As a Christian for a couple of years I was hugely excited when I heard that a Calvary chapel was to be planted in Bristol, my home town. Unfortunately my subsequent experience was much like many others I have since read on here. The pastor required that his 'flock' do everything that he said, and made ridiculous requirements upon their time to the detriment of family life. It was all very subtle, but if you did not comply then basically you were treated as a second rate christian and given the cold shoulder. It seems the minions sent over from America to teach us 'little people' were products of some bible college in Siegen Germany where they memorise Chuck Smith tapes prior to being unleashed onto the unsuspecting populace. The man sent was ill equipped, clearly had little or no knowledge of how o plant let alone run a church and the whole thing was a disaster.

Needless to say I, along with the rest of the six strong congregation saw through the power hungry pastor and one by one left. Shortly afterwards the pastor left with his tail between his legs. However another guy did take over...I am staying well away. THIS GROUP IS A CULT STAY AWAY THEY ARE HARMFUL!

The Calvary Chapel, is a hit or miss church.

It depends on the leadership,as some are quite remarkable and are not harmful. You just have to do proper research.
It sounds as if the Bristol one,was controlling under the former pastor.
They are great on fire for God churches,if you find the right one.

People at times may find a church harmful,as the pastor wants us to follow the bible,and we want to do our own thing in the west.

Thank God there are plenty of churches out there,i am sure one will meet your needs and standards.

And just ensure your friends are aware the Bristol church,may be possibly harmful.

Oranpolois,

I can completely understand taking issue with power hungry leaders who have poor people skills and unrealistic expectations of church members. But I must ask you, what exactly constitutes a "Cult" for you, and how have you concluded that Calvary Chapel is one? I don't think defamation of others and encouraging division is a godly move on your part or helps promote the kingdom of God in anyway. Unless, of course, you can clearly demonstrate that your statement is true. And on that note, I would exhort you to never make such claims without first:

1. Going to the source of the problem and addressing the issue you have with it/them in hope s/he or they will repent
2. Following the biblical model of rebuke and correction as stated by Jesus in Matthew 18
3. Supplying clear and defined reasons for your conclusion so that readers of your post can make intelligently informed decisions about what to avoid and why

Without taking these steps, you may just find yourself more guilty than the accused. And by the way, have you met the 'new guy' so that you can malign his character and ministry with such confidence?

Grace and Peace,

Mark Nigro

Mark Nigro:

"Going to the source" may be a losing porposition. Leaders are likely to simply deny everything and become punitive.

There are some simple common sense questions that can be asked to determine if a church group might be potentially unsafe.

1. Is the church governed democratically according to its bylaws? That is, are there regular elections by secret ballot mandated by the bylaws to elect a board to fixed terms? Once elected by the congregation does this board have the power to fire and hire staff, such as the pastor? Does the board control the budget and church spending?

2. Is there an indpendently audited annually distributed church budget that discloses in detail all the salaries, compensation and expenses paid out from church funds? Is that budget distributed to all contributors?

If the answer to these questions is yes without exceptions than the church leaders have meaningful accountability to the cogregation and contributors have meaningful transparency regarding monies given to the church. If not the church may be little more than a dictatorship.

The overwhelming majority of Protestant churches have these safeguards in place.

Most of the complaints and bad press Calvary Chapel has received historically revolves around the problem of accountability.

See [www.culteducation.com]

Jesus warned that many would come in his name, but he would not know them. Paul rebuked bad leaders in Galations.

Thankfully the overwhelming majority of churches don't have these problems.

To all:

I just wanted to add a little to this conversation. Hopefully, that's ok. You may want to check out the letter to Calvary Chapel Pastors of America Concerning YWAM written by Steven Mitchell, Power to Stand Ministries (see: [www.deceptioninthechurch.com]).

The rrmoderator is right - going to the source is usually a losing proposition. So many leaders in churches today believe "the end justifies the means" that lying about what they do is not a problem to them. I know this from personal experience. [I'm talking here in general--not about Calvary Chapel in particular]

Another way to tell if there is a controlling leadership is if the pastor and/or elders accuse you of being Satan's helper and divisive if you question them (nicely, of course) on something they are teaching, want you to believe, or do. Paul commended the "noble" Bereans for testing what he said by searching the Scriptures daily. If they become irritated, intimidating, etc., and denounce you in front of other members of the congregation or small group you're participating in, whether by name or by insinuation, there should be a red flag flying high. Something is wrong. This may not have anything to do with money--but a humble spirit is not there. Power corrupts.

Claris