Evangelical pastor Chuck Smith, a founder of the Calvary Chapel movement known for reaching out in unorthodox ways to bring generations to Jesus,
died Thursday at the age of 86, Christianity Today reported.
Smith had announced in January 2012 that he had lung cancer. On Thursday, his daughter, Cheryl Brodersen, tweeted:
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And later added:
Smith reached out to the 1960s hippie generation in a way that launched a transformation of worship styles, Christianity Today said. He was welcoming of new worship styles, including music that departed from traditional hymns and clothing that was comfortable to California surfers.
“He led a movement that translated traditional conservative Bible-based Christianity to a large segment of the baby boom generation's counterculture," Brad Christerson, a sociologist studying charismatic churches, told Christianity Today. “His impact can be seen in every church service that has electric guitar-driven worship, hip casually-dressed pastors, and 40-minute sermons consisting of verse-by-verse Bible expositions peppered with pop-culture references and counterculture slang.”
Well-known in the Christian community, Smith’s passing brought responses from other popular pastors:
And a final word from Smith made the social media scene, too, reiterating the faith on which he built his life:
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