November 28 - The Calvary Chapel Association Announces Complete Separation from Brian and Cheryl Brodersen, Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, and the Calvary Chapel Global Network
Article: Miscellaneous
The following letter
was sent out worldwide to Calvary Chapel Pastors by the Calvary Chapel
Association. The letter requires no comment.
November 28, 2016
Calvary Chapel Pastors,
Pastor Chuck Smith
chose a group of men to lead the Calvary Chapel movement after his
passing. The Calvary Chapel Association Council was a plan he reiterated
on numerous occasions. A Council provides checks and balances, and a
collective wisdom to help steer us in the right direction.
The CCA Council
consists of men from across the country who are committed to the core
values that have made us Calvary Chapel. Like many of you, we have given
our lives to build Calvary Chapel churches. What makes the 1700 churches
“Calvary Chapel” are the values Pastor Chuck instilled in us - our
doctrine and philosophy of ministry. The principles we were taught and
the transformative power of God’s Spirit have proven to be more than
sufficient. The CCA Council’s primary goal is to maintain what has been
our Calvary Chapel identity for fifty years, while seeking the Holy
Spirit for fresh power and wisdom to advance God’s Kingdom.
We believe Calvary
Chapel has a unique and important role in the Body of Christ. Pastor
Chuck left us a glorious legacy. Yet the new Calvary Chapel Global
Network, established by Brian Brodersen, now threatens that legacy. This
network goes by the name “Calvary Chapel,” but has no framework for
affiliation or required commitment to the Calvary Chapel core values.
Such a network will ultimately de-emphasize our Calvary Chapel
distinctives. The CCGN establishes a different version of Calvary
Chapel, and will cause confusion. Brian claims the authority to
represent, and even more critically, to define, what Calvary Chapel is
and is not. In a recent letter to the movement, Brian quoted Amos 3:3,
"Can two walk together unless they are agreed?" Brian’s resignation from
the Council, acknowledges he disagrees with the way the CCA Council
would lead and define Calvary Chapel. This has created a crossroads that
none of us on the Council wanted.
The division that has
occurred in Calvary Chapel is not a minor issue. It is more than “good
men separating.” Sadly, Brian is insisting on being the primary and
authoritative voice of the movement without being accountable to the men
Pastor Chuck chose to lead. The CCA Council cannot endorse this Global
Network. Brian continues to present his version as the Calvary Chapel
vision for the future. Brian has sole editorial control of
calvarychapel.com. His webpage “Our Vision & Mission” describes the site
as “the one-stop online-hub for all things Calvary Chapel” - and part of
its purpose is to “explain the official theological positions broadly
held by the Calvary Chapel Movement.” In the CCGN, one man is tasked in
determining what is normative for all Calvary Chapels. None of the CCA
Council members would take that kind of authority into our own hands. We
recognize that no one man has the calling from God, or the stature in
the movement to define “official theological positions” for all the
churches. Our founder and pastor entrusted those decisions to a group of
men, not one man.
CCA is built on the
foundations given to us by Pastor Chuck.
CCGN is creating a new
blueprint devised by Brian.
CCA is being led
collectively by a group of men.
CCGN will be directed
by one man.
CCA is a fellowship of
pastors with an agreed upon philosophy of ministry.
CCGN is a community
with no formal affiliation.
CCA will continue to
have a regional emphasis.
CCGN will be
centralized in Costa Mesa.
CCA has always afforded
great freedom, but with a degree of accountability.
CCGN is about freedom,
without accountability.
To avoid confusion
moving forward, we think it is best to separate the CCA from the CCGN,
now. Calvary Chapel is not just one church in Costa Mesa, it is 1700
churches that are affiliated through the Calvary Chapel Association. In
spite of this, Brian has taken it on himself to “grandfather” the entire
Calvary Chapel database into a network where he alone is the authority.
Rather than granting us the freedom to join, Brian has forced us to
choose to opt out.
As Council members we
will not be part of Brian’s network, and we encourage other pastors who
are affiliated with CCA to do the same. Rather than start a new group,
Brian is building a group within an existing association. We believe
this is divisive and will only bring further confusion. Yet each CCA
pastor is entitled to make his own decision. For many pastors these
issues are new and need to be given thorough consideration.
This splintering of our
movement has been painful in many ways, but the CCA Council is relieved
that we can now walk in unity and work to strengthen the foundations
that have made Calvary Chapel a mighty move of God. Despite our best
efforts, for the last three years, storm clouds have been gathering that
were obvious to many people. It has caused our Calvary family confusion
and grief. But the storm is now passing. New beginnings are ahead. Our
vision is clearer and the future is brighter. Once again, let’s depend
on the Holy Spirit’s empowering, abide in God’s Word, and trust Him in
new ways. As our Pastor taught us, life is full of ventures of faith.
This is one more.
The Calvary Chapel
Association Council
Sandy Adams, Malcolm
Wild, Joe Focht, Don McClure, Lloyd Pulley, Bill Stonebreaker, Damian
Kyle, Jack Hibbs, David Rosales, Mike MacIntosh, Raul Ries, Jeff
Johnson, David Guzik
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