Core Values: Pre-Tribulation Rapture

by cca

      One of Calvary Chapel’s core values is an eager anticipation of Jesus’ soon return for His Church. We look for the rapture! The “Pre-trib rapture” of the Church has been a lynchpin in Calvary Chapel’s history, and it will also be a key to our destiny.

      For the first Calvary Chapel folks, many of whom were disillusioned young people, the pre-tribulation rapture was not just an eschatological theory. As it is referenced in the Scripture, it was our “blessed hope.” Pastor Chuck ministered to young people immersed in worldliness – in drugs, sex, and rock-and-roll. His belief that Jesus would snatch away His Church made us upwardly focused. His teaching on the rapture caused us to ready ourselves to meet Jesus! One of the passages that stirred us was 1 John 3:2, “Now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him.”

      It was our pastor’s heart to wean us from the entrapments of this world, and point us to the next. Did he go overboard at times? Did he go too far plotting prophetic events on a futuristic timeline? Probably so. I remember in the early 1980s, Chuck suggested Israel was the fig tree of Matthew 24. It budded into a nation in 1948. A generation is forty years, and that generation will not pass away until the Lord returns. Forty years from 1948 was 1988, subtract seven years for the Great Tribulation, which meant the rapture would occur in 1981! Chuck seemed convinced. At the time, I realized he was making some assumptions – about the budding fig tree, and about a biblical generation – but I appreciated his zeal and enthusiasm in regards to seeing Jesus! No one can deny, that Pastor Chuck lived life on the edge of his seat. He modeled the expectancy the Bible teaches we all should have. Fault him for being overzealous if you like, but Chuck Smith longed for heaven. He “loved the Lord’s appearing…” and based on Paul’s promise to Timothy, for that he has received a “crown of righteousness.”

      Yet I see pastors today, sitting back smugly, taking a noncommittal approach. “Well, the Bible isn’t really clear. How can we be certain? I’ll just teach the different theories and let our folks decide for themselves.” I once taught on the Pre-Trib rapture, and afterwards a man asked me when was I going to present the opposing point-of-view? I told him in love, “when hell freezes over.” It is every pastor’s job to preach what he believes to be God’s truth.

      I had another friend who was fond of saying he was “Pan-trib.” Rather than Pre-trib or Post-trib, he was Pan-trib, or “however it pans out.” He thought he was being cute. I thought he was copping out! Please tell me, how is it more spiritual to hedge your bets, than it is to trumpet the truth that the risen Christ is coming in time and space to deliver the Church He loves from God’s wrath? What most inspires the faith of your people – a pastor who is unsure, or one who is looking for Jesus?

      Sure, there is a lot we do not know about Jesus’ coming, but there are some things we do know:

  • We know He is coming! He will snatch away His church!
  • His return is eminent – that is, it can happen at any moment.
  • Nothing else needs to occur prophetically before we see Jesus.
  • His coming will take place when people least expect it; when life on earth is business as usual.
  • We know it is God’s heart to deliver His people from His wrath.

      We actually know quite a bit, and when I put those certainties together, I can confidently conclude that the Bible teaches a Pre-tribulation rapture of the Church!

      Yes, there’s a verse, a single verse, 2 Thessalonians 2:3, “for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition…” People read this verse and assume the rapture cannot come until the apostasy and Antichrist appear, which puts the Church in the midst of the Great Tribulation. Yet be careful about making assumptions. People have taken “that Day” (“the day of Christ” in verse 2) to mean the rapture. But it could be a synonym for “the day of the Lord” (that’s how it is translated in the New American Standard Version). “The day of the Lord” is the period of time when God judges this evil world. In that case, the verse teaches that God’s fierce judgments will not begin until the apostasy and Antichrist appear. The implication is that since the Thessalonians had seen neither, they knew the rapture had not occurred, since it comes first! In addition, the phrase “falling away” also has multiple definitions. It literally means “a departure.” Some people assume that it refers to “a departure from the faith,” but Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest suggests that it could mean, “the departure of the church, the rapture.” If that is so, God’s judgments will not come down until the Church goes up!

      My purpose here is not to parse 2 Thessalonians 2:3. It is an admittedly difficult passage that can be interpreted in various ways. But 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is just one verse in a New Testament that teaches from start to finish that the return of Christ and the rapture of His Church will be a surprise! And it cannot possibly be a surprise if the Antichrist appears first. We are called to look for Jesus Christ, not the Antichrist! As to 2 Thessalonians 2:3, when a verse is difficult, we should read it through the lens of the rest of the New Testament, not read the rest of the New Testament through the lens of a difficult verse.

      Realize, the Bible speaks of two types of tribulation. Jesus said, “In this world you will have tribulation…” Our world was hostile to Christ, and if you follow Him you should expect it to be hostile to you. The world inflicts tribulation on the Church. But there is also a “Great Tribulation” that God will bring on this evil world. And throughout the New Testament, God makes promises that He will spare the Church this judgment. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 is such a verse. Paul tells us, “to wait for (God’s) Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” Christians are subject to this world’s tribulation, but spared God’s tribulation on the world.

      Have you read Revelation 6-19 and the cataclysmic judgments that will rock this planet? Entire populations will starve and die. Demons will be unleashed to torment mankind. Jesus will pelt the Earth with huge hailstones. According to God’s Law, the penalty for blasphemy is death by stoning. That is the judgment Jesus exacts on the whole Earth. Do you really believe He will subject His faithful Bride to what He reserves for blasphemers? Years ago, actress Farrah Fawcett starred in a movie about a battered wife. There were scenes that showed her beaten black and blue. You looked at her and wondered what animal would do this to his bride? But realize, if believers survive the Great Tribulation, they are bound to be battered. And you have to ask, “do you really think this is how the Lord is going to treat His Bride?” Of course not! Jesus died to save and sanctify His Bride, not to inflict upon her a beating. In fact, He took THE beating so we could be healed! The world might rough us up, but such harsh treatment doesn’t come from the hands of Jesus! That is not the Lord we serve.

      This is why I believe the Pre-tribulation rapture is non-negotiable for Calvary Chapel pastors. If you have not thought deeply about this, you might categorize the rapture as an elective doctrine, while issues like the deity of Christ, justification by faith, and the inspiration of the Bible are the core curriculum. However, I suggest that elective status does not do the rapture justice. The Pre-Tribulational rapture is vital because of what it infers about the Savior’s heart for His Church. If, for some reason, you are a pastor who struggles with the timing of the rapture, we can still be friends. We are certainly brothers, and can enjoy each other’s fellowship. But if you pastor a Calvary Chapel, you will deny that church an important part of their identity and emphasis.

Core Values: Servant Leadership

by cca

    A core value among Calvary Chapels is servant leadership. Admittedly, this depends on the personal commitment and resolve of each leader. There are folks in every church who want to put the pastor on a pedestal. We live in a celebrity culture, Americans like to live vicariously through prestigious people they think are cool, hip, brave, beautiful, or spiritual. This attitude even exists in the church.

      More and more pastors today actually pursue this celebrity status. They Tweet, and Post, and Instagram – not always because they have something to say, but because they have to say something if they’re going to build a following. Often, they use social media as an attention-grabber, and many church members cooperate! By giving money to a favorite pastor, or by volunteering to help him succeed, they feel as if they share a piece of his perceived importance. It is the power of celebrity.

      I’ve often wondered why Church-goers give to support a pastor’s lavishness, even when they are so poor they don’t have two nickels to rub together. It’s because they dream of the same lifestyle as the pastor, and they feel closer to it through him. It is the people’s greed that fuels the greedy pastor.

      Recently, there was a pastor in Atlanta who asked his congregation for $65 million to replace his private jet. What scared me, though, is when a friend of mine told me he had read the brochure the pastor gave to his church, and it made sense to him! He said, “The guy has global ministries. How else will the weary pastor get around?” I had a one-word answer for him… coach! But, on occasion, I have actually thought about this myself. Have you ever sat down in the middle seat on a Delta flight, between the bearded lady and the Incredible Hulk? From that vantage point your focus can get blurred. No price is too high to escape the torture. You start thinking, “where is my private jet?”

      In all seriousness, my point is this: pastors often find themselves in situations that cause them to lose perspective. Sometimes it’s the result of a friend telling them what a person of their “grand importance” truly deserves. Sometimes it can come from a painful circumstance they now have the wherewithal to avoid, since their church finally has a little money in the till. Both prosperity and pain have a way of skewing our point-of-view and knocking a leader off the rails. Both extremes create a sense of entitlement. We start to think, “look at what the church owes me!” When that happens, an alarm should go off in a pastor’s head. We are headed for destruction! Sadly, many pastors never realize they have taken the bait, until it is too late.

      When you find a pastor who lives humbly, and has a servant’s lifestyle, it is because he has chosen that path. Every pastor has a thousand justifications, and a thousand voices telling him that he deserves more. A true servant is a leader who makes the deliberate choice to die to himself, take up his cross, and follow Jesus.

      Realize, Calvary Chapels – along with most growing churches – are built around strong pastoral leadership. I am not ashamed of it – in fact, I believe it is biblical. Just scan the Bible and see how God gets His stuff done. He starts with a man… calls that man… then puts that man on hold until He breaks him of his self-sufficiency. God employs tough times to weld strength into his character. Then, at the appointed time, He fills that man with the dynamic of the Holy Spirit, and uses him mightily.

      If you’ve been burned by a pastor who abused and misused his authority, I understand, that strong individual leadership is not your preference. But this is how the Lord works! Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Samson, Samuel, David – none of these men were handled by a committee. Moses was nobody’s marionette. The Old Testament heroes followed God, and God’s people followed them. And it continued into the New Testament. Peter on Pentecost Sunday, Philip in Samaria, James at the Council of Jerusalem, Paul with the Gentiles, the Elder John among the seven churches of Asia. Even in New Testament times God usually led through one man – not many men.

      It seems to me, the critics of strong pastoral leadership are the folks who have known nothing else. Get burned by a pastor, and suddenly the grass looks greener on the other side. But where the grass is greener, you should realize the water bill is higher. Swap the Calvary Chapel model of leadership for another form if you like, but eventually you get the invoice. As long as humans are involved, there will be problems with all forms of church leadership. The truth is, when you talk church government, pick your poison. I am a former Baptist, and let me assure you there are very real problems with congregational rule – as there are with deacon boards, elder boards, and other pluralities of leadership. I have seen meanness from church people that would make your blood curdle. And if mean men are part of it, all a committee does is multiply the meanness.

      Shortly after God called me into the ministry, I visited my former Baptist pastor for a little encouragement. He told me, “Sandy, pastoring a Baptist Church is like sitting on a keg of dynamite.” I appreciated the man’s candor, but his comment helped me decide I wanted to be a Calvary Chapel pastor! Who wants to serve God and have it blow up under you? Do you want to be a hireling and live to please people? I want to be a shepherd. I love and respect the sheep, but let me answer to God.

      Don’t misunderstand, every pastor needs accountability. Only a fool leads in a vacuum. And I admit it is probably easier for a pastor to go off the deep-end than it is for an entire elder board, or congregation, to be led astray. But it is also easier for God to set a solitary heart on fire, and steer a sanctified mind, than it is to motivate a larger group.

      I believe all pastors need to lead. As I see it, the biblical support for strong pastoral leadership is overwhelming. Yet there will always be some danger. All pastoral leadership rises or falls on the humility and maturity of the leader. If a pastor has it in his heart to lord it over the flock – to manipulate and intimidate, to boss and to bully – his ministry will be a disaster. The safeguard to strong leadership is a pastor with a servant’s heart. Such a man realizes that with the privilege to lead, comes the responsibility of leadership.

      There is a picture I carry in my mind that keeps me from losing perspective, and slipping into an entitlement mentality. It is Jesus washing His disciples’ feet. Walk through the front door of our house, and my wife, Kathy, has a bowl and a towel sitting on a table. Alongside it is a picture of that monumental moment when the Master of the Universe showed us what true greatness is all about and washed His disciples’ feet. Jesus, Lord of Heaven and Earth, is entitled to be worshipped, yet in that moment, what He was owed never crossed His mind. And as He filled the bowl, knotted the towel, stooped to do the task of the most humble slave, He set an example for us. “As the Master, shall the servant be!” To be like Jesus, we need to find ways to knock the worldly dust off others, and become a blessing in tangible ways.

     Listen to this paraphrase of Philippians 2, “Take His attitude. Jesus was equal with God, but demanded no special treatment. He was human like the rest of us. He kept a low profile, lived as a servant, humbled Himself and was obedient… until it cost Him His life.” That’s the picture I carry in my mind. If you and I love Jesus, and want to be like Him, we will stoop to serve. Every Calvary Chapel should be led by servants. In the Church, the men who put our feet to marching should be the same men who stoop to wash them.