Here are some quotes from Chuck Smith, founder of Calvary Chapel:
Before you say, that this is just baptist government, consider that Pastors are not elected, but appointed, and Chuck Smith "appointed" himself. in my opinion, they are almost orthodox in their doctrine, but their ecclesiology is almost cultish. There is no Church membership, which means only the Pastor has any say in anything. The Pastor in fact is only loosely accountable to the denomination which seems to be run by one man, Chuck Smith. There are no elders or deacons so the Pastor can do whatever he sees fit. At least in a Baptist Church, he is accountable to the members. In the cc, there are no members.
I believe that 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.(p26)
It is my belief that everybody should be a deacon. (p26)
However the Board members got together afterward for a special board meeting. They called me the next morning and wanted to know just what I thought I was doing, and they let me know that they didn't want me to do it again. At the time, I thought, "Well, I thought this might be my lifes ministry. But it won't be. I'm not going to be under these kinds of restrictions. I must be open to be led by the Spirit.(p29)
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.(p29)
This is just from a cursory reading from his book. He doesn't mention that the Pastors are appointed (he says called), not elected, and that the elders actually have no power. Once again, the ecclesiology is bankrupt, and structured like a cult. That is not to say that CC is actually a cult, but the door is open for a tyrant to lead it that way. The elders have NO power(In other words, they are not elders), members (there actually aren't any) have no power, only the Pastor have power. Where do they get their power? It is my judgment that they get it from the founder of this movement. If you read the book, you will get a sense that Chuck Smith is lording power that he was not meant to have. Calvary Chapel is just another outgrowth of the modern fallacies in Chruch ecclesiology. It is schismatic.
Here are some more quotes from his "œChurch".
http://www.teachtheword.com/the_ministry_of_an_elder.htm
Throughout the writing, the term "œassisting pastor" is used most frequently in place of the more common "œelder", or the increasingly common "œassociate pastor." This is done primarily to communicate the fact that in reality there is only one pastor in a church. Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa is one of the largest churches in the world, attended by over 30,000 people each week, with a staff of 250 people. But there is only one pastor of Calvary Chapel and his name is Chuck Smith. The rest of us are there to assist him in the ministry to which God has called him. Hence, we are elders, our job is to assist the pastor. Moreover none of us at Big Calvary were hired because Pastor Chuck needed our expertise. We are there simply because Pastor Chuck does not have the time to do it all. If the church were smaller, we would not be needed.
....
18. The Only Reason You Are There is Because The Senior Man Doesn´t Have Time To Do It All Himself
Pastor Chuck does not need me or any one else on his staff, as far as I know. He could run the Bible college far better than I could. He could run the Conference Center far better than I could, too. But he´s busy. He oversees a huge ministry that reaches out to millions of people, and he can´t be everywhere at once. So, he has elders to help him out. We are extensions of Pastor Chuck. Our duty is to run our assigned areas of ministry exactly as Pastor Chuck wants them run, just as he would run them if he had the time to do so.
Some elders mistakenly believe that they´ve been retained for their great expertise. They think they are of tremendous worth to the ministry. But God doesn´t really need any of us. He chooses to use us because He´s gracious and kind, knowing that doing so will bless us. There is nothing worse than an elder who is seeking to build his own kingdom, trying to establish his own little empire within the ministry. Don´t build on the senior man´s foundation. Assist him. Support him. Help him. Ease his burden. Help carry his load.
Don´t think too highly of yourself. Watch out that you don´t become impressed with yourself. Take with a grain of salt all the praises of well meaning people. Remember that the only reason you are on staff is because God has so blessed another man´s ministry that he now needs help. It is God´s ministry, through the senior pastor. It is not your ministry.
20. Keep The Pastor Informed About Absolutely Everything
The Pastor needs to be told everything. He cannot oversee the ministry without data. Senior pastors hate surprises in their ministries. Tell the pastor all about the people in the congregation. Tell him what´s happening at the meetings he doesn´t attend. Tell him how the Sunday School is going, what the youth group is doing, and the latest missionary efforts. Leave no stone unturned. Tell him everything.
...
Be the eyes and ears of the ministry. Listen to what the people are saying. Pick up on the attitudes of the staff and the leadership. Watch people to see who serves diligently and who goofs off. Be a narc for Jesus. Squeal on people. Narc on the guy who litters the parking lot. Tell the pastor everything. Absolutely everything.
46. The Church Is Like A Ship
Jesus is the Lord High Admiral of the fleet. Your pastor is the Captain of your vessel. You are responsible to your Admiral and to your Captain to care for the entire crew¾their morale, their spiritual health, their souls. Watch over them diligently. Don´t fall asleep on watch. Report everything to the Captain. When the Captain is off the ship, keep her steady as she goes.
Keep in communication with the Admiral for orders. Obey the orders of the Admiral and the Captain instantly and unquestionably, unless the Captain orders you to do something opposite of what the Admiral has commanded. A smooth ship runs on discipline, obedience, diligence, so be disciplined, obedient, and diligent. Keep her headed properly.
How do you know if the Captiain gives you an order against the Admiral. Must the Captian tell you?
[Edited on 19-1-2005 by raderag]
Before you say, that this is just baptist government, consider that Pastors are not elected, but appointed, and Chuck Smith "appointed" himself. in my opinion, they are almost orthodox in their doctrine, but their ecclesiology is almost cultish. There is no Church membership, which means only the Pastor has any say in anything. The Pastor in fact is only loosely accountable to the denomination which seems to be run by one man, Chuck Smith. There are no elders or deacons so the Pastor can do whatever he sees fit. At least in a Baptist Church, he is accountable to the members. In the cc, there are no members.
I believe that 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.(p26)
It is my belief that everybody should be a deacon. (p26)
However the Board members got together afterward for a special board meeting. They called me the next morning and wanted to know just what I thought I was doing, and they let me know that they didn't want me to do it again. At the time, I thought, "Well, I thought this might be my lifes ministry. But it won't be. I'm not going to be under these kinds of restrictions. I must be open to be led by the Spirit.(p29)
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.(p29)
This is just from a cursory reading from his book. He doesn't mention that the Pastors are appointed (he says called), not elected, and that the elders actually have no power. Once again, the ecclesiology is bankrupt, and structured like a cult. That is not to say that CC is actually a cult, but the door is open for a tyrant to lead it that way. The elders have NO power(In other words, they are not elders), members (there actually aren't any) have no power, only the Pastor have power. Where do they get their power? It is my judgment that they get it from the founder of this movement. If you read the book, you will get a sense that Chuck Smith is lording power that he was not meant to have. Calvary Chapel is just another outgrowth of the modern fallacies in Chruch ecclesiology. It is schismatic.
Here are some more quotes from his "œChurch".
http://www.teachtheword.com/the_ministry_of_an_elder.htm
Throughout the writing, the term "œassisting pastor" is used most frequently in place of the more common "œelder", or the increasingly common "œassociate pastor." This is done primarily to communicate the fact that in reality there is only one pastor in a church. Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa is one of the largest churches in the world, attended by over 30,000 people each week, with a staff of 250 people. But there is only one pastor of Calvary Chapel and his name is Chuck Smith. The rest of us are there to assist him in the ministry to which God has called him. Hence, we are elders, our job is to assist the pastor. Moreover none of us at Big Calvary were hired because Pastor Chuck needed our expertise. We are there simply because Pastor Chuck does not have the time to do it all. If the church were smaller, we would not be needed.
....
18. The Only Reason You Are There is Because The Senior Man Doesn´t Have Time To Do It All Himself
Pastor Chuck does not need me or any one else on his staff, as far as I know. He could run the Bible college far better than I could. He could run the Conference Center far better than I could, too. But he´s busy. He oversees a huge ministry that reaches out to millions of people, and he can´t be everywhere at once. So, he has elders to help him out. We are extensions of Pastor Chuck. Our duty is to run our assigned areas of ministry exactly as Pastor Chuck wants them run, just as he would run them if he had the time to do so.
Some elders mistakenly believe that they´ve been retained for their great expertise. They think they are of tremendous worth to the ministry. But God doesn´t really need any of us. He chooses to use us because He´s gracious and kind, knowing that doing so will bless us. There is nothing worse than an elder who is seeking to build his own kingdom, trying to establish his own little empire within the ministry. Don´t build on the senior man´s foundation. Assist him. Support him. Help him. Ease his burden. Help carry his load.
Don´t think too highly of yourself. Watch out that you don´t become impressed with yourself. Take with a grain of salt all the praises of well meaning people. Remember that the only reason you are on staff is because God has so blessed another man´s ministry that he now needs help. It is God´s ministry, through the senior pastor. It is not your ministry.
20. Keep The Pastor Informed About Absolutely Everything
The Pastor needs to be told everything. He cannot oversee the ministry without data. Senior pastors hate surprises in their ministries. Tell the pastor all about the people in the congregation. Tell him what´s happening at the meetings he doesn´t attend. Tell him how the Sunday School is going, what the youth group is doing, and the latest missionary efforts. Leave no stone unturned. Tell him everything.
...
Be the eyes and ears of the ministry. Listen to what the people are saying. Pick up on the attitudes of the staff and the leadership. Watch people to see who serves diligently and who goofs off. Be a narc for Jesus. Squeal on people. Narc on the guy who litters the parking lot. Tell the pastor everything. Absolutely everything.
46. The Church Is Like A Ship
Jesus is the Lord High Admiral of the fleet. Your pastor is the Captain of your vessel. You are responsible to your Admiral and to your Captain to care for the entire crew¾their morale, their spiritual health, their souls. Watch over them diligently. Don´t fall asleep on watch. Report everything to the Captain. When the Captain is off the ship, keep her steady as she goes.
Keep in communication with the Admiral for orders. Obey the orders of the Admiral and the Captain instantly and unquestionably, unless the Captain orders you to do something opposite of what the Admiral has commanded. A smooth ship runs on discipline, obedience, diligence, so be disciplined, obedient, and diligent. Keep her headed properly.
How do you know if the Captiain gives you an order against the Admiral. Must the Captian tell you?
[Edited on 19-1-2005 by raderag]
