Chapter 16: every tradition · Christianity

Calvary Chapel

A fellowship of independent churches from the movement Chuck Smith began at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa in 1965, in the Jesus movement, whose worship songs Maranatha! Music took round the world. The pastor teaches the whole Bible verse by verse, Sunday and midweek, after a band-led set of worship songs; the gifts of the Spirit are welcome, but tongues and prophecy are kept for the afterglow, not the main service. Believers are baptized by immersion, often in the ocean or a river; communion is a memorial, open to believers. In the Moses model the senior pastor leads under God, with a board of men he trusts to guide him and assisting pastors: there is no formal membership and no vote, and pastors are usually raised up within a church or at the Bible college. No plate is passed; people give at the box at the back. The church owns its building and pays nothing upward; affiliation asks the pastor to hold the Calvary Chapel Distinctives (including a pre-tribulation rapture and men only as pastors), and ending it, by the church's leaders or the Association, is the only discipline. Since 2016 churches have been affiliated with the Calvary Chapel Association, led by a council of senior pastors, or listed with the Calvary Global Network that Costa Mesa formed, or both; they differ in emphasis (the Association on exposition and prophecy, the Network on partnering with other evangelicals), not in how a church is run. Some 1,800 churches worldwide by the Association's count, roughly a thousand of them in the United States (an estimate).

All 80 traditions · its profile in Faiths and traditions, with how to play it; How people feel, what every factor is.

At a glance

Faith	Christianity
Its words	chapel, church, sanctuary; the senior pastor leads the service; the teaching; Sunday; the Bible
Worship	word focus, reserved, minimal formality (0.00 of 1); seated on chairs
Music	organ discouraged; gospel organ discouraged; choir discouraged; band expected; brass discouraged; handbells discouraged; chant discouraged
The room's sound	likes a dry room (the band)
Its year	western; minimal observance; fasts none
Leans	conservative on moral questions, conservative on economic ones
Polity	independent; leaders come by call; property local
Leaders	one leader, full time, trained by apprenticeship; marriage expected
Belonging	moderate commitment, pastoral discipline, admitted by clergy
Giving	tithing taught; collected by boxes, online
Way of life	alcohol moderation, dress casual, sabbath relaxed

The week's services

Day	Time	Service	Led by	People look for it
Sunday	9:00 am	Worship and teaching	the senior pastor	optional
Sunday	11:00 am	Worship and teaching	the senior pastor	expected
Wednesday	7:00 pm	Worship and teaching	the senior pastor	expected
Saturday	6:00 pm	Prayer meeting and Bible study	the senior pastor	optional

Leader: a senior pastor. With none (a vacancy, or no one hired), the services are still held, but each costs everyone at it 0.10; on sabbatical a supply senior pastor stands in ($800 a month) for a little less.
Communion (monthly), passed among the people: nothing needs to be placed to serve it. People receive from age 7; anyone younger who comes forward is blessed instead.
Baptism: needs a baptistry or an immersion font, built and installed; until there is one, those wanting baptism wait.

Rites

Child Dedication (per birth, +0.02 to those there): Parents bring their baby to the front, promise to raise the child in the faith, and the senior pastor prays a blessing over the family while the congregation promises to support them.
Baptism at the Water (quarterly, +0.03 to those there): The church goes down to the ocean, a river, or a lake, and the pastors wade out to immerse new believers one after another while the church sings and cheers on the shore, as Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa has done at Pirate's Cove since the Jesus movement.
Afterglow (monthly, +0.02 to those there): After an evening service, believers who wish to stay gather to wait on the Lord and pray to be filled with the Spirit. Here, not in the main service, the gifts operate under the pastors' leading: tongues with interpretation, prophecy, and prayer for one another, decently and in order.

Baptism, confirmation, and joining

No formal membership: a content regular of three months belongs, without a vote.
Joining age: 16.
The church's children are baptized as believers at about 12, most within a year or two of it.
Kinds of belonging: regular attenders (may hold office); received by the senior pastor.
What it means: being baptized, confirmed, or received is worth +0.1 to the person, +0.05 to family there, and +0.03 to everyone else at the service. It roots them: a rooted household drifts away only 0.6 times as often, and if it does fall away, it has a 25% chance of coming home each Christmas Eve and Easter for ten years.

Giving, and what goes up

How its people give and what else comes in, as Money explains it for every faith.

How it's given: the tithes and offerings, by boxes, and giving online. With no plate passed, members give a tenth less at the boxes than they would into one, and visitors give nothing at the service. Those who give online give whether or not they come (8% more a month).
Fundraisers: only the modest ones (below).
Owed above: nothing.

The senior pastor, the staff, and who decides

How the senior pastor comes: advertised and called: the board votes.
Paid: full time.
Candidates: three apply; trained by apprenticeship (less skilled; they ask 85%); men; nearly all married; the spouse has a recognized part (+0.01 to everyone after each service).
Tenure: settled for about 20 years, then may be called elsewhere; the associate succeeds at once.
Staff it can hire or name (see Staff and volunteers):
- Bivocational senior pastor ($22,000–$38,000; cares for 75)
- Senior pastor ($55,000–$85,000 + $18,000 benefits, full time; cares for 150)
- Associate senior pastor ($42,000–$62,000 + $15,000 benefits, full time; cares for 100 more)
- Choir director / organist / pianist ($15,000–$35,000; leads the music (up to +0.06))
- Caretaker ($18,000–$30,000; slows the building's wear)
- Chapel secretary ($20,000–$35,000; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once))
- Youth director ($20,000–$40,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
Its boards: the board (deciding, over everything).
Renovations: The senior pastor decides, advised by the board.
New construction: The senior pastor decides, advised by the board.
Calling a leader: The board votes.
Who votes: no kind of belonging votes, so what would go to the members goes to the board.

Life together

What its Community screen offers it, with the dilemmas only its own faith or family meets; see The congregation in its community.

Ministries of its own: Choir.
Ministries every tradition can run that it's offered: Blood drive, Food pantry, Health clinic, Preschool, Youth group.
Fundraisers of its own: Soup supper.
Shared fundraisers it may hold (only the modest ones): Bake sale, Car wash, Raffle, Rummage sale.
Tenants it can take: A Masonic lodge, A scout troop, A twelve-step group, Another congregation, Dance classes, Parties and receptions, Polling place and forums.
Outreach: invitation Sunday, a home Bible study, planting a new chapel (Community → Evangelism).
Dilemmas of its own faith (besides those every congregation meets): A petition for cushions, The bells, again.
Dilemmas its code of life brings: A candidates' forum, A raffle for the roof, A recruiter asks for the hall, Champagne at the reception.

What the building needs

required BaptistryBeliever's baptism by immersion needs a baptistry: a tank large enough for an adult, with plumbing to fill and drain it.
required Communion tableThe Lord's Supper is served from a communion table, recalling the table of the Last Supper.
required PulpitPreaching is the center of worship, so the pulpit stands at the center of the platform.
expected Communion traysThe bread and cup are carried to the pews in trays and passed along the rows.
expected Drum kitWorship is led by a band.
expected Sound systemA band needs a sound system to be heard.
discouraged Brass band standsBrass doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
discouraged Choir stallsThis tradition's worship has no choir.
discouraged CrucifixThis tradition uses an empty cross, proclaiming the risen Christ, rather than a crucifix.
discouraged Flag of the churchThis tradition doesn't fly a flag in worship.
discouraged Flaming chaliceThe flaming chalice is another tradition's symbol.
discouraged Hammond organA gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
discouraged IconIcons are not part of this tradition's worship.
discouraged Pipe organAn organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
discouraged StatueStatues are not part of this tradition's worship space.

What people here feel

Architectural style: Colonial brick +0.012; Modern synagogue -0.006; Gurdwara -0.012; Japanese temple -0.024; Islamic -0.03; Shinto shrine -0.03; Chinese temple -0.036; Dravidian temple -0.042; Nagara temple -0.042; Thai temple -0.042; Jain marble -0.048; Gothic -0.054.
Building fit: up to ±0.15 for everyone, the average fit of the characterful items in its worship rooms (the table below).
Acoustics: it wants a dry room, about 0.9 seconds of reverberation: carpet, padded seats, a low ceiling. Up to ±0.05.
Seasonal decor: it keeps the church year: paraments and the season's decor are worth up to ±0.000.
The teaching lands by its topic and the tradition's leaning (below); the senior pastor's preaching adds or costs up to 0.08 more.
Communion: each communion service runs longer; a slow one costs 0.05 for every 10 minutes the service runs over (0.2 at most).

How each teaching lands

The topics its leader can choose from (some are only for one faith or family), and what each is worth.

Fire & Brimstone+0.08
Marriage as God Designed+0.06
Sanctity of Life+0.06
The Last Days+0.06
Faith & Family+0.04
Faith of Our Fathers+0.04
Obedience & Discipline+0.04
Personal Holiness+0.04
Resisting Temptation+0.04
Spiritual Warfare+0.04
The Authority of Scripture+0.04
The Great Commission+0.04
Biblical Stories+0.015
Blessed Are the Peacemakers+0.015
Called by Name+0.015
Doubt & Faith+0.015
Eternal Life & Resurrection+0.015
Grace & Forgiveness+0.015
Gratitude+0.015
Hope & Comfort+0.015
Joy in All Things+0.015
Love One Another+0.015
Sabbath Rest+0.015
Saints & Witnesses+0.015
Servant Leadership+0.015
Songs of the Psalms+0.015
Stewardship & Generosity+0.015
The Church Year+0.015
The Life of Prayer+0.015
The Parables of Jesus+0.015
Care for Creation-0.05
Healing for All-0.05
Interfaith Understanding-0.05
Reading Scripture in Context-0.05
Swords into Ploughshares-0.05
The Prophets' Call-0.05
Wealth & Poverty-0.05
Welcome the Stranger-0.05
Women Who Led-0.05
Racial Justice & Reconciliation-0.075
Radical Inclusion-0.075
Social Justice Call-0.075

Every item, for this tradition

Fit runs from −1 (jars) to +1 (just right); the building fit is the average over the characterful items in the worship rooms. An item with no character (a table, a toilet) has no fit. A rule applies wherever the item is.

Item	Fit	Rule
Seating
Box pew	-1
Choir stalls	-1	discouraged This tradition's worship has no choir.
Meeting bench	no fit
Oak pew	no fit
Row of chairs	+1
Liturgical furniture
Altar	-1
Baptismal font	-1
Baptistry	no fit	required Believer's baptism by immersion needs a baptistry: a tank large enough for an adult, with plumbing to fill and drain it.
Bishop's chair	-1
Brass eagle lectern	-1
Columbarium niches	-1
Communion rail	-1
Communion station	no fit
Communion table	no fit	required The Lord's Supper is served from a communion table, recalling the table of the Last Supper.
Communion trays	no fit	expected The bread and cup are carried to the pews in trays and passed along the rows.
Confessional screen	no fit
Coptic cross	0
Epitaphios	-1
Flaming chalice	-1	discouraged The flaming chalice is another tradition's symbol.
Foot-washing basins	no fit
Haikal screen	-1
Iconostasis	-1
Immersion font	-1
Lectern	no fit
Litany desk	-1
Mercy seat	no fit
Octagonal stone font	-1
Paraments	no fit
Pulpit	no fit	required Preaching is the center of worship, so the pulpit stands at the center of the platform.
Readers' desks	no fit
Rood screen	-1
Sanctuary lamp	-1
Tabernacle	-1
Three-bar cross	0
Thurible and stand	no fit
Music
Brass band stands	-1	discouraged Brass doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Chanter's stand	-1
Drum kit	+1	expected Worship is led by a band.
Electronic organ	-1
Grand piano	0
Hammond organ	-1	discouraged A gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Handbell table	-1
Pipe organ	-1	discouraged An organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Sound system	+1	expected A band needs a sound system to be heard.
Upright piano	0
Decor
Advent wreath	no fit
Banner	0
Christmas Eve candles	no fit
Cross	0
Crucifix	-1	discouraged This tradition uses an empty cross, proclaiming the risen Christ, rather than a crucifix.
Easter lilies	no fit
Eternal flame	no fit
Flag of the church	-1	discouraged This tradition doesn't fly a flag in worship.
Great dome	-1
Icon	-1	discouraged Icons are not part of this tradition's worship.
Memorial plaque	no fit
National flag	0
Painting of Christ	0
Paschal candle	no fit
Plain spire	no fit
Small dome	no fit
Stained glass window	-1
Statue	-1	discouraged Statues are not part of this tradition's worship space.
Steeple and bells	-1
Votive candle stand	no fit
Furnishings
Alms box	no fit
Coffee pot	no fit
Commercial coffee pot	no fit
Computer	no fit
Crib	no fit
Desk	no fit
Desk chair	no fit
Folding table	no fit
Full-length mirror	no fit
Pillar	-1
Prie-dieu	-1
Projection screen	+1
Vestment cabinet	-1
Wooden table	no fit
Utility
A/V rack	no fit
Camera	no fit
Cast-iron boiler	no fit
Central air conditioner	no fit
Commercial HVAC plant	no fit
Commercial stove	no fit
Congregation van	no fit
Ductless heat pump	no fit
Electric wall heater	no fit
Gas furnace	no fit
Hearing loop	no fit
Lift	no fit
Packaged heat pump	no fit
Plumbing stack	no fit
Ramp	no fit
Shuttle bus	no fit
Sink	no fit
Solar panels	no fit
Stairs	no fit
Toilet	no fit
Used school bus	no fit
Wall camera	no fit
Window air conditioner	no fit
Grounds
Evergreen tree	no fit
Flower bed	no fit
Fountain	no fit
Garden bench	no fit
Hedge	no fit
Lychgate	-1
Playground	no fit
Shade tree	no fit
Standing cross	no fit

Sources

Chuck Smith, Calvary Chapel Distinctives (The Word For Today, 2000) (link)
Calvary Chapel Association: Statement of Faith and Philosophy of Ministry (link)
Calvary Global Network: Who We Are and Join (link)
Calvary Chapel Association (Wikipedia) (link)
Christianity Today, A Tale of Two Calvary Chapels (2017) (link)
Calvary Chapel Hanford, FAQ and Our Balance (link)
Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, leadership (link)