I was in northern San Diego County preparing for the Coast to Coast Multi Site conference a few weeks ago. Because I dont handle multiple time zone changes well, I flew out Saturday night. Of course that meant I woke up at 3 a.m. California time and had to wait around for everyone else to get up.
I really like the California coast in the morning. Of course I also believe that at anytime it could fall into the ocean but no need to discuss my paranoias.
I enjoy visiting with our client churches. Since I was staying right in Carlsbad I went down to check out North Coast Calvary Chapel. My friend Mark Foreman is pastor there. I first met Mark some years ago at one of our old Senior Pastor forums. He is a great guy with a real pastor's heart. One of our Leadership Network team members, Tim Dammon, attended there when he lived in that area.
The church meets in a shopping center complex with a sort of a Tuscan theme. (Right next to a Ralphs pretty good Grocery. Out in the plaza they set up the various tents and booths which I always love to see in California, but rarely see it work in other places. I guess you trade the weather for the earthquake risk.
I know that Mark's children are in the band Switchfoot which I know nothing about but my kids say is really cool. So I was expecting some really kickin,loud music. Instead, there was a good set of musicians and singers. At that 8 a.m. service we sang a mix of praise and even some old hymn texts such as the Old Rugged Cross and Jesus Paid it all. It warmed the heart of this old Baptist.
The worship centered around the celebration of the Lords Supper/Communion and I found it very meaningful. Mark wasnt preaching that day and instead they had Gary Olver speak on relationships. They were doing this to promote an upcoming outreach event for couples scheduled to use a theater and teach on good relationships. I was disappointed not to see Mark but I enjoyed my time there. For those that dont think you can grow a large church in limited space, I would encourage you to check out how they do it there. I know they are building a new campus, but building in California takes a long time.
Next post....Part Two...Over to Emmanuel Faith.
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