association – 0.2 million[206]
Church of Christ, Scientist – 0.4 million
Friends of Man – 0.07 million
Christadelphians – 0.06 million
Family International – 0.01 million
Independent Catholicism – 18 million:
Philippine Independent Church – 6 million
Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association – 5 million
Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church – 5 million
Traditionalist Mexican-American Catholic Church – 2 million
Old Catholic Church – 0.1 million
Polish National Catholic Church – 0.025 million
Apostolic Catholic Church – 0.005 million
Palmarian Catholic Church – 0.0015 or 0.001 million
Minor branches – 1 million:
Church of the East (Nestorianism) – 0.6 million:
Assyrian Church of the East – 0.5 million
Ancient Church of the East – 0.1 million
Messianic Judaism – 0.35 million
Mrs ODM – you deny clear scripture that states “this baptism saves (and several others like Titus 3:5.
We believe in many of the gifts of the spirit – but unlike you we do not believe that the Holy Spirit works separate from his word – I had many CC years where that was the CC liturgy.
If the Holy Spirit instituted the liturgy – why wouldn’t you use repetition and rote? It is like your stand to not use the Lord’s Prayer because it is by rote.
No way Calvary Chapel has 25 million people.
pstrmike @ 22 said something to which i’ll add an amen… the Holy Spirit moves and moves on… like the Wind indeed
but those who would live on those manifestations without study and the resultant growth are missing something, also IMV
so, the question, at least for me is, do we need organized churches for that individual growth to take place?
i don’t know where i heard it, maybe here… but someone observed that churches don’t need to own real estate… better to use/rent an existing facility as necessary…. chewing on that still not sure… thinking…
Mrs. ODM, don’t take Jean’s challenge 🙂
Ms. ODM,
First the link. Here is from the final paragraph:
“So, what does this mean for Lutherans and Roman Catholics as we celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation? It means that sadly the differences between us and the Roman Catholic Church are still there. In fact, it would even appear that they may have in fact increased in some ways. In light of this, as I said before, we pray. Pray for the Church to be united.”
Second: Baptismal regeneration: Titus III, V; among many other verses.
Third: If you ever bothered to look at our liturgy, you would see that it must be inspired by the Holy Spirit because it is 95% pure Scripture.
Fourth: Gifts of the Holy Spirit? What greater gift is there than salvation? But what gift do you think we’re missing? Please explain.
I thought you could do better. Sigh!
my my Kevin has been busy ;).
I didn’t think Calvary Chapel was that large, nor did I think Messianic Judaism was that small.
#37 LOL
And I typed that all up within minutes with one hand behind my back. 🙂
Or I can confess it’s a copy and paste from Wikipedia (with some minor editing to make it look cleaner). You all can blame them for the numbers. 🙂
Just a quick one-handed look at the LCMS’s doctrinal statement I read the following — they reject Bible prophecy and the LORD’s promises to Israel — and they reject the clear teaching of the Scriptures regarding the LORD’s rule on earth – again , gag me with a spoon.
“With the Augsburg Confession (Art. XVII) we reject every type of millennialism, or Chiliasm, the opinions that Christ will return visibly to this earth a thousand years before the end of the world and establish a dominion of the Church over the world; or that before the end of the world the Church is to enjoy a season of special prosperity; or that before a general resurrection on Judgment Day a number of departed Christians or martyrs are to be raised again to reign in glory in this world; or that before the end of the world a universal conversion of the Jewish nation (of Israel according to the flesh) will take place.”
#38 – Kevin – thank you for listing those groups that are further down the road in the apostasy than Calvary Chapel. — Man certainly does love ‘religion’
Kevin – What is the link for that? That Calvary Chapel number has to be WAYY off. That would make them the largest protestant denomination, and unless they’ve multiplied exponentially in the last ten years that can’t be true.
So which group has it exactly right…
Josh,
There was no reference for the Calvary Chapel number. Some numbers had references, others didn’t. So who knows where that number came from. It didn’t seem realistic to me either.
I wouldn’t have even included the numbers but then it would have taken forever to edit the copy from Wikipedia.
Mrs ODM, I understand your angst and the lack in you theology. As Lutherans, yes we do hold the position that all prophecy has been fulfilled in him who is Israel reduced to one, Jesus Christ – and we proudly defend our position.
You on the other hand are defenseless trying to defend your Replacement Theology position where you have replaced Jesus with ethnic national Israel as the sum and total of biblical prophecy.
Ms. ODM,
You are stuck in ideology. If it’s not taught in Scripture, why on earth would you expect to find it in the Augsburg Confession?
@pstrmike
Bethel? With their gold dust and angel wings falling from the ceiling, and rolling around on the floor jerking healing sessions… ya that’s a real sound movement. SMH. I’m surprised you would give it any credibility.
Michael, while I appreciate your continual attempt to chronicle the CC changes, I think your OP is not as hopeful as some of us in the movement are. While I am opposed to much in the current system, it’s still a work in progress. The guys who are leading (on both sides) are aging, and will, in the course of the next several years, be replaced. While it could all dissolve and fall apart, God will continue to work with what remains and that will be a good thing.
It’s also *possible* that men will repent of their foolish and petty bickering and unite in the Spirit of Jesus. In the meantime, I personally have simply chosen to not participate much in the national scene, either CGN or CCA and am looking elsewhere for leadership.
This year I will be attending a non-CC pastors conference, and am looking forward to being anonymous and ignorant of individuals and politics. I also think Greg Laurie gave us all something to think about with his dual affiliation -something more than one CC pastor is looking at.
Mrs ODM, if they are so clear, will you please point to one clear “Jesus will return to rule on the earth.” passage?
I do see in Acts 2 Peter clearly stating (present tense to him) that Jesus IS ruling and reigning from David’s throne.
I would imagine that your theology would have Jesus returning to earth driving a Ford F-150 and pulling a U-Haul trailer with David’s throne.
Lol MLD
JJ,
You just made my case for me…
“I would imagine that your theology would have Jesus returning to earth driving a Ford F-150 and pulling a U-Haul trailer with David’s throne” that just may be the key to MLD’s problem… LOL
I think CC is probably somewhere between 2-5 million…if that.
A lot of the CC megachurches have shrunk and the vast majority are around a couple hundred people or less.
If all 1600 churches averaged 500 people that would still put them at less than a million…
@54
have you ever been to Bethel Church?
Ms. ODM, I don’t teach or really believe in baptismal regeneration for reasons that are a bit too complicated to go into here but I am not so fundamentally opposed to the idea that I consider it as the dangerous theology that you do. However, I do consider doctrinal issues regarding the trinity a far greater concern. With that in mind, I’m curious, why you think this baptismal regeneration is such a serious error? At the same time I’m wondering if you will take a stance against pastors at CC that seem to have less of an orthodox understanding of trinity that appears to be more inline with modal-ism. I await you answer.
Steve – Baptismal regeneration adds a necessary work to Salvation. Rather than by Grace Alone, it is Grace + “get baptized”.
Duane
that was an exceptional, deep post.
I started at CC in 2003 in Temecula, Ca. When my Dad came to check it out, he had the impression that these were old men trying desperately to hold on to something that wasn’t theirs in the first place. 15 years later and he seemed to have been very right back then.
ODMs believe with the depressed Elijah that they alone remain … the lack of confidence in God, the Gospel and the Work of Christ in the world is stupefying
Josh, your understanding of baptismal regeneration is a bit shallow. LCMS Lutherans would never say that baptism is a work of man. Its one reason they baptize infants because they know an infant isn’t trying to earn their salvation by agreeing with their parents to get baptized. It doesn’t work that way but nice try.
You asked why it was considered a serious error. You should have asked for the Lutheran justification of it if that’s what you wanted.
Josh, I really wanted to know Ms. ODMs answer and why she thinks its so serious and why no concern about modalism being taught and practiced in CC.
Oh, sorry. Proceed.
Josh – as Steve says, we LCMSers AND the Bible would never attribute baptism as a work of man – in fact the Bible plainly states that it is God’s work.
Titus 3 – “4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
No matter how it gets twisted “he saved us” – he washed us (water stuff) – and through this baptism, he gave us the Holy Spirit – just as it says in Acts 2.
All God stuff – All God work.
I know the Lutheran line.
I view baptism as “Sign” and “Seal” but I do reject baptismal regeneration and I’m not quite sure but its not for the reasons Josh laid out. I do appreciate MLD’s explanation here and I think we are closer than we are apart.
Josh – thank you for conceding that the Bible (such as Titus 3) is the Lutheran line – we try to stick to the scriptures. 🙂
MLD, the Lutheran’s are good at making the bible say whatever they want. I’ll give you that one. 🙂
Josh – I’ll bet that if you look in your Holman Bible, it will say the same thing. 🙂 Then once you realize that, you too can say that baptismal regeneration is the Baptist line — look it up. 🙂
Do Lutherans rip all Scripture from context, or just that one verse? Asking for a friend? 🙂
This article is about the current state of Calvary Chapel part 1, not Lutheran theology part 27,536
But I would much rather discuss Ms ODMs replacement theology – where she is still holding out for prophecies not fulfilled by Jesus that are earmarked for the “greater than Jesus” – Israel. I find that position fascinating.
Mrs. ODM
My family and I tried really hard to make it work in CC for fourteen years. We served where and when asked, we tried all the uncomfortable group things. They considered myself a deacon. However, when I began realizing that the Holy Spirit was not working in my own home, and therefore was most likely not affecting my ministries, I stopped serving. Then I was saved and the Holy Spirit miraculously healed my mind of porn addiction. All this I made known to the pastors and elders. I was re-baptized there.
Two years later I came to the pastor confronting him with issues that I believed were detrimental to the local church, namely plagiarism. Wiersbe, McGee, MacArthur, Guzik, Sermon Central… even Barnes and Spurgeon. He admitted it and we moved on. I didn’t pay attention to it for a year. But it struck me funny one Sunday and I looked. Still doin it. So I confronted him again but this time the entire board was dragged into it on the advice of another elder. I wasn’t looking to dismiss him or anything, just exhort and encourage to get back to what I believed he had been doing for the last 14 years I had known him – I made this known to the group. I was accused of being of a critical and divisive spirit. I was told I had replaced my porn addiction with being critical of others. I had no clue my confessions were being retained for later use against me. I was accused of being unhelpful for the last 14 years. Apparently, I was unhelpful for 14 years participating in and running five different Ministries at various times whenever asked and often volunteered. I was told by the pastor that he had been doing it that way for 30 years and if I didn’t like it I could leave. I asked for time to finish out the year with Awana so as to provide consistency for my students, my wife’s students, and our three children, but even that was not allowed. I was asked to leave immediately.
Coming out of CC, having listened to former Calvary Chapel members, the current state of my thoughts on Calvary Chapel is that it is plagued by pharisaism exhibited from the pulpit and the elders and taught to the congregation. Moreover because of this there is in some Calvary chapels almost a kind of cultic behavior. Out of the hundred or so families we served with and more who’s lives we touched only one family bothered to stay in contact.
I listen to your friend Jacob prasch quite often and listen to more pastors more often from moriel Ministries and Affiliated Ministries. I like their hermeneutic and I appreciate their candor, and I appreciate their Ministries in Southeast Asia and Africa. David Nathan preached a sermon one time that elucidated for me how subtle pharisaism can be. He says that Satan can even tempt us to make the word of God become more important then the Lord himself. Mind it says that the Lord holds his word above his own name. I believe it is because only the Lord can do that. Your comment saying Calvary Chapel is the most faithful church group and you can prove it by holding it up against any other denomination and knocking “it down with 1 hand behind my back” smacks of the hubris that Calvary Chapel is plagued with.
I’ve read a lot of your stuff and I’m appreciative for your ministry and I don’t think you are plagued with it but we can all make mistakes sometimes. In my view, and in my and others experiences, that Pentecostal streak of my way or the highway runs deep in Calvary Chapel. And it burns sheep and it has a beer can methodology to service and faith towards its congregants.
And I would challenge you on The ecumenical issue you raised. There are plenty of authors whom Calvary Chapel sell that you would be not quite so comfortable with, and others whom they don’t that you would wonder why they don’t. There are plenty of outreaches and Endeavors that take place where other ecumenical or false religious systems (such as G.O. and Roman Catholicism, in my view, and I think in your view, too) are cooperating with CC’s.
The holy spirit foretold through Daniel that the power of the holy people would be shattered. I believe this is not due to outside influences only but self-inflicted damage upon one another. Again, John says that our greatest gospel is our love for one another. And Jesus tells us that the love of most will grow cold because of lawlessness. Jesus says that the law is upheld in two ways. In my experience Calvary Chapel as an institution fails at both and is going the way of the Catholic Church. It is a dying Institution grasping on to other institutions for survival which is the basis of ecumenism in my opinion.
Michael,
Now you’re exaggerating. We’re probably not any further than Lutheran theology part 27,450, not 27,536. 🙂
KevinH,
I was practicing generosity… 🙂
This is the state of CC – one of their great defenders put out the Lutheran challenge. The state of CC is to deny salvation to Lutherans as presented by one of their great defenders.
MLD, who was that great defender?
The only thing funnier than reading Ms. ODM who I’m guessing could probably find something damnably wrong with just about anybody, is seeing the Lutherans rush to defend themselves as being the ones that are the True Church (nobody said it, just implied) and thus not worthy of Ms. ODM’s scorn. You are not going to win that battle. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an ODM give up any ground – it’s an even rarer sight than a hardcore Lutheran giving a concession… It just doesn’t happen. They are fully committed to their belief that everyone but them and their ODM cronies are following the spirit of antichrist. At least that’s my perception – I hope I’m wrong…
On the CC front, I thought BD’s #6 and JohnnyB’s #25 were very worthwhile.
Steve @ 83 – the CC great defender is Ms ODM
“The only thing funnier than reading Ms. ODM who I’m guessing could probably find something damnably wrong with just about anybody”
Chris, I’m still waiting for her to do that point by point with my list at #38. 🙂
Ah, I didn’t quite hear her say that she was denying salvation to Lutherans but she did say Anathema! So I do see your point.
Kevin @ 86: I SO hope she will! Oughta keep her busy for awhile anyway. HAHAHA I loved your post Kevin! And actually, I really kind of DO hope she does – maybe by the time she gets halfway through the list, she might get a revelation…
What I thought was an extremely sophomoric and ignorant assertion for an ODM was Mrs. ODM’s claim:
“Their liturgy is by rote, not inspired by the Holy Spirit.”
Since when are the Scriptures not inspired by the Holy Spirit?
When did non-inspired extemporaneous liturgy trump Scripture-based liturgies?
When did something written or wrote become something bad?
Is there anything in the Bible that supports any such asinine claims and inferences?
Steve, actually it’s worse – but I chuckle at the controversies. One time some years ago she told my I was unsaved because I didn’t believe in the earthly millennium – which she may have also said today.
MLD, glad you can chuckle. I think you guys will both make it into heaven but I do hope she is up to Kevin’s challenge @38. hahaha
Speaking of context:
“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Not only is this a beautiful text on the grace given in baptism, but notice:
“he saved us”
“according to his own mercy”
“by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit”
“he poured out on us”
“justified by his grace”
Who does everything?
Where is man’s part to play? Where is the sinner’s prayer? Where is “make a choice,” “surrender your life to God,” “ask Jesus into your heart,” “receive Christ as your savior”?
What does it say? “not because of works done by us in righteousness.” Is this a clause that we can all agree on?
#89 Jean
Most people who use such arguments concerning liturgy have seldom, or never, been in a liturgical service based upon a traditional model.
Of course, in the technical sense, most churches of whatever variety practice a liturgy… they just don’t use the word…
3 verses is not context.
Jean, you make legit points in your 89, but if I was to take Ms ODM’s position on that, I think the issue is that when you just do something over and over by rote like that it can seem very lifeless and devoid of the Spirit. And I say that Jean because that’s how it seemed to me when I was in the Lutheran church and was absolutely one of the biggest reasons I left. I don’t dismiss the value in sometimes using liturgy like that, but I’m just telling you as a personal example that it came across lifeless and fake to me when that was all we did was monotonously stand/sit and repeat all these phrases – especially as a young believer. Very rarely did it have any meaningful effect on me spiritually – meanwhile I had gone with people to some other churches where the life of the Spirit was abounding and God was speaking powerfully to me. The Holy Spirit often seemed the dismissed member of the Trinity in my Lutheran days. Ironically, it was a Lutheran-sponsored retreat I went on (Cursillo for those in the know) that was more Holy Spirit-centered and love-centered, that started opening my eyes more to what God had for me that was largely being neglected in Lutheran services. Yes I know the arguments Lutherans use for why they do it as they do (safety in just repeating Scriptural truths word-by-word etc.). Like I said, I’m not at all dismissing the whole practice and think you totally made some legit points, but I do see the other side on that one too. Anyway, just food for thought – not really wanting to get in a back and forth on that one (esp in deference to Michael’s 77).
I returned to our local LCMS Church last Sunday and have found a resting place. I found peace in confession and absolution. I found comfort partaking in Christ’s True Body and Blood. This broken sinner feels the Spirit led me back there. I don’t know that for sure. But I’ve found a home.
Chris – even in retrospect now that you have played with charismatic / evangelical churches you think saying the creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Kyrie, the Sanctus, the Pax Domini. singing the Angus Dei or completing Holy Communion with the Nunc Dimitis is boring, or rote and mechanical.
I understand the holy spirit electricity that runs through the 7/11 songs, but really?
But the funny side is the time Skip, trying to be “religious” said – today we are going to recite the Lord’s Prayer. He got part way through, messed up the wording – started over, messed up again and then said, “see, this is why we don’t do these rote things!”
Hi Chris,
I totally respect your desire not to get into a debate, and I also respect Michael’s 77. I would like to only offer an additional support for my preference for Scripture based liturgy, using the following texts:
“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”
“As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.”
“Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”
I would argue that God intends and desires that His people have the Word of God implanted in their hearts and minds. The blessed man…his delight is in the Word of God and upon that Word he meditates day and night.
I would further argue that if the worship in the Bible is designed around fixed and set rituals and ceremonies, places and times, which are specifically designed to mold the people of God into a holy people.
Lastly, I am not aware of any better way to memorize Scripture than singing and chanting. Then, you have that treasure in your heart and can remember it when you need to or share it with someone in your path that needs to hear it.
I’ve been sitting here way too long trying to think how to boil down what I’m thinking and some things happening in my world that might take me back into the direction of ministry. Because I want to avoid the pitfalls of my own past and those who have gone before me.
I’m sure I’ve quoted this before but I’m learning that this idea can be applied to many contexts. “If you build the church, you don’t always get disciples. But when you build disciples, you always get the church.” Mike Breen.
I think Chuck in his 4sq days and early days really wanted to build disciples. I think that could be said on into the mid to late 70s with things like the 8-week Bible School program that eventually became CC Bible College.
But, as was so perfectly quoted earlier, when things went “mainstream,” the focus had to change from building disciples first to building the church first. What that practically looks like is focusing on metrics first as a measure of ministry and not maturity (how’s that for alliteration!). It’s never about the numbers, until its about the numbers. I’ve sat in too many staff meetings where we started with spreadsheets looking at nickles and noses.
Attached to all of this is the very real responsibility of a mortgage for the facility, salaries, people’s lived and livelihoods. It’s not that easy to dismiss. It’s a huge pressure and responsibility. But even all of that is a gauge revealing how the mark got missed at some point and we started focusing on the church and not disciples.
Having said all of that, like JimJ, even though I’m not officially in the movement, I’m more optimistic. For me, I’m optimistic because of the split. Not optimistic that this big thing will still be around and be big, but that it will become useful again, productive, again, forward-looking and thinking again. Because I could sure use that if things play out the way they might for me.
Small-batch, hand-crafted discipleship and church is where it’s at says I. There is strength in small numbers. But when those small numbers work together, God can do big things through lots of people instead of just a few from the stage.
JoelG,
Congratulations!
There’s nothing better than finding a home…
Kevin @ 38- the Vineyard numbers on that Wikipedia list are also greatly inflated. We claim 300,000+ people in 2,400+ churches, not 15 million. Wow, that’s way off. I know we don’t report our numbers in some sensitive countries, but I seriously doubt we’re hiding that many folks 🙂
https://vineyardusa.org/
(Stats listed about halfway down the page, in the section titled Celebrating 40 years)
“Small-batch, hand-crafted discipleship and church is where it’s at says I. There is strength in small numbers. But when those small numbers work together, God can do big things through lots of people instead of just a few from the stage.”
Love that line, Corby @99. I’m so done with super-stars and their shows. Hand-crafted discipleship indeed.
Thank you Michael!
Corby,
Well thought out response…thank you.
To be more clear for Jean/MLD/etc: I’ve said before there are things about the Lutheran experience that I have a love/hate relationship with. The rote liturgy is my best example of that. I have no problem with reciting common things we believe corporately together, and truth be told, I wish sometimes that more evangelical churches (i.e. CC) wouldn’t be afraid to do that sometimes. So yes, I do miss that sometimes, but no, not enough to ever want it in my life again on a regular basis on the level it’s done in such churches. I go back periodically anyway, and I always just end up leaving kind of frustrated (not just for that reason). When that’s all the majority one does in church is recite words on a page (no matter true they may be), it just comes across monotonous and fake and boring to me when done week in and week out. And that still is my impression all these years on. But like I said, I don’t dismiss the practice entirely and do see value in it, and if you or anyone else loves that mode, I say “GREAT – ENJOY!” 🙂 🙂
Getting back to CC, I agree with Michael that Corby’s #99 was a good read!
On the CC front, several years ago, maybe a year before Chuck died, I woke up one morning in that hazy half-awake state with this line burning in my spirit: “Calvary Chapel, I love you, but you’re breaking My heart.” I hadn’t even been thinking about CC at all. I knew it was the Lord and could sense His presence strongly. While I have ALWAYS been very skeptical (and still am) of anyone writing as Jesus, I also knew I was hearing the Lord and He had a message to give. Starting with that line and the Lord just continuing to give me words, 20 minutes later I had a letter that I believe was from the Lord (not to say some of my flesh might not have creeped in too – I would not and DID NOT represent it as being 100% accurate as Jesus) – I then sent it to both Chuck and Brian with a cover letter. I have no idea if they ever read it or not. I think I ended up deciding to send it anonymously so it might have just gotten tossed. Without reprinting the letter, let me just say that it basically was a call for CC to get back to the simplicity of living by the Spirit and being known for their love rather than doctrine and get away from the criticizing others/ODM nonsense and business machine/formula stuff and just living off of past glories. It ended with the same line it started with: “Calvary Chapel, I love you, but you’re breaking My heart. Please come back.”
Personally, like Corby and some others, I don’t see the split as necessarily a bad thing in the long run. And I’ve been excited to see some of the moves Brian/CCCM have been making. JD in #27 mentioned something similar, but I’ve heard the timeline of ministries originally birthed in the Spirit described as going through this cycle: “Movement -> Machine -> Museum -> Mausoleum”. In my opinion CC as a whole (not on an individual church level where of course there could be great variations) was largely in the Museum stage (just looking backwards to all God did in the past) and was on its way given enough time towards Mausoleum (where it’s lifeless). So I’m excited that Brian is trying to interrupt that cycle and reboot and, like the name of his radio program, get “back to basics”. That takes great courage (since others will lob every arrow they can at you – and they have been). I’m excited to see what God still has for CC, however it all shakes out.
Well, Mrs. ODM was certainly successful in taking the focus off of CC! LOL
@106
“So I’m excited that Brian is trying to interrupt that cycle and reboot… ”
So am I. Brodersen’s time at Costa Mesa prior to becoming the senior pastor there exposed him to so much, and I hope he learned well not only to develop the vision, but to navigate the sometime treacherous waters to get there.
Thank you Eric, Michael, and Chris. Agree with 106.
#38 – Kevin – Still working on it, but I had to untie that hand. It would seem that there are more ‘Christians’ than there are people.
Chuck and CC were used at the time. They were culturally relevant in the 70’s and early 80’s but not so much any more. Culture has changed and so have it’s values and the CC thing doesn’t work well any more. Most in their churches are older folks.
Having said that, I don’t know of any church or movement that is making an impact in the current culture.
Sounds like of you disagree with Jackie or Mrs. ODM on any issue you are labeled a heretic or abhorrent
I didn’t know that one’s position on eschatology defined one as a true believer!
Life after Calvary Chapel, having returned to simply following Jesus
https://68.media.tumblr.com/e99f9d930c55e45b4a0733c1b63c794d/tumblr_p2g5k9ivya1sh491mo1_1280.jpg
Miss ODM doesn’t play well with others. She never has.
Like your website Theophilus but where is the young generation of leaders.
BD
Great question. I came to this older generation church a year ago. Since then, we have grown and are intentionally going after and attracting and discipline younger men and women. After a year of discipleship, 7 young men about to be appointed in leadership. One of my areas of responsibility is music. Ive been training a group of young musicians. They are beginning to take the lead in that area too. So, to answer your question, we’re working on it. It just takes time.
Good things is we have the support of the old duffers
“Good things is we have the support of the old duffers”…of which I am one. Ive got a few years left. But my job, IMO, is not to be up front, but to train and push the young men and women forward. It’s one of the reasons I stepped down from my church of 20 years. I put a younger man in my place.
We CC pastors must be careful not to resist change when it is directed by God. In Jesus day, the Jewish leadership was content with their religious life under the law and saw Jesus as a threat.
Those of us from the Jesus movement are bald, and grey and aging. God did a wonderful thing in the 70’s and 80’s. But he is raising up a whole new group of leaders who love God but express it in a different way. We can’t be threatened by that. Instead, we need to be their cheerleaders encouraging them to build upon the foundation we poured and find ways to reach their culture and express themselves before God in ways that are biblical but maybe foreign to us.
It’s a different world. Technology has effected culture as much as the painting press did. We aged Christians can be the old wine skins of Luke 5. We aren’t necessarily bad, we just grew up in a culture that knew phones with cords on them, turntables and vinyls records, Kodak cameras, books not kindles, we went shopping at Penny’s and Woolworths instead of ordering clothing and food on line,. To us a virus is something your kids come down with not something on a computer. We aren’t necessarily bad, but the world, as it does, progressed beyond us. We old farts need to recognize that the world has changed and encourage the younger to embrace their world in Their way and use toolls like social media et al with the gospel just as we did in our day
“When Smith died, there was no one of his stature in the group who wanted to take over, but plenty of lesser lights who desperately wanted the position.”
The Iron Throne is empty.
Let the Game of Thrones begin.