Blueprint for Success

Years ago I was blessed to be able to attend a few senior pastor conferences in Murietta Hot Springs organised by the Calvary Chapel Association.  The times of worship, fellowship and workshops were useful, and the teaching was encouraging, challenging and refreshing.  After Pastor Chuck passed, I was curious to see the direction that would be taken:  would the Calvary Chapel movement fall into a pattern of emulating Pastor Chuck or would we continue to look to Jesus and preach the word as he did?  I was pleased to see a continued emphasis on looking to the LORD, reliance upon the Holy Spirit, and our need to continue in steadfastly preaching the word.

We observe scripture it only took one generation for a godly king to be replaced with one who did evil in the sight of the LORD.  Judges 2:10 demonstrates how quickly people can turn from God after He established His people in the land of promise:  "When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel."  Despite the commands in the Law of Moses for parents to teach their children to love the LORD their God and the command for children to honour their father and mother, a generation of Hebrews arose that were ignorant of God and His mighty works.  People did what was right in their own eyes rather than keeping the covenant God made with them.

I recently heard the beginning of a sermon where the speaker exhorted people to continue reading Calvary Chapel Distinctives because he likened it to our "DNA."  I remember going to a Bible study where the Distinctives sat on the coffee table in the middle of the group.  This did not sit well with me, because this is how people can lose sight of the LORD--by looking to a book as a pattern for ministry when we ought to look to the LORD Jesus and the word of God.  I own a copy of Calvary Chapel Distinctives, and I have read it several times.  Since Calvary Chapel is historically "nondenominational," it helped outline foundational principles of ministry that distinguishes Calvary from other denominations and our unique place in the body of Christ.  The book details important history and spiritual insights, but it is not and was never intended to be a formula to follow:  we are to follow Jesus.  There is no life in the Distinctives, for Christ is our life.

On the cover illustration of Calvary Chapel Distinctives, the set of drawings contains an important detail:  "Blueprint for success:  dependence on the Holy Spirit."  Wouldn't it be ironic to replace dependence on the Holy Spirit--which has been vital for the fruitfulness of the church from the very beginning--with looking to something other than the LORD and His word?  Rather than thinking, "What would Chuck do?" we ought to consider what Jesus said, did and what the Holy Spirit says in the Scripture.  Without a move of the Holy Spirit, there can be no fruitful spiritual movement in the church.  Following formulas leads to dead religion, but the Holy Spirit makes alive.  It is good to consider the wonderful things God has done in the church from the beginning to the present, and praise God for His faithfulness to people who forget Him, who don't know Him, and are ignorant of His mighty works.  Because Jesus is our life, He is the one we must follow.