- Jul 12, 2004
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A personal assessment:
Calvary Chapel and the Vineyard grew from the same root. Calvary Chapel believes in the present working of the Holy Spirit but would rather place more emphasis on teaching the Word than in displaying the gifts. Therefore, healings, etc. are removed from center stage and relegated to a secondary position.
The result (IMO) is that the V, in pursuing experiential (and too often, experimental) Christianity at the expense of sound doctrine ran into controversy in their association with two [unnamed] movements in the ‘90’s, which they experimented with then backed away from and, to this day, bear the stigma of their brief involvement.
In some respects, theologically and maybe in practice, I am probably more in sympathy with CC than V but am reluctant to move in that direction because CC seems to be more of a reflection of the beliefs and values of its founder, Chuck Smith, and the organization is much too centralized for my liking. I prefer the autonomy of V churches but probably would not have joined the movement when Wimber was alive because I felt then that the V was an extension of him (although, as any V person does, I respect Wimber’s contribution to American Christianity—I just don’t revere or idealize his memory as some of my colleagues do). And, IMO, CC is often far too insulated and critical of other Christian groups that do not share their beliefs and values (Hank Hanegraaf, for example, is a member of the Costa Mesa CC, Chuck Smith’s church--'nuff said).
~Jim
Calvary Chapel and the Vineyard grew from the same root. Calvary Chapel believes in the present working of the Holy Spirit but would rather place more emphasis on teaching the Word than in displaying the gifts. Therefore, healings, etc. are removed from center stage and relegated to a secondary position.
This is where Chuck Smith (CC) and John Wimber (V) parted company. Wimber was more experiential and Smith more cerebral and in their approach to ministry. Wimber probably thought Smith quenched the Spirit and Smith probably thought Wimber opened the door to weirdness. Anyhow, in the early ‘80’s there came a parting of the ways and Wimber left Calvary Chapel to form the Vineyard movement. Some 30 CC pastors/churches left with him and the Vineyard officially began in 1982. IMO, this created deep hostility among some CC advocates toward the Vineyard, who viewed the new movement more as a illegitimate step-child than a legitimate organization: Wimber and the V to pursue experiential Christianity and CC to keep their grounding in doctrine. That is not to say that CC abandoned the experiential or Vineyard abandoned the Word, but to say that their emphases were different.
The result (IMO) is that the V, in pursuing experiential (and too often, experimental) Christianity at the expense of sound doctrine ran into controversy in their association with two [unnamed] movements in the ‘90’s, which they experimented with then backed away from and, to this day, bear the stigma of their brief involvement.
Wimber died in 1997, in the wake of those two theological controversies and, because of them, a divisiveness in the V ranks. Since then, the V has steadily moved more toward their doctrinaire CC roots and there seems to be more emphases on sound teaching. I joined the V in 2000 because I could see that there was more balance (IMO) coming to the V than I had seen before—two disastrous plunges over the edge were enough to bring more sober minds to bear on the way V functions. Personally, I am happy with this.
In some respects, theologically and maybe in practice, I am probably more in sympathy with CC than V but am reluctant to move in that direction because CC seems to be more of a reflection of the beliefs and values of its founder, Chuck Smith, and the organization is much too centralized for my liking. I prefer the autonomy of V churches but probably would not have joined the movement when Wimber was alive because I felt then that the V was an extension of him (although, as any V person does, I respect Wimber’s contribution to American Christianity—I just don’t revere or idealize his memory as some of my colleagues do). And, IMO, CC is often far too insulated and critical of other Christian groups that do not share their beliefs and values (Hank Hanegraaf, for example, is a member of the Costa Mesa CC, Chuck Smith’s church--'nuff said).
My prediction is that when Smith steps down from leadership in CC (he is presently 80-years-old) the movement will slowly gravitate more to demonstrative Christianity just as the V, at Wimber’s passing, became more theologically deliberate. IMO, each group can learn from and contribute to the other and who knows, but wouldn’t it be great, if they eventually reconciled their earlier differences and brought their two families of 1,300+ congregations each together once again?
Anyhow, that’s my assessment of Calvary Chapel and the Vineyard. What's yours? (And keep it nice, neither movement is about personalities, so let's not inject personal references and slams into this discussion.)~Jim
