priests, selling episcopates, having a chain of command, putting everyone under a pope, etc. During the Reformation this system received a fatal wound, and now we see the remnants of papal authority as mere artifacts for the superstitious. No longer are unauthorized ministers hunted down, tortured, and burned at the stake, in other words.

However, the modern church still has its ordination process by which only those who have a certificate can preach. The Episcopalian church, for instance, ordains homosexuals. The Pentecostal churches commonly ordain adulterers (once they have divorced and remarried under an ordained Pentecostal minister of course). In order to get a certificate for preaching, you still must pay the piper, in other words.

The only place left for unauthorized preachers is the street. If an authorized preacher tries to gain support from any local church, he is met with apologies, empty promises or just plain condemnation. Any church, whether it be two thousand years old and has 250 million followers, or a church of a dozen just started yesterday, will not give support to local street preachers. They will only support them if they bear the name of their church as the way to Jesus Christ, which is of course, heresy.

And so, the Catholic Church and her daughters continue the tradition of suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, and that´s why God is giving them over to homosexuality as final proof. It starts with making the women rule over the men, then the children, and finally the effeminate man is put into authority over the church.

These are hard words but true. What men will preach the truth, as unauthorized as it may be?  If you are a man and claim to be a Christian, you should check out the street preacher and see if he is telling the truth. You should not condemn him because he sounds like a man (or a "bullhorn" for those who have learned the feminized gospel). 

Please let this unauthorized bullhorn message sink down into your innermost being:  "Repent."

Chris Simonson - 8/29/2007

Let Us Contend

As Christians, and brothers, God has called us to contend earnestly for the Faith (Jude 1); it is a daunting, ongoing task. The reason we pursue such a task in spite of opposition is because there are certain men who have crept in unawares, whom are attempting to turn the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ into lasciviousness. So, as Christians, brethren and elders of the Church it is our commitment (inspired by the Spirit) and out of our love for God's word, and love also for the Brethren which He has given us, to contend earnestly for the Faith.

This word contend can be translated fight for, fight with... as in battle; the war which is now being waged against Christendom is doing so to destroy the faith of the faithful, to tear down our guard through ease and comfort. Many Brethren have thus fallen asleep. Continuing their religious traditional appearance, they have all but walked away from Christ... choosing the pleasures of this earth, rather than esteeming the reproach of Christ.Instead of following Moses, whom turned down the treasures of Egypt, these men have followed the way of Cain (whose offering the Lord did not respect).

This battle is being waged on all fronts; it is even waged in our families. Some Brethren have testified of the truth of the prophet Micah's words: "For the son dishonoureth the father, the daughter riseth up against her mother, the daughter in law against her mother in law; a man's enemies [are] the men of his own house." (Micah 7:6)

Our Lord also emphasized this: "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes [shall be] they of his own household." (Matthew 10:34-36)

The war it rages in our fellowships and congregations. "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 1 Timothy 6:10 These fellowships and congregations bear the brunt of the damnable heresies and diabolical liars brought in by false teachers and false prophets, whom via sweet sermons and con-men's tactics, will make merchandise of you. (2 Peter 2:1-3)

This war is being fought also among our wives and children: "[As for] my people, children [are] their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause [thee] to err, and destroy the way of thy paths." Isaiah 3:12 The rise of unchecked feminism and the doctrine of 'free love', tolerated by those whom call themselves 'Christians,' is trying to destroy the very foundation upon which Christendom has been built. Through rampant adultery and fornications the modern church has become anaemic and hardened to sin. The end result is the acceptance and tolerance of the most defiled of perversions, like homosexuality, which the modern church has but almost embraced; this is despite the over 2000 years wherein such actions and sin Christendom universally condemned in concordance with the Scriptures, knowing God's wrath abides upon the presence of such evils. (Romans 1:18-32)

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;" Romans 1:18

Brethren, God has called us to be faithful despite the advances of the evil one. He has throughly equipped us for such battles, so let us gird our loins with Truth, our feet being shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace, having the breastplate of Righteousness, putting on the helmet of Salvation, taking up the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

As an Olympic runner, let us run the race to win... fearing the Lord instead of man. Let us contend earnestly for the Faith, even knowing the days ahead will wax worse.

"But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned [them];" 2 Timothy 3:13-14

"Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of [this] life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." 2 Timothy 2:3-4

"But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry." 2 Timothy 4:5

Steven - 8/28/2007

1. Be committed to preaching the Gospel. If you are going to preach, then commit yourself; once a week is a great way to start. The most effective way to preach is continually being out there.

2. Find some brethren, at least one, to go with you.

3. Spend some time in the Scriptures with the brethren you are going out preaching with (before you go out), and have a time of prayer, specifically for the brethren, and their families and that the hearts would be open to receive the Gospel.

4. Try to connect with some local fellowships; not so much to proselytize, but to find brethren that are like-minded. Sometimes, you will find a fellowship with other brethren willing to spend time preaching the Gospel. Avoid bringing out groups to advertise this fellowship or that fellowship; it appears schismatic and often lead to agendas other than the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

5. Find some good gospel tracts. A lot of times people will try to find specific tracts relating to specific types of people, but the fact is that all people fall short of the glory of God and are in need of a Savior, and you can't ever go wrong picking a tract with the basic, Gospel message. The tracts should focus on the fact that to reject Christ has eternal consequences. Avoid the 'god-shaped hole in your heart', 'five steps to spiritual success', type of tracts; these type of tracts skip daintily around eternal damnation and are often void of the Gospel, leading to false converts. Avoid tracts that have a contract signature on them, as if one will now go to heaven because they signed the tract.

6. The most important event is the preparation before you go preach. Memorize Scripture; I recommend putting Scriptures on index cards, like makeshift flash-cards. This is important as many times people are in a hurry and you usually only have 1-2 minutes to present the Gospel to someone. This is where Scripture memory really comes in handy, as you may not have time to pull out your Bible to find that specific Scripture to communicate the Gospel; many times they respond better when Bible verses are presented, with responses of "What do you mean by that?" or "What does that mean?", which is better than winning the lottery as you get to explain the Gospel further.

7. When you go to the streets, take a specific area of the block or a particular corner, so the people get to know you there. Find a corner about 8-10 feet away from any entry/egress door, as not to block, and make sure your team stays away from standing in the middle of the sidewalk. When you present the tract, a good way to break the ice is to say "This is about Jesus." It is good to extol the name of the Lord every chance you get. Keep an eye on your team.

8. Continually pray to yourself while preaching, for conviction as people walk by and for repentance of sin. If you have time, pray for the brothers around you, pray for the Body of Christ in your area, and for those whom feed the flock. Pray for the persecuted Church. Pray that people would be drawn to you to hear the Gospel.

9. People respond to tracts mostly because they have something tangible in their hands, and sometimes feel obligated to inquire as to what the message is about.

10. Remember that when you present the Gospel it is always by faith; you don't know whether someone is going to come to Christ that day, or two years from then, or even at all. You go out because you are being obedient to the Scripture to peach the Good news of Jesus Christ, not because you see people 'coming to Christ'. That thinking is a common error and will often lead to frustration; you are not there to bean-count, but are there to present the Gospel. Whether you see them respond to the Gospel in repentance or respond to it by rejecting it, the Gospel is always effective; the word of God never comes back void.

So, when we are preaching the Gospel, we must have a Kingdom perspective, knowing we are winning souls for the Kingdom, through the work of the Holy Spirit. We should keep this in mind when we find ourselves hasty to ‘see’ people come to Christ. It is Christ whom is ultimately responsible for His Church and His Body; we are but mere servants of our Lord to present His Gospel.

Steven - 8/24/2007

Ministry In India

The following is a ministry newsletter from a Brother in India whom is preaching the Gospel to his surrounding area and running an orphanage out of his home, along with his wife and two children. Over the last month I have been corresponding with him:

MINISTRY NEWS FOR THE MONTH OF JULY 2007.

1 – July – 07 Monday to 7 – July – 07 Saturday.

During in this week I and my team brothers were worked among the tribal community. In 4 villages we are done the Lord’s work by conducting public street meetings beside the roads and tracts distribution and praying for the sick.

Daytime tracts distribution and praying for the sick and nighttime at 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm public Gospel meeting beside the road. We have been conducted 4 meetings in every meeting 45 to 52 people are attended. When we were conducting meetings some Hindu people came and given much trouble, when the meeting time they were stop the power and came with staff to beat us. But God wonderfully escaped us all of their wrong doings, and God has healed one sick woman who is Nagamma 53 year’s old suffering with leg pains since two years unable to walk. Some people are brought her to meeting at nighttime. We had prayed to her. Now she is fine and happy.

Please pray for these village people, they were very poor suffering for their daily bread and living very small huts. It is a great need to work among them continually.

9 – July – 07 Monday to 14 – July – 07 Saturday.

During in this week we have worked in Krishna district in 4 remote villages among the strong Hindus and Muslims. In Krishna district there are number of villages are very far for the town. And any preacher not reach them and even today they do not know about Jesus. In Krishna district in one of the rural remote village one of team brother work since few years among the Hindus.

Since many days we are looking to work such unreached villages. Really it is very danger and hard to work to those villages. In every village 3800 to 6000 people were living, they were worshiping idols and trees. We have distributed tracts door to door, person to person and said little about the Gospel and said to them for to know more about Gospel please come for street meeting. Every day daytime tracts distribution and praying for the sick. In two villages some people are very much willing to hear the word of God and two villages strongly rejected and beat us.

In fact there is a lot of work here to do and we are the first preachers introduce the Jesus. But few people are touched by the word of God and saying come every week and young people also very interested to know Good News. Please kindly pray there is great need to work continually among them.

16 – July – 07 Monday to 21 – July – 07 Saturday.

During in this week we have worked among the young people who are living in dark life. Many young men and women living without even knowledge of Jesus and living, as they like. In fact they have all kinds of bad habits and some affected HIV/AIDS.

The Lord has guided us to work among them. Through megaphone and personal Evangelism and tracts distribution we preach the Gospel among them. Few young men interested to hear the word of God and many are fully rejected. There is lot of need to work continually among them.

23 – July – 07 Monday to 28 – July – 07 Saturday.

During in this week I and my team brothers worked in Krishna district another 4 villages. 4 villages are very remote and so far for the town and they do not about Jesus Christ. If we search we did not find any one Christian.

Through street Evangelism, tracts distribution and street Evangelism we have preached the word of God. In public places people stand as a group, there we preach the Gospel through megaphone. In fact they were very much interested to hear the word of God. Very clearly we explain them and they were very much happy and two persons are brought us to their homes for to pray for their sick people. When we prayed for the sick people God has healed them. Please kindly see the two healing stories.

1. Ramasubba 32 yrs old woman suffering with long disease of backbone pain and unable to walk. Now she is fine and backbone pain gone. 2. Rukthika 49 yrs woman suffering with long time stomach pain. Now is fine and pain gone.

30 – July – 07 Monday to 31 – July – 07 Tuesday.

During in these two days we had worked our local places and visited church members houses and conducted on cottage prayer meeting.

Really there is a great need to work continually in Krishna district. One of our team brother Pastor Srinivasa Rao working there since few years among the Hindus, very hardly he is working. They are 29 church members all are very poor people; they were worshiping in a small hut.

Among the Hindus in many needs and problems he is working faithfully and sincerely. Many times his thatched church burn by the Hindus and beat by them and God escaped him from the dangerous conditions.

In fact I and my team brothers are living for Christ to fill full His work. In fact we always need your kind prayers and encouragement to reach the unreached.

Yours in His Services, K.Edukondalu - Pastor

2nd Ward
Repalle -522 265
Guntur Dist
A.P.India

Information Blog - 8/22/2007

Suffering Under Barrenness

Recently, I heard of a couple whom, even after years of marriage, were unable to have any children of their own... and chose to adopt. There are some married couples whom, as hard as they try and desire children, God has withheld said blessing from them, thus the solution of adoption appears to be more and more prevalent. I am not against adoption in any way, however, when considering adoption the couple in question should also consider their motives for doing so. Hopefully, it is not merely to achieve some picturesque dream of a family, or religious, social status. Most importantly we must recognize that God is the author of life, the One whom is behind the giving of life and the taking also thereof.

God tests us in various ways to see if we will have faith in Him through trials and tribulation. For many married couples they face this heart-rendering trial of barrenness. BUT, as in all trails, we must test everything in the light of God's Word through faith, knowing that God, our Lord, can bring us children through His will, if we just take an ounce of Faith and trust in Him.

The idea of barrenness as a trial is not a new concept, but is spoken of in many occasions in Scripture, such as Sarah, whom was promised a son in her old age (the news of which she laughed at). It was a test of faith for both her and her husband Abraham. Now, God does not promise that all women will bear children such as Sarah; she was chosen by God to bear a child whom would carry on the line of Israel. (Genesis 17)

The tendency of sin is to doubt what God has clearly promised to us. As a result of this doubt in Sarah and Abraham, Israel has always had a thorn in it's side: the descendants of Hagar's son, Ishmael... a people whom, to this day, are hell-bent-intent on running the Jewish people into the sea.

So believers, have you pursued your own wants or desires, in spite of your 'faith' in God? Are you prepared to suffer the consequences of such disobedience? Or, will you trust the Lord of Hosts, the God of all Creation, by faith, to provide His promise?

Steven - 8/20/2007

Men today talk a lot about God's love. They present God's love as a message of hope for depressed people or scared people. I suppose there is nothing wrong with that, if the message also allows room for the truth. The message of God's love is one of salvation, not a "fix-it" for making life here on earth easier or better.

Depression and fear are direct results of sin. If there were no sin, everything and everybody would be happy. There would be no pain, sorrow, sickness or death. This is not the case. Sin has brought all of these things into the world. The effects of sin are everywhere and deeply embedded into the matrix of the world. Without defining sin, except to say it leads to death and destruction, we will use it to define salvation.

"Salvation is deliverance from sin."

Sin has separated mankind from God. Sin has not only brought the curse of death, but it has also cut us off from any hope for reconciliation with God. That is, it has cut us off if we seek to please God in our fallen condition. He totally rejects our efforts. He sees our attempts to be good as filthy rags. His wrath is upon all who refuse to come to him on his terms instead of their own. Sin has made the minds of men into confused, hell-bent thinking machines determined to prove God wrong at every turn. Man proclaims his own righteousness and his love for God; God makes the final decision.

Sin therefore is the problem. There is another problem, closely related to sin. In the Garden of Eden story, sin enters the world through the disobedience of one man, Adam. However, there are a couple of steps to this. God says, "Don't." The serpent says, "Do. " Eve says "O.K." She does and then so does Adam. There is a serpent. He is the old adversary, the devil, Satan. He is crafty and appears as an angel of light. His servants appear as ministers of righteousness. With his deceptions working on us from the outside, and sin working on us from the inside, what possible chance do we have to be delivered from the effect of sin?

"Salvation is deliverance from sin."

God is righteous and holy. We are not. We sin daily and God hates it. He must do something about it. He has shown us what is right. The Ten Commandments, for instance, show the righteous requirements of a God who is holy. He tells us that if we break the law, then we must die. If we keep the law, we will live. He is right; we are wrong. Therefore, by the righteous requirements of the law, we must die.

However, that is not the end of the story. Throughout the Old Testament, there are promises of salvation. We see in the law of God provisions for payment of sins committed. We see the promise that if a man turns from his sin, he will be pardoned by God even if he has committed terrible things in the past. We hear from the prophets that there will be a Messiah, a Christ, who will redeem his people from their sins. This Messiah will deliver the chosen people from their enemies and reign over them forever and ever. This is how it is presented in the Old Testament to the Jews.

In the New Testament, we find that the promises given to the Jews are now open to the Gentiles through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We find that Jesus is the promised Christ. We see him crucified, bearing the sins of the world in final payment for all sins, past, present and future. We find the true repentance in believing in Jesus and calling him Lord. We behold the love of the Father. We find adoption as sons through the Spirit of God. We tremble as we hear, as never before told, that the earth and its ways will be consumed in fire, that the wicked will be cast into the lake of fire along with that old serpent, the devil, Satan.

There will be a new heaven and a new earth. There will never again be pain, sorrow, sickness or death. Only the righteous will be allowed. These are those who have washed their clothes in the blood of the Lamb. They have come out of the great tribulation that vexed both man and all creation. They will live forever with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ. They will see their Father and be loved by him for eternity. This is salvation.

Chris Simonson - 8/17/2007

How to Tell the Difference Between Up & Down

Our society has been infected with far eastern religious thought. These religions teach that there are many paths to god, and many gods. There is no 'evil' except preconceived notions about reality, and even this is not really evil. Good is only in the mind of the beholder. Only problem is, with this philosophy, we wind up judging good to be evil, and evil to be good. We speak evil against preachers of the gospel; good towards smiling liars.

Jesus spent more time warning against hell than he did speaking of heaven. Heaven was up, hell was down. He knew that in order to get to heaven a man must avoid hell. He didn´t make up little positive-sounding sermons so we didn´t think about our sinful condition before a righteous God. If we read the gospel of John, we won´t find much in there about warnings, but we do find Jesus saying, "The world hates me because I testify against it, that its deeds are evil." John must have been relying on the fact that the other gospels already covered this material in detail, which they do.

Sometimes, it becomes a little complicated though when we try to distinguish good from evil. Many Christians say we are not to rely upon our feelings. Those who say this usually rely upon their feelings 90% of the time, so platitudes don´t help. Many Christians go to church faithfully and rely upon the teachings of their church. But this does not insure that they know good from evil.

If they have been taught that only the blood of Jesus Christ can pay for their sins, and they understand what that means, it is well. If they trust in Christ for their deliverance, their sustenance, their happiness and their fulfillment, then they know the Good One, God Himself.

However, in the modern church we find a tolerance for other methods of salvation. We don´t know up from down. The words, `believe in Jesus,´ can mean anything, depending on what part of earth you´re from. Left is right and right is left. Darkness and light cannot be distinguished. If one tries to distinguish the good from the evil, he is told, "Judge not."

Those who condemn efforts to judge right from wrong misuse the scriptures. Jesus told the hypocrites of his day that they used the scriptures to justify themselves, but that they did not hear what the words said about Jesus himself. He told them that if they heard the words correctly they would come to him and he would give them eternal life. He proceeded to warn the others about them. He said, "Judge not," (Matthew 7:1) and he taught against hypocrisy. He taught to watch out for these guys that look real religious on the outside, but inside they are full of dead men´s bones. He said they will look real innocent like sheep, but inside they are ravening wolves.

How to tell them apart? Look at the "Judge not" verse and read a little further to verse 15. You are now responsible for judging between good and evil.

Chris Simonson - 8/16/2007

Initiative:

One meaning of this word is to petition government to put something on a ballot measure so voters can vote on it. There are other uses for the word, maybe like the `Dharma Initiative´ on a TV series, or maybe in virtual combat it is number assigned to an action figure.

A little-remembered use of the word `initiative´ is a capacity to take action without being told or requested to do every little thing. In times of surfeit and complacency, initiative is not rewarded; sometimes it is punished. I´m not talking about women´s lib or homosexual agendas, but about initiative from men and women who know right from wrong. Jesus said that we are the `light of the world´ and the `salt of the earth,´ but he warned about the salt losing its taste. We can make up all kinds of stories about what `salt´ means and take action on issues that have nothing whatever to do with the gospel of Jesus Christ as a result; however, this is not initiative working but usually only manipulation and brainwashing (how else could have women libbers and homosexuals taken over the church?).

The salt we have within ourselves is the message of the gospel. If we use some other meaning, then we have strayed from home and we are like birds without a nest. It takes some initiative on our part to speak the gospel. Our worldly lives are at stake, our human nature is against it, and our teachers hide in the rocks. We are like the Biblical Israel who were under the thumb of the Philistines. They could own no weapons (is not the word of God a sword?); they could own no equipment to even sharpen their plows (smart enemy knows that blunt farming implements can´t slice and dice). Lots of Christians own lots of Bibles in this country, but they do not have the word of God available to them because they do not read it, they do not believe it, nor do they take action on what they claim to believe. They are like Israel under the thumb of their oppressor.

True initiative takes courage. It is not the flame-broiled emotional stuff cooked up by rabble- rousers who can get any bunch of perverts or blasphemers together for another `freedom march.´ It is the inner conviction that somebody has to do something about wickedness and it boils down to me. Will I be another Jonathan who went up with his sword, who had only his armor bearer with him, against the Philistines? This Jonathan routed the enemy by initiative. He took courage in his God, and he could no longer sit around while Israel was shamed by the heathen, shamed by the disbelief in their own camp.

Preaching the gospel takes such courage and such initiative. Before another ballot measure goes up to protect the rights of some social group, before another legislative committee gets together to make another law against hate speech, before another law goes into effect to shut down the gospel, I feel it is my right, my privilege and my duty to my Lord and Savior to proclaim Jesus Christ to the world.

What about you?

Chris Simonson - 8/14/2007

A History of Calvary Chapel:

Calvary Chapel began about 40 years ago. It started as an alternative Christianity for the dropped-out generation. Chuck Smith, its  founder, adopted the hippie "peace-truth-love" slogan for an upbeat Christian approach. He was trying to reach a generation that had been taught to love itself above all gods and religions; and he was going to reach them with love. They preached love - so did he. The love he preached was bigger and better than their love, and he set about to prove it with a gospel that was hip and cool. He, like a lot of people during the Jesus Movement, tried to incorporate the hippie message of "tune in, turn on, and drop out" into the message of Christ’s redemption. His gospel was tailored to the tastes of that time: Let it all hang out. And of course they stressed the Beatles’ mantra: "All you need is love."

They passed out tracts with the character "Ben Born Again," sported T-shirts that said "Everything goes better with Jesus" and repeated phrases like, "Truckin’ with Jesus."

Somehow, the Calvary Chapel gospel catapulted into mainstream Christianity. Part of it had to do with the fact that as the hippies grew older, they became the older generation. They became schoolteachers and pastors. But mostly, it was because of their gospel. They presented Christ as a "fix-it" for the problems of this generation. In other words, they preached a social gospel. Unlike many social gospels, their gospel stressed the end of the world. This may seem like a contradiction for a gospel that’s trying to change the world, but due to Dispensationalist theory, this make-over of the earth takes place during the Millennium. Before that, the world was going to go through some heavy stuff called the Tribulation, and the only way out was to get raptured. The Calvary Chapel gospel consisted (and still does) of how to avoid the Tribulation by believing in Jesus. Instead of presenting the gospel as a means of escaping eternal judgment of God on judgment day, they preached the rapture, a way of getting out of here before the turn of the century, by which surely the Tribulation would have started. After all, it had been two thousand years and they are Dispensationalists, you know. Please my article "Dispensationalism in a Nutshell." The modern gospels, Calvary Chapel’s included, use catastrophe as a means of proselytizing, promising the proselytized a grand view from ringside seats, close to but removed from the action.

According to the Calvary Chapel doctrine on the cross of Christ, one must bear one’s cross as long as it is cool to do so. The "Keep on Truckin’" motif needed a little adjustment to make it Christian, so a cross was added. The dude, along with Ben Born Again, is smiling all the way (with a little perspiration). But even this was too painful, so the motif changed to a stylized dove in a nosedive, spiritually neutral. Could mean peace, could mean spirit-baptism, could mean anything. The cross of Christ became a happy thing, light-hearted, revamped for the surrogate generation. Our suffering in Christ is minimalized; Jesus is the only one who needs to suffer. He paid for our sins and we are healed. This doctrine came straight out of Pentecostalism, to which Chuck owes much of his theology. Our suffering is only a result of our own foolishness, which could be easily cured by attending Calvary Chapel concerts.

Chuck Smith could have not done this on his own. He credits God with everything, and this is what all good Christians are supposed to say. But in truth, he had to hire a guy named Lonnie to make it happen. Chuck found Lonnie Frisbee in the Haight-Ashbury district. That’s right, the heart and core of hippiedom San Francisco. This is where all the flowers in the hair and the homosexuals came out of. These were the drugged out, sexed out animals who were going to change society by releasing us from the oppressive morality of the right-wing churches. But there were converts among these people, Lonnie Frisbee being one of them. Chuck knew that Lonnie had an attractive message of love.

This is what Chuck Smith needed. Some new fire on the dying embers of washed-up Christianity. So he brought Lonnie to his church in Costa Mesa and the rest is history. Lonnie himself cannot be contacted because he died of AIDS. He was a "bisexual" according to the church. I think that means he was a fornicator and a homosexual, but those are words the church avoids. He evidently didn’t practice "safe sex," either, even after he helped form the Vineyard movement with John Wimber. Calvary Chapel, for its part, gives no credit to the late Frisbee.

But Lonnie did exist and did put Calvary Chapel on the map during his tenure from 1968 to 1971. In this short time, Calvary Chapel became a social phenomenon in Southern California. They had the music. They had the tracts. They had the hippie look. They were riding the crest of the Jesus People movement. They even take credit for starting it.

They preached their end-time scenarios. It was almost inconceivable that the 21^st Century would be reached before the Tribulation started (with the easy-does-it church raptured out first). The music stressed a lot of love and a lot of rapture. That’s also when Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth hit the book stands. The word Millennium has a special effect on Dispensationalists, and it was used effectively to sell the new religion of "God loves you and you don’t have to go through the Tribulation," or "God loves you and you can live a thousand years here on this earth (after you have been raptured to heaven then come back to eat vegetarian pizza and drive pollution-free Toyotas)."

This has resulted in several embarrassments, not the least of which is this is now 2004, but the Secret Rapture holds sway nonetheless. The so-called Jesus Movement dwindled into faded memory like other ’60's graffiti, but the Dispensational doctrines were now carved in stone. Many groups were lost, like Shiloh Ministries, and others formed, like the Vineyard (after he was forced to leave Calvary, Lonnie found John Wimber amenable to his Pentecostalism), but the rapture remained the central theme of modern Christianity. To Chuck Smith’s credit, he strategized and found it necessary to tone down the end-of-the-world stuff. He needed to recover his reputation after he found he had been duped into promulgating the hoax that Griffon Vultures were laying seven eggs instead of one, anticipating the coming feast at Armageddon. (True Bizarre Griffon Vulture News: They remain an endangered species along with other vultures, and the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo is trying to raise them and reintroduce them into the wild. In 1998, the Zoo discovered a pair of their "mating" vultures were actually homosexual males. They wondered if the loving couple would raise a chick and they did. This seems in keeping with the present direction of the world. As of 2001, the couple "divorced" and went on to form heterosexual relationships with the females, so the homosexuals out there who love to tout this sort of behavior in nature judge themselves as remaining perverted).

Over the years, the Calvary Chapels have become the new establishment. They are more concerned about the day to day affairs of this life than our eternal hope. They stress Sunday school for children, ministries for women, and retreats for men. Like other denominations, Calvary does not like their members to disagree with their pet theories, especially the rapture. But its main doctrinal weakness is the avoidance of preaching the judgment of God. This results in a rank antinomianism in their ranks, in keeping with the rest of the church. They frown on any use of the Law to convict sinners of their ungodly ways. They are strong believers in the once-saved-always-saved doctrine, to the point where they will condemn anyone who questions another’s faith based on their evil works. They do not practice shunning, unless it is against critics, in which case you are dead to them.

They own a castle in Austria, which suits their other Disneyland aspirations.

That leaves about 30 years of Calvary Chapel history untold. I have several personal stories I could tell, but they are about shallowness, covetousness and adultery. Chuck Smith, who likes to praise himself as non-judgmental, tolerant and loving, is an otherwise decent preacher who limits himself to one-half of the gospel. Dave Hunt frequents his churches. Dave preaches hard against psychology and new age philosophy, both of which have infected Calvary Chapel from the beginning. Dave does pretty good, except that he is consumed with the Pre-Tribulation rapture (which is why Calvary lets him teach) and incensed against Calvinists (which is why I don’t buy into a lot of his theology). Bob Hoekstra is their best preacher. There is much more to tell, of course. This somewhat distorted history of Calvary Chapel merely focuses upon the modern church’s disregard for personal holiness and the fear of God, which I hope has offended the evil and encouraged the good.

The following is not history, but it really is...

The pastor of the Calvary Chapel I used to attend has said this about me: "That’s your problem: You always look at the faults in others instead of your own. You always look at the negative and not the positive. You need to take care of your own problems and leave it up to the Holy Spirit to take care of theirs." This is nothing less than worldly psychology and hypocritical to boot (he was trying to modify my behavior, having seen my fault, which was pointing out his fault).

My Bible says to deal with the faults of others. If they are brothers, we are to bring it to their attention and forgive them if they repent. If they are false prophets, we are to judge them by their fruit, not by outward appearances. Even a casual reading of the New Testament will show how to do this. The enemy hides behind a veil of "non-judgmental, tolerant and loving" appearances, all the while leading his victims down a path of disregard for the holiness of God, without which no one will see God. Casual Chapel and others like them have the charm of Disneyland about them. But our gospel says, "Love not the world, neither the things of the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." Millennium or no.

Chris Simonson - 8/10/2007

Study: Colossians 3:1-3

Seek those things that are above, Colossians 3:1

If we have been resurrected with Christ (not our bodies - this is yet to come), then we should look up. Once again, most people don’t understand Paul here. Seeking the things above seems symbolic to them. They are ‘literalists’ and do not know the power of the Scriptures, especially those pertaining to Christ’s beloved church. But we, who know our Beloved and he us, seek after him much as the spouse does her husband in The Song of Solomon. We look up to him. We find spiritual riches there, not a list of touch not, taste not, handle not. There are things above that are readily available to us by faith. If we have risen with Christ, let us seek those things that are above.

Where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1

This is the Christ of the Bible, not some earthly caricature of him. We do not see him, but we love him and follow after him. This is because we know he is the Son of the Father. We believe that God made all things by the Son. We believe that Jesus is the very image of the Father and the brightness of the Father’s glory (Hebrews 1:2,3). We believe there is none else. We believe that this Son by himself purged our sins. And because of this, he overcame for us and sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. This is our inheritance. “To him who overcomes will I grant to sit with me on my throne, even as I also overcame and am sat down with my Father in his throne” (Rev. 3:21). Why look elsewhere but up?

Set your affections on things above, Colossians 3:2

How can we set our fleshly desires, our longing for pleasure and comfort, on things above? We can’t. This does not stop people from trying. Their efforts are futile. What Paul means is that, if we have been risen with Christ and have the life of Christ in us, then we can and should set our affections on things above. Jesus knew how to do this, seeing as he created us in the first place. He said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” He was talking about laying up treasure in heaven. Most people will set their affections on other things and cannot understand why they cannot reverse the admonition to read, “Where your heart is, there will your treasure be also,” pretending affection for Christ. If we misquote him to justify our fleshly comforts, we show him no affection.

Not on things of the earth. Colossians 3:2

We would think if we are told to set our affections on things above that we would automatically understand not to set our affections on earthly things. But our tendency, as earthly creatures, is to desire the things of this world. But we have a much greater treasure in heaven, if we seek it. In order to have the one, we must forsake the other. Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and the riches of this world. You will come to love the one and hate the other.” John said, “Love not the world, neither the things of the world.” In our journey to heaven, we must be continually reminded that our walk is by faith, not by sight. If we look around us and begin to set our desires on things contrary to faith, we will not obtain that for which we have hoped. If we have a new life in Christ, let us not trust in the old one.

For ye are dead, Colossians 3:3

This is perhaps my favorite word of faith in the Bible. The very shortness and finality of it assures me I am dead. It is a wonderful thing to be dead and know it. Dead to my own evil desires and dead to the world. The dear cross of Christ by which I am crucified to the world and the world to me. In the very midst of my troubles, when the world and its evil ways seem to be choking me, entangling me with the cares of this life, I can put my trust in Jesus Christ, for its true that I am dead. How can anyone have claims on a dead man? How can the Law of Moses itself have any power against me? I am a dead man. I have died, not alone, but I have been crucified with the beloved Savior of my soul, my Lord and my God, who was also resurrected. This is why I am also risen with him into newness of life.

And your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3

A wonderful, spiritual reality. It cannot be proven to the carnal mind that my life is hidden with Christ, or that God is hidden in Christ. But because I am dead, it is true. Because this life is hidden does not mean it has no effect in the seen world. Although our earthly bodies have not been changed, the glory of Christ’s life in us can be manifested. And because our life is hidden with Christ, no man understands how this can be (John 3:8). But we have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the glory we manifest is clearly not our own, but Christ’s (2 Cor. 4:7). And because our life is hidden, no man can rob us of that life (Psalm 91). “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” Matthew 13:44. “It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened” Luke 13:21. “But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price” 1 Peter 3:4, speaking of woman’s service to God.

When Christ, whom is our life

It is true that in a general sense all men, even the wicked, owe their lives to Christ. It is not the devil who keeps them alive! It is not their flesh that makes the sun rise and set one more time on their vain lives. It is not their free will that makes the rain to fall. They do not even have power to retain their spirit (life, breath, Eccl. 8:8). It is only the mercy of God that allows them to experience a few years of light before they go into eternal darkness (John 12:35). Jesus is the Life, the light that lights every man who comes into this world (John1:4,9). But more particularly, we who have died in Christ, have Eternal Life. We, being dead, nevertheless live. As the Spirit of Life lifted Jesus from the dead, so also does that same Life keep us alive even though we are dead (Romans 8:10). Most people who think they know Christ as Lord do not have him as their life. This is because of unbelief. But those of us who believe know that our life is not our own, because we traded our old life in at the cross. This is the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).

Chris Simonson - 8/09/2007