The first time I set foot in Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa was on Easter morning. The air was full of electricity as thousands of people swarmed around me like bees in a hive, looking for a place to sit. We chose a pew that was fairly empty, and fairly uncomfortable as well. For all the excitement in the room, I would have thought the seats would be more comfortable. The year was 1990 and I was thirty years old.

Shortly after we sat down, a middle-aged man walked onto the platform and stood behind the pulpit. He waved his hands to get our attention and ordered everyone to do the “Calvary Crunch.” Suddenly everyone became scooting toward the center of the pews to make room for those still swarming. I would later discover this man’s name was Pastor Romain. When he said move, we all moved.

Our wide-open pew was no longer empty. Now, we were cramped and uncomfortable, squished between total strangers. What in the world are we doing here? I thought. Then, another man, also middle-aged, wearing a light gray, polyester suit stepped out onto the platform. He stood behind the pulpit leaning over it with both arms resting on either side.

We watched as he turned his head to scan the room, revealing the backside of his bald head to us as he turned. As he continued to glance around the room, he turned toward us, a huge smile gracing his face. He was glowing!

It seemed he was done looking around as he stared directly at us, still smiling. My eyes began to burn. I couldn’t look at him. After what seemed an awkwardly long pause, he opened his mouth and, still smiling, bellowed, “GLORIOUS!”

Not long after that glorious day, I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

Everything changed. My wife and I started going to church every Sunday morning. We went to Israel with Pastor Chuck and five hundred of his closest friends. A few months later, I enrolled in the School of Ministry. We began attending Sunday nights and Wednesday nights. We served in the high school ministry. I was asked to come on staff as the College and Career pastor. Then, in 2005, we planted a church in Newport Beach, California.

Everything had changed.

Now, ten years after Pastor Chuck’s passing from this life into the next, I find myself wondering, How did I get here?The funny thing is, my story is not an unusual one.
Thousands of others have similar testimonies.

One day we walked into Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and watched Pastor Chuck glow as he taught through the Bible verse-by-verse. There are now thousands of Calvary Chapels around the world pastored by individuals who were transformed by Jesus through Pastor Chuck’s ministry. You can ask any one of them and they’ll tell you the same thing: Pastor Chuck was glowing.

The Glory of the Lord

“When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the Lord. So when Aaron and the people of Israel saw the radiance of Moses’ face, they were afraid to come near him” (Ex. 34:29-30).

It seems to me that both Pastor Chuck and Moses radiated the glory of the Lord. But what was it that caused this radiance?

Humility

In Numbers 12:3, we read that Moses wasn’t even aware that his face had become radiant. I love what Charles Spurgeon wrote regarding Moses’ humility. “We are always praying, ‘Lord, make my face to shine’; but Moses never had such a wish; and, therefore, when it did shine, he did not know it. He had not laid his plans for such an honor. Let us not set traps for personal reputation, or even glance a thought that way.” What a beautiful depiction of true humility. The Book of Numbers goes on to say the same, “Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth” (Nu. 12:3).

Like Moses, Pastor Chuck was a humble man. He didn’t set out to pastor a church of thousands, nor was he looking to build his own reputation. In fact, when the early success of CCCM led to a cover feature in Time Magazine, and people began asking about the secret of his success, he would often respond, “When they ask about this I feel like a bystander. I remind them it’s not Chuck Smith at work. It’s God through His Holy Spirit turning people on” (The Reproducers, Chuck Smith and Hugh Steven, page 9).

Pastor Chuck’s face, like Moses, radiated God’s glory because of a humility that only comes from proximity.

Proximity

Reading through the book of Exodus we find Moses climbing Mt. Sinai eight times to meet with the Lord (Ex. 19-34). It was on Mt. Sinai where Moses received the covenant, the Ten Commandments, and the instructions to build the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant. It was on Mt. Sinai where Moses began to intercede on behalf of the children of Israel. It was on Mt. Sinai where the Lord would speak to Moses before Moses would descend from the mountain to speak with the people.

The events on Mt. Sinai were monumental in the history of the world. It’s where the Lord revealed His desire to forge a relationship with the children of Israel; a wonderful picture of the intercession of Christ and sinners.

Likewise, the events of the Jesus Movement were also monumental. Through the Jesus Movement, the Lord revealed His desire to forge a relationship with the hippies through an ordinary man. Pastor Chuck’s proximity with Jesus and his great humility caused God’s glory to radiate through his face and countenance welcoming and inviting thousands of lost souls like me into the eternal love of God.

I am so thankful for the ministry of Pastor Chuck Smith. His example reminds me that God can use ordinary people to do extraordinary work in the world as we radiate God’s love. Like Pastor Chuck said, “it’s not Chuck Smith at work. It’s God through His Holy Spirit turning people on.”

In this final episode we walk through seven powerful passages found in the book of Ecclesiastes that reveal the theology of the book. Our hope is that these seven verses will help you overcome any divisions for kingdom unity in the church.

Recommended Reading

Here is a helpful list of books that our hosts recommend will help you dive deeper into the content of this season.

Hills of California by Low to Ground written by Brian Nixon

Tilt by Brian Nixon

Beauty by Brian Nixon

Contented by Jeff E. Gipe

Having Fun Under the Sun by Norman Geisler

A History of Western Philosophy by Norman L. Geisler

The last two isms pastor Jeff and professor Brian wrestle with are without a doubt causing great schisms in the church today, Religionism and Humanism. As a reminder, in all our episodes we hope to do three things: direct you to scripture, define our terms, and discuss the topics at hand.

Recommended Reading

Here is a helpful list of books that our hosts recommend will help you dive deeper into the content of this season.

Hills of California by Low to Ground written by Brian Nixon

Tilt by Brian Nixon

Beauty by Brian Nixon

Contented by Jeff E. Gipe

Having Fun Under the Sun by Norman Geisler

A History of Western Philosophy by Norman L. Geisler

By Jeff E. Gipe, with contributions from Mary Pero.

Like millions of others, I spent the month of February binge watching the latest season of The Chosen, written and produced by Dallas Jenkins. I enjoy how the show continues to creatively reimagine the everyday life of Jesus and His followers, particularly the women who traveled with and supported Jesus. In a recent episode (Season 3, Episode 6), Mary Magdalene and another character named Tamar are shown working together to raise funds for the ministry. Although this scene is not found in the scriptures, it did pique my curiosity: what does the Bible say about the women who traveled with Jesus?

The “Certain Women” of Luke 8

I began my search in the Gospel of Luke. Luke tends to notice and include more detail than his fellow gospel writers, and it turns out, spotlights women more than the other gospels as well. In Luke 8, we find Jesus and the twelve disciples traveling and teaching in the region of Galilee on His second tour through the area.^[1] And this time, He is not alone. In addition to the disciples, Jesus is traveling with a group of women.

“Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance” (Lk 8:1–3 NKJV, emphasis mine).

Women traveling with Jesus and His disciples would have been uncharacteristic of rabbis in that day and quite radical. In fact, many rabbis refused to teach women because they were considered inferior. In their interpretation of the healing of the woman with the issue of blood, The Chosen does an excellent job of showing just how radical Jesus was (Season 3, Episode 5). According to the purity laws, she should not have even touched the hem of Jesus’ garment (Lv 15:19-23). The crowd was upset that they too could have been made unclean. But Jesus does not admonish her. Instead, He affirms and heals her, saying, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction” (Mk 5:34 NKJV).

The women with Jesus had also been healed of evil spirits and infirmities. Much like the disciples, they had been made whole and transformed by the life and ministry of Jesus. They entered into a new life of following Him. It seems however, we often overlook their presence and contributions simply because the gospels do not say as much about them as they do about the disciples. While Luke does give us some information about them, he does not tell us much. Interestingly, the gospels also never tell us any of these women doubted or denied Him, as some of the disciples did. Indeed, they would later be the ones found at the cross, burial of Jesus, empty tomb, and the first ones to share the news of Jesus’ resurrection.

According to Luke’s gospel, these women “provided for [Jesus] from their own substance,” or from their own “resources” (cf. Lk 8:3 NKJV; NLT). It is interesting to me that Luke uses the Greek word, diēkonoun, translated here as “provided,” and meaning to minister, or to serve.^[2] This same Greek word is elsewhere translated as “deacon” (cf. Mk 15:41; Acts 6:1–6). It would seem that Luke saw these women not just as those who had been healed, but as deaconesses—faithful ministers working for the Lord. And rightly so! These women were funding the needs of Jesus, the disciples, and the ministry from their own pockets. The significance of their contributions cannot be overstated.

Spotlight on Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna

Of those “certain women” providing for Jesus and serving alongside the disciples, Mary Magdalene is one of the three women named. She is mentioned twelve times in the various gospels. While she is mostly known for having been set free from seven demons, she also faithfully followed Jesus to the foot of the cross (Mk 15:40; Mt 27:56; Jn 19:25), was at His burial (Mt 27:60), visited His empty tomb (Mt 28:1), was first to see Him after His resurrection (Jn 20:14), and was the one to share the news with the disciples (Jn 20:1-18). No doubt her life was an example not only to the other women, but to the disciples as well.

Joanna is the second woman to be named in Luke 8. Her name means God is generous. As the wife of Chuza, the steward of Herod Antipas, she would have been in the upper class of society and quite wealthy. She may have had everything, but she still needed Jesus. We do not know whether Joanna was healed of infirmities or evil spirits, but in either case, she was set free and gave her life and her wealth to serve Him. Luke does not hesitate to name Joanna again as one of the women who found the empty tomb and “told all these things to the apostles” (Lk 24:10 NKJV).

The third woman named by Luke is Susanna. This is the only place where she is named. It is possible she was also with the women at the tomb, but we do not know for sure. What we do know is that she had been healed and made whole by Jesus and was a supporter of His city-to-city ministry.

Working and Serving in Response to Healing

In Hebrew, the word for “whole” is shalom. Susan Perlman, author and one of the founders of Jews for Jesus, defines it this way, “The ancient Hebrew concept of peace, rooted in the word “shalom,” meant wholeness, completeness, soundness, health, safety and prosperity, carrying with it the implication of permanence.”^[3] Today, Jews around the world still greet one another by saying, “Shalom.” It is a wish of wholeness, completeness, or peace to the one being greeted. Shalom is the type of healing these women found when they met Jesus. You might say, complete wholeness. In response, they became a part of Jesus’ ministry by traveling with Him, serving Him, and supporting the work.

While The Chosen shows the women working together to raise funds for the ministry, the Bible gives us a few more clues as to the type of work they were doing. As I have already mentioned, some of these women were wealthy and providing for Jesus and His disciples out of their own personal resources. They were giving to the ministry. No doubt these women were also telling and teaching others about Jesus, much like Anna, the prophetess who remained at the temple serving the Lord and telling everyone who was looking for redemption about Jesus (Lk 2:38).

How easy it is to overlook Luke’s later commentary of Mary who was “listening to what [Jesus] taught” (Lk 10:38 NLT). Mary’s sister Martha wanted her relegated to the kitchen, the traditional place for women of that day. But Jesus rebuked her, saying, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her” (Lk 10:41-42 NLT). Mary was being taught by Jesus—and He was not rebuking her. I do not think it is a stretch to say that He was teaching her in hopes that she would share His teachings with others.

These women were working and serving the Lord right alongside of the disciples. The Hebrew word for “work” is abad, meaning to service, service to God and to others.^[4] Of the 289 times the word abad is found in the Bible, 124 of them are translated as “worship.” In other words, Jesus transforms our work into worship. Dr. Gerry Breshears defines work this way: “Work is the gracious expression of YHWH’s creative energy in service of others to create Shalom.” These “certain women” had been transformed—healed and made whole by Jesus—and in turn, were allowing Him to turn their wealth and work into a form of worship.

Gratitude for The Chosen

I am thankful for The Chosen’s creators for their recreating and reimagining the everyday lives of Jesus and His followers, and especially for highlighting the often overlooked lives of the women. The significance of the women’s work and worship cannot be overstated—in biblical times and still today.

References

^[1] This is likely the second tour of Jesus as the disciples are mentioned; whereas in Luke 4, what is thought to be His first tour, the twelve disciples have not yet been formally chosen.
^[2] See G1247 (diakoneō) in Strong’s Greek Lexicon (NLT). Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1247/nlt/mgnt/0-1/.
^[3] Susan Perlman, “What is Shalom: The True Meaning,” Jews for Jesus. Inherit magazine, August 27, 2018. https://jewsforjesus.org/publications/inherit/what-is-shalom-the-true-meaning.
^[4] Warren Baker and Eugene Carpenter, eds., The complete word study dictionary: Old Testament (Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2003), 794–795.

What is CGN doing to help churches in practical ways, including finances, pastoral coaching, and other resources?

In this episode, I speak with Kellen Criswell and Jeff Gipe about the Funding and Development initiatives within CGN, and they share stories of how collaborative funds have already been used to help churches during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to fund new church plants.

Jeff and Kellen share about opportunities we have as a network to do more together than we can separately.

This episode was recorded in January 2022, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing humanitarian crisis. At the end of this episode, listen for an update on how CGN has been able to support ministries and individuals on the ground in Ukraine and the surrounding region, through the Ukraine Relief Fund. We also give an update on the development of CGN as an independent entity.

New episodes are being released every two weeks. Make sure you subscribe to the podcast, so each episode will be delivered to your device as soon as they come out.

We’d love to hear feedback from you on these episodes. You can email us at cgn@calvarychapel.flywheelsites.com

“A lot of people are asking, ‘Is this all there is? Is this it?’ Like a drug, the benefits of power and money are transient, and one always needs another fix. Until a person can step out of this paradigm, happiness will remain elusive.” – Dr. Robert Hedaya

Today’s news is an endless stream of the popular, powerful, or prosperous, going through divorce, addiction, and worst of all, suicide. Yet most people in our culture still believe the paradigm that being popular, powerful or prosperous will bring happiness. In Contented, Pastor Jeff Gipe helps the reader step out of this paradigm and into the one solution that leads to finding peace in all things. Whether you have never set foot in a church or have been going to church for years, this book will put you on the path to true contentment.

Available Copies

I was recently blessed to be part of a pertinent discussion with a group of loving, caring, well-educated young pastors. We talked about some of the difficult issues facing the church today. Our culture is increasingly complicated, squeezing out God for the sake of other agendas. As I listened to these men share their concerns and their hearts, the reality of this burden weighed on me like a ton of bricks.

The problems we face today certainly aren’t new.

Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones wrote:

“As life in general becomes more and more complex, so religion tends to be affected in the same way. It seems to be assumed that if the affairs of men are difficult and complicated, the affairs of God should be still more complicated, because they are still greater. Hence there comes a tendency to increase ceremony and ritual, and to multiply organizations and activities. The argument is that it is ridiculous to assert that the vast problems of life today can be solved in an apparently simple manner suggested by those who preach the gospel in the old evangelical manner. The fact is, that as we get further away from God, life becomes more complicated and involved. We see this not only in the Bible, but also in subsequent history. The Protestant Reformation simplified not only religion, but the whole of life and living in general. The truly religious life is always the simple life.”

As followers of Christ, we must learn how to keep it simple.

I’ve had the pleasure of teaching 1 and 2 Corinthians at the Calvary Chapel Bible College this semester and have felt an urgency to prepare the young men and women in my class on how to deal with the current complexities that exist in the church. Paul must have felt the same urgency when He wrote this in 2 Corinthians 11:2-3: “For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. For I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”

There are two points from Paul’s words that will help us be effective Christians in a culture similar to the one in Corinth.

First, we should have a godly jealousy for others. We are not to have a human jealousy, selfish and destructive, but a godly jealousy, selfless and constructive. Godly jealousy does not consider itself but comes from a deep love and care for others. I love how Paul compared godly jealousy to a father betrothing his daughter to her future husband. The greatest privilege the father of a bride had in Paul’s day was getting to present his daughter as a pure virgin to her husband. Paul’s greatest desire was that the Corinthians would be purified and prepared for Christ’s return.

Secondly, Christ should be central in everything. The Corinthians made church more about the scene than about the King. Like so many churches today, they increased the ceremonies and rituals in their services and multiplied their organizations and activities, but neglected to keep Christ the central focus.

Christians today have more knowledge about Jesus than in any other time in history. If there is something we don’t know, all we have to do is Google it and be flooded with instant information. But all the information in the world about Jesus cannot guarantee a transformed life. Consider what happened with Adam and Eve in the garden. In Genesis 2:17, God warned them that “of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 3:1-5 says, “Satan came to Eve in the garden saying, ‘Has God indeed said, “You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”’…Then he said, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’”

Did you notice what happened? God made it simple for Adam and Eve, but Satan came along and complicated everything. Adding complexity to God’s simple commands is one of Satan’s main tactics. He knows complexity leads to distraction, and distraction leads to separation from God, Satan’s ultimate goal for us.

When Adam and Eve kept it simple by obeying God, they had perfect fellowship with Him. As soon as they became distracted by Satan’s temptation and ate the fruit, they experienced separation from God for the first time.

The tactics Satan used in the garden are the same tactics he uses today.

Why? Because they work. How do we as Christians overcome the complexities in our culture? There is one simple way: desiring to be in fellowship with Christ. This is our main calling as Christians. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:9, “God is faithful who has called us into the fellowship of His Son Christ our Lord.”

God’s desire from the beginning of time is that we would have fellowship with Him. He created us in His likeness and in His image for this very purpose. Why does He so greatly desire to have fellowship with us? Because He loves us.

Karl Barth was regarded as one of the greatest Protestant theologians of the 20th century. He had a greater knowledge of God than most. His influence expanded well beyond the academic realm into mainstream culture, leading him to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine. Someone once asked him, “What is the greatest theological thought that has ever crossed your mind?” He answered, “Jesus loves me; this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

Keep it simple, saint!

There is no doubt 2017 will go down as one of the most politically charged years in history. A concerning observation is the number of Christians worried and worked up over politics. It begs the question, whom or what are they worshiping?

As I pondered this issue, the wise men came to mind. Nearly two years had passed since Jesus was born, and Herod the Great was in power. Herod was a political tyrant. He increased taxes. He enforced harsh labor from the Israelites. He issued a decree to have all children under the age of two be put to death.

It was in the midst of this political crisis when the wise men traveled across the continent to Jerusalem. Their only aim: “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship” (Matthew 2:2).

The wise men were not kings. They were known as Magi, a combination of wise men and priests likely from Persia.

They had political and religious influence and were figures of some province in their land.

What made the wise men wise? Their elite education, or their humble quest to seek the true King and His star in the East?

How they came to connect the birth of Jesus with the star is a matter of conjecture. Some scholars believe they were responding to a piece of scripture left to them by God’s prophets centuries before. The content of this scripture is unknown. But they were compelled to cross the continent at all costs to worship their King.

The Greek word for worship is proskuneo. It is used 61 times in the New Testament. Among the people of that day, especially Persians, the word described a person who would fall on their knees, forehead to the ground, as an expression of profound reverence.

Such reverence for scripture gave the wise men a spiritual revelation. It appears it was only the wise men who saw the star. Herod didn’t see it. The chief priests and scribes didn’t either. Only the wise men could see and were led to the holy Child.

“When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:10-11).

Reverence for scripture, spiritual revelation, true worship, there is a correlation here.

Worship is singing praise songs before the pastor speaks. If we think it is merely that, we are entirely wrong.

We don’t know if the wise men entered the house of God singing songs. What’s sure is they fell on their knees and presented their gifts. They came to worship Him, and worship they did.

A great explanation of worship is this: Worship is the art of losing self in the adoration of another. Praise is a part of worship, but worship goes beyond praise alone. Praise is easy. Worship is not. Worship cuts to the heart of who we are. To worship God, we cannot worship selves. We must be willing to be humble before God, to surrender every part of our lives to His control. We adore Him for who He is, not just what He has done. Worship is a lifestyle, not an activity or occasion. “For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23). This is the explanation from Jesus.

Paul explained worship in this way:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).

True worship is when worshipers “present” their bodies and minds to serve God.

The word service in the Greek is latreia and is also translated worship. It is used 21 times in the New Testament, expressing the reverence and adoration of God that leads to serving Him.

Before it appears in Romans 12, the word transform is used three times in the New Testament. Two of these instances are in both accounts of Jesus’ transfiguration. Peter, James and John followed Jesus up to a high mountain where Jesus was transfigured before them. “His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as the light” (Matthew 17:2).

The transfiguration of Jesus is an example of what happens to us when we are transformed by God. The process begins within and works from there out. The changes God makes in our hearts and in our souls become visible in our outward selves. The only way to meet the challenges of changing our carnal minds is to truly worship God. For an example of how it’s done, follow the wise men’s lead.

The political problems for 2018 are uncertain. If we choose wisdom’s path -reverence for scripture, spiritual revelation, true worship – God will meet us there. He will transform us into the image of His Son. For peace and all you need, seek and worship Him.