Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa Says It Ordains Women Pastors; Association Pastors Push Back
The founding church of the Calvary Chapel movement says it has done so for nearly a decade. Pastors in the Calvary Chapel Association call it a break with what Chuck Smith taught.
Learn more ›COSTA MESA, Calif. —
Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa in Costa Mesa, Calif., the church Chuck Smith founded and once the flagship of the Calvary Chapel movement, has said it ordains both men and women as pastors. Pastor Char Brodersen, Smith's grandson, read the statement during the church's Nov. 1 service, The Christian Post reported Nov. 8.
See where this is ›The statement said the church “believes and practices the ordination of both men and women to pastoral ministry.” Brodersen said the congregation has been “practicing these things here for almost a decade.” He added, “We aren't changing anything in our current practice, but simply want to clarify our biblical position and our conviction.” According to the Post, the church called the question a secondary issue and said it does not want to judge believers who read the Bible differently.
Pastors in the Calvary Chapel Association answered quickly. In a Nov. 6 letter, Pastor Josh Blevins, lead pastor of Grace Calvary Chapel in St. Joseph, Mo., wrote for the association's Heartland Regional Team that the move is “a significant departure from the biblical convictions that have historically shaped our Calvary Chapel family.” The letter says the team does not affirm women as elders or pastors and points to 1 Timothy 2:11-14 and 3:1-7, while affirming women's ministry in the church.
See where this is ›Pastor Scott Gurwell, senior pastor of Calvary Chapel Liberty in Liberty, Mo., said that because his church carries the Calvary Chapel name, “we believe it is important to clearly communicate where our church stands.” Pastor Alan Disbrow of Calvary Chapel Lehigh Valley in Bethlehem, Pa., said his church cut ties with Costa Mesa after Smith died in 2013, the Post reported. Pastor Lloyd Pulley of Calvary Old Bridge in New Jersey said Costa Mesa should change its name and website, saying that refusing to do so “shows a lack of integrity.”
The movement has been divided for a decade. Smith's son-in-law, Brian Brodersen, led Costa Mesa after Smith's death, later left the association's leadership council and started the Calvary Global Network in 2016. Blevins' letter says that split “marked a separation in ministry direction.” Costa Mesa still controls the calvarychapel.com website, the Post said.
Blevins encouraged pastors in his region to keep the Calvary Chapel name and to speak about the matter with “conviction, accuracy, and grace.”
