Traditional Worship in the Calvary Chapel

[The Liturgist]

Having read with interest Chuck Smith’s Calvary Chapel Distinctives , I did not get the sense that there was anything prohibiting traditional or even liturgical worship in a Calvary Chapel, provided that the focus of the service was entirely Christocentric, and the preaching was based on exposition of the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation.

So I thought I would ask you - is there anything I am missing, or would a service with traditional hymns and music focused on our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ be acceptable? And could such a service use liturgical prayer, for instance, something like the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, albeit modified to use lectio continua and to delete aspects of the services less Christologically focused?

If liturgical or other traditional worship is possible, what requirements do you think it would need to be theologically acceptable to the Calvary Chapel? For example, how would baptisms be handled? How frequently should the Lord’s Supper be served? Would it be appropriate to use fermented wine mixed with hot water, or straight wine, or unfermented musk or grape juice in the Lord’s Supper? I wasn’t clear from Chuck Smith’s book what his Eucharistic theology was. Is a cross on a simple altar acceptable? Stained glass windows or icons depicting our Lord? Can scriptures in addition to the scripture the sermon is focused on be read, or in the case of the Psalms and Evangelical Canticles, sung?

 

[Pavel Mosko]

hmmmm I never got the impression Calvary Chapel was into this stuff, and I have watched a fair amount of their videos over the years and had a decent amount of "Convergence" movement experience (Where Pentecostals and Charismatics use traditional Christian liturgy etc.). But maybe I will learn something new....

 

[chevyontheriver]

Having read with interest Chuck Smith’s Calvary Chapel Distinctives , I did not get the sense that there was anything prohibiting traditional or even liturgical worship in a Calvary Chapel, provided that the focus of the service was entirely Christocentric, and the preaching was based on exposition of the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation.

So I thought I would ask you - is there anything I am missing, or would a service with traditional hymns and music focused on our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ be acceptable? And could such a service use liturgical prayer, for instance, something like the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, albeit modified to use lectio continua and to delete aspects of the services less Christologically focused?

If liturgical or other traditional worship is possible, what requirements do you think it would need to be theologically acceptable to the Calvary Chapel? For example, how would baptisms be handled? How frequently should the Lord’s Supper be served? Would it be appropriate to use fermented wine mixed with hot water, or straight wine, or unfermented musk or grape juice in the Lord’s Supper? I wasn’t clear from Chuck Smith’s book what his Eucharistic theology was. Is a cross on a simple altar acceptable? Stained glass windows or icons depicting our Lord? Can scriptures in addition to the scripture the sermon is focused on be read, or in the case of the Psalms and Evangelical Canticles, sung?

Too interesting a question not to follow.

 

[RileyG]

subscribing

 

[Brian Mcnamee]

Having read with interest Chuck Smith’s Calvary Chapel Distinctives , I did not get the sense that there was anything prohibiting traditional or even liturgical worship in a Calvary Chapel, provided that the focus of the service was entirely Christocentric, and the preaching was based on exposition of the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation.

So I thought I would ask you - is there anything I am missing, or would a service with traditional hymns and music focused on our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ be acceptable? And could such a service use liturgical prayer, for instance, something like the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, albeit modified to use lectio continua and to delete aspects of the services less Christologically focused?

If liturgical or other traditional worship is possible, what requirements do you think it would need to be theologically acceptable to the Calvary Chapel? For example, how would baptisms be handled? How frequently should the Lord’s Supper be served? Would it be appropriate to use fermented wine mixed with hot water, or straight wine, or unfermented musk or grape juice in the Lord’s Supper? I wasn’t clear from Chuck Smith’s book what his Eucharistic theology was. Is a cross on a simple altar acceptable? Stained glass windows or icons depicting our Lord? Can scriptures in addition to the scripture the sermon is focused on be read, or in the case of the Psalms and Evangelical Canticles, sung?

Hi I go to Calvary Chapel San Jose and we use many of the old Hymns about 50% or more. The Calvary model or distinctives has loosened since Brian Broderson took over and the movement as a whole is less centralized in influence and seems to be moving more emergent in many areas. The head pastor has a lot of latitude in bringing in the things he finds important. So a wide variety of substances are fitting under the umbrella of the distinctives.

 

[LizaMarie]

I attended Calvary Chapel out in So Calif in the early to mid 70's and again in the late 80's early '90's.
(I quit going to church in between.) I was in my teens in the early to mid 70's
Raised and confirmed LCMS. There is much about Calvary Chapel that I like but it seemed to
me that they were against "ritual." which we would call liturgy and also they were much more
similar to the Baptist method of believer's Baptism and symbolic only communion.(no sacraments only ordinances.)
As posted above maybe they have loosened on some of that. I do remember them being against "ritual." and against infant Baptism.
I really did like both Chuck Smith and Greg Laurie. I remember Greg Laurie did go to London a number of years ago and preach in an Anglican Church. (May have been more low church Anglican.)

 

[Unqualified]

Having read with interest Chuck Smith’s Calvary Chapel Distinctives , I did not get the sense that there was anything prohibiting traditional or even liturgical worship in a Calvary Chapel, provided that the focus of the service was entirely Christocentric, and the preaching was based on exposition of the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation.

So I thought I would ask you - is there anything I am missing, or would a service with traditional hymns and music focused on our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ be acceptable? And could such a service use liturgical prayer, for instance, something like the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, albeit modified to use lectio continua and to delete aspects of the services less Christologically focused?

If liturgical or other traditional worship is possible, what requirements do you think it would need to be theologically acceptable to the Calvary Chapel? For example, how would baptisms be handled? How frequently should the Lord’s Supper be served? Would it be appropriate to use fermented wine mixed with hot water, or straight wine, or unfermented musk or grape juice in the Lord’s Supper? I wasn’t clear from Chuck Smith’s book what his Eucharistic theology was. Is a cross on a simple altar acceptable? Stained glass windows or icons depicting our Lord? Can scriptures in addition to the scripture the sermon is focused on be read, or in the case of the Psalms and Evangelical Canticles, sung?

Why would you want to do all that? In my CC we are traditional sometimes. We can do whatever we want Christ centered. I like my CC. We don’t need ritual and I think the new movement is toward the youth of the world as well.

 

[The Liturgist]

Why would you want to do all that? In my CC we are traditional sometimes. We can do whatever we want Christ centered. I like my CC. We don’t need ritual and I think the new movement is toward the youth of the world as well.

Well my question is, would a liturgy be allowed if it focused the attention of the congregation on Christ as per the distinctives?

I should note I am not talking about ritual for the sake of ritual, but rather liturgy in service of Christ. One thing Chuck Smith wrote in Calvary Chapel Distinctives was a paragraph sharply criticizing a church he visited in Europe which had a long contemporary dance routine that was not, in his opinion, edifying in terms of having anything to do with salvation through our faith in the Lord. One thing I like about liturgy is that it can be used to exclude or prevent needless ritual, since basically what a liturgy is is a defined order of service or rule of worship.

 

[Unqualified]

Liturgy…. That’s religion. I personally don’t want to be associated with the one world religion. Liturgy, Catholicism, orthodoxy is not what we are about. We are about the Bible and following Jesus.

 

[chevyontheriver]

Liturgy…. That’s religion. I personally don’t want to be associated with the one world religion. Liturgy, Catholicism, orthodoxy is not what we are about. We are about the Bible and following Jesus.

And when I think of 'religion' (in the bad sense) it's TV preachers in fancy voice reading their pet Bible verses. telling me what I have to believe, asking for money, and singing smaltzy songs. Give me a liturgy any day. At least that's me and others praising and adoring God and no TV's or Jumbotrons to be seen. Mileage varies. I'd take the liturgies (with their Bible readings) and dump most of the rest in following Jesus.

 

[RileyG]

I attended Calvary Chapel out in So Calif in the early to mid 70's and again in the late 80's early '90's.
(I quit going to church in between.) I was in my teens in the early to mid 70's
Raised and confirmed LCMS. There is much about Calvary Chapel that I like but it seemed to
me that they were against "ritual." which we would call liturgy and also they were much more
similar to the Baptist method of believer's Baptism and symbolic only communion.(no sacraments only ordinances.)
As posted above maybe they have loosened on some of that. I do remember them being against "ritual." and against infant Baptism.
I really did like both Chuck Smith and Greg Laurie. I remember Greg Laurie did go to London a number of years ago and preach in an Anglican Church. (May have been more low church Anglican.)

So it is very similar to Baptists or other Evangelicals? Interesting.

 

[LizaMarie]

So it is very similar to Baptists or other Evangelicals? Interesting.

Yes I would say so.

 

[RileyG]

Yes I would say so.

That doesn't surprise me.