You LOVE being in the Calvary Chapel fellowship of churches but are scared that your emerging church style worship will get you kicked out. I feel your pain and understand the tension. CC a great fellowship with an incredible history. In fact, my wife grew up in SoCal and was a regular at the Costa Mesa events during her college years.
Roger Oakland recently gave a clear summary of Chuck Smith Snr's stand on the emerging church and why "no Calvary Chapel pastor heading down the Emerging Church road movement would be permitted to use the name of Calvary Chapel. . . "
"We have great problems with the use of icons to give them (Emerging Church) a sense of God or the presence of God. If they want to have a tie with the historicity of the church, why not go back to the church in Acts, which seems to devoid of incense, candles, robes etc., but was filled with the Spirit." PDF, the skinny
But wait . . . before you blow out those candles and dismantle your alt. worship stations, there may be a workaround for multi-meida contemplative worship in the Calvary Chapel world.
- You could always appeal to the Second Council of Nicea 787 which names 'the pictoral icons" as something good which the church has received. But they may not appreciate church history as much as you do.
- You could appeal to Jean Luc Marion's treatise of icon vs. idol in his excellent book "The Crossing of the Visible" [clue: idols receive the 'gaze' but icons pass it on to the subject of worship] but they may not have read Marion.
- Or . . . and this might be the best idea .. . you could just set up your worship within the boundaries of acceptable Calvary Chapel practice. This sphere might actually be larger than you think and does, in fact, include space for iconic stations . . . but you have to use CC language to get away with it.
Here's the deal. I am pretty sure that Calvary Chapel, Inc will allow you to set up a "display that represents a religious viewpoint". I say this because Calvary Chapel insisted on using a multi-media station in a Christmas celebration consisting of a two-mile long Holiday Fantasy of Lights a few years ago. I was reading this on Christianity Today and since then have found the incident all over the internet.
- see Calvary Chapel Church, Inc. v. Broward County, 299 F. Supp. 2d 1295 (S.D. Fla. 2003) (holding that Broward County must include Calvary Chapel’s “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” display in its annual “Holiday Fantasy of Lights” event so long as the display identifies the Church as the speaker) [link]
What i am saying is that your multi-media worship display might be, as is was for a Calvary Chapel in Florida, a "constitutionally-protected private religious speech" (link)
Technorati Tags: calvary chapel, church, worship
You could certainly get away with it at Christmas time. Other churches do. And many Christian families set up nativity scenes which is one of the more acceptable forms of iconic worship in USA . .. OK the CROSS is a more acceptable icon . .. fair enough. . .. and the American flag in churches (which causes my Brit friends to suspect syncretism in the American church) . . but lets NOT go there right now. Especially since Calvary Chapel is involved in a ministry called Project Prayer Flag and is probably quite protective of this particular icon.
image from Project Prayer Flag. "Project Prayer Flag is a grass roots military support project, which places American Flags, inspirational bookmarks and letters of support; into the hands of those who are serving in the military." Link
Whats a nativity scene?
Well, its a Catholic innovation usually attributed to Francis of Assisi who set up a Christmas "altar" one year (1223?) to make a dramatic point, Quite a good idea, actually, and it caught on. Real animals are too smelly and too big for many churches and houses so setting up a small scene to contempla . . oops . . . i mean . . . PONDER in our hearts the significance of the birth of Jesus, is a more realistic option.
But you would not use the word 'nativity' or "creche" [and NEVER, EVER, EVER say "altar"] in the Calvary Chapel world, just as you would use "display" rather than "station"
and "meditate" rather than "contemplate"
. .. . but you know that already.
And also, if you want to take your worship further than displays and banners, you can find all kinds of interactive worship experiences in Calvary Chapel's childrens cirriculum - like this one on The Wise Men (PDF). These highly participatory worship games, puzzles and artistic experiences would work really well.
So . . . enjoy your stay in the Calvary Chapel, even if you have to run Christmas services all year long.
What about a name for your emerging church service? How about . . . alt:erNativity?
And if things get really tense for you, and CC bans all iconic forms from your worship - then . . hey . . . who needs them anyway? They dont really usher in the presence of God - despite what the CC report says about emerging church beliefs - and Chuck Smith Snr is correct when he says that the early church did not use these icons.
Although I would fight for the Lord's Supper and for baptism [which the early church DID employ]. And I would probably present, as my Baptist ancestors did, a strongly Biblical case for both, but everything else can be taken away and you can still get by. And if iconic cleansing is going to start in CC churches, then . . . and this is just a suggestion . . . maybe that FLAG should be taken out before the Cross.
[In moments like these . . . ]
image from Project Prayer Flag
Related: The Chuck Smiths on Emerging Church
Hello andrew!
This is an unrelated post, but I've just emailed you about people to hang out with and /or go to music festivals with this weekend in Prague. Just in case it gets lost in the spam filters...
Rebekah
Posted by: rebekah hieronymus | July 19, 2006 at 10:35 AM
Great post Andrew - it's a rare gift that you have being able to turn frustration (taking it that statements from CC like the ones you've linked to make you as frustrated and angry as they do me) into humour! Thanks for helping me defuse!!
Posted by: Malcolm | July 19, 2006 at 11:43 AM
*chuckle* very well said you clever guy...and good points all around
Posted by: Makeesha | July 19, 2006 at 02:01 PM
Funny, in a sad way. Thanks for the humour in very disappointing situation. Your comments about the treatment of the flag in American churches are great (even though you're "not going there") bringing a voice to my one of my frustrations. I will never forget my first Independence day Sunday worship (and every other slightly patriotic holiday after) at a new church early in my ministry when a huge flag was raised covering the cross and beautiful stained glass windows in the front of the church so the congregation stood facing a gigantic flag for worship. It gave me chills, but not in the good way.
Posted by: JMW | July 19, 2006 at 02:47 PM
Good Morning,
For once I actually agree with you on something here. I do find it troubling that American churches do have flags in their worship center. My chuch recently had a huge (~100'x50') flag on July 4th celebration with flags all around the place. I felt very uneasy about it and I told my wife that it had a resonating feeling to the Nazi regime before the outbreak of the war.
Although I dont agree with icons and using them (still a form of idolatry) I do see where the flag has become a form of idolatry. Its sad that we cant keep our worship areas pure from nationalistic ideology. Just like the church in Tampa Florida who recently let a Strip Club King speak in the pulpit, mixing politics and religion in this day and age is dangerous ground.
Blessings,
Posted by: Truth Seeker | July 19, 2006 at 03:18 PM
thanks TS
and i dont intend this post to be a criticism of CC or any church that raises a flag.
thats for someone else
Posted by: andrew (tall skinny kiwi) | July 19, 2006 at 04:00 PM
Great post, Andrew. I like the way you've approached this subject.
Posted by: Bill | July 19, 2006 at 06:29 PM
Hear hear! I have no association with the CC other than some friends, but this example can definitely be used for the broader church that quickly condemns icons without realizing their own sacred helps in worship. It comes down to being able to talk about things with out the broad sweeping accusations and a bit of common respect for others..
Posted by: Jason_73 | July 19, 2006 at 07:35 PM
A nice little critique/rant Andrew it says a lot about the ease with which the church can decide IT has got the whole worshipping Jesus thing sorted out
Posted by: Oli Douglas-Pennant | July 19, 2006 at 07:57 PM
Maybe all of the Emerging Calvary Chapels should be called Vineyard? :-)
Just Kidding!
Posted by: Eric | July 19, 2006 at 08:54 PM
CC is more of a denomination than they'll admit. I am partial to CC because one of them was my first church, but I was a youth leader for a while until I made the mistake of telling the leadership that I do not agree with a pre-trib rapture. They told me I could never teach the girls the Bible ever again, and I had to eventually leave because my duties were limited, plus the pastor was badmouthing my husband and some other people I know from the pulpit. I couldn't take it anymore so I left.
I still want to find a church that holds to many of CC's interpretation of the scriptures but I don't want to go to a church that bows before icons, prays to Mary or the "Saints" or pulls in the Roman Catholicism I've tried so hard to rid myself of. The emerging church seems like it would suit me, but the ones in my area practice prayer labyrinths and iconic prayer, etc, which frankly I find spooky. But I won't stand in the way of anyone else do it! Part of me wishes I never spoke up about my post-trib view, part of me wishes I never got involved with the CC i went to, and still part of me wishes I wasn't so creeped out by prayer labyrinths and stuff. I guess I'll just 'settle' for the purpose-driven modeled church I'm attending now...
I sure wish I could agree with the emergent church here in town, though. My husband would probably lock me up if I told him so...
What's a post-trib, scripturally conservative girl to do?
Posted by: Jody | July 19, 2006 at 10:34 PM
Eric - ROFLOL that was very funny.
Posted by: Makeesha | July 19, 2006 at 11:39 PM
forgot to mention...I was talking about this with my husband this morning and he mentioned how CC used to be what "emerging though" is today. The rebels become the establishment and the cycle continues. Tedious.
Posted by: Makeesha | July 19, 2006 at 11:41 PM
Oh, this was just too funny. I used to listen to a Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa preacher on the radio every week that I learned a lot from.
Just read this again and I'm still laughing.
Posted by: brenda | July 20, 2006 at 06:26 AM
I currently attend a CC and fortunately we don't have an american flag up front (in my experience I've only seen that in baptist churches that I can recall). I also happily haven't heard any anti-EC rhetoric, but I fear that may just be a matter of time...
I think this whole thing is really ironic since CC was the "emerging" "hippy" church 30 years ago. Now it's the establishment. Kinda sad.
Posted by: db smith | July 20, 2006 at 04:44 PM
This whole post reminded me of how 25 years ago, CC was vehemently opposed to Vineyard. CCers regularly and passionately told us (who were attending a vineyard) that we were in a dangerous cult.
Not sure I got the connotations of the previous comment about just calling emerging CC's a vinyard, sorry if I'm just repeating that observation...
Posted by: Chris(tine) | July 20, 2006 at 06:11 PM
If you want icons, you should become a Southern Baptist! We love them. We just dedicated one to Billy Graham at the last convention in Greensboro, NC in June. The president of the SBC, Dr. Bobby Welch, upon the dedication of the statue said, "“When you see it there in Nashville in the months ahead, you will be overwhelmingly stunned by the presence of the Lord, and the power of what this all stands for.” 'Nuff said! We'll be starting our dialogue with the Greek Orthodox Church soon, I'm sure!
Check out this link if you want to see a picture of what I'm talking about: http://bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=23478 . Talk about give you chills!
In reality, it is hilarious how we criticize others but have our own massive blind spots. Great post, Andrew. Almost as funny as The Princess Bride post.
Posted by: Alan Cross | July 20, 2006 at 08:00 PM
on the flag: I don't necessarily have a problem with that, lots of church have American flags in their church along with (usually), the flags of the countries where they have missionaries or flags of the countries where their members are from...or whatever.
I can understand the syncretism comment but I think it might be a bit of a stretch to make that accusation for most American churches that have the Am. flag.
I have to LOL at the SBC/Billy Graham "icon" post.
Posted by: Makeesha | July 21, 2006 at 02:42 AM
That picture with the flag in the stadium, and the helicopters above looks like some kind of patriotic nativity scene.
Posted by: Buck Eschaton | July 21, 2006 at 03:51 AM
Andrew, I was founded in Calvary Chapel for the first eight years of my walk. I attended Calvary Chapel Bible College and I became an assistant pastor and worship leader for a few years during my experience there.
I have approached the "emerging church" with a conservative view, along with the majority of others I partake with. Thus, we have gone down the stream of "emerging" while keeping our evangelical roots, if that makes sense.
What I see happening with Calvary Chapel in the future is this. The Calvary's of the past are getting old and staying primarily fundamental in their approach to culture and because of that we have seen a decline in the smaller, older Calvary Chapel's that don't make the headlines. The young guys that are coming out of those Calvary's are fresh and willing to experiment with church structure. They aren't necessarily condoning the ‘Emergent Church” entirely but they are influence by the conversation. We have churches like “Reality” with Britt Merrick, “Worship Generation” with Joey Buran, and even a recent find, Bob Franquiz of “Calvary Fellowship” in Miami. Also Jon Courson, a long time Calvary favorite is currently experimenting with the current model of church at Applegate Christian Fellowship in Oregon. Even I personally, as devoted as I was to the “Calvary Chapel Denomination” have gone my own way. Even with an attachment that I will always have with Calvary I see a need to become missional in today’s culture, just as Calvary did in the 70’s.
One more note. I believe when Chuck Sr. is no longer with us 50% of modern day Calvary’s will disband. The majority love Chuck but they can’t stand what “Calvary Chapel” has become. And who’s going to take over? No one can fill Smith Sr. shoes; no one can even come close.
Posted by: wes | July 22, 2006 at 09:25 AM
As a Lutheran-gone-Vineyard-gone-Calvary-gone-Vineyard-gone-Covenant I can say that CC's definitely score high marks toward propagating the iconophobia that has plagued certain streams of Christian thought since the Reformation. But as Wes has pointed out, there's a way to jump ship without going off the deep end.
Posted by: Susan | July 22, 2006 at 02:51 PM
This will explain a lot, except to the critics:
http://theresurgence.com/taxonomy/term/90
Posted by: David | July 24, 2006 at 08:06 AM
david - i read that but am not sure what it explains. Driscoll might respect CC, as i do, but i am sure he is not going to get rid of his 30 pound candles just to keep another fellowship happy.
We can be united but we dont all have to be exactly the same.
Posted by: andrew (tall skinny kiwi) | July 24, 2006 at 08:59 AM
Or how about this (if you are a calvary chapelite who sees eye to eye with the "Emerging Church")...Since Calvary Chapel has formally separated itself from the "Emerging Church" and icons, don't go to one (Calvary Chapel).
Why would you try and call yourself a Calvary Chapel person, if in actuality you differ from CC values and beliefs. Apples are not oranges, oranges are not apples. CC churches are not "emerging", emerging churches are not CC.
It wouldn't be respectful or honest to a CC church (or yourself) to attempt to bring differing beliefs/philosophies in through the "back door". If you have an issue, take it in formally the right way. If you don't want to...find another church.
Posted by: Servy | July 31, 2006 at 05:16 PM
Don't get distracted by the "stuff". Keep the Jesus central. Keep the teaching of His Word central. Follow in the pattern of the original Church. Call it whatever you want. Worship Christ in every aspect of your lives. Who cares if you disagree on format, style or taste, if you do the essentials. Keep the main thing the main thing. Stop the childish "tounge in cheek" comments about who disagrees with you. Just be obediant to the Lord, He will tell you what He wants you to do.
Posted by: Patrick Steele | August 02, 2006 at 02:47 AM