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Calvary Chapel is a non-denominational, sola scriptura Christian church with has over a thousand affilliated congregations worldwide. Calvary Chapel also runs several Bible colleges in the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Spain, Russia, The Philippines, Germany, Israel, Japan, Mexico and Hungary.

History

Calvary Chapel was once part of the "Jesus Movement" of the late 1960s. The first Calvary Chapel was Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa in Costa Mesa, California, United States, formed by Pastor Chuck Smith and evangelist Lonnie Frisbee in 1969.

Smith's evangelical teachings center on leading souls to salvation through Jesus Christ. C. Peter Wagner, in his book Churchquake, lists Calvary Chapel as the point of origination of the New Apostolic Reformation, although Calvary Chapel denies any affiliation with the movement.

Theology

Calvary Chapel's teachings are Evangelical Christian in nature. Calvary Chapel's theology has become a new wave of thought in systematic doctrine, as they pull from the pietist, anabaptist, Wesleyan, and fundamentalist traditions, yet fuse them so as to form what they call "a balance". The movement's leader, Pastor Chuck Smith, strongly emphasizes the need for dependency on the Bible and also on the Holy Spirit. Calvary Chapel is orthodox in their views of all essential Christian doctrines, however they hold to a moderate dispensational tenet that discourages the Reader-Response approach to scripture but rather uses the Authorial-Intent formula for interpreting scripture, thus they believe the Church and Israel to be two separate institutes of God. In their eschatology they are primarily pre-tribulation premillienialist. Calvary Chapels place a heavy emphasis on the exposition of the Bible book by book, chapter by chapter. They also ascribe to form of Christian Zionism.

Church Government

Calvary Chapel does not affiliate churches, it affiliates pastors. A church whose pastor is affiliated with Calvary Chapel is a Calvary Chapel and may use the name (most Calvary Chapels have one or both words in their names). New Calvary Chapels may be created either by an existing non-denominational Christian church's pastor becoming a Calvary Chapel affiliate or as a church plant from another Calvary Chapel. Every Calvary Chapel pastor is directly accountable to another pastor, usually at a larger church nearby. In the case of a church plant, the pastor will be accountable to the pastor of the originating church. Usually, the pastor of one large church will be responsible for all of the churches in his area, forming a de facto diocese. This loose hierarchy extends upward to founder Chuck Smith at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa in southern California. However, the only disciplinary procedure available within this structure is disaffiliation. Because churches are not directly affiliated, the Calvary Chapel organization does not have the authority to remove a pastor from his position. However, this disaffiliation process does ensure that all Calvary Chapels teach doctrine compatible with the basic statement of faith issued by Costa Mesa.

Within each Calvary Chapel, the power of the pastor is essentially absolute. Calvary Chapel pastors may not be removed by anyone within the church, and congregational voting is not practiced on any issue, except perhaps as a non-binding opinion poll. Most Calvary Chapels have elders who inform and assist the pastor. Only the pastor has the power to appoint or remove these elders, therefore the elders answer to the pastor alone. Women may not be pastors or elders, although the wives of pastors and elders usually assist them in their ministry. Most churches do not have deacons, sextons, or other boards.

Because Calvary Chapel does not have a formalized system of church membership, census information is not available. Informal "belonging" to a local Calvary Chapel is practiced though regular attendance, communion (Eucharist), tithing, mid-week bible study discussions, and (occasionally) baby dedications, water baptism (youth and adult), weddings, and funerals.

Ordination/Affiliation of Pastors

Calvary Chapel pastors need not hold a seminary degree. Pastors who do hold a seminary degree and have some experience in another denomination are considered sufficiently trained. Those who have not previously been pastors in another denomination generally take a two year course of study at a Calvary Chapel Bible College, for which a bachelor's degree is not a prerequisite. Calvary Chapel does not affiliate women or homosexuals as pastors, as they believe to do such would be contradictory to the teachings of the Bible.

Practices

Calvary Chapel is known for "teaching sermons" which may last 45 minutes to an hour. In these sermons, a pastor reads and expounds upon a lengthy section of Scripture, going wherever the text and the Holy Spirit lead. Chuck Smith will begin from the very beginning of the Bible and, over the course of a few years, preach all the way through to the end. Because of its length and a desire to minimize distractions from the teaching, most Calvary Chapels hold Sunday School for children during the sermon.

Although Calvary Chapel believes in the continuing efficacy of the gift of tongues, it does not permit uninterpreted tongues to be spoken during public services, as per 1 Corinthians 14. Interpreted tongues and modern prophecy are affirmed doctrinally by Calvary Chapel but rarely practiced. Private prayer tongues are much more common. Believer's baptism by immersion is practiced. The frequency with which communion is taken and the practice of other sacraments varies.

Calvary Chapel worship services are known for being relaxed and informal. Most Calvary Chapel services are "come as you are" affairs at which ties and "Sunday dresses" are not required.

Praise and Worship is an important part of service at many Calvary Chapels. While worship styles can vary between various congregatations, most consist of upbeat Contemporary Christian Music - dramatically different from the stoic hymns sung at more traditional (or denominational) Christian churches (though many fellowships embrace traditional hymns from time to time.)

Calvary Chapels differ from other churches by their distinct lack of cross imagery. In its place, Calvary Chapel uses a stylized dove to represent the Holy Spirit. This new iconoclasm has opened them up to inaccurate assertions that they are "ashamed of the cross".

Broadcasting

Calvary Chapel, particularly the Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls, Idaho, operates radio and television outlets including CSN Radio and Effect Radio, and the church owns many broadcast translators and low-power outlets across the U.S. that carry these services. There are reportedly 30 full-power and 325 low-power/translator transmitters owned by the organization spread around the country. Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa owns and operates radio station KWVE 107.9 MHz, with its tower in the hills above nearby San Clemente. It has separate programming from CSN Radio.

Concerns/Criticisms

Concerns have emerged from several quarters in which Calvary Chapel has been noted for its strong anti-catholic, its anti-mainstream Protestantism, its Criticism of Mormonism, its opposition to Jehovah's Witnesses and its opposition to Islam. It allegedly has labeled these and other churches/religions as cults and personality cults.

• Calvary Chapel Attacks Against Other Denominations

• An Open Letter to Calvary Chapel of Ft. Lauderdale Arminianism permeates this church and its stance on doctrine. This is an open letter to Dr. Norman Geisler, Pastor Bob Coy and the congregation of Calvary Chapel of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida which challenges them to rethink their position of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in light of the Bible.
• The Error of Synergism - As Exemplified By Calvary Chapel by John Hendryx
• A Biblical Critique of Chuck Smith's: "Calvinism, Arminianism & The Word Of God" by Ray Kane In this article we will look at the unbiblical and incorrect statements of Mr. Chuck Smith of "Calvary Chapel" fame, with respect to his study on election and predestination. His study reflects not only his own personal views but that of the leadership of most, if not all Calvary Chapel churches. The "Calvary Chapel" collection of churches represent a sort of pseudo denomination that branched out from Mr. Smith's original mega church out in Costa Mesa California. These folks are correct about many spiritual issues but they are dead wrong about their views on Calvinism as I will point out in this study. My comments are in bold black print and the text of Mr. Smith's study is in unbolded blue print. Please read this study carefully and completely. It is not meant as an exercise in speed reading. You are bound to miss some important points if you do not spend quality time digesting this material.

External links

• Harvest, a history of Calvary Chapel by Chuck Smith
• Calvary Chapel Distinctives, The Foundational Principles of the Calvary Chapel Movement by Chuck Smith
• Why Grace Changes Everything, by Chuck Smith
• Calvary Chapel official homepage
• Calvary Fellowship Churches, contact and address information for US and International Churches
• KWVE 107.9, Calvary Chapel's Southern California Radio Station
• Watch Bible Studies 24/7, Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa
• Horizon family
• Article: Reinventing American Protestantism
• Harvest

See Also

• Christian fundamentalism
• Neo-evangelicalism
• Protestantism
• Pentecostalism
• Bible conspiracy theory
• Vineyard movement

• Christian evangelicalism
• Christianity
• Theology