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).

OC - Burned Over DistrictKim RiddlebargerFebruary 27, 2023TBN, Calvary Chapel, The Crystal Cathedral, The Bible Answer Man Comments

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