Talk:Calvary Chapel Association

NPOV

This article is a long way from achieving a Neutral Point Of View. I think anyone who has read it will agree. It relies very heavily on insider first person sources. I think the idea over time is to add more tertiary and secondary sources from outside of the Calvary Chapel movement and it's authors. As a step in this direction I'm offering a model for the type of sources that will make this possible, as well as some quotations from those sources. I'd love for another editor to make use of these. A free subscription to Open Library will give you access to the full text. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL1080636M/American_congregations

Balmer, Randall, and Jesse T. Todd, Jr. "Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California." Chapter 12 in American Congregations, Volume 1: Portraits of Twelve Religious Communities, edited by James P. Wind and James W. Lewis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994. Pages 663–697. ISBN 0226901866. LCCN 94004136.

"In 1965 he received an invitation from Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, at that time a congregation of twenty-five, deeply divided and on the verge of disbanding. Smith accepted, even though he was forced to supplement his income by cleaning carpets several days a week." (p. 674)

"The theology at Calvary Chapel, despite its nuances, is quite traditional. The congregation's distinctive place in American evangelicalism, then, lies not so much in its theology as in its historical location. It remains the most significant and enduring institution of the Jesus movement and the cornerstone of a loose federation of churches that may very well be a new denomination in the making." (p. 665)

"Smith's own background is Pentecostal, and he shares with Pentecostals a conservative evangelical theology and a belief in spiritual gifts. At the same time, however, he does not insist upon speaking in tongues as a sign of regeneration or sanctification; in fact, he discourages such displays in public." (p. 665)Wingmanvan (talk) 18:53, 9 May 2026 (UTC)

The Book Your Church Doesn't Want You To Read, Editor Tim C. Leedom, 1993

"One of the centers of this movement was Calvary Chapel, in Santa Ana, California. Its leader, the Reverend Chuck Smith, is a staunch, conservative minister from the pentecostal Foursquare denomination who once showed John Birch Society films to his growing youth group. As a younger man. Rev. Smith sang solo in the worship services of the Rev. Virginia Brandt Berg, the mother of the infamous David Berg, founder of the Children of God cult

Smith has been known to publicly denounce homosexualist liberal theologians. I have seen him in the pulpit, while talking of the gay church, violently slamming his fist down on the pulpit, and with acrid countenance, tell his sheepish flock that if he flew a jet bomber, those churches would be the first targets of his deserved wrath" p. 395

Comment: It is easy for me to find passages like this in a variety of published works. It brings to mind that perhaps rather than piling references like this up in the "criticism" section that the internal political views of the leaders of Calvary Chapel deserve some focus in this article. Is it fair to say that at a leadership level that Calvary Chapel is a far right wing populist, "Christian Nationalist" movement? — Preceding unsigned comment added by BrainUnboxed2020 (talk • contribs) 12:25, 3 April 2022 (UTC)

In terms of far right wing populism and political extremism, consider this reference to Chuck Missler

Rebellion, Racism, and Religion: AMERICAN MILITIAS Richard Abanes, 1996 pp. 199-202

Chuck Missler: Friend of Patriots Chuck Missler is the founder of Koinonia House, a conservative Christian ministry based in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. He gained popularity with mainstream Christians primarily through his close affiliation with the California-based Calvary Chapel system of churches founded by evangelist Chuck Smith. Although Missler has had his own ministry for many years, he continues to teach regularly at Calvary Chapels nationwide. Missler is a major bridge between Christianity and the patriot/militia movement. His Personal Update newsletter has carried several articles promoting New - World Order conspiratorial theories. In the July 1995 issue of Personal Update, he suggests that the government blew up the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City. He also condemns the government for launching “a highly orchestrated propaganda attack” against “talk radio, the pro-life movement, Constitutionalists, militias, pro-family groups, survivalists, and all forms of ‘politically incorrect’ views.” *’ Personal Update, like patriot publications, is brazenly anti-government. Missler believes America is no longer in a contest “between the Democrats and the Republicans but between the Constitutionalists who value our traditional heritage and the global socialists who are pursuing the dream of the New World Order. The conflict is between individual liberty and totalitarianism.” “Missler additionally contends that many of “the most knowledgeable” Bible commentators believe the Antichrist may be alive today. According to Missler, the demonic world leader will be even more deceitful “than the politicians who presently dominate the District of Corruption.” *’ This biting reference to Wash ington, D.C., officials is common among patriots. An article in Media Bypass, a popular patriot magazine, reads: “The mindset in the ‘District of Corruption’ appears appalled by the resentment of ‘we the people’ toward the federal government.” °° Patriot magazines are only one of the many sources from which Missler gleans his information. He claims to use “extensive contacts and private sources” to give a “behind-the-scenes perspective of the major issues.”°' Unfortunately, some of his sources are tied directly to the white supremacist movement. In the November 1995 issue of Personal Update, Missler not only quotes from but expresses thanks to and gives the address of the “American Patriot Fax Network. . . and ‘The Spotlight.’ ”* The American Patriot Fax Network (currently operated by Ken Varden of Las Vegas) was co-founded by Gary Hunt, a shadowy figure whose name first surfaced during the Davidian siege when he showed up in Waco claiming to hold Koresh’s power of attorney. He said he had observed an allegedly “ pre-arranged signal from the Branch Davidian leader—a jiggle of the compound's satellite dish.”°* Hunt was ignored by both law enforcement authorities and the courts. According to Linda Thompson, Hunt’s network began when he started faxing 200 American Militias information to her, Ken Varden and a Florida couple named Lynda Lyon and George Sibley.** The network soon became connected to numerous fax “news” services run by tax protesters, white supremacists and Christian Identity believers.°> It has since branched out to include non-racist patriots and Christians such as Missler. A steady stream of moderate to blatantly racist/anti-Semitic materials are regularly faxed to everyone on the network.It is noteworthy that approximately a year after Hunt’s network began, forty-five-year-old Lynda Lyon and fifty-one year-old George Sibley were arrested and subsequently convicted in the death of thirty-eight-year-old Alabama policeman Roger Motley. °’ The white supremacist couple shot and killed Motley in a shopping center parking lot when he approached their car.** After the shooting, Lyon and Sibley “led police on a high-speed chase and held law enforcement sharpshooters at bay for more than four hours before surrendering at a road block.”*’ Their vehicle contained three handguns, two semi-automatic rifles and an M-14 rifle. In the couple’s Orlando home, police found a large cache of weapons, ammunition and white supremacist literature. At their Georgia “safe house,” authorities seized an M-1 rifle that had been converted into a fully automatic weapon, a riot shotgun and 5,000 rounds of ammunition. The day after Motley was killed, Hunt sent out the following message over his fax network: Many of those in the Patriot Community fully expect that a state of war will exist in this country in a relatively short period of time. George and Lynda . . . felt that this state of war existed.°! For several weeks, Hunt used the network to send a series of faxes about the incident. His version of the killing perfectly illustrates the danger now facing non-patriots in this country, especially those in law enforcement: A cop comes up to the car and they know that they have a car full of guns. . . . Without time to contemplate a better solution, they reacted as the Branch Davidians should have reacted. I know that it is politically correct to condemn George and Lynda, but I cannot, and will not. I can only fear for them and fear for our country. . . . George had been sitting in his car. . . . Lynda was making a phone call. . . . The officer refused to listen to George explain that he was under no contract as a free Citizen of Florida, to have to produce a (drivers) license in Alabama. The officer then informed George . . . that he was under arrest. George got out of his car, and then began balking. The officer reached for his gun but George was a bit quicker. George and Lynda were defending their rights as guaranteed by the Constitution, and did not allow the officer to deny them their freedom. George and Lynda’s actions were to deny “law enforcement” from stealing your rights to travel freely in this country.” A 1995 Los Angeles Times investigation found that several racist organizations belong to the American Patriot Fax Network.” Members who supply and receive information through the network include: Arizona Patriots, a militant Christian Infiltration of Hate 201 Identity group; Guardians of American Liberty (GOAL), led by Stewart Webb, who from the mid-1980s and into the 1990s “made a series of threatening anti-Semitic phone calls” ;* and James Wickstrom, a Posse Comitatus leader, who in 1984 was convicted “on two counts of impersonating a public official and one count of bail jumping.” © Missler’s use of information from the Spotlight, and his recommendation of it as a news source, is even more disturbing. Besides being unreliable, Spotlight is notorious for its racist articles and advertisements. It would be difficult for Missler to not notice the blatant anti-Semitism that is regularly featured in its pages. A survey of Spotlight stories from January 1994 through June 1995 reveals that the paper’s main purpose is not only to propagate New World Order conspiracy theories, but also to link them to anti-Semitic ideas. The number of articles found on relevant topics are as follows:™ O New World Order: 75 Anti-Israel: 50 Concentration Camps, FEMA, black helicopters: 49 International Jewish bankers: 40 Anti-Black or Pro-Apartheid: 28 Pro-militia: 26 Foreign troops on U.S. soil: 24 Jewish holocaust denial: 13 It is odd that Missler, who professes to be pro-Israel, would read Spotlight, a publication of the quasi-Nazi Liberty Lobby founded by Willis Carto, whose history of anti-Semitism dates back as far as 1960 when he edited a publication “calling for voter support for the American Nazi Party.”®’ According to a 1994 article in Covert Action Quarterly, a widely respected investigative magazine, Carto’s Liberty Lobby “is the major source of anti-Semitic propaganda in the United States.” : Missler seems to have fallen into a trap laid long ago by Carto. According to Louis T. Beyers, a former associate of Carto’s, the Liberty Lobby’s plan is to draw support from non-racists as a means of strengthening anti-government ranks: “Willis has talked to me about playing the role of a respectable conservative when his true feelings are those of a racist nationalist.”® Beyers also maintains that Carto’s ultimate aim is “to form a new power base ready to act when the country turned hard right.” ’ Carto has set up a number of front organizations to pull off ei Been ee his scheme: To draw the support of those whose political beliefs might not include hatred for Jews, it [Liberty Lobby] has established an array of front groups, surrogates, and publications. These enterprises have not so much expanded the Lobby’s influence as made it seem to represent a vast constituency. Among the groups sponsored by the Lobby over the past 30 years, have been (in no particular order): Americans for National Security, American Committee on Immigration 202 American Militias Policies, United Republicans of America, Committee for Religious Development, Friends of Rhodesian Independence, Action Associates, Youth for Wallace, National Youth Alliance, Save Our Schools, Emergency Committee to Support Victims of Political Persecution, National Taxation, Inc., and Council on Dangerous Drugs.” To understand the level of anti-Semitism being promoted by the Liberty Lobby and Spotlight, one need only look to the philosophy of Willis Carto. In a 1955 letter to Earnest Sevier Cox, Carto boldly identified America’s main enemy: Who is calling the shots? History supplies the answer. . . . History plainly tells us who our Enemy is. Our Enemy today is the same Enemy of 50 years ago and before—and that was before Communism. . . . The Jews came first and remain Public Enemy Number One. . . . Hitler’s defeat was the defeat of Europe. And America. How could we have been so blind?” Ina letter to the Aryan Nations, a new supporter of the racist organization expressed interest in learning more about the white supremacy movement based on a a neo-Nazi advertisement he had seen in Spotlight.” Now Spotlight is being advertised in Chuck Missler’s Personal Update. This is precisely how racist conspiracy theories are gaining acceptance in mainstream Christian circles.

— Preceding unsigned comment added by BrainUnboxed2020 (talk • contribs) 11:53, 5 April 2022 (UTC)

Update

What about the CCA / CGN developments? 2A01:4C8:D20:130E:75CF:F7AD:E61B:4A2B (talk) 02:36, 26 January 2023 (UTC)

Cost of franchise or fees or membership associated with using the name or bird symbol

is there a framework governing the use of the name calvary chapel or the bird symbol?

Can Costa Mesa or somewhere else tell a local church that they are no longer allowed to use the name or bird symbol?

are the name and bird trademarked? Sliceofmiami (talk) 03:26, 4 March 2025 (UTC)