What is Calvary Chapel?

[Mr. Lunt]

For context, I was raised independent fundamental Baptist.
ran into a couple guys from a Calvary Chapel. Which is strange because I always thought of them as a California/Florida phenomenon and I’m not from those parts.
Besides the Sunday attire and music how do they differ?
What should I know about them?

 

[Jerome]

Charismatics, the babbling starts up during special services they call 'Afterglows'.

Here are CC founder Chuck Smith and CC evangelist Lonnie Frisbee on Kathryn Kuhlman's I Believe in Miracles show in the 1970s:

 

[Jerome]

Some Calvary Chapels have become dually affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention!

Harvest Christian Fellowship (Calif.)

Greg Laurie's cooperation with SBC mutually beneficial | Baptist Press

Just one day after seeing nearly 3,400 come to Christ at a Harvest Crusade in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention 2017 annual meeting, megachurch pastor Greg Laurie announced his official cooperation with the SBC.

www.baptistpress.com

Calvary Phoenix (Ariz.)

Arizona church’s consistent Gospel witness yields results | Baptist Press

PHOENIX, Ariz. – CalvaryPHX celebrated 161 baptisms and 249 decisions for Christ in the first nine months of 2024. While the numbers are notable, perhaps more impressive is the church’s story.

www.baptistpress.com

 

[360watt]

For context, I was raised independent fundamental Baptist.
ran into a couple guys from a Calvary Chapel. Which is strange because I always thought of them as a California/Florida phenomenon and I’m not from those parts.
Besides the Sunday attire and music how do they differ?
What should I know about them?

Yeah charismatic and I think were precursors to the Vineyard movement, ie Lonnie Frisbee

 

[Mr. Lunt]

Charismatics, the babbling starts up during special services they call 'Afterglows'.

Here are CC founder Chuck Smith and CC evangelist Lonnie Frisbee on Kathryn Kuhlman's I Believe in Miracles show in the 1970s:

Ah yes that’s the Jesus Revolution story. The guy who played Lonnie Frisbee did an exceptional job depicting him now that I watch this clip.

 

[Mr. Lunt]

Yeah charismatic and I think were precursors to the Vineyard movement, ie Lonnie Frisbee

Vineyard is pretty chaotic sounds like.

 

[360watt]

Vineyard is pretty chaotic sounds like.

They were the main driver under John Wimber for charismatic becoming popular

 

[Armchair Apologist]

For context, I was raised independent fundamental Baptist.
ran into a couple guys from a Calvary Chapel. Which is strange because I always thought of them as a California/Florida phenomenon and I’m not from those parts.
Besides the Sunday attire and music how do they differ?
What should I know about them?

Calvary Chapel is now a denomination in and of itself. Once upon a time, it was the epicenter of the "Jesus People" movement in Southern California led by Chuck Smith who was a Foursquare Gospel preacher. There are now "Calvary Chapel" churches worldwide.

They are actually pretty sound and legit as far as churches go. They have casual attire and contemporary music which would be the bane certain "Independent Fundamental Baptists" but they also place great emphasis upon expository teaching and preaching. They are usually dispensational and premillennial and most would hold to the eternal security of the believer.

The direction in which Chuck Smith took Calvary Chapel makes it far more doctrinally sound than the Foursquare denomination of which he came. They are "continuationist" meaning they acknowledge all of the spiritual gifts but they exercise great caution in the use of the "Sign Gifts" (tongues, healing, etc.) and typically discourage their use during a worship service.

Some are mentioning the Vineyard Christian Fellowship which broke off from Calvary Chapel. While there are some similarities between the two, Vineyard is far more "mystical" placing a greater emphasis upon the "sign gifts" and so forth. It is therefore unfair to lump the two together as being one in the same. When Chuck Smith and Lonnie Frisbee parted ways, Lonnie Frisbee affiliated with the Vineyard movement that was just in its beginnings. It has become far more "wackydoo" over the years. There is a Vineyard congregation just down the road from my Church and it has a woman as the senior pastor.

If I were in a town that had a liberal Baptist Church and a Calvary Chapel, I would go to the Calvary Chapel. If I were in a town that had a liberal Baptist Church and a Vineyard Christian Fellowship, I would either start a church or would find something in the next town.

 

[Mr. Lunt]

Calvary Chapel is now a denomination in and of itself. Once upon a time, it was the epicenter of the "Jesus People" movement in Southern California led by Chuck Smith who was a Foursquare Gospel preacher. There are now "Calvary Chapel" churches worldwide.

They are actually pretty sound and legit as far as churches go. They have casual attire and contemporary music which would be the bane certain "Independent Fundamental Baptists" but they also place great emphasis upon expository teaching and preaching. They are usually dispensational and premillennial and most would hold to the eternal security of the believer.

The direction in which Chuck Smith took Calvary Chapel makes it far more doctrinally sound than the Foursquare denomination of which he came. They are "continuationist" meaning they acknowledge all of the spiritual gifts but they exercise great caution in the use of the "Sign Gifts" (tongues, healing, etc.) and typically discourage their use during a worship service.

Some are mentioning the Vineyard Christian Fellowship which broke off from Calvary Chapel. While there are some similarities between the two, Vineyard is far more "mystical" placing a greater emphasis upon the "sign gifts" and so forth. It is therefore unfair to lump the two together as being one in the same. When Chuck Smith and Lonnie Frisbee parted ways, Lonnie Frisbee affiliated with the Vineyard movement that was just in its beginnings. It has become far more "wackydoo" over the years. There is a Vineyard congregation just down the road from my Church and it has a woman as the senior pastor.

If I were in a town that had a liberal Baptist Church and a Calvary Chapel, I would go to the Calvary Chapel. If I were in a town that had a liberal Baptist Church and a Vineyard Christian Fellowship, I would either start a church or would find something in the next town.

Thank you for your precision.

 

[Jerome]

Calvary Chapel is now a denomination in and of itself.

Here's a prominent Calvary Chapel church that's also Southern Baptist, yet advertises itself as "nondenominational church"!

 

[Jerome]

Calvary Chapel...are "continuationist" meaning they acknowledge all of the spiritual gifts but they exercise great caution in the use of the "Sign Gifts" (tongues, healing, etc.) and typically discourage their use during a worship service.

After the preaching services, they have 'afterglow' worship services where the babbling, etc. starts up!

 

[Jerome]

Some are mentioning the Vineyard Christian Fellowship which broke off from Calvary Chapel. While there are some similarities between the two, Vineyard...has become far more "wackydoo" over the years. There is a Vineyard congregation just down the road from my Church and it has a woman as the senior pastor.

Uh...there's women ministers at the same Calvary Chapel as above (that's also SBC!).
Watch:

 

[Armchair Apologist]

Uh...there's women ministers at the same Calvary Chapel as above (that's also SBC!).
Watch:

Calvary Chapel is not a denomination I would affiliate myself with personally and yes, there are some wackydoo Calvary Chapel preachers out there what we need to look out for and stay away from. I stated that if I had to choose between a Calvary Chapel and a liberal Baptist Church, I would choose the Calvary Chapel (attend, not join) but perhaps I had better qualify this saying "provided the pastor and congregation are relatively sound." If it had a woman preacher, I would avoid it in the same way in which I would avoid the Vineyard Church. I believe that Greg Laurie's Church became affiliated with the SBC some years ago. If an SBC Church is ordaining women preachers, they need to be disfellowshipped in the same manner as what happened with Saddleback Church.

I attended a Calvary Chapel for a while when I was coming back to the Lord but my wife and I always felt like outsiders so we moved on. I have therefore never experienced the "afterglow" fellowships of which you are speaking.