Website: http://www.calvarysandiego.com

Church Review
Scriptural View: 4/5
Beliefs: 2/5
Community: 3/5
Preaching: Expository
Worship: Saturday 6 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m., 9:15 a.m., 11:15 a.m., 6 p.m., Wednesday 7 p.m.

Website Review
Site Usability: 2/5
Site Design: 2/5
Site Content: 3/5

Review: Calvary Chapel San Diego (CCSD), as its name obviously suggests, is an off-shoot of the monolithic movement started in Costa Mesa California in the early 1970′s under the leadership of Pastor Chuck Smith. In San Diego alone, there are dozens of fellowships affiliated with Calvary Chapel. Because CCSD (and most other Calvary’s) model themselves after the Costa Mesa church, we will examine the movement as a whole and make a view particular observations about CCSD.

CCSD is one of the larger fellowships in San Diego having just moved into a new building in the booming Otay Ranch community of Chula Vista. The sprawling property, which covers an entire block, also houses a K-12 private Christian school called Calvary Christian Academy.

As with most Calvary Chapels, they should be commended for their high view of Scripture. Nearly everyone attending the church carries their own Bible and most are feverishly scribbling on notepads and marking the margins of their Bible during the sermon. Pastor Bryan Newberry faithfully teaches verse by verse and book by book through the Bible and it is clear that anyone attending CCSD continually is sure to be exposed to a regular diet of scripture.

What Calvary Chapel actually believes about the scriptures is quite a different matter, however. Instead of a clear statement of faith as to what they believe, CCSD chooses instead to hang its theological hat on the catch phrase “Simply Jesus!” While this may seem really spiritual and non-threatening on the surface, it belies what they really believe. Although CCSD (and all Calvary’s for that matter) claim to not put a strong emphasis on doctrine because it causes division, a careful examination of the movement’s teaching and writings tell a different story. In his book Calvary Chapel Distinctives (Word for Today Publishing, 2000), founding Pastor Chuck Smith writes: “In Calvary Chapel we value the teaching of the Word, and possess an open heart to the work of the Holy Spirit. This balance makes Calvary Chapel a distinct and uniquely blessed movement of God. (emphasis mine).” The bottom line is that it is precisely their doctrine that makes them a Calvary Chapel. Any deviation from their core doctrinal beliefs and a church can no longer be called a Calvary Chapel. Out of one side of their mouth, Calvary Chapel pleads for unity and non-division…out of the other side of their mouth, they view themselves as “a distinct and uniquely blessed movement of God.” Simply Jesus, huh? (Note: Pointing out distinctions in doctrine is NOT a bad thing. It is what churches should do. It is doctrinal distinctions that separate a truly biblical church from a cult. The problem we have with Calvary Chapel is that, under the guise of being spiritual, they claim to not do it. Their actions and writings prove otherwise.)

Another problem at CCSD, and most other large mega-churches, is a lack of pastoral oversight and community. The church keeps no formal membership which makes biblical church discipline non-existent. With its well-attended, multiple services, it is very likely that you will never see the same people very often, at least not often enough to build any strong relationships. And forget about actually knowing or meeting the pastor or elders (do they have elders?)! As with most large churches, the real ministering and discipleship is said to be done in small groups (or home fellowships). While small groups are important and a vital part of any church, it should NEVER be a substitute for the corporate gathering of God’s people and the oversight of godly shepherds. At CCSD, there is something to do every night of the week: married fellowships, single fellowships, drug/alcohol recovery groups, youth groups, teen groups, Spanish-speaking groups and on and on. Again, while small groups are good, is this the biblical model of community, everyone divided into groups and sub-groups based on age, gender, nationality or vice? It is conceivable that one could be very busy and active in the church and NOT experience true fellowship and community. Unfortunately, it is all too easy in a church this large to slip through the cracks…

While Calvary Chapel faithfully preaches through the Bible, it seems as if many of the scriptural admonitions about the importance of the local church are neglected or flat out ignored. Thus, the growth of an individual Christian in this environment is sure to be affected in the long run. A new Christian may find the church very helpful and learn a great deal about spiritual disciplines like prayer, bible study, evangelism and service. However, because of their extremely narrow and shortsighted doctrinal positions we can only give Calvary Chapel a half-hearted recommendation.

Website: http://www.newhopefriendship.org/

Church Review
Scriptural View: 3/5
Beliefs: 3/5
Community: 4/5
Preaching: Topical, Exegetical
Worship: Hymns
Service Times: 8am, 11am

Website Review
Site Usability: 1/5
Site Design: 1/5
Site Content: 1/5

Review: New Hope Friendship Missionary Baptist Church has a name that doubles as a sentence. I attended a service in October 2004. In September, Reverend Dr. Robert E. Houston Sr. submitted his resignation as the Pastor of New Hope Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. After serving nine years as the senior pastor, Reverend Houston decided to enter a preaching-evangelism ministry. Assistant Pastor, Alonzo Brooks Sr., since has taken over as the interim pastor. Reverend Brooks said, “(The resignation) was a bit of a surprise to a lot of people in the church. We are still going on. It is a process but the church is moving on.”

The service I attended was preached by a visiting preacher, Minister Lieutenant Hodges. Reverend Brooks told me that in the month he has taken over, two times he has had visiting ministers preach. This practice seems common in the African-American Baptist community.

Hodges focused heavily on delivery. He varied volumes and tempo of his speech. Dramatic arm and hand movements emphasized points in the sermon. He repeatedly asked, “Can I get some hand-praises to God?” and the congregation replied with vigorous applause. The congregation shouted “amen”, “preach, reverend” and other encouraging phrases throughout the sermon. When the congregation responded well to a particular sermon point, Hodges smiled and turned to Reverend Brooks and shook Brooks’s hand.

Hodges broke into song three times during his preaching. Taking a lead from Ezekiel’s mention of dry bones, the minister sang, “The knee bone is connected to the thigh bone and the thigh bone is connected to the hip bone…the neck bone is connected to the head bone”. Minister Hodges ended his sermon by reminding the congregation that “God can do anything, including bringing life to the dry bones of people who do not believe in Jesus.”

Much of the sermon appeared to be a show and the content of the sermon lacked any meat. In between the two services are bible studies, where I hope more time is spent diving into God’s word. I did ask Reverend Brooks what his church believes about life after death. He explained, “We believe your soul goes to heaven if you are a Christian. If not, your soul is doomed to eternal damnation. To become a Christian, God chooses us before the foundations of this world. He sends the Holy Spirit to give us the unction to follow him. Without the Holy Spirit indwelling us as believers, we would never accept Him.” He answered a few other theological questions with orthodox comments which increased my confidence in his ministry.

A 2-star church based on the visiting preacher but the interim Reverend Brooks seemed solid in his beliefs. If you plan on attending, I would recommend you investigate the bible studies and other classes to ensure that you will grow in your knowledge of God’s Word.

Website: http://www.faith-bible.net

(Located in Murrieta)

Church Review
Scriptural View: 5/5
Beliefs: 5/5
Community: 4/5
Preaching: Expository
Service Times: 10:00 am

Website Review
Site Usability: 3/5
Site Design: 3/5
Site Content: 3/5

Review: There is much to like about Faith Bible Church. They adhere to Scripture by living out a lot of the things most modern churches have lost. For example, they hold to a plurality of elder model of church government with deacons helping run the administration. In addition they have done a great job laying out much of what they believe (doctrine), their philosophy of ministry and how this implicates our life as believers. As I’ve reviewed Churches and their websites I’m finding a connection between how much a Church communicates what they believe with their desire to honor God by living scripturally.

I have not attended a service at Faith Bible Church. I do have a friend who knows their college ministry leader and based on his comments, I believe this is a solid church for people to attend. From reading through their website beliefs, book recommendations and other materials I would encourage someone in the Murrieta area to check out this church. My only observation is their comments on missions being ‘elsewhere’ (Afghanistan) and not next door. (I say this because often churches that are ‘reformed’ can miss the mark on missiology.) But they do speak about their belief that evangelism is what the Church is about so this may be a non-point.

A church with a strong biblical position and a desire to live this out as a community. I recommend this church.

What exactly is a healthy church? How do we discern what church to attend. I ran across a great ministry that helps “local churches pursue, develop, and maintain nine of the most important marks of any healthy church. In identifying and promoting these nine, we are not intending to lay down an exhaustive or authoritative list. There are other significant marks of healthy churches, like prayer and fellowship. We want to pursue those ourselves as well, and we want you to pursue them with us. But these nine are the ones we think are most neglected in most local churches today, with the most damaging ramifications. So we think it is wise for us to concentrate on these nine and let other parts of the Body universal promote other important marks of a healthy local church.

Here’s a brief summary of what we mean by each of the nine marks.

Website: http://www.matthewshouse.com

(Located in Oceanside)

Church Review
Scriptural View: 3/5
Beliefs: 3/5
Community: 5/5
Preaching: None
Worship: Contemporary
Service Times: Wednesday 7 pm, Thursday 7pm

Website Review
Site Usability: 3/5
Site Design: 3/5
Site Content: 3/5

Review: Matthew’s House (MH) is part of a growing house Church movement. Each week in different homes people gather together to ‘be the church’. This Church is highly missional and they desire to reach the neighborhood where God placed them. As I spoke to one of the Pastors, Rick Horton (Who doesn’t like to be called pastor) he shared with me stories of people who were neighbors, friends and acquaintances who participated in this gathering and ended up being saved.

Pastor Horton explained, “Over and over again we saw people who would say something or pray and ask God into their life. No one told them how to do it or explained the process. They just realized they wanted what everyone else was talking about.” During my visit to MH I met a number of people who had been Christians 6 months to one or two years. This church is focused on living out the gospel.

MH does not have formal preaching. Each week they gather and talk about the things of God and share what is going on in their lives and then bring up scripture to apply to it. I am uncomfortable with the lack of expository preaching of God’s Word. This is too important of an element to not have in a healthy church. (see: 9 Marks of a Healthy Church)

After gathering with them and talking to a handful of people, it is clear they hold to the Nicene/Apostle’s Creed. They hold scripture to be the inerrant Word of God. There are many things that MH is doing that mainstream churches can learn from, particularly their high level of community and outreach.

A great church of outreach and evangelism to their neighborhood but it lacks strong Bible expository preaching.