One of God’s great teachers passed away today. Chuck Smith, the founder of the Calvary Chapel movement died this morning around 3 AM. Chuck Smith had a huge influence on this blog through his book Living Water. In fact almost any God Running blog post concerning the Holy Spirit has borrowed heavily from Chuck Smith. Of course like many of you, I’ve listened to his teachings on the radio for years.
I also loved reading about his work in his book Harvest. I don’t know how anyone could read that book and not come away with a view of Chuck as one of the best examples of fruit bearing ever. (Today there are more than 1,600 churches born out of the Calvary Chapel movement.) He was a man whose ministry truly pointed to Christ and glorified God.
Oh, and the title: Chuck once said, “One day you will read in the paper that Chuck Smith died. Don’t believe it. It should say, ‘Chuck Smith Moved.'”
RIP Chuck. No doubt you’re welcomed in heaven, but you’ll be missed here on earth.
More about Chuck Smith:
Bob Coy, Remembering Pastor Chuck, Calvary Chapel Blog
Ed Stetzer, Chuck Smith Has Died, Christianity Today
Chuck Smith’s Website, The Word For Today
Great video about Chuck Smith and his work on The Comfort Zone with Ray Comfort:
Pastor Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel Reached Hippies With Gospel, Christian Post