Calvary Chapel Doctrine and Practice: Verse by Verse, the Pastor-Led Model, the Statement of Faith, Radio and Maranatha! Music

This is the sixth lesson of Module 77. It follows lesson 05, which tells how Chuck Smith, Lonnie Frisbee and the young people of the Jesus movement turned a small Costa Mesa congregation into the center of a revival. This lesson asks what that church taught and how it was run. The growth of the network, the succession after Smith's death in 2013, and the controversies and reforms that followed belong to lesson 07. The Vineyard, which began inside Calvary Chapel and left it in 1982 partly over how the gifts of the Spirit should be practiced, is the subject of lesson 08. The Pentecostal and Charismatic background that Smith came out of is in lesson 02, and the general question of who holds an independent pastor to account is in lesson 04. The two movements are compared side by side in lesson 10.

Who speaks for Calvary Chapel

A reader who wants to know "what Calvary Chapel believes" first has to decide whose statement to read. Calvary Chapel has never been a denomination in the usual sense. Each Calvary Chapel is its own nonprofit corporation, and the pastors who use the name have been tied together by personal loyalty to Chuck Smith, by shared conferences and by a common way of doing church far more than by any binding church law. Three organizations now publish beliefs under the Calvary name.

Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa

Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa (CCCM) is the mother church, at 3800 S. Fairview St. in Santa Ana, California (the building is just over the city line from Costa Mesa). Its own history page says the congregation began in the spring of 1961, when "Reverend Floyd Nelson is invited to start an informal non-denominational fellowship" in the recreation room of a trailer park on Newport Boulevard, that its articles of incorporation were filed on December 21, 1961, and that Chuck Smith was voted in as assistant and teaching pastor on November 18, 1965, gave his first official Sunday sermon on December 5, 1965, and became senior pastor on September 14, 1966.² The same dates appear on the history page of calvarychapel.com.³ Today CCCM's team page lists Char Brodersen as lead pastor and Brian Brodersen, Smith's son-in-law and his successor in 2013, as pastor emeritus.⁴ CCCM describes its present vision in new language: "We seek to be a Jesus Formed Community on Mission."⁵

The Calvary Chapel Association

The Calvary Chapel Association (CCA) is the fellowship of pastors governed since 2012 by a leadership council that Smith appointed. Christianity Today reported at Smith's death on October 3, 2013, that "In 2012, he established a 21-member leadership council to oversee the Calvary Church Association" (the magazine's wording), which it described as "a fellowship of some 1,600 like-minded congregations."⁶ The CCA's own home page gives its motto as "Reviving the systematic exposition of Scripture" and says Smith's "simple, straight forward exposition of the Bible, going through God's Word chapter by chapter and verse by verse" resulted "in over 1,800 associated ministries under the umbrella of the Calvary Chapel Association."¹ The CCA's websites (calvarycca.org, also reached at calvarychapelassociation.com) carry its statement of faith, its "Philosophy of Ministry" and long excerpts from Smith's book Calvary Chapel Distinctives.

The Calvary Global Network

In the fall of 2016 Brian Brodersen, by then senior pastor at Costa Mesa, left the CCA and launched what Christianity Today called "a broader, looser body focused on international missions called the Calvary Chapel Global Network (CCGN)." The CCA council answered in late November 2016 that it "cannot endorse" the new network, warning that such a network would in the end "de-emphasize our Calvary Chapel distinctives ... and will cause confusion."⁷ The network, now called the Calvary Global Network (CGN), dates itself a little later. Its history page says: "In 2017, Pastor Brian Brodersen invited a group of pastors and leaders to gather to talk and pray about how our churches could most effectively engage in the Great Commission."⁸ Both dates can be true at once: the break and the announcement came in late 2016, and the organizing meeting that CGN counts as its formation came in 2017. The website calvarychapel.com, which CT said Brodersen's congregation maintains, now carries the line "Brought to you by the team at Calvary Global Network."⁹⁷ The story of that split, and what it means for churches that use the Calvary name, is told in lesson 07.

The practical point for a reader is simple. When a church sign says "Calvary Chapel," the church may belong to the CCA, to CGN, to both, or to neither, and its own statement of faith on its own website is the document that describes it.

Verse by verse: the teaching method

If one practice defines a Calvary Chapel, it is the pastor's habit of teaching through whole books of the Bible in order, rather than choosing a topic each week and finding verses to support it. Calvary Chapel calls this exposition. Its defenders say it is the oldest kind of Christian preaching, and its own literature traces it to Ezra and Nehemiah. Smith did not invent the method. He made it the trademark of a movement.

Where Smith learned it

The CCA's "Founder's Page" tells the story of how Smith, a Foursquare Gospel pastor trained at the Foursquare "Life Bible College" in Los Angeles, came to the method. After pastorates in Prescott, Arizona (beginning in June 1948), Tucson and Corona, he went to Huntington Beach. There, the page says, he "wanted to break the pattern of changing churches every two years because he ran out of sermons. That was when he started teaching verse-by-verse through the book of 1 John. Chuck learned expository teaching and the church doubled in a year."¹⁰ Teaching through Romans next, the page continues, "revolutionized his life by showing him the grace of God," and it quotes Smith: "I don't remember my conversion experience, but I do remember my grace experience."¹⁰

Smith's case for teaching the whole Bible

Smith's fullest argument for the method is the chapter on "The Priority of the Word" in Calvary Chapel Distinctives, which the CCA reproduces on its home page. He built it on Paul's farewell to the elders of Ephesus in Acts 20:27 (KJV), "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God." Smith asked how a pastor could ever say the same thing, and answered: "The only way a person could make that claim to his congregation would be if he taught through the whole Word of God with them, from Genesis to Revelation."¹

He did not condemn topical preaching. "Topical sermons are good, and they have their place," he wrote, "but when you're preaching topically, you're prone by nature to preach only those topics that you like." Going through the whole Bible forces a teacher onto passages he would rather skip and keeps a congregation from thinking a hard sermon is aimed at them: "People in the congregation know that it's simply the passage of Scripture being studied that day."¹ He gave a working definition from Nehemiah 8:8 (KJV), "So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading," and wrote, "I believe this is a worthy definition of expositional preaching - to read the Word, give the sense, and cause the people to understand the meaning." (The CCA page uses a dash there.)¹ He also cited Isaiah 28:13, "precept upon precept; line upon line," a verse that in context records the people mocking the prophet's style, which Smith acknowledged: "They said these words in derision. Yet, it's so important to take the people through the Word, line upon line, precept by precept."¹

On commentaries he was characteristically plain: "Sometimes when you read seven commentaries on a particular passage, you're more confused when you're through than when you started ... So I believe that one of the best commentaries on the Bible is the Bible itself."¹ And he warned new pastors not to expect quick results. The same chapter, as condensed by Calvary Chapel Magazine, quotes him: "As a general rule, it's in the third year that you begin to see fruit as a result of planting the Word in the hearts of the people."¹¹

How it worked at Costa Mesa

CCCM's history gives a concrete picture of the early system. For Smith's first official Sunday sermon on December 5, 1965, it says, there were 50 people present, and from then on "Beginning in Genesis, the congregation reads 10 chapters each week. Sunday morning sermons are topical messages from those chapters. The Sunday evening study is a verse-by-verse study of those same chapters."² In August 1967 a Sunday night broadcast of that verse-by-verse study began on radio station KGER.³

Smith claimed in Distinctives that the church had been taken "from Genesis to Revelation seven times. We're currently beginning the eighth round. We don't skip anything."¹ CCCM's timeline dates the start of that eighth pass: "Calvary Chapel begins the eighth time going through the Bible verse by verse with Chuck Smith," October 17, 1999.² Calvary Chapel Magazine says he took the congregation through the Bible "at least eight times."¹¹ The recordings of those passes became products: the "C2000" series of Smith's complete through-the-Bible teaching is still sold and distributed by CCCM's ministries.¹²

The CCA's "Philosophy of Ministry" restates the method in more technical language, which shows how it was taught to the next generation of pastors: "We place great emphasis on the exposition of Scripture and teaching the entire Bible chapter-by-chapter and verse-by-verse. We believe that the Spirit of God works through the Word of God in the hearts of the people of God." It calls exposition "inductive: directing the listener to the Bible's own truth without preconceived ideas" and "exegetical: demanding that the pastor critically examine the text with accuracy."¹³

"Simply teaching the Word simply" and "the Word and the Spirit"

Two short phrases are often used to sum up Calvary Chapel. The first, "simply teaching the Word simply," is widely repeated by Calvary Chapel pastors and church websites as a motto. This lesson could not find it in the official pages of CCCM, the CCA or CGN that were checked for this lesson (Oct. 28, 2026), so it is treated here as a popular summary rather than an official slogan. The official wording closest to it is the CCA's description of Smith's "simple, straight forward exposition of the Bible,"¹ and a line in Calvary Chapel Magazine's distinctives series, where Pastor Bill Stonebraker of Calvary Chapel Honolulu urges pastors to "be genuine, be yourself, stay faithful to the Lord in the little things, and simply teach the Word of God."¹¹

The second phrase, the balance of "the Word and the Spirit," does come from Smith's own writing, though not in those exact words. Opening Calvary Chapel Distinctives, he wrote: "In Calvary Chapel, we find the teaching of the Word and an open heart to the work of the Holy Spirit. It is this balance that makes us a distinct and uniquely blessed movement of God."¹⁴ Pastor Stonebraker put the same idea in his own words when he described hearing a Smith tape in the early 1970s: "We believed in the work of the Holy Spirit, along with the balanced teaching of God's Word: We just let God do the work."¹¹ The CCA's "Philosophy of Ministry" ties the two together directly: "the Spirit of God works through the Word of God in the hearts of the people of God."¹³

The distinctives in Smith's own words

Smith set out what made Calvary Chapel different in a short book, Calvary Chapel Distinctives. Calvary Chapel Magazine (a nonprofit ministry based in Reno, Nevada) republished the book in five condensed parts, first in its print issues 71 to 75 and then online beginning in October 2020, "by permission," with Scripture from the King James Version.¹⁴¹⁵ Smith's opening question is the right one for this lesson: "What makes Calvary Chapel different from other Bible-believing, evangelical churches? Certainly there are churches that share many of our beliefs and practices. We're not renegades. But God has done a wonderful work of balance in the Calvary Chapel movement that makes us different in many areas."¹⁴ He also said plainly that Calvary Chapels vary: "This is not to say that all Calvary Chapels are identical."¹⁴

The magazine's first part introduces "the first three of twelve distinctives," but the five parts together carry thirteen section headings. This lesson could not compare the condensed series with a printed copy of the book to see which heading accounts for the difference, so a reader citing "the twelve distinctives" should say which edition the count comes from.¹⁴ The headings, in the magazine's order, are these.

Part	Distinctive (heading as printed)	Smith's point, in a short quotation
1	The Call to the Ministry	"Ministry is not a profession or an option. It's a calling of God."14
1	God's Model for the Church	"In Calvary Chapel, we look to the Book of Acts as the model for the church."14
1	Empowered by the Spirit	"We believe there is an empowering of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer that is distinct and separate from the indwelling of the Spirit at conversion."14
2	Building the Church God's Way	"There isn't a lot of spiritual hype. The pastor doesn't try to motivate people carnally [or] shout at the congregation."11
2	Grace upon Grace	"Having been forgiven, we need to be forgiving. Having received mercy, we must show mercy."11
2	Priority of the Word	Teaching "through the whole Word of God ... from Genesis to Revelation."11
3	Having Begun in the Spirit	"Calvary Chapel is a work that was begun by the Holy Spirit."15
3	Ventures of Faith	"With God's help we learn to let things die a natural death instead of trying to keep things going by artificial means."15
3	Church Government	"Pastors need to be like Moses, in touch with Jesus and receiving His direction and guidance."15
4	The Supremacy of Love	"I've come to the conclusion that it's more important that I have the right attitude than the right answers."16
4	The Centrality of Jesus Christ	"We dissuade any practice or behavior that would distract people from focusing on Him."16
5	The Rapture of the Church	"I believe that God's divine design is for the church to live in constant expectancy of the Lord's return."17
5	Striking the Balance	"We don't take a typical Pentecostal view nor a typical Baptist view."17

Read together, the distinctives describe a temperament as much as a doctrine. Smith repeatedly warns against pressure, "hype," programs kept alive after their time, and pastors who draw attention to themselves. The CCA's "Philosophy of Ministry" carries the same note in a passage on style that reads like Smith's voice: "We don't get involved in a lot of spiritual hype. We don't try to motivate people carnally, and we aren't apt to shout at the congregation." It continues: "It's His church so we don't have to sweat it. We're not really into seminars on how to build a church, how to create a user-friendly church, or how to develop a five-year plan."¹³

The other books: Harvest and The Philosophy of Ministry of Calvary Chapel

Two other Smith titles are often cited for the distinctives. The Philosophy of Ministry of Calvary Chapel is a short booklet whose themes are carried on the CCA's "Philosophy of Ministry" web page, with sections titled Biblical Exposition, Christ Centered Worship, Equipping the Saints, Evangelism, Eschatology, God's Grace and Love, Male Leadership in the Pulpit, Baptism of the Holy Spirit/Gifts, Servant Leadership, Integrity and Morality in Leadership, and Informal/Relaxed Style.¹³ The web page is not a reprint of the booklet word for word: some sections are written by other pastors (one is a first-person memoir by an early Calvary intern who names Don McClure and Tom Stipe as fellow interns), so quotations from it below are attributed to the CCA page rather than to Smith personally unless the wording matches Smith's book. The Reformed pastor Kim Riddlebarger, writing in 2006, linked his criticism of Calvary's church government to "The Philosophy of Ministry of Calvary Chapel," which shows the booklet was in public circulation by then.¹⁸

Harvest is a book of testimonies from the early Calvary Chapel pastors and the churches they planted. Its publication details (commonly given as 1987, with co-author Tal Brooke) could not be checked against a copy or a publisher's record for this lesson, so the lesson does not quote it. The CCA's history page recommends a different early book for anyone who wants "a more in-depth look at the history of Calvary Chapel": The Reproducers, offered there as a free PDF or ePub.¹⁹

The "Moses model" of church government

No part of Calvary Chapel's practice draws more debate than its church government. The name "Moses model" was not a formal title in Calvary's bylaws. It became the common shorthand, inside and outside the movement, for Smith's teaching that the senior pastor leads the church under Christ the way Moses led Israel under God, with elders who pray with him and help him, and assistant pastors who carry the daily care of the people.

Smith's case in his own words

The condensed "Church Government" chapter of Calvary Chapel Distinctives opens with Ephesians 1:22 (KJV), "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church." Smith then wrote: "Moses was an earthly leader the people recognized as receiving from God guidance, direction, laws, and rules for the nation of Israel. In the church today we see this structure in a modified form."¹⁵ The key sentences follow:

"Pastors need to be like Moses, in touch with Jesus and receiving His direction and guidance, leading the church in such a way that people know the Lord is in control. Also, like Moses, within the church we have a board of elders who pray with us and support us in seeking the Lord's leading for the church."¹⁵

He described the board warmly: "A good board is one of the greatest assets you can have in your ministry. Real elders aren't a bunch of 'yes' men, but men yielded to the Holy Spirit. They're a real buffer and protection for the pastor." And he summed up the model in the sentence that critics and defenders both quote: "I believe God's model is that the pastor is ruled over by the Lord and recognized by the congregation as God's anointed instrument to lead the church, with the board guiding and directing."¹⁵

A longer version of the same teaching survives as a transcript titled "Church Government," published by SermonIndex.net. (The SermonIndex file opens with a summary paragraph written by the website, not by Smith, so only the transcript below it is quoted here.) In it Smith says the New Testament "doesn't give a clear definitive statement of God's preference for church government" and identifies three forms: rule by bishops (the Greek episkopos, overseer), rule by a board of elders (presbyteros), and "a third form of church government" that "has arisen, known as congregational rule." He rejects the third: "I can find no Scriptural example of effective congregational rule. We do read of congregations attempting to rule," and he cites Israel murmuring against Moses in Exodus 16:2.²⁰

His objection to elder rule was practical as well as biblical. "Becoming a hireling is a real danger when the church is run by a Presbyterian kind of a government, and the Board is ruling over the church. The pastor is hired by the Board and can be fired by the Board in the same fashion. With that kind of rule the pastor becomes a hireling."²⁰ He traced the conviction to his own experience before Costa Mesa. In Corona, he said, the men who had formed a corporation called "Corona Christian Association" to put him on the radio held a special board meeting after he rearranged a Sunday evening service into a circle of chairs with a cappella worship choruses and open prayer, and "they let me know that they didn't want me to do that again." His conclusion: "So when we came to Calvary Chapel and established the bylaws, we didn't create a Presbyterian form of government. It was more of an Episkopos form of government for Calvary Chapel. We believe that God's model is that the pastor is ruled by the Lord and aided by the Elders to discover the mind and will of Jesus Christ for His church."²⁰

The transcript also shows how Smith chose board members at Costa Mesa: "We usually look at the Saturday night prayer meetings or at the all night prayer watch for men to serve on the Board. We want men of prayer."²⁰ And it gives his favorite example of the board as a buffer, a dispute over where to hold a church picnic, after which "Because the Board made the decision, I was free to minister to both sides."²⁰

In a separate sermon, "The Gift of Governments," Smith tied leadership to accountability before God. "Now no man can truly exercise leadership over others unless he is conscious of the fact that he himself is ruled. No man can rule who is not ruled." He added a warning that critics of the model would later turn back on it: "When you give authority to that kind of man who is not governed by God, he will take advantage of it and he will soon pervert his authority to his own benefit and become a tyrant."²¹

The CCA's "Philosophy of Ministry" adds a section on servant leadership that is the movement's own answer to the charge of pastoral domination: "Pride, harshness, a sense of self-importance, or a dictatorial spirit is inconsistent with Jesus' example."¹³

How the model works on paper

Smith's teaching describes relationships. The legal structure is in each church's articles of incorporation and bylaws, which are not usually published. In 2006 Christianity Today, reporting on a dispute at Calvary of Albuquerque, described the common pattern: "At CA, as with many other network congregations, church bylaws make the senior pastor chair of the board of directors with the sole authority to nominate board members. CA, like many Calvary churches, does not have members, only people who attend."²² In an earlier report the same year, the magazine wrote that "Under the Calvary structure, pastors and elders have little or no requirement to disclose finances or decisions to church members," and that "Though there is no standard for church government, most Calvary Chapels follow the so-called 'Moses model,' which gives the senior pastor extensive authority to run the church as he sees fit."²³

Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa itself now describes its board in corporate terms. Its team page says: "The Board is the governing body of the corporation, accountable for the business operations and liabilities of the 501(c)3 organization of Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa. The Board provides input and guidance to the Lead Pastor concerning the affairs and activities of the corporation." It also lists an executive team that works "alongside the Lead Pastor."⁴ How a church's tax-exempt status and public filings work, and what a member or attender can ask to see, is covered in lesson 04 and in the Issues modules on state tax exemption, 990s and public inspection (churches, unlike most charities, do not have to file the annual IRS Form 990).

The critics of the Moses model

Criticism of the model has come from three directions: from Reformed and Presbyterian writers who hold that the New Testament requires a plurality of elders; from people inside Calvary churches who wanted more say and more financial openness; and from reporters and sociologists who watched what happened when a strong founder left.

Kim Riddlebarger, a Reformed pastor and author (his blog posts the sermons he has preached at Christ Reformed Church) who writes that he attended Calvary Chapel in the 1970s, wrote on his blog in May 2006 that "one of his most erroneous (and dangerous) notions was his view that church government is grounded in a one-to-one relationship between the pastor and Jesus," which he identified as the "Moses Model." He argued that "The Moses Model positions the pastor as the one who communicates the will of God to the church," and that "Chuck Smith does not see a proper role for deacons and elders as is so clearly taught in the New Testament." He also wrote that "Calvary Chapels have always been secretive about money and their finances," which he called "a fruit of this approach to church government," and closed by saying the episode at Albuquerque was "a good argument for Reformed/Presbyterian church government."¹⁸ Those are a critic's judgments, stated as his opinion; the same blog post also credits Smith as "one of the most influential figures in the modern American church."¹⁸

Michael Newnham, who ran a blog for Calvary Chapel critics (PhoenixPreacher.com), told Christianity Today in 2006 that people hurt in such disputes "love Calvary Chapel. But they can't stay in a place where it doesn't seem to be accountable and the leadership seems more involved in their own personal empires than in the sheep."²³

Richard Flory, senior director of research and evaluation at the University of Southern California Center for Religion and Civic Culture, told Christianity Today in 2017 that the question after Smith's death was succession: "It's a Chuck Smith orthodoxy. ... What happens when the founding leader, who has been the only leader, has gone?" The magazine's own reporter, Kate Shellnutt, wrote that Calvary Chapel "has always had to balance accountability with the independence and authority granted to pastors under the 'Moses model' of congregational leadership the movement controversially became known for."⁷

A test case: Albuquerque, 2006

The dispute that prompted much of that writing shows how the structure works under strain, and both sides are on record. In February 2006 Pete Nelson resigned as senior pastor of Calvary of Albuquerque, which Christianity Today described as a 14,000-member church. His resignation letter, which was leaked to the press, alleged that the church's founding pastor, Skip Heitzig, who had moved to a church in Southern California in 2003, still exercised control as chairman of the board, and that out-of-state board members loyal to him blocked local members from the board. A former elder, Greg Zanetti, made further allegations about church property and radio subsidies.²³ Heitzig did not return CT's calls for that first story; an assistant pastor said the resignation letter contained "some inaccurate facts."²³ In the magazine's follow-up, Heitzig "admitted he made mistakes during the transition, but rebutted Nelson's charges," saying, "Some of the things that he mentions or allegations that he brings he himself voted for in board meetings." Calvary Chapel Outreach Fellowships, an organization formed to maintain accountability among Calvary pastors, looked into the matter and found "no evidence of sin or wrongdoing on the part of the board of directors, Skip Heitzig, or Pete Nelson." Heitzig returned as senior pastor in 2006.²² The case is included here only to show the model's mechanics. The wider record of disputes and lawsuits in the movement is in lesson 07.

The defenders' answer

The most important defense of the model comes from Smith's successor. Asked by Christianity Today's Timothy C. Morgan in an interview published February 26, 2014, whether the Moses model was "as prevalent as some say," Brian Brodersen answered: "It's exaggerated by people on the outside and by the disgruntled. At Calvary, Chuck Smith was the senior pastor and operated as a person who believed God called and guided him. Coming out of the denominations as he did, he didn't want to have his hands tied." He went on: "The Moses model that you find at Calvary is Chuck's way of explaining leadership. It's certainly not a required model. ... This is just the way Chuck did it." He said that in Smith's later years some people around him "would start speaking for him" and made him look more rigid than he was.²⁴

Defenders also point to the board's protective role in Smith's own account ("a real buffer and protection for the pastor"), to Smith's insistence that the pastor is himself "ruled," and to the CCA's written commitment to "Integrity and Morality in Leadership," which says pastors "should have lives that clearly line up with scripture."¹⁵²¹¹³ Their best case, put in their terms, is that a church should be led by a man who hears from God and teaches the Bible, freed from the board politics and votes that Smith believed had crippled denominational churches, and checked by prayerful elders and by his own fear of God. Their critics' best case is that a structure in which the pastor nominates the board that oversees him depends on the character of one man, and offers little when that character fails. The record shows both: churches that have flourished for decades under this structure, and disputes in which members had no vote and limited access to information. What a reader can check in any particular church is its own bylaws and how its board is chosen.

What We Believe: three statements side by side

The three bodies' statements of faith were all read for this lesson on the same day (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). They agree on the core of evangelical Christianity: an inerrant Bible, the Trinity, the virgin birth, Christ's substitutionary death and bodily resurrection, salvation by grace through faith, and a literal return of Christ. They differ in length and in which Calvary distinctives they write down.

Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, "Our Beliefs"

CCCM's page (https://cccm.com/beliefs) has ten short headings: The Bible, The Trinity, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Humanity, Salvation, The Church, Second Coming, Premillennial and Resurrection. On Scripture: "We believe that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God." On the Spirit it says that "all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to his church today." On men and women: "men and women are created to fulfill distinct but complementary roles in the contexts of marriage, family, and the local church." On last things: "We believe in the premillennial return of Christ, to sit upon the throne of David and rule over the house of Jacob (Israel), and the entire cosmos forever," and that "all the saints, both in heaven and on earth, will be gathered to Christ at His Second Coming, to rule and reign with Him."²⁵ The page does not use the words "rapture" or "pre-tribulation," and it does not mention baptism, communion or church government.²⁵

Calvary Chapel Association, "Statement of Faith"

The CCA's statement (https://calvarycca.org/statement-of-faith/) is the longest and the most specific. On Scripture: "We believe that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, fully inspired without error and the infallible rule of faith and practice." It adds a sentence the others lack: "We believe that the Word of God supersedes any earthly law that is contrary to the Holy Scriptures."²⁶ On the Holy Spirit it states the classic Calvary teaching of a second experience: "We believe in the Baptism with the Holy Spirit as a distinct and separate experience to that of regeneration, occurring either subsequent to or simultaneous with salvation, evidenced by a greater dynamic in the Christian's life, enabling that person to be a bold and more effective witness. The supreme evidence of the Spirit-filled life is the fruit of the Spirit, love." It affirms "the exercise of all biblical gifts of the Holy Spirit according to the instructions given to us (I Corinthians 12-14)."²⁶

Under the heading "Male Leadership in the Church" it says: "We believe in the pattern and principle of male leadership and responsibility in both the home and the church, according to the sacrificial example of Jesus. We believe this limits the roles of pastoral leadership and doctrinal authority to qualified men." Under "Ordinances": "the Lord, Jesus Christ instituted two ordinances for the church: the full-immersion water baptism of believers and the Lord's Supper." And under "Christ's Second Coming": "We believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church where all believers will meet the Lord in the air and be taken out of this world prior to the Tribulation that will come upon the earth."²⁶ The statement also includes a section on marriage between "male and female."²⁶

Calvary Global Network, "What We Believe," and calvarychapel.com

CGN's page (https://cgn.org/beliefs/) has nine paragraphs that match the first part of CCCM's statement almost word for word: "We believe the Bible is the inspired, inerrant and authoritative Word of God," the Trinity, the person of Christ, the Holy Spirit who "regenerates, indwells and seals believers," humanity "equal in value, dignity and worth," salvation "by grace alone through faith alone," one church, "a literal return of Jesus Christ to the earth," and the resurrection of the dead.²⁷ As read for this lesson, CGN's own page does not include a paragraph on the gifts of the Spirit, on complementary roles for men and women, on the millennium or on the rapture.²⁷

The page on calvarychapel.com (https://calvarychapel.com/beliefs/), which carries the line "Brought to you by the team at Calvary Global Network," uses the same nine paragraphs and then adds labeled positions: "We are evangelical." "We are continuationist. We believe that all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in Scripture are available to and active in His church today." "We are complementarian." "We are pre-millennial." "We are pre-tribulational. We believe the church will be delivered from the 'hour of trial' which will come upon all who dwell on the earth, being 'caught up' in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (the Rapture)."⁹

The differences should not be overread. A short statement that omits the rapture is not a statement that rejects it, and Brian Brodersen told Christianity Today in 2017 that he considered the split with the CCA "a difference in method, not doctrine" (CT's paraphrase), adding in his own words, "A big emphasis in Calvary Chapel is the Second Coming, which I firmly believe in."⁷ But a reader comparing churches should read the statement the church itself posts. CT also reported that a post on Costa Mesa's website summarized the CCA council's main concerns, among them that Brodersen "doesn't prioritize the movement's emphasis on eschatology" (CT's summary).⁷

Calvary Chapel Bible College, now independent (see below), publishes a fourth statement that falls between them. It affirms "the pre-tribulation rapture of the Church" and the "pre-millennial second coming"; says spiritual gifts "should be exercised in love and in order, as outlined in Scripture (1 Corinthians 13-14)"; and states that "churches should be shepherded by qualified and spiritually gifted men." Its section on worship preserves a well-known older Calvary formula: "We believe worship of God should be spiritual ... Worship should be inspirational ... Worship should be intelligent ... Worship should be fruitful, therefore we look for His love in our lives as the supreme manifestation that we have been truly worshiping Him."²⁸

The positions in detail

Pretribulational premillennialism

Premillennialism is the belief that Christ will return before a literal thousand-year reign on earth (Revelation 20). Pretribulationism adds that Christ will first remove the church from the earth in the rapture, before a seven-year tribulation, and then return visibly with the church at the end of it. This set of beliefs, usually associated with the dispensational teaching of John Nelson Darby and the Scofield Reference Bible, was widespread among American evangelicals in the twentieth century; Calvary Chapel made it a distinctive.

Smith's own statement, in the "Rapture of the Church" distinctive: "The Rapture refers to that time when Jesus is going to come, without warning, and take away His church from this earth. After the Rapture, the Lord will pour out His wrath upon this sinful world." He explained the word: in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 "we read the words caught up. The translation of caught up in the Greek is harpazo ... The Latin Vulgate translates harpazo as rapiemur, and that's where we get our English word rapture." And he named its practical effects: urgency for evangelism, "a correct perspective of material things," and a reminder "to maintain purity in our lives."¹⁷ His theological argument was that "The church is not appointed unto wrath. It simply isn't consistent with the nature of God to judge the righteous with the wicked," citing Romans 5:9 and 1 Thessalonians 5:9.¹⁷

The CCA's "Philosophy of Ministry" makes the view a matter of method: "Calvary Chapel Association holds to the Pretribulational Premillennial interpretation of Biblical Eschatology," which it says "encourages the most obvious and literal interpretation of the scriptures." It describes the "Doctrine of Imminency which delineates between the sudden and joyous rapture of the church ... from the global and predictable Second Coming of Christ with the church in judgment."¹³

Christians who hold other views (amillennialists, postmillennialists, historic premillennialists who expect the church to go through the tribulation) answer that the rapture passage in 1 Thessalonians 4 describes the same visible coming as the rest of the New Testament, and that the two-stage scheme is a nineteenth-century development. Kim Riddlebarger, quoted above on church government, is himself the author of A Case for Amillennialism, as his blog lists.¹⁸ Inside Calvary, the difference that matters is one of emphasis. Brodersen told CT in 2017: "sometimes I think our group of churches has been a little too quick to say when the Second Coming is going to be," and "Even though I believe the Lord could come at any time, I have a tendency to think, 'Well, God's laid the groundwork for this future ministry to happen. So we probably have a little more time to be able to get the gospel out.'"⁷

Continuationist, but against emotionalism

Calvary Chapel's position on the Holy Spirit is the clearest example of what Smith called balance. Smith grew up in, trained in and pastored for the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, a Pentecostal denomination founded by Aimee Semple McPherson (see lesson 02).¹⁰⁶ Calvary kept the Pentecostal belief that the gifts of the Spirit, including tongues, prophecy and healing, continue today, and the belief in an experience of the Spirit after conversion. It dropped the classic Pentecostal teaching that speaking in tongues is the required initial evidence of that experience, and it kept public expression of the gifts restrained.

In Smith's words, from "Empowered by the Spirit": "We acknowledge a three-fold relationship between the Holy Spirit and the believer that is represented by three Greek prepositions - 'para' (with), 'en' (in), and 'epi' (upon)." (The magazine uses a dash; it is rendered here with a hyphen.) The third, the Spirit coming "upon" a believer, he preferred to call "overflow": "Our lives then are not just vessels containing the Spirit, but they become channels by which the Spirit flows forth to touch the world around us." He left the name open: "Some call it baptism. Some call it being filled with the Spirit. Whatever we choose to call it, it means being overflowed with the Spirit."¹⁴

From "Striking the Balance": "We don't take a typical Pentecostal view nor a typical Baptist view. The minute we set our position one way or the other, we have lost half our congregation." On tongues: "If people want to speak in tongues, we encourage them to do so in a private devotional setting to assist in communicating their love, praises, and prayers to God. We look to 1 Corinthians 14 as our biblical example. We don't insist that a person speak in tongues as the primary evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit."¹⁷ From "The Supremacy of Love": tongues without love are "like a noise made by hitting a cymbal or triangle. It's not proof of anything."¹⁶

The chapter Smith points to ends with two verses that Calvary pastors cite constantly. In the King James Version, 1 Corinthians 14:39 to 40 reads: "Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues. Let all things be done decently and in order."²⁹ The first half of that passage is the continuationist half of Calvary's position; the second half is its restraint. Smith's warning against emotion for its own sake came in his reading of Leviticus 10, where Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu offered "unauthorized fire" and were consumed: "It's my belief that Nadab and Abihu got caught up in the emotion and excitement of the moment. ... You want to be very careful about such emotions that don't stem from God Himself."¹⁶ In "The Centrality of Jesus Christ" he wrote: "When distractions do take place, we deal with them and, if necessary, publicly talk about them."¹⁶

The CCA statement keeps the Pentecostal structure (a Baptism with the Spirit "distinct and separate" from regeneration) but defines its evidence as boldness and love: "The supreme evidence of the Spirit-filled life is the fruit of the Spirit, love."²⁶ Its "Philosophy of Ministry" says the gifts "did not cease to be manifest at the end of the apostolic age."¹³ Brian Brodersen told CT in 2014: "Theologically, we are definitely non-cessationist. We believe in the ongoing ministry and gifts of the Holy Spirit," and traced any Pentecostal reputation "back to Chuck's roots in the Foursquare Church."²⁴

The historian Larry Eskridge, then associate director of the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College, gave the style a name in 2013. CT reported that "What Eskridge describes as 'restrained exuberance' in worship has spread from Costa Mesa to Calvary Chapels on the East Coast and beyond."⁶ The limit of that restraint was tested within a few years. When John Wimber's Calvary Chapel of Yorba Linda began to practice healing prayer and prophecy openly in its services, Vineyard accounts say it was suggested at a 1982 meeting of Calvary leaders that his church stop using the Calvary name and join the Vineyard, which it did. That story, with both sides' accounts, is in lesson 08.

"Positive confession" and the Word of Faith teaching

"Positive confession" is the teaching, associated with the Word of Faith movement of Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland and others, that believers can bring health and prosperity into being by speaking God's promises in faith. Calvary Chapel is widely described, by its own pastors and by outside writers, as opposed to it, and Smith wrote a book on charismatic excesses, Charisma vs. Charismania (usually dated 1983; its text could not be checked for this lesson, so it is not quoted). For this lesson, though, no current official statement could be found that names the doctrine. None of the four statements of faith read for this lesson (CCCM, CCA, CGN and calvarychapel.com) mentions "positive confession," "prosperity" or "Word of Faith," and the CCA's "Philosophy of Ministry" does not either.^25262713 The rejection is therefore reported here as the movement's reputation and as something its pastors commonly teach; no current official document checked for this lesson states it. What the official documents do say points the same way: Smith's warning that "hype and pressure aren't really going to do the job," his rejection of any "new angle, gimmick, or experience," and the CCA's description of grace as "getting what I don't deserve."¹¹¹³

Baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper

Calvary Chapel baptizes believers, not infants, and by full immersion. The CCA names "two ordinances for the church: the full-immersion water baptism of believers and the Lord's Supper," citing Matthew 28:19, Luke 22:19 to 20, Acts 2:38 and 1 Corinthians 11:23 to 26.²⁶ The word "ordinances" (rather than "sacraments") places Calvary with Baptist and other free-church traditions that see baptism and communion as acts of obedience and remembrance commanded by Christ, not as channels of grace in the Catholic, Orthodox or Lutheran sense. The ocean baptisms of the Jesus movement years became the movement's best-known image. CCCM's history says that during the "Summer of Love" in 1967 "Chuck finds himself carrying out mass baptisms - sometimes 500 at a time - in the Pacific Ocean at Pirates Cove in Corona del Mar" (CCCM's page uses dashes).² (The cove and its cliffs are pictured in lesson 05.) None of the three main statements sets a schedule for communion, which varies by congregation.

Women's roles, as each body states them

All four statements limit the pastorate to men or describe "distinct" roles for men and women, but they use different words, and the difference is worth quoting exactly.

• CCCM: men and women are "equal in value, dignity, and worth" and "created to fulfill distinct but complementary roles in the contexts of marriage, family, and the local church."²⁵
• calvarychapel.com: "We are complementarian," followed by the same sentence about "distinct but complementary roles."⁹
• CCA: "We believe this limits the roles of pastoral leadership and doctrinal authority to qualified men."²⁶ Its "Philosophy of Ministry" goes further, in a section titled "Male Leadership in the Pulpit": "Like Christ, men should lovingly lead - and like the Church, women should willingly follow," and "God uses women in strategic ways, but pastoral authority and the teaching of doctrine in the church is reserved for qualified men." (The page uses a dash.)¹³
• CGN: its own beliefs page says only that God created human beings "male and female" and "equal in value, dignity and worth."²⁷
• Calvary Chapel Bible College: "churches should be shepherded by qualified and spiritually gifted men," with women in "complementary roles that uphold and enrich the work of ministry."²⁸

Women have led large ministries inside these limits from the start. CCCM's history records that in 1973 "Kay Smith and friends begin the women's ministry at Calvary Chapel, calling it Joyful Life," and that in late November 1965 Kay Smith began a weekly women's prayer meeting that "continues to this day."²³ Egalitarian Christians, who hold that all church offices are open to women, read the same passages (1 Timothy 2 and 3, 1 Corinthians 11 and 14) as addressed to particular first-century situations; complementarians read them as permanent. The site takes no side; the point for a reader is that the CCA statement is explicit and the CCCM and CGN statements are general.

Grace, and the Calvinism question

Smith refused to choose between Calvinism and Arminianism. In "Striking the Balance" he wrote: "I believe that Scripture teaches both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man regarding salvation. If I take either of these positions to an extreme, to the denying of the other, then I've got a real problem because the Scriptures teach both. But then you might ask, 'How can we reconcile them?' I don't. God just asked me to believe." On eternal security: "Do we believe in eternal security? I say, 'Yes. As long as I abide in Christ, I'm eternally secure.'"¹⁷ Reformed critics have read this as a disguised Arminianism; Riddlebarger called Smith "At best ... a classic Arminian."¹⁸ Smith's own answer, addressed to pastors, presents the position as an intentional refusal to go past the text, which is the point of teaching every verse in order: "As you begin to minister, as you go through the Word, you will come across those Scriptures that speak of the sovereignty of God. When you do, teach it. When you come across those Scriptures that teach the responsibility of man, then teach that."¹⁷

Radio, tapes and The Word for Today

Calvary Chapel spread first by recordings. Its own timelines give the early steps. In August 1967, "A Sunday night radio broadcast of Pastor Chuck's Sunday evening verse-by-verse study begins on KGER."³ On February 11, 1970, "The Calvary Chapel cassette tape ministry begins. Chuck Smith's teachings are recorded, duplicated, and sold."² Cassettes let a young pastor in a distant town play Smith's studies for a living-room Bible study before he was ready to teach himself. Pastor Bill Stonebraker described exactly that on Oahu's North Shore in the early 1970s: "We'd play a Chuck tape, pray for people, ask the Spirit to move, and incredible things would happen."¹¹

The Word for Today

"The Word for Today" is the name of Smith's daily radio and podcast program and of the publishing ministry that distributes his teaching. calvarychapel.com says: "Pastor Chuck extended his teaching nationally through The Word for Today radio program, as well as internationally over the Internet at CalvaryChapel.com," and it still offers the "Word For Today Daily Radio Program / Podcast."¹² Christianity Today's 2013 obituary dated the publishing side: "The Word for Today, a publishing program begun in 1978, now packages Smith's messages through books for adults and children, DVDs, CDs and other channels," and reported that "By 2013, Smith's radio and television programs were airing in more than 350 cities around the world."⁶ The year the radio program itself took that name was not found in the sources checked for this lesson. Its store, twft.com, is now run as the "CCCM Store" from a Costa Mesa post office box and still sells the complete "Through the Bible C2000" teaching on USB flash drives.¹²

KWVE (KWAVE) 107.9 FM

Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa owns a radio station. CCCM's timeline lists "The purchase of KWVE Radio" in 1985 and says "The teaching of Scripture has been heard across Orange County on KWVE 107.9 FM since 1985."² The station, which now brands itself KWAVE, says on its history page: "In 1985, KWAVE began as a small Christian radio station in San Clemente, California," and lists its milestones as the purchase in 1985, an expanded signal in the 1990s, online streaming in the 2000s, and today broadcasting "on 107.9 FM, 1110 AM, online, and through the KWAVE app."³⁰ CCCM's timeline dates the AM station: "KWVE acquires AM 1110," September 2023.² A Los Angeles Times article of January 4, 1985, "Chapel Buys KWVE-FM; To Switch to Religious Format," is cited in reference works for the purchase; it was not opened for this lesson.

Not every Calvary radio network belongs to Costa Mesa. In 2006 Christianity Today noted that Calvary of Albuquerque's two stations "are not part of the Calvary Satellite Network, the broadcast arm of the Calvary organization," and reported that the network itself had been through a lawsuit between two of its board members.²³ Those broadcast disputes belong to lesson 07.

Maranatha! Music

Calvary Chapel's music may have reached more people than its preaching. The record label Maranatha! Music, founded in 1971, carried the songs of the Costa Mesa services into churches that had never heard of Calvary Chapel. Its present owners state the founding plainly: "Maranatha! Music was founded in 1971 by Chuck Smith Sr. of Calvary Chapel, to promote the 'Jesus Music' his young hippie followers were writing and singing up and down the California coast." The same page names "Pastor Chuck Smith, Chuck Fromm and Tommy Coomes" among the early leaders.³¹ A 2010 trade announcement repeated the date: "From its founding by Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel in 1971."³² Christianity Today's 2013 obituary agreed: "In 1971, he launched Maranatha! Music, a pioneering record label designed to promote the 'Jesus music' that his young followers were producing on the California coast."⁶

Love Song and the first album

The fullest early account is a 1991 Christianity Today article by Steve Rabey, "Maranatha! Music Comes of Age," written when the label received the National Religious Broadcasters' President's Award. It begins with Tom (Tommy) Coomes, who "In 1970 ... was a typical, long-haired California kid, who played guitar in a rock-and-roll bar band." When the band members converted and renamed themselves Love Song, Coomes recalled, they asked Smith whether they could sing their songs in church: "Chuck said, 'Would you mind if I heard a couple of them first?' So we came in with a couple of acoustic guitars and sang, 'Think About What Jesus Said,' and he just began to weep. He said, 'I've been praying for something like this for a year.'"³³ Rabey reported that "At one concert, 600 came forward to give their lives to Christ."³³

The first album is where the sources start to disagree on details. Rabey wrote: "In 1971 Smith took $2,500 out of his own pocket to enable Love Song, Children of the Day, Debby Kerner, and other Calvary Chapel musicians to record an album entitled The Everlastin' Jesus Music Concert. The album, which was sold from trunks of cars on the West Coast and by mail order to the rest of the country, was the beginning of Maranatha! Music."³³ A detailed discography of the label by Mike Callahan, David Edwards and Patrice Eyries (Both Sides Now Publications) lists album HS-777/1 as The Everlastin' Living Jesus Concert (1971) and notes that it "was produced by Chuck Girard on a budget of $2,000." The same discography says the first album actually recorded was Children of the Day's Come to the Waters, financed with "about 900 dollars" the group borrowed from Smith, but that Smith wanted the concert album released first, so it became Maranatha! album number 1.³⁴ The title is most often printed today as The Everlastin' Living Jesus Music Concert. All three forms appear in print; this lesson does not pick one.

The Praise albums

Maranatha!'s lasting contribution was congregational song. Rabey wrote that "Maranatha!'s first all-praise recording was its popular The Praise Album, released in 1973 and produced by Coomes." Coomes explained the purpose: "We were trying to document the songs we had heard and had been using at church during worship ... but we were trying to record them in such a way that you could listen to them over and over again."³³ The discography dates The Praise Album to 1974 and lists among its songs "Father I Adore You" and "Seek Ye First," with Praise II following in 1976.³⁴ By 1991, Rabey reported, "One market survey showed that Maranatha! owns the copyrights to 30 of the 100 songs most used in worship today," and the label had "20 years and 300 releases" behind it, with 31 albums released by 1977. Its children's line, begun with a first kids' praise album in 1980, accounted for "40 percent of Maranatha!'s worldwide sales" (the printed article has a typographical error in the name at that point).³³

Chuck Fromm, Smith's nephew and in 1991 Maranatha!'s chief executive, gave the theory behind the music: "Christian music is the response of people in faith to God's revealed truth, and for music to be relevant it has to be highly contextualized."³³ That idea, that worship songs should sound like the music the congregation already listens to, is one of the main ways Calvary Chapel changed churches far outside its own network.

Who owns Maranatha! now

The label did not stay a ministry of the church. The Both Sides Now discography says that "Chuck Smith, who originally ran the label, sold it eventually to Chuck Fromm," and that in the 1980s the label released its remaining pop acts to concentrate on praise and worship.³⁴ A news item on the British Christian music site Cross Rhythms reported that "WORD INC has purchased Maranatha! Music" (the page carries no date).³⁵ Today, the label's own website says, "Maranatha! Music is in a long-term distribution agreement with EMI/CMG" and is "Owned and led by Randy and Cathy Alward."³¹ The distribution agreement with EMI CMG Distribution was announced on September 30, 2010, to begin October 1, 2010, with Randy Alward identified as the label's president.³² The years of the sale to Fromm, of the Word purchase and of the Alwards' purchase could not be confirmed from the sources available for this lesson and are listed as unverified in the lesson's record.

Calvary Chapel Bible College

Calvary Chapel trained its pastors mostly by apprenticeship: young men served as interns under Smith or under another Calvary pastor and then planted churches. The Bible college gave that training a school. Here the two institutions' own histories disagree about where the school began.

Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa's timeline, under the heading "The First Bible College" and dated January 1975, says: "The Calvary Chapel Bible College meets on the grounds for 20 years until the college relocates to Murrieta Hot Springs in 1996," and lists "Murrieta Bible College and Conference Center is purchased" in 1995.² Calvary Chapel Bible College's own history says: "In 1975 'Calvary Chapel Bible School' began as an intensive Bible study program," and that its "first campus was in Twin Peaks, California, located in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles." It continues: in 1989 "The school began offering associate's and bachelor's degree programs and its name was changed to 'Calvary Chapel Bible College'"; in 1996 it "moved to the Murrieta Hot Springs campus where it continued until 2022"; in 2018 it "began pursuing accreditation through the Association for Biblical Higher Education"; in 2022 it "moved back to its original campus in Twin Peaks"; and in 2025 it "relocated to Bradenton, Florida, and became fully independent from Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa after nearly 50 years of partnership."³⁶

The two accounts agree on 1975 and on the 1996 move to Murrieta. They disagree on where the school met from 1975 to 1996: on the Costa Mesa church grounds (CCCM) or at Twin Peaks (CCBC). Both may describe parts of the truth (classes in Costa Mesa and a residential campus in the mountains, for example), but neither page says so, and the question is listed as unresolved. A third Calvary source leans toward the college's account: Calvary Chapel Magazine's 2023 history says Smith purchased "a beautiful mountaintop conference center in Twin Peaks, CA," and opened "in 1975 Calvary Chapel Bible School" there, and it quotes the house-ministry leader Steve Carr: "Once the Bible college opened, the house ministries dissolved."³⁷ The college now describes itself this way: "Calvary Chapel Bible College (CCBC) was founded in 1975 as a ministry of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa (CCCM) and continues to share in the legacy of the Calvary Chapel movement. Now established as an independent institution, CCBC partners with Calvary Chapel churches and like-minded ministries."²⁸ Its address is in Bradenton, Florida.³⁶ Separately, the CCA lists Bible college "affiliates," each "a separate ministry under the oversight and leadership of its own local Calvary Chapel church," in California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru.³⁸ Popular histories that still place "Calvary Chapel Bible College, Murrieta" in the present tense are out of date.

How scholars describe Calvary Chapel

Donald E. Miller and the "new paradigm" churches (1997)

The standard scholarly study is Donald E. Miller's Reinventing American Protestantism: Christianity in the New Millennium (University of California Press, 1997). Miller, a sociologist of religion at the University of Southern California, studied three movements that grew out of the Southern California revival of the 1960s and 1970s: Calvary Chapel, the Vineyard Christian Fellowship and Hope Chapel. He called them "new paradigm" churches. The book itself could not be opened for this lesson, so its argument is given here as summarized in two reviews published when it appeared, and attributed to them.

Miller also wrote a short reference article on Calvary Chapel that can be read in his own words. In it he says the church began "in reaction to the organizational formalism of his own Foursquare denomination," that "Thirty years later, there were more than 600 Calvary Chapels in the United States, as well as nearly 100 mission churches in other countries," and that "Chuck Smith claims that it is not a denomination but instead a network of independent churches." On training he writes: "There is no central seminary where pastoral training occurs; instead, the conservative biblical theology of the movement is maintained through thousands of hours of tapes of Smith's sermons, which are now augmented by radio ministries and tapes by pastors of the many megachurches that have evolved over the years."³⁹

Publishers Weekly (September 1, 1997) wrote that Miller "focuses his study on three such groups - Calvary Chapel, Vineyard Christian Fellowship and Hope Chapel - to show the ways in which American Protestantism is being reinvented" (the review uses double hyphens), and that "These non-mainline groups were successful primarily, according to Miller, because they combined an emphasis on the simple message and organizational structure of first-century Christianity with contemporary 'methods of worship, rock music, and a variety of support and interest groups.'" It added that Miller "examines the ways in which these groups 'democratized the sacred,' handing the organizational authority and interpretation of the Bible over to the congregations," and called the book "evenhanded and balanced."⁴⁰

Kirkus Reviews (August 15, 1997) wrote that the new paradigm churches "often rent space in shopping malls and warehouses because they have no facilities of their own," and summarized Miller's description of them: "they have resisted incorporation into denominations, reflecting their baby-boomer leaders' distrust of established institutions. Dress is casual, ministers are often untrained, and adherents are encouraged to take an active role in congregational growth." It reported Miller's boldest claim, that "the burst of new paradigm churches represents nothing less than a second Protestant Reformation," in which churches abandon "organs, choirs, and vestments" for "guitars, small support groups, and beach baptisms." Miller, the review says, took the new rituals seriously as filling a real need where "traditional Protestantism has emphasized the rational at the expense of the experiential."⁴¹

One tension in Miller's picture is worth noticing. Publishers Weekly's phrase about "handing the organizational authority ... over to the congregations" describes lay ministry (home Bible studies, lay-led groups, ordinary members serving), and that is real in Calvary Chapel. But on church government, as this lesson has shown, Calvary Chapel's founder rejected congregational rule in so many words. A reader using Miller should keep the two kinds of "authority" apart: the laity's freedom to minister, which Calvary encourages, and the laity's power to govern, which Smith's model does not give them.

Other scholars and observers

At Smith's death in 2013, Christianity Today gathered several scholarly assessments. Brad Christerson, a Biola University sociologist who studies charismatic churches in California, said Smith "led a movement that translated traditional conservative Bible-based Christianity to a large segment of the baby boom generation's counterculture," and that "His impact can be seen in every church service that has electric guitar-driven worship, hip casually-dressed pastors, and 40-minute sermons consisting of verse-by-verse Bible expositions peppered with pop-culture references and counterculture slang."⁶ Larry Eskridge, author of God's Forever Family: The Jesus People Movement in America (2013), said that for Smith "Lifestyle issues and morality issues were things that he would expect Christ would clean up in these folks lives ... But the informality of these folks and the music they were fond of - he was willing to let that slide quite a bit" (CT prints a dash there).⁶ CT summarized the common profile: "Calvary Chapels, concentrated largely in coastal population centers, reflect Smith's preferences for authoritative male pastors, expository preaching and openness to contemporary music."⁶

Richard Flory of USC, quoted above on succession, put the 2016 split in a wider frame in 2017: "The future is in these individual networks and ministries. ... The more authoritative it gets, the less likely it will be successful."⁷ Brian Brodersen, from inside the movement, offered his own self-criticism in 2014: "Calvary Chapel has been isolated when it comes to the bigger picture of evangelicalism. I do not think it's been healthy."²⁴ The evangelical setting Calvary Chapel stood apart from is described in lesson 03.

How many Calvary Chapels?

Counts of Calvary Chapels depend on who is counting, when, and whether ministries other than churches are included. The figures below are each attributed to their source and date; none is an audited count.

In the 2006 report, CT described "the Calvary Chapel network of 1,300 independent churches, mostly in the West and Southwest."²³ In 2013 it wrote "some 1,600 like-minded congregations in the United States and abroad."⁶ In 2014 it wrote that Calvary Chapel had grown "from a single Bible study to a worldwide fellowship of more than 1,500 churches and ministries."²⁴ In 2017 it referred to "the association's 1,700 churches."⁷ The CCA's website now says "over 1,800 associated ministries" on its home page and "over 1,800 fellowships throughout the world" on its history page.¹¹⁹ Since 2016 some of those churches have also been counted by CGN, which CT said included the CCA's churches in its own network unless they opted out.⁷

Claims checked

"When Chuck Smith arrived in 1965, Calvary Chapel had 25 people." Partly supported.

The CCA's history page says: "In 1965, Pastor Chuck Smith began his ministry at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa with just 25 people," and calvarychapel.com's founder page says "Only 25 people had attended."¹⁹¹² But CCCM's own timeline attaches the figure of 25 to the church's founding in 1961 ("the 25-member congregation moves to the Girls Club") and records "50 people in attendance" at Smith's first official Sunday sermon on December 5, 1965.² The small size of the church is well supported; the exact number in 1965 depends on which Calvary page is read.

"Every Calvary Chapel is required to follow the Moses model." Refuted as stated.

Smith taught the model as "God's model" and wrote it into Costa Mesa's bylaws by his own account, and CT reported in 2006 that "most Calvary Chapels follow" it.¹⁵²⁰²³ But the same report said "there is no standard for church government," and Smith's successor said in 2014: "It's certainly not a required model."²³²⁴ Each church's bylaws decide.

"'Simply teaching the Word simply' is Calvary Chapel's official motto." Unresolved.

The phrase is widely used, but it was not found on the official CCCM, CCA or CGN pages checked on Oct. 28, 2026. The CCA's posted motto is "Reviving the systematic exposition of Scripture," and its home page speaks of Smith's "simple, straight forward exposition of the Bible."¹

"Calvary Chapel is a Pentecostal church." Partly supported.

Smith came out of the Foursquare Church, and Calvary holds Pentecostal-style beliefs: the continuation of all spiritual gifts and a baptism with the Spirit "distinct and separate" from regeneration.²⁶¹⁰ But Smith wrote, "We don't take a typical Pentecostal view nor a typical Baptist view," and Calvary does not hold that tongues are the required evidence of Spirit baptism, which is the defining Pentecostal teaching.¹⁷ "Continuationist" or "charismatic in belief, restrained in practice" is more accurate.

"Every Calvary Chapel statement of faith teaches a pre-tribulation rapture." Partly supported.

The CCA statement, the CCA's "Philosophy of Ministry," calvarychapel.com and Calvary Chapel Bible College all state it in writing.^2613928 The beliefs pages of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and the Calvary Global Network, as posted on Oct. 28, 2026, do not use the words "rapture" or "pre-tribulation," though CCCM's states a premillennial return.²⁵²⁷

"Maranatha! Music was founded by Chuck Smith in 1971." Supported.

The label's own website, a 2010 trade announcement, CT in 1991 and CT in 2013 all give 1971 and name Smith.^3132336

"Smith paid $2,500 of his own money for the first Maranatha! album." Partly supported.

CT's 1991 article says "Smith took $2,500 out of his own pocket." The Both Sides Now discography says the first album "was produced by Chuck Girard on a budget of $2,000" and that the corporation of the group Children of the Day, financed with about $900 borrowed from Smith, "financed and produced the first four albums on the label."³³³⁴ Smith's role as the source of the money is supported; the amount and the way it was paid are not settled.

"Calvary Chapel Bible College is in Murrieta, California." Refuted as current.

The college was at Murrieta Hot Springs from 1996 to 2022. Its own history says it moved back to Twin Peaks in 2022 and in 2025 "relocated to Bradenton, Florida, and became fully independent from Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa."³⁶

"Smith taught his congregation through the whole Bible at least eight times." Supported.

Smith wrote that the church had gone through it "seven times" and was "beginning the eighth round," CCCM dates the start of the eighth pass to October 17, 1999, and Calvary Chapel Magazine says "at least eight times."¹²¹¹ Whether a ninth pass was completed before his death was not found in the sources checked.

"There are more than 1,800 Calvary Chapels." Partly supported.

The CCA says "over 1,800 associated ministries" and "over 1,800 fellowships." CT's counts from 2006 to 2017 run from 1,300 to 1,700 and count different things. No independent census was found.¹¹⁹²³⁷

Hard questions and answers

If the pastor answers to God, who can remove a pastor who goes wrong?

In Smith's model the answer is the board, acting as men "yielded to the Holy Spirit" and not as "yes" men, and, beyond the local church, the fellowship of other pastors, which can disaffiliate a church from the Calvary name.¹⁵ CT reported in 2006 that Calvary had "recently" begun Calvary Chapel Outreach Fellowships, "through which pastors can officially affiliate with the movement, or be disaffiliated when extreme measures of discipline are necessary."²³ The legal power, though, sits with the corporation's board as the bylaws define it, and where, as CT described, the senior pastor chairs the board and nominates its members, the board's independence depends on the people on it.²² Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa now describes its board as "the governing body of the corporation."⁴ How to read a church's bylaws and what to ask its board is covered in lesson 04 and lesson 10.

Is Calvary Chapel charismatic or not?

In belief, yes: every Calvary statement that addresses the subject affirms that all the gifts of the Spirit continue, and the CCA affirms a distinct baptism with the Spirit.²⁶⁹ In practice, Calvary keeps tongues mostly private, discourages displays it considers distracting, and does not make any one gift the proof of the Spirit.¹⁶¹⁷ Eskridge's phrase "restrained exuberance" is a fair summary.⁶ The Vineyard's departure in 1982 marks where Calvary drew the line (lesson 08).

Why do the three statements of faith differ, and does it matter?

They were written by different bodies for different purposes. The CCA's statement guards a set of distinctives its council believes CGN de-emphasizes; CGN's network page states a shared evangelical core so that a wider range of churches can join; CCCM's page serves a single congregation with a new vision statement.²⁶²⁷⁷⁵ Silence is not denial, and Brodersen has said he "firmly" believes in the Second Coming.⁷ It matters to a church member in a practical way: a church that belongs to one body and not the other may differ on women teaching, on how much the end times are preached, or on how strictly verse-by-verse teaching is kept, and the church's own posted statement is the place to check.

Does "verse by verse" mean a Calvary Chapel never preaches topically?

No. Smith wrote that "Topical sermons are good, and they have their place," and the early Costa Mesa system paired topical Sunday morning messages with verse-by-verse Sunday evening studies of the same chapters.¹² What Calvary insists on is that the backbone of a church's teaching be the whole Bible in order. One of the CCA council's stated concerns in the 2016 split was that Brodersen was "shifting around the structure of services to depart from traditional biblical exposition" (CT's summary), which shows how central the practice is to the movement's identity.⁷

Did Calvary Chapel really change worship in other churches, or is that a movement legend?

The record supports real influence. By 1991 a market survey cited by CT found that Maranatha! owned the copyrights to 30 of the 100 songs most used in worship, including songs such as "Seek Ye First" and "Father, I Adore You" that spread across denominations.³³ Scholars quoted at Smith's death credited him with influencing "every church service that has electric guitar-driven worship."⁶ A careful reader should still note that Calvary was one of several sources of contemporary worship (the Vineyard, Hosanna!/Integrity and others were also major; the Maranatha! discography itself names Hosanna/Integrity as its chief peer)³⁴, so "Calvary invented contemporary worship" overstates it, while "Calvary was one of its chief early sources" is supported.

Is the Moses model biblical?

This is a theological question the site does not decide. Smith's case rests on Moses and the seventy elders (Exodus 18, Numbers 11), on Christ as head of the church (Ephesians 1:22), and on the overseer (episkopos) of 1 Timothy 3; he admitted that "the New Testament doesn't give a clear definitive statement of God's preference for church government."²⁰ Presbyterian and Reformed critics such as Riddlebarger answer that the New Testament gives "deacons and elders" a real role and that a church needs "a group of elders who watch the pastor's life and doctrine" (his words), and many such critics add that Moses held a unique office in Israel's history that pastors do not inherit.¹⁸ Congregational churches answer from passages where whole churches choose leaders or exercise discipline. What the record can settle is narrower: what Smith taught, what bylaws Calvary churches adopted, and what happened when those structures were tested.

Learn more

• Calvary Chapel Association, Philosophy of Ministry: The fullest current statement of how CCA pastors are expected to teach, lead and worship, in the movement's own words.
• Calvary Chapel Magazine, Calvary Chapel Distinctives series: Five condensed parts of Smith's book, the easiest way to read the distinctives in his own words.
• Kate Shellnutt, A Tale of Two Calvary Chapels (Christianity Today, 2017): Both sides of the 2016 split quoted, with a sociologist's view of the Moses model after Smith.
• Steve Rabey, Maranatha! Music Comes of Age (Christianity Today, 1991): The early story of Love Song and Maranatha! told by the people who made the records.
• Donald E. Miller, Reinventing American Protestantism (1997), Internet Archive lending copy: The standard sociological study of Calvary Chapel, the Vineyard and Hope Chapel.
• Calvary Chapel Bible College, Our History: The college's own dated history from 1975 to its 2025 move to Florida.

Still being checked (14 items)

These points could not be confirmed against a primary source when this lesson was written and fact checked in October 2026. The text above states each one as uncertain.

• The phrase "simply teaching the Word simply" was not found on any official CCCM, CCA or CGN page checked on Oct. 28, 2026; it is presented as a popular summary, not an official motto.
• No current official Calvary statement checked (CCCM, CCA, CGN, calvarychapel.com, CCA Philosophy of Ministry) names or rejects "positive confession"; the rejection is reported as the movement's reputation. Smith's book Charisma vs. Charismania (commonly dated 1983) was not opened.
• Publication details of Chuck Smith's Harvest (commonly given as 1987, with Tal Brooke) were not confirmed; the book is not quoted.
• Calvary Chapel Magazine's series announces "twelve distinctives" but prints thirteen headings; not compared with a printed copy of Calvary Chapel Distinctives.
• The SermonIndex transcript "2. Church Government" is attributed to Chuck Smith by SermonIndex; its original source (book chapter or sermon, and date) is not stated there.
• Where Calvary Chapel Bible School met from 1975 to 1996: CCCM says on the church grounds; CCBC says its first campus was Twin Peaks; Calvary Chapel Magazine (Beeler, 2023) also says Smith opened it in 1975 at a Twin Peaks conference center. Unresolved between the two church pages.
• Title, budget and payer of the first Maranatha! album: CT 1991 says The Everlastin' Jesus Music Concert and $2,500 from Smith; the BSN discography says The Everlastin' Living Jesus Concert and a $2,000 budget; the common title is The Everlastin' Living Jesus Music Concert.
• Year of The Praise Album: 1973 (CT 1991) or 1974 (BSN discography).
• Years when Smith sold Maranatha! to Chuck Fromm, when Word Inc purchased it (Cross Rhythms item is undated), and when Randy and Cathy Alward acquired it were not found.
• The year the radio program took the name The Word for Today was not found; CT (2013) dates the publishing program to 1978.
• Los Angeles Times, Jan. 4, 1985, "Chapel Buys KWVE-FM," was not opened; the 1985 purchase rests on CCCM's and KWAVE's own histories.
• Donald E. Miller's book Reinventing American Protestantism was not opened; his views are given through the Publishers Weekly and Kirkus reviews and through his own short Encyclopedia.com article on Calvary Chapel.
• Whether the founding congregation numbered 25 in 1961 or in 1965 (CCA and calvarychapel.com say 25 when Smith began; CCCM's timeline says 25 in 1961 and 50 at Smith's first sermon).
• The Cross Rhythms item on the Word purchase of Maranatha! (fn on Word Inc) returned HTTP 503 to direct requests during the Oct. 28, 2026 fact check; its headline and first sentence were read through a web fetch tool. It carries no date.

Notes

1. Calvary Chapel Association, home page (calvarycca.org; also served at calvarychapelassociation.com), including the excerpt "The Priority of the Word" taken from Chuck Smith, Calvary Chapel Distinctives (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
2. Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, "Join Our Team: How We Got Here / A History of God's Faithfulness" (church timeline, 1961 to 2023) (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
3. calvarychapel.com, "History" (Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa timeline, 1961 to 1977) (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
4. Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, "Team" page (lead pastor, board and executive team) (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
5. Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, "About Us: Our Vision" (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
6. G. Jeffrey MacDonald, "Chuck Smith, 86, Dies After Cancer Battle," Christianity Today, Oct. 3, 2013 (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
7. Kate Shellnutt, "A Tale of Two Calvary Chapels: Behind the Movement's Split," Christianity Today, March 2017 issue (print title "Calvary Chapel Goes Global") (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
8. Calvary Global Network, "History: Our Formation" (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
9. calvarychapel.com, "What We Believe" (page footer: "Brought to you by the team at Calvary Global Network") (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
10. Calvary Chapel Association, "Founder's Page" (biography of Chuck Smith) (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
11. Christmas Beeler, "Unique and Unified: The Calvary Chapel Distinctives, Part 2," Calvary Chapel Magazine, originally in issue 72, quoting Chuck Smith, Calvary Chapel Distinctives, and interviews with pastors Bill Stonebraker, David Rosales and Jeff Johnson (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
12. calvarychapel.com, "Pastor Chuck Smith: Founder of Calvary Chapel" (The Word for Today radio program and C2000 series); see also the twft.com "CCCM Store" home page (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
13. Calvary Chapel Association, "Philosophy of Ministry" (sections on Biblical Exposition, Eschatology, Male Leadership in the Pulpit, Baptism of the Holy Spirit/Gifts, Servant Leadership, Integrity and Morality in Leadership, Informal/Relaxed Style and others; some sections written by pastors other than Smith) (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
14. "Unique and Unified: The Calvary Chapel Distinctives, Part 1," Calvary Chapel Magazine, condensed with permission from Chuck Smith, Calvary Chapel Distinctives; originally in issue 71, posted online October 2020 (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
15. "Unique and Unified: The Calvary Chapel Distinctives, Part 3" (Having Begun in the Spirit; Ventures of Faith; Church Government), Calvary Chapel Magazine, originally in issue 73, condensed by permission from Chuck Smith, Calvary Chapel Distinctives (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
16. "Unique and Unified: The Calvary Chapel Distinctives, Part 4" (The Supremacy of Love; The Centrality of Jesus Christ), Calvary Chapel Magazine, originally in issue 74, condensed by permission from Chuck Smith, Calvary Chapel Distinctives (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
17. "Unique and Unified: The Calvary Chapel Distinctives, Part 5" (The Rapture of the Church; Striking the Balance), Calvary Chapel Magazine, originally in issue 75, condensed by permission from Chuck Smith, Calvary Chapel Distinctives (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
18. Kim Riddlebarger, "The 'Moses Model' of Ministry Backfires . . .," The Riddleblog, May 19, 2006 (opinion) (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
19. Calvary Chapel Association, "History of Calvary Chapel" (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
20. Chuck Smith, "2. Church Government," transcript, SermonIndex.net (the opening summary paragraph is the website's, not Smith's; quotations are from the transcript) (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
21. Chuck Smith, "The Gift of Governments," sermon transcript, SermonIndex.net (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
22. Rob Moll, "Calvary Reunion: Skip Heitzig Returns to N.M.," Christianity Today, October 2006 issue (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
23. Rob Moll, "Unaccountable at Calvary Chapel," Christianity Today, May 8, 2006 (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
24. Timothy C. Morgan, "The Case for Big Change at Calvary Chapel" (interview with Brian Brodersen), Christianity Today, Feb. 26, 2014 (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
25. Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, "Our Beliefs" (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
26. Calvary Chapel Association, "Statement of Faith" (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
27. Calvary Global Network, "What We Believe" (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
28. Calvary Chapel Bible College, "Affiliation & Doctrinal Statement" (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
29. 1 Corinthians 14:39 to 40, King James Version (public domain), King James Bible Online (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
30. KWAVE 107.9 FM and 1110 AM, "Our History: 40 Years on the Air" (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
31. Maranatha! Music, "About Maranatha" (Our Mission; Our History) (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
32. "EMI CMG Distribution and Maranatha! Music Announce Distribution Deal," SGN Scoops, Sept. 30, 2010 (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
33. Steve Rabey, "Maranatha! Music Comes of Age," Christianity Today, April 29, 1991 (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
34. Mike Callahan, David Edwards and Patrice Eyries, "Maranatha! Album Discography," Both Sides Now Publications, last updated Feb. 6, 2013 (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
35. "Word INC purchases Marantha Music" (headline as printed), Cross Rhythms news item, undated; the site returned errors to direct requests on Oct. 28, 2026 and was read through a web fetch tool (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
36. Calvary Chapel Bible College, "Our History" (CCBC Through the Years, 1975 to 2025) (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
37. Christmas Beeler, "A Generation Led to Jesus: Remembering Pastor Chuck, Part 2," Calvary Chapel Magazine, issue 96 (Summer 2023), online edition, Oct. 9, 2023 (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
38. Calvary Chapel Association, "Bible College Affiliates" (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
39. Donald E. Miller, "Calvary Chapel," in Contemporary American Religion, via Encyclopedia.com (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
40. Review of Donald E. Miller, Reinventing American Protestantism: Christianity in the New Millennium (University of California Press, 1997), Publishers Weekly, reviewed Sept. 1, 1997 (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩
41. Review of Donald E. Miller, Reinventing American Protestantism, Kirkus Reviews, Aug. 15, 1997 issue (retrieved Oct. 28, 2026). Read it online. ↩