History
Calvary Chapel began in the late
1960's as a small non-denominational church of 25 members pastored by Chuck
Smith. As we approach the turn of the century, Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa is
home to some 30,000 believers, The Word for Today publishes Bible study books
and tapes all over the world, KWVE broadcasts God's Word to all of Southern
California, and Calvary Chapel's Bible College provides Bible education to
thousands at its home campus in Murrieta California and at over 20 extension
campuses world wide.
Because of its size and influence,
many Christians have asked exactly what Calvary Chapel believes, what are its
distinctives, what sets it apart from other Christian groups. At Calvary
Chapel, we have always been hesitant to try and answer those questions, not
because we are unsure of our beliefs, but because we are cautious to avoid
division within the Body of Christ. After all, what really matters is what we
have in common as Christians: the "essential" doctrines of the infallibility of
God's Word, the virgin birth of Christ, His sinless life, death for our sins,
bodily resurrection. ascension to glory, and personal return to rule the earth.
These are the essence of Christianity, and agreed upon by virtually all born
again believers.
When we move away from the
essential doctrines to those that are less essential we risk setting barriers
up in the church, something we at Calvary Chapel have no desire to do. Still,
Calvary Chapel is distinct from denominational churches and other Protestant
groups and people want to know what those distinctions
are.
It is not our purpose to cause
division or discord in the Body of Christ, conversely, we long for unity among
God's people of all persuasions, and we allow for a great deal of flexibility
even within our own ranks. Calvary Chapel pastors are not clones who all
believe exactly the same thing. Still, there are distinctives that make Calvary
Chapel unique and which define our mission.
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"The
Balance"
In a broad general sense, Calvary
Chapel is the middle ground between fundamentalism and Pentecostalism in modern
Protestant theology. In fact, we believe that this is at least part of the
reason why God has raised up this ministry.
Fundamentalism is that portion of
Protestantism which holds to the literal interpretation of the Scriptures,
believing that they are divinely inspired and inerrant. Hence, the
"fundamentals" of the faith are emphasized. Although the modem news media and
the liberal church scorn fundamentalists as backwards and stupid, the truth is
that fundamentalism has preserved the integrity of God's Word and held on to
the essential doctrines of the orthodox faith.
Pentecostalism as a modern
movement grew out of the Azusa Street revival in Los Angeles at the turn of the
20th century, and spawned denominations that emphasize the fullness of the Holy
Spirit and the exercise of spiritual and Scriptural gifts of the Spirit which
had fallen dormant in the main line churches. Also criticized by the liberal
church and news media as being emotionally driven, Pentecostalism restored to
the church the importance of gifts of the Spirit and the power of God for the
believer today.
Over the years, however,
fundamentalism, while it clung to the integrity of God's Word, tended to become
rigid, legalistic, and unaccepting of spiritual gifts. Similarly,
Pentecostalism became enthusiastic and emotional at the expense of the teaching
of God's Word.
Calvary Chapel is the balance
between the two. At Calvary Chapel we believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit
mentioned in the Bible, and we encourage their exercise, but always decently
and in order, and with the primary emphasis on the Word of God which we look to
as our primary rule of faith.
To quote Pastor Chuck Smith: "We
believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Scriptures, and that
they are valid for today if they are exercised within the Scriptural
guidelines. We as believers are to covet the best gifts, seeking to exercise
them in love that the whole Body of Christ might be edified. We believe that
love is more important than the most spectacular gifts, and without this love
all exercise of spiritual gifts is worthless."
Because of this balance, Calvary
Chapel services are designed to be centered around the verse by verse teaching
of God's Word, and special "after glow" services are provided where the gifts
of the Holy Spirit can operate freely under the leadership of mature
Christians. Many Pentecostals think Calvary Chapel is not emotional enough, and
many fundamentalists think Calvary Chapel is too emotional. That balance is
indication, in my opinion, that we are right where God wants us to
be.
Calvary Chapel also differs from
most mainline churches in its style of church government. Most denominational
churches maintain either a congregational form of church government, a
Presbyterian form, or an Episcopal form of running their churches. These three
terms should not be confused with the denominations that bear the same names
because other churches of different names share the same styles of government.
The congregational form of church
government is an American invention and appeals to our American sense of
democracy. Basically, the congregation as a whole makes all decisions in these
churches by voting on matters of importance and appointing committees from its
ranks to run the daily operation of the church. Most Congregational, Baptist,
Pentecostal, Brethren, and non-denominational churches are organized in this
fashion. The congregation votes on hiring a pastor, votes on how to spend the
money, and on anything else of importance. Although democratic people like the
idea, congregational forms of church government often wind up at best causing
the pastor to be directed by the sheep he is supposed to lead, and at worst
reducing the pastor to a hireling.
The Episcopal form of church
government, used by Episcopalian, Anglican, Catholic, Orthodox, and Methodist
churches (to name a few) is controlled by a church hierarchy which may have
differing names. Basically, there is a bishop, or someone of similar stature if
called by a different name, who oversees the churches, appoints pastors to
pulpits, sets policy, and guides the vision of the local congregations.
Unfortunately, this style of government, which grew out of European monarchies,
leaves little freedom for the local pastor or congregation to follow the
leading of the Spirit.
The Presbyterian form of church
government, which is typical in Presbyterian and Reformed churches, puts the
decisions of church polity in the hands of a select group of elders (the
"presbytery") who are appointed in various different ways, depending on the
church. These elders are over the pastor, who in turn is over the congregation.
The problem here too is that this system puts the God-appointed leader, the
pastor, under some of those he is supposed to lead.
Calvary Chapels are organized
differently. Church government at Calvary Chapel is very simple, not a complex
bureaucracy, committees and sub-committees are essentially non-existent.
Basically, at Calvary Chapel we believe that the pastor is responsible for the
church, responsible to hear from God, and responsible to feed and love His
people faithfully. Elders are appointed in the larger churches to help the
pastor care for the spiritual needs of the congregation, as are deacons to help
the pastor care for the material needs of the church.
In addition, our churches have
church boards as required by most states which vary in size depending on the
size of the church, and which usually are made up of mature Christian
businessmen who can advise the pastor with respect to the business operations
and decisions of the church such as property management and investments. At
Calvary Chapel, church organization is de-emphasized, and only the organization
that is needed to run the church is instituted. The pastor guides the church as
he is lead by the Holy Spirit, and we trust God to put pastors where He wants
them to be.
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Statement
of Faith
Calvary Chapels have been
formed as fellowships of believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Our supreme
desire is to know Christ and be conformed to His image by the power of the Holy
Spirit. We are not a denominational church, nor are we opposed to denominations
as such, only to their over-emphasis of the doctrinal differences that have led
to the division of the Body of Christ.
We believe the only true
basis of Christian fellowship is Christ's (Agape) love, which is greater than
any differences we possess, and without which we have no right to claim
ourselves Christians.
We believe worship of God
should be spiritual. Therefore, we remain flexible and yielded to the leading
of the Holy Spirit to direct our worship.
We believe worship of God
should be inspirational. Therefore, we give great place to music in our
worship.
We believe worship of God
should be intelligent. Therefore, our services are designed with great emphasis
upon the teaching of the Word of God that He might instruct us how He should be
worshipped.
We believe worship of God
should be fruitful. Therefore, we look for His love in our lives as the supreme
manifestation that we have been truly worshipping Him.
We believe in all the
fundamental doctrines of orthodox evangelical Christianity.
We believe in the inerrancy
of Scripture, that the Bible, Old and New Testaments is the inspired,
infallible Word of God.
We believe that God is
eternally existent in three separate persons: Father, Son and Holy
Spirit.
We believe that God the
Father is the personal, transcendent, and sovereign Creator of all
things.
We believe that Jesus
Christ is fully God and fully human, that He was born of a virgin, lived a
sinless life, provided for the atonement of our sins by His vicarious death on
the Cross, was bodily resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit, ascended
back to the right hand of God the Father, and ever lives to make intercession
for us.
After Jesus ascended to
Heaven, He poured out His Holy Spirit on the believers in Jerusalem, enabling
them to fulfill His command to preach the Gospel to the entire world, an
obligation shared by all believers today.
We believe that all people
are by nature separated from God and responsible for their own sin, but that
salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are freely offered to all by the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ. When a person repents of sin and accepts Jesus Christ
as personal Savior and Lord, trusting Him to save, that person is immediately
born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit, all his/her sins are forgiven, and
that person becomes a child of God, destined to spend eternity with the
Lord.
We believe in the gifts of
the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Scriptures, and that they are valid for today
if they are exercised within the Scriptural guidelines. We as believers are to
covet the best gifts, seeking to exercise them in love that the whole Body of
Christ might be edified. We believe that love is more important than the most
spectacular gifts, and without this love all exercise of spiritual gifts is
worthless.
We believe that church
government should be simplistic rather than a complex bureaucracy, and we
depend on the Holy Spirit to lead, rather than on fleshly
promotion.
We await the
pre-tribulation rapture of the church, and we believe that the second coming of
Christ with His saints to rule on the earth will be personal, pre-millennial,
and visible. This motivates us to holy living, heartfelt worship, committed
service, diligent study of God's Word, regular fellowship, and participation in
baptism by immersion and Holy Communion.
We seek to teach the Word
of God in such a way that its message can be applied to an individual's life,
leading that person to greater maturity in Christ.
We reject: (1) The belief
that true Christians can be demon possessed; (2) "5-point Calvinism" (i.e., a
fatalistic Calvinistic view that leaves no room for free will; specifically, we
reject the belief that Jesus' atonement was limited, instead we believe that He
died for all people, and we reject the assertion that God's wooing grace cannot
be resisted or that He has elected some people to go to hell; instead we
believe that anyone who wills to come to Christ may do so); (3) "positive
confession" (the faith movement belief that God can be commanded to heal or
work miracles according to man's will), (4) human prophecy that supersedes the
Scripture, (5) the incorporation of humanistic and secular psychology and
philosophy into Biblical teaching, and (6) the over-emphasis of spiritual
gifts, experiential signs and wonders to the exclusion of Biblical
teaching.
In our services, we focus
on a personal relationship with God through worship, prayer, and the teaching
of the Word of God. We teach both expositorily and topically. We do not allow
speaking in tongues loudly during services, nor prophecy while a Bible study is
in progress because we do not believe that the Holy Spirit would interrupt
Himself. We have specific "after-glow services" and believer's meetings when
these gifts of the Spirit may be exercised.
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What
We DO NOT Believe
At Calvary Chapel, we reject some
popular doctrines of some Christian groups because we believe them to be in
error Scripturally. This does not mean that we will not fellowship with those
holding these views, it simply means that such views are outside the boundaries
of what constitutes a Calvary Chapel church.
For example, we reject, as we have
already mentioned, "amillenniallsm", post-millennialism, as well as a mid or
post-tribulation rapture view. At Calvary Chapel, we are strongly
pre-millennialists and pre-tribulation rapturists.
We also reject the belief, held by
some Pentecostals and charismatics, that Christians can be demon possessed. The
Scripture says "greater is He that is in you than he who is in the world" which
makes no sense if a believer can be simultaneously indwelt by both the Holy
Spirit and evil spirits. Christians can be attacked by demons, but they cannot
be possessed or controlled by them.
In addition, we reject "5-point
Calvinism". For a deeper understanding of what Calvinism is, see Chuck Smith's
book Calvinism versus Arminianism, but for our purposes here, suffice it to say
that Calvary Chapel rejects two of the five points of five point Calvinism.
First, Calvinism teaches that Jesus' atonement on the Cross was limited, that
is, that He died only for a chosen group, His "elect", not for the sins of the
entire world. At Calvary Chapel, we believe that Jesus died on the Cross for
all the sins of all people, and that anyone who wants to can accept Him as Lord
and savior and be born again. Strict five point Calvinists believe that only
the elect can be saved and that God has elected others to spend eternity in
hell.
Secondly, we reject the
Calvinistic teaching called "irresistible grace", which is the belief that man
cannot, even if he wants to, resist the wooing and calling of God to salvation.
Instead, at Calvary Chapel we believe that man has a free will and he can
resist the call of God if he chooses to do so. Therefore, those who hold to
five point Calvinism are outside of the borders of what defines Calvary
Chapel.
At Calvary Chapel, we also reject
the teaching of "positive confession" which is the doctrine put forth by the
faith movement teachers that says that we as human beings can have unlimited
health and wealth because we, like God, have the ability to create our own
reality by the confession of our lips. These people teach that if a person will
confess health and wealth consistently, then that is what they will have, and,
conversely, the Christian living in sickness or poverty is settling for less
than his full inheritance in Christ. At Calvary Chapel, we believe that many
believers both in the Bible and in daily life are often afflicted not because
their confession is wrong, but simply because we live in a foreign world. We
believe that the health and prosperity doctrine is a perversion of Scripture
and is often used to fleece the flock of God. We do not believe that God can be
commanded by man to heal or provide, but that we must always submit to His
perfect will even in affliction.
Additionally, we reject the
teaching that uses human prophecy to supersede the Word of God. There are some
Christian groups around which claim to have prophets and apostles of equal
validity with those who wrote the Bible. Moreover, they claim that the
prophetic utterances from these people take precedence over the Word of God. At
Calvary Chapel, we believe that the Bible is the final authority and the
complete Word of God for His church today, and that no prophecy or teaching can
ever supersede it.
Some churches have incorporated
human secular psychology and philosophy into their teaching programs, creating
sermons that are more based on secular humanistic theory than on the Word of
God. While we respect our fellow believers who work in mental health related
fields, we at Calvary Chapel believe that the central mission of the church is
to proclaim God's Word to a lost and hurting world. Moreover, it has been our
experience that humanistic psychology and philosophy often do more harm than
good, and people respond best when God's Word is proclaimed in the power and
love of the Holy Spirit. It is God's Word that changes lives for the better. At
Calvary Chapels our services remain centered on the teaching of the
Bible.
This is not to imply that we
object to the work of the many dedicated Christian mental health professionals;
conversely, we thank God for them. Our point is simply that in our church
services, we emphasize the teaching of God's Word.
And finally, as we have mentioned
before, Calvary Chapel rejects the over-emphasis of spiritual gifts and
experiential signs and wonders to the exclusion of Biblical teaching. Again, we
are a Bible based ministry that avoids programs and gimmicks in favor of the
simple teaching of the Word of God in love to His people. In our services, we
focus on a personal relationship with God through worship, prayer, and the
teaching of the Word of God. We offer both expository and topical studies; we
do not allow speaking in tongues loudly during services because we do not
believe that the Holy Spirit Would interrupt Himself.
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Worship
Many people are under the
impression that a particular style of worship is insisted upon at Calvary
Chapel, that style being the soft contemporary Sound made popular by Maranatha!
Music and by Asaph Records (which both originated at Calvary Chapel). Although
most Calvary Chapels do utilize a form of contemporary worship, there is
actually a great variety of styles Of Music found In our churches. Some are
very traditional and conservative, with organs or pianos and hymns, while
others prefer electric guitars and drums. There is no set style of worship
makes a Calvary Chapel unique; instead there is wide latitude in expression.
All of us desire, of course, that whatever the style of worship, it come from
our hearts.
Similarly, some of the worship
services at Calvary Chapels are quite traditional, while others are more
contemporary. Some of our churches are filled with elderly people in suits and
ties, some are filled with young people in jeans and tee shirts, and many are a
combination of all different ages, styles, and races of folks who come together
with one common focus: love for Jesus Christ and the desire to know Him more
intimately.
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Conclusion
By clarifying some of what we
believe at Calvary Chapel, our purpose has been simply to help others less
familiar with the movement gain insight into who we are. It has not been our
intention to say that we are right and everyone else is wrong, nor has it been
our intention to argue our position with any Christian believer. We are content
to agree to disagree, and we desire to have nothing but love and fellowship
with anyone who calls on the name of our Lord in truth and sincerity .
While there are many additional
areas of polity and doctrine we could discuss, and while we could write volumes
in an effort to defend all our positions against other positions, this is not
our desire. Our desire is to simply adore Jesus, and we invite all God's people
to join us as we do so.
On the other hand, there have been
people who have started churches and called them Calvary Chapel that hold views
and practices very different from what has been described here. In our opinion,
it would be better if they would take a different name for their churches that
more accurately reflects what they believe and practice so as not to confuse
people who are looking for a ministry that is in line with what we have
described above.
As an individual believer in
the Lord Jesus Christ, we welcome you to our churches and Bible College
programs regardless of your background or doctrinal
position.
We seek the unity of the Spirit in
a bond of peace and love and believe that God has called us to a unique
ministry that fulfills His special purpose in this generation. May God bless
you as you seek to draw near to Him in love.
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