A Generation Led to Jesus: Remembering Pastor Chuck, Part 3
Pastor Chuck Smith teaches at the new Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa church building, built in 1974, replacing the tent.
The hippies saved through the Jesus Revolution and the Calvary Chapel movement shared Jesus freely and often through their acts of unconditional love. Learn more as we continue our remembrance of Pastor Chuck Smith on the 10th anniversary of his passing. This series is reprinted from Issue 96 (Summer 2023) of the print magazine.
House of Love
One morning in Huntington Beach, CA, 18-year-old Roy Laney waited on Main Street to reclaim his scant belongings from an impounded van after spending two nights in jail for possession of marijuana. Standing there alone, Roy reflected on his journey from Louisiana to California: What was the purpose of it all? When the high was over, he felt emptier than before.
As Roy lingered, six different people with long hair and smiles on their faces stopped one by one to share Jesus with him. “I felt such an incredible sense of acceptance and unconditional love coming from them that I had never encountered from anyone else,” he recalled. The last one, a pretty girl, invited him to learn more about Jesus at the Philadelphia House (one of the new Calvary Chapel house ministries), where everyone was welcome.
By that evening, Roy had already gotten stoned again. When he showed up at the Philadelphia House, the Bible study was over. A guy about his age with a welcoming smile invited him in. “I’m Steve Carr,” he stated. “Do you know Jesus?” As Steve began to share the Good News that Jesus loved him and died for his sins, Roy knew it was the truth. Praying to accept Christ, Roy opened his eyes; “I was instantly sober, not stoned anymore.” Roy had grown up being taught that he had to work hard to make himself acceptable to God. “Steve explained that Jesus had paid the price I never could. The Lord just opened my eyes to that simple truth—it revolutionized my life and my understanding of God. Jesus already did all the work on the cross; I’m just trusting what He did was enough.”
The other Christians treated Roy with love and acceptance as he continued to come to Bible study. “Nobody knew me,” Roy expressed, “yet their arms were wide open to me.” Two weeks later, Roy moved in. “I lived there for 15 months,” he described. “Like a new seed that was planted, I became rooted in Jesus and the Word, nurtured and discipled in the faith—in Bible study and prayer.”
Chuck teaches young men eager to learn the Word of God; many would later become pastors and leaders in the Calvary Chapel Movement.
Later he married a young woman who lived in a ministry house. More than 50 years later, Roy thanks God that they could share the principles from the ministry houses with their children and grandchildren. “We learned the importance of knowing the Word of God for ourselves and obeying it, no matter what the world or your friends or your feelings are telling you. I got to see my girls walk that out.”
Bibles were everywhere. “Not only did everyone have a Bible, but they were worn out, well used,” Roy declared. At the Chapel, as pages rustled like soft rain throughout the room, he recalled that Pastor Chuck Smith would smile and say, “Oh, what a wonderful sound, the pages of the Bible rustling.”
Roy noted, “Chuck had a love for the Bible, and he passed that on to all of us.” Though they were close in age, Steve Carr became Roy’s spiritual mentor. “He was always faithful to the Word as a Bible teacher and counselor,” Roy affirmed. “That was drilled into us by Chuck: The counsel we give to people needs to be God’s counsel. I knew Steve would always tell me what the Bible says. People appreciated that, because we knew that man doesn’t have the answers; God does.”
Growing in Love & Fellowship
Many of the hippies who came were runaways who needed to be rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:17b), recalled Janette Smith Manderson. “That’s how Mama Kay [Chuck’s wife Kay Smith] raised us, in the love of the Lord. And a lot of the hippie kids came from homes where they were not loved. As she talked to them, she found out that’s why they were on drugs—because they were hurting and looking for something real. They found real love when they found the Lord.” Janette added, “The hippie kids would call her, Mama Kay, and my dad, Papa Chuck.” Some described Kay as the “Big Heart of the Church.”
At his 43rd birthday celebration, Chuck carries his birthday cake, appropriately made in the shape of a Bible and decorated with the Philippians 1:7 Scripture.
Thirty young men and women lived at the Lord’s House, including Dale Richman, who would go on to become a pastor and missionary. Those who had formerly been strung out and caught in a cycle of drugs and promiscuity learned a new way of life. Dale recounted, “It was about learning to get out of yourself and serve others, build up others. The women would get up early and make breakfast and lunches for the men so we could go out and work to support the house. They would clean and do laundry. We would all get into the Word of God together. There were morning, afternoon, and evening Bible studies. It was such an enriching time for us all, growing together in fellowship.”
Chuck enjoys spending time with teens and influencing their lives at the Green Valley Retreat.
What drew so many young people and kept them coming? Dale concluded, “It began with a hunger, a love for the Scriptures. Through the Holy Spirit, the Word became alive, like meat and nourishment for our souls. When you let the Word get into your soul and your mind, it becomes a treasure that nobody can take away.”
Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Psalm 119:11
Chuck encourages a youngster at one of many occasions when he was the guest of honor.
Look for Part 4 coming up, where we share more stories of transformation and how the Holy Spirit powered the Calvary Chapel movement. Read Part 1, Part 2
This series is reprinted in portion from Issue 96 (Summer 2023) of the print magazine. Stay tuned for additional installments this month or get your copy of all installments at calvarychapelmagazine.org/individual
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© 2023 Calvary Chapel Magazine (CCM). All rights reserved. Articles or photographs may not be reproduced without the written permission of CCM. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.® Used by permission.
