[Alex Murphy]

This is not different than a Presbyterian Church requiring that their pastors subscribe to the Westminster Confession and any pastor that expresses disagreement with the Westminster Confession will and should be shown a map to the nearest exit.

While you make a good point, the Calvary Distinctives are a whole lot different than the Westminster Confession. Anyone who reads the Calvary document should be troubled that Chuck Smith makes no reference to God as a Trinity, or to the Deity of Jesus Christ. You can believe in almost anything so long as you behave in the right way.

Now if you don't agree with the then don't go to a Calvary Chapel and don't be a pastor of a Calvary Chapel fellowship.

Which is why I don't. And if doctrine matters, neither should anyone else.

When an organization as large and powerful as Calvary Chapel is utterly devoid of checks and balances or doctrinal, financial, and moral accountability, the results will not be surprising: abuse, power-struggles, and the oft-unspoken fear of raising even the smallest objection to the whims of the powers that be.
-- Jason Spellman

[xzins]

Alex, that is a less than thoughtful approach to the word “distinctives.”

A list of distinctives are those things that a church has that are not necessarily part of the historice church. In the page itself, it mentions Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

It says, “Certainly there are churches that share many of our beliefs and practices. We’re not renegades. But God has done a wonderful work of balance in the Calvary Chapel movement that does make us different in many areas.”

[Lakeshark]

It seems you are wilfully misrepresenting what Chuck Smith teaches, or perhaps just too lazy to find out.

Either way, why are you so angry about it?

[P-Marlowe]

hen an organization as large and powerful as Calvary Chapel is utterly devoid... doctrinal... accountability, the results will not be surprising...

Obviously Mr. Spellman is wrong about a lack of doctrinal accountability as he was removed from his position as a Calvary Pastor because of a disagreement with the church on a matter of doctrine.

Mr. Spellman's issue was one of a doctrinal disagreement with Calvary Chapel. I suppose his remedy was to expect Calvary Chapel to accept his doctrinal deviation and continue to be a preacher in good standing or that Calvary Chapel should adopt his view of soteriology rather than that of the Church itself.

abuse, power-struggles, and the oft-unspoken fear of raising even the smallest objection to the whims of the powers that be.

Gee, that sounds like every Church in America that has more than a half dozen members.