Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa—indeed the movement as a whole—is in a state of disarray. The late Chuck Smith, former pastor of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, has an 85 year old brother named Paul who recently posted a video on YouTube titled “My brother’s succession plan for Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.” (Based on his ramblings in the video about computer hacking and viruses, my guess would be that someone else actually posted it for him.) Paul claims to have spent the last few months of his brother Chuck’s life living with him and discussing the future of Calvary Chapel and has decided that now is the time to reveal the content of their conversations. A quick bit of backstory… For the last decade or so of Chuck’s life, there was no shortage … [Read more...]
On Power, Political Correctness, and Injuns
Know what ruffles conservative feathers like virtually nothing else? Political correctness. Having to call sodomites "gay," having to refer to beaners as "hispanic," and having to label jail-bait as "an innocent rape victim" is just a huge hassle. You can also read this useful resource to know more about them. Hell, I'm a liberal and even I roll my eyes at PC nomenclature sometimes. One related issue we addressed briefly in our most recent episode of Drunk Ex-Pastors is the change that some are pursuing of "Columbus Day" to "Indigenous Peoples Day." A bit awkward and unwieldy, but I appreciate the sentiment (and it's less offensive than my initial proposal, "Redskins Day"). Of course, the prospective change will not sit well with many, … [Read more...]
Yes by Might, Yes by Power: Lawsuits and Leadership at Calvary Chapel
As we delve into in episode #9 of Drunk Ex-Pastors, the church that we grew up in (Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa) is embroiled in a bitter lawsuit, brought by two of the now-deceased founding pastor’s children, concerning both leadership and ownership of the church’s vast financial resources. My contention was that in the context of a paradigm where the only way to judge a leader’s authority is by whether or not you agree with him, this kind of in-fighting and lust for power is par for the course. Still, it is disheartening to see church leaders behaving with no more dignity and decorum than secular leaders, and for my part, I can totally see how so many of my friends have lost their respect for the Christian church because of the … [Read more...]
Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come For You?
If you’re like me and you’ve seen the news lately highlighting all the senseless shootings of black men by white cops, or if you’ve ever watched a documentary about any anti-establishment movement (whether about the civil rights protests in the ’60s or the protest in Seattle against the World Bank in the ’90s), then you’ve surely asked the question, “Dafuq is the deal with the po-leece? Does that profession just attract petty men who were bullied in junior high and who need a target for their juvenile aggression?” If that’s you, then you need to listen to the latest episode of Drunk Ex-Pastors. Just saying. . . . … [Read more...]
Racism: For Whites Only?
In podcast #8 (available for streaming and download below), one of the topics we discuss is racism. Jason brings up a quote from the first season of MTV’sThe Real World where Kevin Powell (a black cast member) is accused of racism and in response says, “Black people cannot be racist. We don’t have the power to control. . . .” At first hearing, I dismissed Kevin’s statement as ignorant. After all, racism, to me (a white male), means considering someone to be inferior in some way simply because of their race. While this is a valid definition of racism, it’s not the only definition of racism and not even the main definition. A quick search through the various definitions of racism will show that racism also has to do with the exercise … [Read more...]
Podcast #8: Offensive Words, Passive Seduction, and Selfies
In this episode of Drunk Ex-Pastors, Christian gives Jason a very special gift (hint: it's small, sings like a little Canadian boy, and you put it in your mouth); we take feedback from a female listener who is frustrated by her former time in the church when all her "sisters in Christ" thought she wanted to steal their husbands; we delve into the issue of language and labels, focusing on whether and when it's OK to use "the N-word" as well as whether jokingly labeling stuff "gay" or "retarded" is a retarded, gay thing to do; Jason bitches about his culinary needs never being met, while we hoist a poignant shot which Christian saved for the very end of the show. … [Read more...]
Are Men Just Puppets?
An interesting issue came up during episode #8 of Drunk Ex-Pastors. A female caller relayed her frustration over the fact that when she was a churchgoer, many of the other women in the congregation viewed her with suspicion because of their fear that she would try to tempt and steal away their husbands. Of course, the first question that arose in my mind was, “So what’s the deal? Are men simply passive agents in this whole thing? Are they just acted upon, the way a wallet is acted upon when picked up from the table and placed in one’s pocket?” In fact, this whole attitude sort of feeds the idea that men aren’t really responsible for what they do. They’re simply duped, picked off, hypnotized, and forced into doing what their urges … [Read more...]
Women: Walking Vaginas? Or Something More?
Many of you with a religious background will know that Genesis records the creation of Eve from Adam’s rib because Adam needed a “helpmeet” or counterpart with whom he could relate (up to that point there were just animals roaming around). It is very easy for religious people to jump from the Genesis record to the idea that women only exist to make men’s lives easier, and have no distinct purpose of their own outside pleasing their husbands and bearing his children (a position that, as we discussed in episode #7 of Drunk Ex-Pastors, Mark Driscoll appears to hold). Have any thoughts on this? If you’re a female, got any horror stories to share? Have a listen below. . . . … [Read more...]
Does ISIS Speak for True Islam?
The latest episode of Drunk Ex-Pastors deals in part, again, with the issue of ISIS (you can click below to hear our full discussion). I just read a very interesting article by Sam Harris called “Sleepwalking Toward Armageddon” in which the author argues a few controversial points, among which are (1) the idea that as long as the West is invoking the “true religion” to combat Islam’s false one, we’ll have no choice but to also and forever combat our enemies with missiles as well, and (2) those who deny that ideas like martyrdom, armed jihad, and hatred of infidels are central tenets of the Koran are as misguided as those who would say that the resurrection of Christ is some secondary or tertiary doctrine of Christianity. I would highly … [Read more...]
Extremism, Flowers, and the Powers that Be
If you take a strong position on some issue, or on cultural/political matters in general, it is easy to label those on the other side as “extremists” or “reactionaries” (while failing to see that they might be passing the exact same judgment on you). For example, I remember when the O.J. Simpson verdict was about to be read, the police in Los Angeles were out in full force, decked out in riot gear, ready for the worst. But when the jury decided to acquit, the cops breathed a sigh of relief, packed up their tear gas and rubber bullets, and went home. Being very evangelical and somewhat racist at the time, I said, “Hey, wait! Why aren’t the police going to stay out and deal with the inevitable white-people riots and looting and … [Read more...]