This place is a cult of personality. They are affiliates of the Calvary Chapel whose founder, Chuck Smith, preached the world would end in 1981 (so fervent was his belief that he very publicly ran himself into debt thinking he wouldn't have to repay it, google it), preached homosexuality was the root cause of 9/11, that abortions cause earthquakes (seriously), and even publicly excommunicated his own son for being too lenient on those living in sin. A particular favorite of mine (I take lots of notes) was when Pastor Gary railed on the legalization of same-sex marriage in America in 2013. He told the story of Lot and compared homosexuals in America to the mob of men (and boys) demanding sex with the angels visiting Lot's home. He conveniently left out the part where Lot offered his virgin daughters to the mob (or later committed incest with him while he was drunk) and instead gave some bizarre account of a Jeffersonian fear that the federal judiciary would become an [Liberal] oligarchy. (Avoiding difficult passages does not benefit the growth of any Christian) One wonders what his thoughts would be if Roe v. Wade were to be overturned. The only thing more pronounced than the pastors ego is his thirst for money. Almost immediately at each service they pass around donation requests with great fervor which, I am sure, is in great demand thanks to the very Christian $37 million dollar worship center that was constructed (with an extended parking lot under construction now). I feel sick thinking of how many mouths that money could've fed or how many backs could've been clothed. It's one thing to have a roof over your head to worship, but $37 million?? My 8-year-old came home once in tears after saying the children's Bible study showed them a video depicting people dying who didn't believe in Christ and he was terrified he didn't believe enough. Utterly heartbreaking. Incidentally, parents are barred from entry into the kids class. As if this wasn't enough, Pastor Gary once, at a Thanksgiving sermon (2017 I believe, told you I take notes) where he was taking online questions, responded to the following: A member of the congregation asked why the Bible so crudely says, in Luke 14:26, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even their own life--such a person cannot be my disciple." A legitimate question from someone I presume to be struggling with their understanding of the passage and looking to an elder for guidance. Being entirely dismissive, the Pastor makes a joke in front of the entire audience about "what kind of Thanksgiving THIS person must be having" followed by the lazy response that, and this is a direct quote, "the middle eastern minds who wrote the Bible tended to be hyperbolic in their language." This, by the way, is the same man who had said, in 2013, that the new NAB translation of the Bible, which changed the the Hebrew word alma from virgin to young woman is, in fact, denying the Divinity of Christ. Suddenly specific words matter. The man is a joke of a theologian and is doing nothing more than promulgating End Times superstitions, raking in peoples hard earned money, and promoting sycophancy to the Trump administration (arguably the least Christian president we've ever had) simply to staff the Supreme Court with sympathetic justices to create the "judicial oligarchy" he once feared. He quotes the Bible when the law of the land doesn't fit exactly into his own personal belief system, but sells out his own faith and principles to further the same judicial bullying on people who don't share his belief. And we wonder why Christianity is struggling these days. My recommendation would be to take your Bible and go find a quiet park to read in, you'll sleep much better and have more money to donate to actual people in need. read more