Mark Foreman

North Coast Calvary Chapel

• Contact: 1330 Poinsettia Lane, Carlsbad 760-9290029 www.northcoastcalvary.org
• Membership: 4000
• Pastor: Mark Foreman
• Age: 70
• Born: Whittier
• Formation: Westmont College, Santa Barbara; Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena; William and Mary University, Northrop, VA; United States International University (now Alliant University), San Diego
• Years Ordained: 45

San Diego Reader: As you prepare to retire from active ministry, what is your greatest achievement as a pastor during your 30 years at North Coast?

Pastor Mark Foreman: Handing the church off to someone else has been the most rewarding thing about pastoring. People here have taken on their own work and follow Jesus on their own rather than doing it through me. It’s very much like raising kids. When you see your kids grow up into adulthood, it is very rewarding. I also am proud of two books I wrote. Wholly Jesus is essentially criticizing the thinness of the Jesus that only wants to save peoples’ souls and doesn’t care about the rest of them. The book returns to the historical, orthodox Jesus who is more robust and cares about all of our life. My wife and I wrote a book on parenting, Never Say No. People think it’s about behavior, but it’s really about an investment in time. When our kids ask us to do something together, we should never say no to those opportunities.

SDR: What is the mission of your church?

PF: Transformed people transforming our world. It’s an attempt to say why we’re here on earth. As we encounter Christ, we are becoming salt and light. But we have to take that one step further and move out into our neighborhoods and our work and play areas to become transforming agents in our communities. In other words, no holy huddles. We can’t stay insular; we have to be outward.

SDR: Where do we go when we die?

PF: My view comes from C.S. Lewis’s wonderful allegory, The Great Divorce. He has a wonderful depiction of heaven. It tells a wonderful story about a bus that takes off from hell to heaven every day. Anybody in hell who wants to go to heaven can go there. But when people get there, they’re so surprised at what they find they don’t want to stay. It’s too real, too authentic, and doesn’t allow them to be the center of their own universe. So, they get back on the bus. There’s a hint of truth to that. Heaven, however wonderful it is, is 100% God. All the attributes of God are there. Love, beauty, truth, justice, faithfulness — all the things we know to be God are 100% there. So, the person who is happy is the person who is 100% wanting God. But to the person who wants to live forever, but not with God, that would be the view from hell, the not-God place. In this life, we get samplings of all kinds of wonderful things without having a relationship with God; we can sample love, aspects of truth and faithfulness and justice, but in heaven, God is the center of everything. That’s what we were made for — since we’re made in the image of God, to reflect him. We will find ultimate happiness in heaven…. I travel a lot around the world and don’t see this much outside of America, but we Americans firmly believe we are entitled to get whatever we want, including heaven. But the measure of our life now is exhibiting what we want. So, we shouldn’t be surprised in the afterlife if we get what had wanted in this life.

– Joseph O’Brien