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Calvary Chapel: Another Wave Of The Spirit Or A Wave Of Deception?
Commentary by Roger Oakland For printer friendly version,
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There is a lot of talk these days in Christian circles about the great outpouring of the “Holy Spirit” that is just around the corner. This “outpouring” will supposedly bring “another Jesus Movement”. [1] While this would be a wonderful thing if the “spirit” was the Holy Spirit, there is reason to believe we are living at a time when “another spirit” [2] may be the spirit that is in the forefront. Not long ago, I came across a page on the Internet posting an interview done at the 2016 Calvary Chapel annual pastor’s conference held in Costa Mesa, California. The person doing the interview was Josh Turansky. The two being interviewed were Raul Ries of CC Diamond Bar and his son Ryan Ries of the Whoesoevers, a heavy rock band that promotes satanic symbolism as a means of attracting the youth to biblical Christianity.
Ryan is apparently a convert out of drugs and a Satanic worship background and proclaims to be a fully devoted born-again Christian who loves Jesus as his Savior and Lord. [4] He is promoted by both Brian Brodersen and his dad Raul as an evangelist and has been given a platform at CCCM and Calvary Diamond Bar. He is endorsed by Brian and Raul as an evangelist who is called to reach this present generation with the gospel. In order to set this commentary in a proper context and so that you can see that I am not exaggerating, please watch the following link located at: https://calvarychapel.com/series/ccspc15/view/ccspc15-backstage-josh-turansky-ryan-and-raul-ries/ The previous interview will document all that I have stated. All three participants on the video seem to think that God is about to “pour out” some sort of “spirit” in Calvary Chapel by using former drug addicts and Satanists as agents. As well, they insinuate that the first generation Calvary Chapel pastors who were tutored by Chuck Smith and are now in their ’60s and ’70s will also have a role to play. Apparently, they will receive another “anointing” as “a new Jesus Movement” unfolds and music and postmodernism will join hands to facilitate this latter-day outpouring of the spirit. While Chuck Smith did not endorse this new and coming movement of the “spirit” before he died, off the record, these men are telling lowly Calvary Chapel pastors who ask questions that they are “out of touch” and “need to get with the program” or “move on.” The Jesus Movement of the Past The very fact that I am writing this will bring another onslaught of criticism from my critiques who are “Calvary Chapelites.” I use the word “Chapelites” in order to describe a certain type of person who is prone to following men and their movements without reasoning scripturally for themselves or seeking after Jesus and His Word. In other words, many have swallowed the “Kool- aid.” They are just unable to think on their own. I know of only two first generation Calvary Chapel pastors who would agree with this assessment – John Higgins of Tempe, Arizona and Dwight Douville of Appleton, Wisconsin. John was Chuck Smith’s first associate pastor and saw some of the shortcomings from the beginning. He also knew Lonnie Frisbee personally. All of the other first generation Calvary Chapel pastors including Greg Laurie, Don McLure, Mike MacIntosh, Raul Ries, Jeff Johnston, Jon Courson, Skip Heitzig, and Bil Galatin all talk about the days when the outpouring of the Spirit was stirred when Lonnie Frisbee was present. Actually, facts show he was empowered by a spirit associated with LSD. [5] This is not speculation. If you don’t believe me check it out yourself. Or if you want further insight into Calvary Chapel and the connection with Lonnie and other questionable roots, then check out Aime Semple McPherson or see the bridge between Lonnie, Pastor Chuck, and Kathryn Kuhlman. This is not guilt by association. This was either a total lack of discernment or there was some sort of setup up for the delusion of Calvary Chapel from its very foundation that even influences the present.
There are few who are willing to come out and state the facts regarding the questionable beginnings of Calvary Chapel. Why would this be so? I am challenging all the well-known Calvary Chapel first generation pastors to comment now. Wouldn’t that set the record straight?
The following documentation reveals much about the person of Lonnie Frisbee, his personality, and the “spirit of the person. We read: Frisbee was a key figure in the Jesus movement and eyewitness accounts of his ministry documented in the 2007 Emmy-nominated film Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher explain how Frisbee became the charismatic spark igniting the rise of Chuck Smith's Calvary Chapel and the Vineyard Movement, two worldwide denominations and among the largest evangelical denominations to emerge in the last thirty years. It was said that he was not one of the hippie preachers, "there was one." The term 'power evangelism' comes from Frisbee's ministry. Some of his harshest critics for heavy use of the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit came from the churches he helped found. He also influenced many prophetic evangelists including Jonathan Land, Marc Dupont, Jill Austin and others. Frisbee co-founded the House of Miracles commune and was its main architect, converting many. The House of Miracles grew into a series of nineteen communal houses that later migrated to Oregon to form Shiloh Youth Revival Centers, the largest and one of the longest-lasting of the Jesus People communal groups.
Frisbee functioned both as an evangelical preacher also privately socialized as a gay man before and during his evangelism career. This is held in tension with the fact that he said in interviews that he never believed homosexuality was anything other than a sin in the eyes of God and both denominations prohibited gay sexual behavior. Both churches later disowned him because of his active sexual life, removing him first from leadership positions, then ultimately, firing him. He was shunned and "written out of the official histories." As part of his ostracism from his former churches his work was maligned but he forgave those who tried to discredit him before his death from AIDS in 1993. [6] What about the fact that Lonnie Frisbee was a youth pastor at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa that impacted Greg Laurie on the beach in southern California? It is a fact that Lonnie was on LSD. Did Chuck Smith know this? [7] What spirit was Greg influenced by when Lonnie laid on hands? Why has this gone undercover? [8]
So Where to from Here In order to silence the critics and to make sure this commentary has laid out all the facts, I need to bring out all the background to complete the picture. Lonnie might have been the hook or the bait to bring in the hippies off the beach, but Chuck Smith and his teaching of the Word of God was the substance or the meat that filled the spiritual void hippies and druggies were seeking after. Of course, God can use anything or anyone when revival happens. It is also true that when the true Spirit of God is poured out, Satan is also there with the counterfeit to deceive. So please do not misunderstand me: I am not saying that Calvary Chapel and the foundation of Calvary Chapel was totally wrong. What I am saying is that two things were happening in parallel and at the same time – the genuine and the opposite of the genuine. What many are still not willing to admit, at least those who experienced this original move of the Holy Spirit, is the fact that Satan was at work then too, as he is now. Another Wave of the Spirit Now or a Wave of Deception? I hear a lot of rumblings and propaganda in the media about another “outpouring of the Spirit” that will soon bring “revival” once more to the “mighty Calvary Chapel movement.” Now that Pastor Brian Brodersen has inherited the position of “top dog” at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, the annual Pastor’s Conference is the place where “new distinctives” are brought down. While such a hierarchy is fervently denied, Pastors such as Dwight Douville recently received orders from headquarters by authorities in Costa Mesa and told him to shut up or ship out because he was airing genuine concerns. Then there is the talk at large about the great outpouring of unity and ecumenism that will be initiated by the present Pope. Will the hierarchical leaders of the Calvary Chapel movement stand up against this or not? So far, their silence seems deafening. They all seem to embrace Rick Warren who embraces the Pope. Why is that happening? Are they just deluded or don’t they want to rock the boat because Brian Brodersen is calling for a “New Calvary”? Many Calvary Chapel pastors are changing their views with regards to the Bible. The following article describes what is happening very clearly. [9] It articulates the philosophy that is being echoed by Brodersen, McLure, Laurie, and others. It seems these men have rolled over a new leaf. They cannot get on the Rick Warren One-World-Religion bandwagon fast enough and all work together for the cause of good. As one observer wrote about the current trends: Can you believe with us that denominations will unite, that the races could come together, that God could make us one, as the antidote to the terrific division in our day? Could you believe with us for stadium Christianity where signs and wonders are breaking out and mass evangelism explodes across our country- the Third Great Awakening?
So asks N.A.R. affiliated false teacher Lou Engle, founder of the “Asuza Now: The Call” set for April 9th at the LA Coliseum. “We are believing for an outbreak of God’s glory that will touch the Lord on this day! If we move together, we can see a shift in the body of Christ, unto a day of greater healings and a great awakening for America!”
When Azusa Now calls all denominations, it includes the Church of Rome: “In the invisible realm, intercessors of every stripe— evangelical, charismatic, Pentecostal and Catholic—felt the silver cord tremble in our hands. If prayerless vacuums have been responsible for eventually swallowing every previous revival, then the patient wisdom of God has been made plain. The Holy Spirit has preemptively architected a massive, global Worship-Prayer-and-Missions movement. Could this sustain the next wave in perpetuity unto His return? Since any true awakening brings enormous pressure and conflict, the next great revival now has a global anchor in prayer.” (Source: Charisma Magazine) [10] If you really want to get a glimpse where this “outpouring of the Holy Ghost” is headed read an article from Charisma Magazine called “America Shall Be Saved” by Marcus Yoars.[11] The lineup of evangelists behind this outpouring is mindboggling. Greg Laurie and Franklin Graham are included with Rheinhard Bonnke and others. Who else will join in with an ecumenical hodgepodge of charismatics and non-Charismatics as well as a kickstart from the Roman Catholic Church. Where will this go now that the Reformation has been declared officially over by evangelical Christianity? What about the fact that Greg Laurie and Brian Brodersen have gone on record as Lou Engle supporters? Lou Engels is the “pied-piper” of the revival of the Azuza Street phenomenon. If you are not familiar with the so-called Asuza Revival, do some research. This so-called “outpouring” led to the Latter Rain theology that spawned the recent counterfeit revivals such as the Toronto Blessing and the Pensacola River. Is this what the “New Calvary Movement” is headed for as they are blindly led toward a coming one-world ecumenical hodgepodge of postmodern beliefs? [12] In my next commentary, I will show how all this ties together with Peter Druckerism and the formation of the church-growth movement that the New Calvary Chapel seems to be endorsing. What spirit will be poured out or will the Bible be thrown out in order to make room for the “spirit”?
[2] II Corinthians 11:3-4 [4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS---bFJRSI Ryan Ries testimony
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