The Riddleblog

“The OC — A New Burned Over District” -- the Context for "The Jesus Revolution"

I have not yet seen the film, but I will. I’m not sure how Kelsey Grammer will translate from Frazier Crane to Chuck Smith, but I will keep an open mind.

I did, however, compose a series of blog posts in 2013 on the religious buzz generated throughout Orange County, CA, by the large evangelical ministries based here in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s, including: TBN, Robert Schuller and the Crystal Cathedral, Chuck Swindoll of the Fullerton Evangelical Free Church, the Bible Answer Man (Walter Martin), and the newbie at the time, Rick Warren and Saddleback. A significant part of my series included a look at Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel (a retrospective from my later Reformed perspective).

I was a close observer of this remarkable time (mostly), and a small participant in some of it. My family owned a Christian Bookstore at Knott’s Berry Farm, smack-dab in the middle of a loud Christian buzz which is now but a faint hum.

In any case, here’s my take on that era, including my perspective on Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel: The OC -- A New Burned Over District (originally written in 2013 and updated and republished here 2021).

The OC -- A New Burned Over District? Lessons to Be Learned

What are we to make of the "Christian buzz" which once swept throughout Orange County? As religion writer Jim Hinch points out in his Orange County Register article of June 24, 2013, "the future of religious America is all over Orange County. And that future, like the county itself, is diverse, entrepreneurial, stratified by economic extremes, innovative and endlessly fascinating" (Hinch on OC Religion in 2013). Hinch is certainly right about the endlessly fascinating part of the OC's religious future. What comes next? Only the Lord knows the answer to that question. But to anyone who grew up in the OC, it is self-evident that the OC is not the same place in 2013 that it was in the 1960's-70's-80's-90's. The Christian buzz which dominated the religious life of the OC during those bygone years has, for the most part, gone quiet. This is not a bad thing in my estimation.

To Read the Rest of This Article, Follow the Link Below

The OC -- A New Burned Over District? The Bible Teachers

If the Christian buzz in the OC was generated by larger than life personalities who promulgated a revivalist, dispensationalist, and charismatic evangelicalism, that buzz was surely sustained by a number of Bible teachers who faithfully taught the Scriptures and defended the faith. While there are a number of men who labored to keep the faith during those years, two significant figures come to mind as we look back at that era. The first is Charles R. Swindoll, pastor of the Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton (or "E-V-Free" as it was known in the OC). The second is Walter Martin, the original and authentic "Bible Answer Man."

The Chuck Swindoll of the late 1970's was one of the best expository preachers I have ever heard. When I first became aware of the buzz, and then finally settled the question as to whether or not I was going to be a Christian, the time came to find a church and join. There was little question that my choice was going to be EV Free. The preaching and teaching at Calvary Chapel was repetitive and weak, and places like Melodyland (and later the Vineyard) were just too wild to suit my tastes. My family had attended the Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton off and on back in the days when Wes Gustafson was still pastor, and when the church was still located on Woods Ave. This was well before Chuck Swindoll arrived in the OC in 1971 from Irving, TX.

To read the rest of this post, follow the link below:

OC - Burned Over DistrictKim RiddlebargerFebruary 1, 2021Chuck Swindoll, Walter Martin, EV Free

The OC -- A New Burned Over District? Robert Schuller and The Crystal Cathedral

Calvary Chapel may have created most of the Christian "buzz" in the OC, but surely the OC's most famous church (building and grounds) was Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral [note: Robert Schuller died in April of 2015]. The sheer scale and grandeur of the Cathedral dominates the heart of the OC. In an area with few tall buildings, the Crystal Cathedral is clearly visible from three of the freeways which pass through central Orange County.

In one sense, the Crystal Cathedral and Robert Schuller were not really part of the OC "buzz." Schuller's message of "self-esteem," and the Cathedral's highbrow manner of worship, were much more typical of the Protestant mainline than the evangelical and charismatic churches which did generate local buzz. But if you had family coming to town from the Midwest or the East Coast, they wanted to see the Crystal Cathedral and they knew all about Robert Schuller, even if they had never heard of the two "Chucks" (Smith or Swindoll) who were much more appreciated by the local evangelicals.

Follow the link below to read the rest

The OC -- A New Burned Over District? Calvary Chapel

You simply cannot talk about the Christian "buzz" in the OC apart from Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel. If there has been one dominant church in the development of the OC's evangelical subculture, it is Calvary Chapel. Calvary Chapel made being a Christian "cool."

In 1965, "Pastor Chuck" as he's affectionately known, wanted to reach young people, especially the throngs of hippies and surfers found throughout South-Central Orange County (the so-called Jesus People). This was the era of free-love and Vietnam War protests, kids with long hair, tie-dyed jeans, girls in halter-tops, experimentation with drug use, and fascination with Eastern religions. Those young adults were asking questions about life, the future, and especially about the Christianity in which they were raised. Many of them found that the churches of their youth were not all that interested in them, or their questions. Their churches wanted nothing from them but conformity. Conformity, of course, was the one thing that was not going to happen. The Jesus People had "dropped out" and "tuned in." Why bother with them?

To read the rest, follow the link below

OC - Burned Over DistrictKim RiddlebargerJanuary 22, 2021Calvary Chapel, Chuck Smith, Jesus People

OC -- A New Burned Over District? TBN

There was a time when much of the Christian "buzz" in the OC centered around the nightly doings of Paul and Jan Crouch and their must-see "Praise The Lord" program. "Praise the Lord" is still broadcast live each evening (Monday through Friday) and the world-wide and gigantic TBN empire remains a force. But the local buzz TBN once generated is now long gone.

In my circle, the "Praise the Lord" program was known as the "Pentecostal follies." Of course, most Pentecostals I know felt about TBN the way in which I feel about former CRC elder Harold Camping--the guy is a crackpot. We felt bad laughing at Paul and Jan at first, but then you realized that these people were broadcasting this stuff into my home because they wanted me to watch them. And frankly, much of what they did was funny--even if it shouldn't have been. If some of us were taken aback by Paul and Jan, many more just lapped this stuff up.

To read the rest, follow the link below

OC - Burned Over DistrictKim RiddlebargerJanuary 19, 2021TBN, Paul and Jan Crouch, Televangelism

The OC -- The "Buzz"

I am certain that my family owned and operated the only Christian Bookstore in an amusement park (Knott's Berry Farm). The photo above is of my dad (Clayton) and was taken when our bookstore was newly remodeled in 1967. If you ever visited Knott's back in the day, and can recall the displays of the California missions in what was then Fiesta Village, you'll understand why our store looked like a California mission. It was a California history thing, not a papal thing.

I grew up in this strange world of Christian retail, and I have long since repented of supplying too many families and churches with Warner Sallman's awful "Head of Christ" painting. If your grandma lived in Southern California (or visited Knott's), and had on her wall the picture of the old man praying over his bread, or the gleaners in the field giving thanks for the harvest, chances are she bought it from us.

I begin with our family's bookstore (the Inspiration House), because the first time I encountered the Christian "buzz" so typical of the OC in the late 60's through the mid 90's was the first "Maranatha Night" at Knott's. I don't remember the year (1971?), but my dad had died in 1969 of a sudden heart attack at age 50, and my mom took over the business. Darrell Anderson (one of the younger and hipper members of the Knott family) had recently become a Christian while attending a "Jesus People" church, which I later came to know as Calvary Chapel.

Follow the link below to read the rest

The OC -- A New Burned Over District?

I've been thinking about tackling this subject for some time. But it was an article in Monday's Orange County Register (Click Here) which prompted me to begin this brief series. In an article in the new "faith & values" section of the Register religion writer Jim Hinch observes . . .

The future of religious America lives in a two-story beige office building in downtown Fullerton, where homeless people and college graduates attend church together. The future also lives at a mosque in Mission Viejo. At an organic farm started by a megachurch. In downtown Santa Ana, where kids of many faiths feed the homeless. And in an Orange County church for hipsters where women, once excluded from ministry, now are pastors.

Hinch goes on to describe the biggest change of all to the Orange County religious landscape--Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral is soon to become "Christ Cathedral," home to Rome's OC diocese. Anyone who has been to the OC, knows that the Crystal Cathedral stands tall and is directly across the 5 freeway from the Honda Center (where the Ducks play hockey) and Anaheim Stadium (where the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim play baseball). Christ Reformed is also nearby, but almost invisible until you are on top of it.

To read the essay: The OC -- A New Burned Over District

OC - Burned Over DistrictKim RiddlebargerJanuary 12, 2021OC Burned Over District