For context, I was raised independent fundamental Baptist.
ran into a couple guys from a Calvary Chapel. Which is strange because I always thought of them as a California/Florida phenomenon and I’m not from those parts.
Besides the Sunday attire and music how do they differ?
What should I know about them?
Calvary Chapel is now a denomination in and of itself. Once upon a time, it was the epicenter of the "Jesus People" movement in Southern California led by Chuck Smith who was a Foursquare Gospel preacher. There are now "Calvary Chapel" churches worldwide.
They are actually pretty sound and legit as far as churches go. They have casual attire and contemporary music which would be the bane certain "Independent Fundamental Baptists" but they also place great emphasis upon expository teaching and preaching. They are usually dispensational and premillennial and most would hold to the eternal security of the believer.
The direction in which Chuck Smith took Calvary Chapel makes it far more doctrinally sound than the Foursquare denomination of which he came. They are "continuationist" meaning they acknowledge all of the spiritual gifts but they exercise great caution in the use of the "Sign Gifts" (tongues, healing, etc.) and typically discourage their use during a worship service.
Some are mentioning the Vineyard Christian Fellowship which broke off from Calvary Chapel. While there are some similarities between the two, Vineyard is far more "mystical" placing a greater emphasis upon the "sign gifts" and so forth. It is therefore unfair to lump the two together as being one in the same. When Chuck Smith and Lonnie Frisbee parted ways, Lonnie Frisbee affiliated with the Vineyard movement that was just in its beginnings. It has become far more "wackydoo" over the years. There is a Vineyard congregation just down the road from my Church and it has a woman as the senior pastor.
If I were in a town that had a liberal Baptist Church and a Calvary Chapel, I would go to the Calvary Chapel. If I were in a town that had a liberal Baptist Church and a Vineyard Christian Fellowship, I would either start a church or would find something in the next town.
