Ken's BlogPoint

new blog address

2009-06-29T15:59:00.000-07:00

No worries! My blog is still alive and lives at www.kenhensley.com. I've had the kenhensley.com domain since the late 90s and it had been on a free hosting site up until last month. When that arrangement expired, I decided to revamp it and make it my primary blog site.

tied to the mundane

2009-05-29T14:47:00.001-07:00

"Jesus said, "You're tied down to the mundane; I'm in touch with what is beyond your horizons" John 8:23 MSG

a new season in life

2009-05-21T11:03:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, we began LifePoint in 2005 and for the first two years I worked full-time with the church. We had been granted start-up money that was used during the first two years to provide for salary, rental of our worship space, and other start-up costs. Beginning in 2007, I started working full-time at Blue Haven Pools and Spas since LifePoint was not at a point where it could continue to pay me a full-time salary. The idea was to draw my salary from outside the church while continuing to pastor the church as much as possible.

The last two years have been physically and emotionally challenging for me; the last six months even more so (click here to read a post from February about working two jobs). But these were challenges of my own choosing. I do not regret making the decision to work outside the church. During the past two years LifePoint has touched and blessed many people – people who are now closer to God because of our church. In 2008 alone, we had ten people decide to become Christians!

Over the last several months I have felt a strong desire to return to full-time ministry. Working at Blue Haven was always a means to an end, never the end itself. A career in the pool industry is not my calling. My hope and desire two years ago was that I would once again be full-time at LifePoint. Unfortunately, LifePoint is not in that position.

After much prayer and reflection, I made the decision to seek another pastoral position. Several of our LifePoint leaders have been aware of this from the very beginning. Last week, Tonya and I accepted a pastoral position with Mountainview Community Christian Church in Highlands Ranch (Denver), Colorado. I will be their Pastor of Spiritual Formation and share in the weekend teaching responsibilities as well as other areas very similar to what I had hoped LifePoint would have become.

This has been one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made. Simply put, our family loves LifePoint and always will. Without a doubt, it has been the best church experience of my entire life. While we are excited about the next season of our lives, it is tempered by our reluctance to leave people we love dearly.

Mountainview has asked me to be on-site by July 15. This means that I will preach at LifePoint through the end of June. No final decisions have been made about what the next steps might be for LifePoint. Several of our leaders and me have recently started exploring our options and would welcome your input. There are several viable options that we are looking into. I am planning on sharing this again on Sunday and would be glad to field any and all questions you might have.

This is an post I never thought I would have to write. While we definitely sense God’s hand in directing our path, we are accepting his guidance with a bit of sadness. As your pastor and friend, I have been blessed in untold ways over these last four years and wouldn’t trade any of them for anything.

We would appreciate your prayers. May God’s peace rest on you.

taking responsibility

2009-05-16T12:04:00.001-07:00

Since most of you will read this before or after worship, I guess it’s a good time to offer a confession: I got a ticket this past week for not wearing my seat belt. I had just left the Spring Street trolley station and was on my way to Hope’s softball practice. A La Mesa police office on a motorcyle spotted me and pulled me over.

I have to admit to not being happy about it. In fact, I was a bit ticked off. I thought to myself ... Don’t they have anything better to do than drive around looking for seat belt violations? Shouldn’t they be out fighting real crime?

My fuming continued as he asked for my driver’s license, registration, and insurance. I had been hoping for a warning, even a stern warning, instead of a ticket. As I watched in my rear-view mirror, he began writing the ticket -- something that made me squeeze the wheel a bit harder.

For a fleeting moment I thought of asking him, “Weren’t you in that show called Chips?” I may have been upset, but I wasn’t going to be stupid.

But here’s the reality: I deserved that ticket. One hundred percent guilty as charged. There was no misunderstanding, no differerent interpretation. I wasn’t wearing my seat belt. End of discussion.

Isn’t it ironic that we often get upset when we get caught doing what we know is wrong? We take moral indignation and turn into immoral indignation. “You can’t tell me what to do” is often our angry reaction to being called out or told the truth.

Parents, teachers, coaches -- anyone who works with young children -- know that the hardest part about raising children is getting them to take responsibility for their actions. It wasn’t the imaginary ghost who made the mess. It was me. “I did it” are three of the most difficult words to say.

And that’s just as true for adults as it is for kids.

You have passed a major milestone on the path to spiritual maturity when you are able to take responsbility for your actions. It wasn’t the devil who made you do it (he may have contributed to it, but you made the choice).

And watch out for those cops on Baltimore Avenue.

2009-05-14T12:40:00.001-07:00

In a struggling economy, do otherwise reasonable people make unreasonable demands? Or maybe I notice it more in customer service. I guess it never hurts to ask.

2009-05-12T08:14:00.001-07:00

Words to live by from my daily reading: When you see trouble coming, don't be stupid and walk right into it _ be smart and hide. Proverbs 22:3.

mother's day

2009-05-09T14:15:00.000-07:00

My mother only knew how to play one song on the piano. It was part ragtime with hints of a church hymn mixed in. I find myself still humming that tune even though she passed on nearly 13 years ago.

There are other memories which tend to surface around Mother’s Day ... like how my mother would carry one of those old Panasonic cassette recorders to bluegrass festivals and record her favorite groups. You could never hear the actual music because mom would start singing along and forget about the recording.

Or my mom’s love of flowers and her affection for cats.

Now that I can no longer pick up the phone and talk with mom, I wish I had paid more attention to Mother’s Day. When you’re young (and often stupid!), special days seem more burdensome than blessed.

There isn’t anything I wouldn’t give to sit next to my mom one more time in church or to hear her play that old ragtime tune. I’d even be willing to eat her meatloaf again if it meant 15 more minutes of conversation.

So let me encourage you to give your mom a big hug this Sunday. It’s the least we can do.

disney channel original movies

2009-05-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

The Disney Channel likes to call their new movies “D-COM’s.” It stands for Disney Channel Original Movie. Hannah Montana, Camp Rock, and others.

The irony is that all the “original” movies tend to follow a very predictable pattern. The same actors and actresses bounce from one movie to another. If you turned off the sound, you would think you were watching the same movie each night. Of course, I’m a bit jaded because I’m “forced” to watch all the new D-COM’s. Or maybe I just can’t recognize art when I see it.

Back before Jesus was born, King Solomon once wrote “there is nothing new under the sun.” In other words, human nature has remained pretty consistent for thousands of years. We create new toys to amuse ourselves (can anyone say “Crackberry”), but our basic needs, hopes, fears, and dreams remain the same.

God-followers have always been asked to walk a path that may not be shared by the crowd. Jesus held values that challenged the prevailing values of his day. To say he danced to the beat of his own drummer would be an understatement. And he expected his followers to walk the same path. The King James Bible describes the earliest Christ-followers in this way: “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also” (Acts 17:6).

We’re starting a new teaching series at LifePoint Church entitled, “The Upside Down Way of God.” We’ll look at five Christian principles that may seem upside down:

The First will be Last
It’s Better to Give than to Receive
The Weak are Strong
Slavery is Freedom
We Die to Live

upside down way of God

2009-04-25T11:34:00.000-07:00

I used to think that older people who talked about the “good old days” were just being nostalgic for when they were younger. Every “good old day” always sounded brighter than the present day. Back in those “good old days,” even a baby’s dirty diaper smelled better.

Now that I’m inching towards being included in the “older” demographic, I find myself in a curious position. I find myself talking with other forty-something people about “the way kids are” and about how things were different “back when I was young.” It’s kind of funny. Not the getting older part, but about how perspective changes with time.

Then again, our perspective should change with time. We learn, we grow, we experience significant life events. Wisdom isn’t the result of growing older; it’s the result of growing older and paying attention to what we learn along the way.

As Christ-followers, our perspective is informed by more than life experience alone. When we choose to follow Jesus, we are choosing to walk where he did, as he did. Our steps are to fall in line with his. In many respects, our goal is not to be Christ-like but to be living examples of Christ to the world.

The decision to follow Jesus puts us at odds with the prevailing values of our culture. It has always been that way. It was that way for Jesus and his first disciples. It was that way during the Roman Empire. It’s that way today.

We’ll be starting a new teaching series at LifePoint Church next Sunday entitled, “The Upside Down Way of God.” We’ll look at five Christian principles that may seem upside down:

The First will be Last
It’s Better to Give than to Receive
The Weak are Strong
Slavery is Freedom
We Die to Live

2009-04-24T08:21:00.001-07:00

RT @johncmaxwell: "However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results." Winston Churchill

words

2009-04-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

Words matter. Understanding the words we use matters even more. I found this to be true while helping coach a team of 8 year-old girls in softball. “I want to bunt. What does that mean?” Or another girl asked me what a “fair ball” was.

Softball players have a language of their own, borrowed from the baseball diamond. A few examples: getting in a pickle, worm-burner, rope, shiner, high cheese, heater, Texas leagueer, and on the list could go. To an outsider, it might be a little intimidating until the basics are mastered.

The same can be true of church. We may find ourselves speaking a language that people disconnected from God may not understand. Newer, more modern versions of the Bible help -- they translate the Bible using contemporary language. But no matter how current or contemporary the translation, there will always be words that need to be defined for new listeners.

Rather than abandon words such as redemption, salvation, holiness, righteousness, and others, we need to help people understand what they mean. One of the best ways to do that is not through translations of the Bible alone but through lives that have been transformed. To see redemption in action. To see holiness with flesh on it.

Words do matter. Even more so when they come to life!

Bono's op-ed piece

2009-04-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

It’s 2009. Do You Know Where Your Soul Is?

BONO

I AM in Midtown Manhattan, where drivers still play their car horns as if they were musical instruments and shouting in restaurants is sport.

I am a long way from the warm breeze of voices I heard a week ago on Easter Sunday.

“Glorify your name,” the island women sang, as they swayed in a cut sandstone church. I was overwhelmed by a riot of color, an emotional swell that carried me to sea.

Christianity, it turns out, has a rhythm — and it crescendos this time of year. The rumba of Carnival gives way to the slow march of Lent, then to the staccato hymnals of the Easter parade. From revelry to reverie. After 40 days in the desert, sort of ...

Carnival — rock stars are good at that.

“Carne” is flesh; “Carne-val,” its goodbye party. I’ve been to many. Brazilians say they’ve done it longest; they certainly do it best. You can’t help but contract the fever. You’ve got no choice but to join the ravers as they swell up the streets bursting like the banks of a river in a flood of fun set to rhythm. This is a Joy that cannot be conjured. This is life force. This is the heart full and spilling over with gratitude. The choice is yours ...

It’s Lent I’ve always had issues with. I gave it up ... self-denial is where I come a cropper. My idea of discipline is simple — hard work — but of course that’s another indulgence.

Then comes the dying and the living that is Easter.

It’s a transcendent moment for me — a rebirth I always seem to need. Never more so than a few years ago, when my father died. I recall the embarrassment and relief of hot tears as I knelt in a chapel in a village in France and repented my prodigal nature — repented for fighting my father for so many years and wasting so many opportunities to know him better. I remember the feeling of “a peace that passes understanding” as a load lifted. Of all the Christian festivals, it is the Easter parade that demands the most faith — pushing you past reverence for creation, through bewilderment at the idea of a virgin birth, and into the far-fetched and far-reaching idea that death is not the end. The cross as crossroads. Whatever your religious or nonreligious views, the chance to begin again is a compelling idea.

•

Last Sunday, the choirmaster was jumping out of his skin ... stormy then still, playful then tender, on the most upright of pianos and melodies. He sang his invocations in a beautiful oaken tenor with a freckle-faced boy at his side playing conga and tambourine as if it was a full drum kit. The parish sang to the rafters songs of praise to a God that apparently surrendered His voice to ours.

I come to lowly church halls and lofty cathedrals for what purpose? I search the Scriptures to what end? To check my head? My heart? No, my soul. For me these meditations are like a plumb line dropped by a master builder — to see if the walls are straight or crooked. I check my emotional life with music, my intellectual life with writing, but religion is where I soul-search.

The preacher said, “What good does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” Hearing this, every one of the pilgrims gathered in the room asked, “Is it me, Lord?” In America, in Europe, people are asking, “Is it us?”

Well, yes. It is us.

Carnival is over. Commerce has been overheating markets and climates ... the sooty skies of the industrial revolution have changed scale and location, but now melt ice caps and make the seas boil in the time of technological revolution. Capitalism is on trial; globalization is, once again, in the dock. We used to say that all we wanted for the rest of the world was what we had for ourselves. Then we found out that if every living soul on the planet had a fridge and a house and an S.U.V., we would choke on our own exhaust.

Lent is upon us whether we asked for it or not. And with it, we hope, comes a chance at redemption. But redemption is not just a spiritual term, it’s an economic concept. At the turn of the millennium, the debt cancellation campaign, inspired by the Jewish concept of Jubilee, aimed to give the poorest countries a fresh start. Thirty-four million more children in Africa are now in school in large part because their governments used money freed up by debt relief. This redemption was not an end to economic slavery, but it was a more hopeful beginning for many. And to the many, not the lucky few, is surely where any soul-searching must lead us.

A few weeks ago I was in Washington when news arrived of proposed cuts to the president’s aid budget. People said that it was going to be hard to fulfill promises to those who live in dire circumstances such a long way away when there is so much hardship in the United States. And there is.

But I read recently that Americans are taking up public service in greater numbers because they are short on money to give. And, following a successful bipartisan Senate vote, word is that Congress will restore the money that had been cut from the aid budget — a refusal to abandon those who would pay such a high price for a crisis not of their making. In the roughest of times, people show who they are.

Your soul.

So much of the discussion today is about value, not values. Aid well spent can be an example of both, values and value for money. Providing AIDS medication to just under four million people, putting in place modest measures to improve maternal health, eradicating killer pests like malaria and rotoviruses — all these provide a leg up on the climb to self-sufficiency, all these can help us make friends in a world quick to enmity. It’s not alms, it’s investment. It’s not charity, it’s justice.

•

Strangely, as we file out of the small stone church into the cruel sun, I think of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, whose now combined fortune is dedicated to the fight against extreme poverty. Agnostics both, I believe. I think of Nelson Mandela, who has spent his life upholding the rights of others. A spiritual man — no doubt. Religious? I’m told he would not describe himself that way.

Not all soul music comes from the church.

Bono, the lead singer of the band U2 and a co-founder of the advocacy group ONE, is a contributing columnist for The Times.

2 new podcasts uploaded

2009-04-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

For those keeping score: I just uploaded two new podcasts. Find them here.

better than a bunny

2009-04-11T20:33:00.001-07:00

As a child, I loved getting a chocolate bunny at Easter. Not the hollow kind, but the solid five-pound bunny rabbit that would take a good part of one month to eat. I’m not sure how many of those I actually finished. “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak ...”

But Easter is so much more than chocolate bunnies or grown men dressed up in bunny suits.

Easter is a celebration of God’s most awe-inspiring miracle: his ability to bring life out of that which was dead. When Jesus’ burial tomb was discovered empty, angels from heaven asked his followers: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” In other words, Jesus is no longer dead -- he’s alive!

The miracle that happened on the first Easter Sunday has happened millions of time since then. In small towns and places like San Diego, all across the world, God has brought the dead back to life. No tombs required. Those who have found themselves dying from despair or shame have found new life through the Risen Son.

Now that’s better than any five-pound chocolate bunny.

writing

2009-04-03T14:50:00.000-07:00

As some of you know (especially my Facebook friends), I have finished writing my first novel. I began writing last fall, after I started commuting to work on the trolley. Every morning and evening I spend about 45 minutes each way on the trolley. I began reading novels to help pass the time and started ripping through them. San Diego's Central Library is only three blocks from my office and I would walk there on lunch and swap out books.

After a few months of reading other people's writing, I decided to write my own. Most of the novel was written on my Sprint smartphone(s) -- the latest being an HTC Touch Pro. It has a slide-out, full QWERY keyboard with both function and CTRL keys. I did do some writing on my laptop, but the majority of the book was written with my thumbs and an occasional finger.

The novel is currently being read by three potential literary agents. Of course, there were many more rejection letters/emails than acceptance letters/emails. But I am very encouraged by the number who wanted to see the manuscript -- and how quickly. Now, I am in the active waiting period.

So ... I started a second novel. This one has been written exclusively on my HTC Touch Pro. It's about a travelling evangelist who knowingly rips people off. Quite fun to write.

I always knew my thumbs would amount to something.

rediscover

2009-04-01T15:25:00.000-07:00

Rediscover the basics of the Christian faith. Our new teaching series starts Easter Sunday and will explore such basics as Jesus, the church, our journey, and our mission. Rediscover the essential truths of a healthy, mature faith.

Sundays at 10:30 at LifePoint Christian Church in San Diego.

at the swap meet

2009-03-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

Kobe’s Swap Meet is an adventure. Part garage sale, part living infomercial. In the early 90s I bought a pair of Hawaiian shorts there that last all of about six weeks. But I loved those shorts!

My parents never went to a swap meet: they went to flea markets. Is there a difference? Not that I know of. But it’s little wonder that flea markets became “swap meets.” Most people try to get rid of fleas, not buy them.

The beauty of a swap meet is the “deal.” It’s finding a treasure that isn’t found in stores (think the early days of the Salsa Master). It’s the joy of bantering and bargaining with the seller. It’s getting to poke around in other people’s stuff and not get in trouble for doing so.

Is there a spiritual lesson to be learned from the swap meet? I don’t have any particularly deep, penetrating observations. No brilliant insights.

Maybe that in and of itself is the spiritual lesson. Not every experience has to be the biggest, the brightest, the most sensational. If we’re not careful, we can become spiritual thrill-seekers and miss God in the ordinary experiences of life.

two new podcasts uploaded

2009-03-28T13:17:00.001-07:00

I just uploaded 2 new podcasts from LifePoint Church. The first deals with worry and the second with handling anger. Find all the podcasts from LifePoint here.

perspective

2009-03-24T09:08:00.001-07:00

This morning while getting out my vitamins, I dropped one of the chromium picolinate tablets (400 mcg, for those who keep score). As is usually the case, it automatically disappears. After spending a few moments looking around, I decided I needed to change my perspective if I were to find the tablet. Squatting down, I found it rather quickly.

Life is like that. Sometimes we can't see problems or opportunities because we're looking at life from the same perspective we always have. That's when we need to bend down (or over) and get a different angle.

I came across this quote that fits well: "Calling attention to consumerism, materialism and capitalism in America is like telling a fish to notice the water." (Kyle Osland, Icon Church).

labels and titles

2009-03-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

At a softball game yesterday, one of the dad’s asked me: “What do people call you? Pastor or minister?” My first response was, I’ve been called much worse than that. I told him of receiving a piece of junk mail once that was addressed to “The Most Holy Reverend Ken Hensley.” How did they know, I said to my secretary. I should have kept the letter for proof.

When I meet people for the first time and they ask what to call me, I just say “Ken.” Part of it may be due to my background in a denomination that disliked titles. Part of it is my belief in the “priesthood of believers,” the biblical idea that all Christians are servants of God. We just serve in different capacities.

The title I cherish the most, however, is a rather simple one. It is to be known as a “Christian.” As a Christ-follower, my aim and ambition is to be like Jesus. The term “Christian” originally came about as a term of derision, or insult. It was applied to Christ-followers in a negative way. Over time, his followers adopted the word as their own.

It’s one of the reasons I dislike denominational labels -- they tend to distract the focus away from Jesus. Our first impulse when asked to identify ourselves should not be to say Baptist or Methodist but as Christian. One of the my favorite books I read while still in high school. The title? “I Just Want to be a Christian.”

People disconnected from God and Jesus aren’t all that interested in our intramural squabbles and denominational points of differentiation. They will be attracted to Jesus.

May we wear the title “Christian” in a way that honors our Christ.

send the dominator to opportunity camp

2009-03-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

Dustin (aka "The Dominator") started attending Opportunity Camp as a camper. In recent years he has returned as a staffer, although he's still The Dominator. While he lived in California it wasn't too difficult to make the trip to Opportunity Camp. But now he lives in Texas and needs to buy an airline ticket. I'm offering the use of my PayPal account as a collection station for those interested in helping Dustin return to camp.

Click the button below to make your non-tax-deductible donation. Any money above and beyond the cost of airfare will be donated to camp.

coming on sunday

2009-03-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

This Sunday (March 22) at LifePoint Church we'll be looking at part four in series on things that hold us spiritually captive. We'll focus on anger and how to learn a better way to blow off steam.

inexpensive postcards

2009-03-18T08:44:00.000-07:00

I've used Vista Print for a number of print projects throughout the years. Spring Clearance Sale at VistaPrint! Save up to 90%

cruel and unusual punishment

2009-03-17T20:11:00.001-07:00

The girls have gained control of the big screen and are forcing me to watch American Idol the "country version." Doesn't this qualify as cruel and unusual punishment?

overcoming addictions

2009-03-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

Anna Nicole Smith is back in the news. Well, sort of. Jerry Brown, our Attorney General, has decided to pursue charges against three people who supplied Ms. Smith with the drugs that eventually contributed to her death.

The three people include her boyfriend/attorney and two doctors. In counseling terms, they served as her enablers. They were the ones who enabled her addiction and kept it alive.

For people battling addictions, the co-conspirators are all around us. Marketing messages tell our young ladies that they must look a certain way, encouraging eating disorders and other harmful habits. These same messages encourage our men to look at women as objects rather than human beings made in God’s image. We are told to take a pill if we’re sick or want strong bones or a healthy sex life.

Credit card debt continues to mount. A Blackberry phone becomes a Crackberry. Kids watch increasing amounts of television because it’s the electronic babysitter.
Technololgy serves us, then becomes our master. As a society, we have surrounded ourselves with enablers who will feed our addictions.

Addictions are no respector of persons. Young and old battle addictions. The rich and poor, black and white, male and female. Some addictions are physical; others are emotional or relational.

But there is hope. The fundamental message of Christianity is this: you can be changed. Words are used like transformation, renewal, rebirth. Words that speak to the fact that you don’t have to stay the same person you’ve always been.

May that message become reality ... in your life.

battling addictions

2009-03-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

Part three of our “Held Hostage” series at LifePoint Church focuses on how Jesus can enable us to deal with addictions. You don’t have to be held spiritually captive – there is hope. And that hope is found in Jesus Christ. Join us this Sunday (March 15) as we explore what the Bible says about living victoriously over addictions.

strong fathers, strong daughters

2009-03-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

Over the past two weeks I have had a number of conversations with parents, particularly dads, who are having a tough time with their daughters. Not in a run-away-from-home-get-pregnant kind of way. More like ... helping them deal with bullies, disappointment, motivation. Typical things that every kid goes through but not every parent is prepared to deal with.

Several years ago I read the book Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters and it has helped me with raising our own two daughters. The basic premise of the book is that strong dads will raise strong daughters. To help your daughter grow and mature, dads must focus on their own behavior, values, and example. It's a great book and one I highly recommend.

pilates, not pilate

2009-03-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

I'm now into my third week of morning workouts. While grazing the aisles at Costco, I came across the "3-in-1 Exercise Ball" in a box. It's an inflatable exercise ball and three DVDs -- with an elastic band and a web that wraps around the ball. One morning I'll do Pilates and the next day I'll do cardio and strength training. Although I'm beginning to miss my belly, I am feeling better with each day.

soul revolution

2009-03-10T08:59:00.000-07:00

In April at LifePoint Church, we will starting the 60-60 experiment. This is an idea that I first came aross in a book by John Burke. The book is called Soul Revolution and it describes how Burke's church did the 60-60 experiment. What is the 60-60 experiment? It's attempting to think about God every 60 seconds for 60 days.

worry, the follow-up

2009-03-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday's message on overcoming worry generated many good pieces of feedback (it didn't hurt that I put Alfred E. Neuman's picture over my own). In doing a bit of research into the idea of worry, I came across an old book by Dale Carnegie: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

It may not help you win any friends or influence any people ... but it might help with a bit of worry.

what, me worry?

2009-03-08T08:41:00.000-07:00

What, me worry?

Most of us know we shouldn’t worry. We know full well about the ill-effects of stress on the mind, body, and spirit. We don’t like living fearfully, wondering what’s around the next corner.

It’s also a fact that most of us worry from time to time. What we worry about may change, but the results are the same: worry doesn’t solve a thing.

Irritability is a sign that worry may be lurking beneath the surface. If you find yourself snapping at those you love, ask yourself if there’s something you’re worried about. When we choose to hold on to our worry rather than deal with it, those negative feelings and emotions will find a way to be released -- often in ways that only cause more problems.

So what do we do? One common response is medication. We are an overly medicated society, much of it due to the increase of stress and worry. Another option is to do nothing. Or, even worse, to feed our worry by worrying even more.

The best response is found in God’s Word:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Worry is a symptom that we are focused on our ability to handle a situation. The way to handle worry is to know when to hand a problem or a decision over to God. When you do, you can have confidence that he is able to make your path straight. In other words, God is able to handle whatever may come your way.

kid's album by the barenaked ladies

2009-03-06T09:37:00.000-08:00

The Barenaked Ladies have been one of my favorite groups for about 10 or 15 years, I'm not quite sure since time flies when you're having fun. A few days ago I found out they had released a children's album and bought it today. It's a blast! As fans of BNL know, they can twist a great phrase and are also talented musicians. Here's a link to the album:

Snack Time by the Barenaked Ladies

launching a church

2009-03-05T10:47:00.000-08:00

I've recently begun to listening to podcasts from Nelson Searcy, a pastor who started a church in New York City. One of the concepts he challenges is the idea of church planting -- preferring to call it "church launching" instead. The idea is launch with momentum rather than planting with a small group of people. It's an interesting take and he's written a book (and does seminars) about it.

becoming a contagious christian

2009-03-04T08:40:00.000-08:00

Many Christ-followers have a list of people they want to see enter into a relationship with Jesus. Yet many of these same Christ-followers struggle to find a way to communicate what they believe. A few years ago I came across this book:

Becoming A Contagious Christian

It's by Bill Hybels (from Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago) and it's an easy-to-read book that helps Christians became contagious Christians. In other words, it helps us to become better at reaching out to those that we love and care about.

no perfect people allowed

2009-03-03T15:36:00.001-08:00

In April we will be starting the 60-60 experiment at LifePoint Church in San Diego. The idea is to think about God once every 60 seconds for 60 days. I came across the idea in a book by John Burke, a pastor in Austin, Texas. I'm looking forward to seeing what God can do when a group of people focus on him.

new podcasts uploaded

2009-03-03T06:18:00.000-08:00

I've uploaded three new podcasts -- two from our previous teaching series on "Chasing the Lion" and the first installment of "Held Hostage."

seeing with new eyes

2009-03-01T18:17:00.000-08:00

It’s been one year since I had Lasik surgery performed on both of my eyes. That’s twelve months without glasses, not having to worry about walking in the rain, and being able to read the clock while lying in bed. I spent thirty years wearing glasses. To tell the truth, it still seems hard to believe.

At first, it was strange to not have glasses. I would put on a t-shirt and reach for my glasses -- and they wouldn’t be there. But after a while, old habits begin to loosen their grip as they’re not needed anymore.

The same is true in our spiritual lives. We form habits which have the potential to enslave us. Many people are held hostage by the sins of bitterness, worry, addictions, anger, or lies. We become used to having them around, so much so that we adapt the rest of lives around them. It’s like a person wearing glasses -- we instinctively reach to take them off without even thinking about it.

But now that I’m one year into a new set of eyes, I can say that habits can change. A person in spiritual captivity doesn’t have to remain a captive. Jesus Christ has the power to set the captive free.

As we study the five areas of captivity this month, my prayer is that you will experience the life-changing power of Jesus in a way you’ve haven’t before.

roasting coffee beans at home

2009-02-25T15:33:00.000-08:00

In my life with coffee, there have been several significant hinge moments. The first was being given my very own Mister Coffee maker when I went away to college (thanks to my brother, Rod). I could brew my own coffee in the convenience of my dorm room. Thankfully the water from the sink wasn't toxic. The second hinge moment came when I discovered a coffee grinder and began grinding my own beans - first with the aforementioned Mister Coffee and then with a Krupps machine. The next hinge moment in my coffee story was the birth of the coffee shop and espresso drinks.

Thanks to a friend of mine (Tina), the most recent improvement in my quest for the perfect cup of coffee has been the use of a french press. She came to a Bible study at our house for LifePoint and nearly fainted when she saw me using a regular coffee maker. The next week she brought over her french press and I've not used a coffee maker at home since.

So ... today I'm reading our local paper and there is a story about local coffee roasters. I've been to one -- Caffe Calabria. But what caught my eye was the mentioning of a man who has developed a home roasting machine. It's the Behmor 1600 and it was invented by a local San Diego guy. You can roast up to a pound of coffee at one time.

Now all I need is $300 and a way to find green coffee beans ...

held hostage, the graphic

2009-02-23T18:54:00.001-08:00

held hostage

2009-02-23T18:52:00.000-08:00

I was a youngster in elementary school when several Americans were taken hostage in Iran. It was the late 1970’s and I didn’t pay much attention to the news. I was drinking coffee, but watching the news was not high on my list of things to do.

But I do remember when the hostages arrived back on American soil after being freed by their captors. I remember watching them and wondering what it must have been like to have been help captive for so long -- and then to be set free.

There are hostages all around us. In fact, you may be a hostage and not know it. Or maybe you do ... but don’t know what to do about it.

The type of captivity I’m talking about is spiritual captivity. Although there are no visible chains around our ankles, the captivity is just as real. That’s why we’ll be starting a new teaching series on March 1 entitled “Held Hostage: How to be set free by the power of Jesus.”

We’ll walk through together what the Bible says about five common battles that have the ability to hold us hostage:

bitterness
worry
addictions
anger
lies

The message of Jesus is one of hope and redemption. The power of the Holy Spirit is available to help us overcome the chains that seek to bind us. The Word of God not only offers encouragement but guidelines as well. The bottom line: there is hope.

If you or someone you know struggles with one or more of the above topics, then make sure you’re at LifePoint over the next five weeks.

divine appointments

2009-02-20T13:36:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about how to jump start things at LifePoint and have been brainstorming ideas. As I was in the midst of typing out an email to someone about LifePoint, I received a phone call on my cell phone from a young lady who works with Acquire the Fire, a ministry geared towards teens. My first thought -- Uggg, a telemarketing call.

Instead, she simply asked if there was anything they could be praying for in regards to our church. I shared two things and she asked if it would be alright if she prayed right then! Who can turn that down?

I hung up the phone and nearly cried. God's timing is always perfect.

stand up and take your chance

2009-02-14T22:11:00.000-08:00

As a general rule of thumb, I’m not a big fan of musicals. There is just too much singing. Of course, that’s why they are musicals. There are a few exceptions to my rule of thumb and among them is “Les Miserables.”

It’s the story of a man seeking to redeem himself for his past sins. Jean Valjean, a former convict, is given a second chance on life by the forgiveness of a priest. Later in the story, Valjean finds himself keeping a promise to dying lady to look after her daughter. This promise takes him to Paris, a city that is in the midst of the French Revolution. Cossette, the daugther, falls in love with one of the Revolutions’s student leaders.

Surrounded by the French Army, the student revolutionaries vow to fight on. The spirit is captured in the song, “Do You Hear the People Sing?”

Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!

Suffering losses as cannons explode all around them, a single leader steps out and sings:

Will you give all you can give
So that our banner may advance
Some will fall and some will live
Will you stand up and take your chance?
The blood of the martyrs
Will water the meadows of France!

Will you stand up and take your chance? It’s a call to risk, to sacrifice. It’s also a call to experience life in a way that you can never experience by staying on the sidelines.

The path to spiritual maturity is simple: get involved. Get in the game. Start praying on a regular basis. Set aside time to read and meditate on God’s word. Begin inviting people to church.

You’ll experience a new level of spiritual growth.

working for the Man

2009-02-13T15:27:00.000-08:00

We returned to San Diego to start LifePoint Christian Church in 2005. In 2007 I began working a second full-time job in order to allow the church time and space to grow without the burden of paying for a full-time pastor. Since then I have worked as the ecommerce manager for Blue Haven Pools and Spas Supplies Direct. I thought I would share a few random observations, for my three readers out there ...

1. Working two jobs is tough. Physically, emotionally, etc. I have a much greater appreciation for those who must work two jobs in order to make a living wage. I also have a greater awareness of the need to be in better physical shape.

2. Working full-time outside the church means less time devoted to church stuff. It's basic math. Working 45-50 hours at a day job means that much of my pastoring must be down at night and on weekends. This includes writing my messages on Saturday, something I never would have done otherwise. It also means that I feel unable to do all the things necessary to help the church grow.

3. Working full-time outside the church can be a blessing. Being an "undercover pastor" in the workforce has its benefits. I get to hear how people really feel about church without them dressing it up because they're talking to a pastor. I also have the opportunity to show how a Christ-follower handles stress, challenges, and opportunities.

4. Being bi-vocational requires a good team of volunteers. Church plants live and die with volunteers. Working outside the church means that I must be able to effectively recruit and inspire volunteers.

5. Working outside the church is a low-cost way to plant in high-cost areas. If a pastor is able to work in the marketplace, it dramatically reduces the amount of seed money needed to start a new church. This can allow for more churches to be started where working capital might be limited.

6. Working two jobs is not a long term solution. Ideally, I would like to be a full-time pastor again. For the church to move through different stages and into greater growth, full-time attention will be required.

7. Wherever I am working, I am working for God. Having been in the marketplace as well as the pastorate, I can see this principle at work in both places. I choose to make the most of every opportunity.

Well, I told you these would be random.

hulu dot com

2009-02-08T17:53:00.000-08:00

OK, maybe I'm a bit slow but I finally visited hulu.com today after our drummer at church told me that's where he watched episodes of shows he missed at their regular schedule. Last Monday we flew back from Denver and I was a bit wiped out ... hence, I fell asleep before 24 came on. No worries -- I watched the entire show (and only about 2 minutes of commercials) this afternoon on my laptop. The sound and video were excellent. Next step? Buying an S video cable to run from the laptop to the HDTV. I may be hooked on hulu.

In the spirit of Guy Kawasaki ... I may become a hulu.com evangelist.

wild, random updates

2009-02-03T16:22:00.001-08:00

It's been about a week or so since I've last posted anything so I thought I would fire wild and random updates at all of you. Tonya and I went to Denver for the weekend and I was the guest speaker at Mountainview Community Christian Church in Highlands Ranch. You can find a podcast of my sermon on their website (you'll even see a small mugshot of when I had glasses). I preached at all four of their weekend services -- once on Saturday and three times on Sunday morning. Each sermon was a bit different ... I'm never quite sure what's going to come out until it comes out.

Mountainview is a church plant that began in the 1990's and has grown to well over 1,000 people. The founding pastor, Jim Phillips, is still there and the church continues to move forward in reaching people for Jesus.

While in town, we ventured up to downtown Denver and took a few pictures of Coor's field (the home of the Colorado Rockies). Since it was closed, all we could do was take pictures of the outside of the building. Downtown Denver has a lot of public art on display. It's a pretty downtown.

On Sunday night I was able to meet up with an old high school buddy that I hadn't seen since graduation (1987). He's bald now but by choice. We had a good time remembering old times and talking about our lives since high school. We played on the high school basketball team together and our dads would sit next to each other and talk. It was good to be together.

Tonya's parents came out to watch the girls while we were gone. Hannah spent Friday night at the junior high CIY (Christ in Youth) conference in Anaheim. That meant Hope got Nana and Grandpa all to herself, which she thoroughly enjoyed.

I'm going to post a few pictures below that I snapped with my phone. I might post a picture or two of Coors field if I gather the emotional courage to do so.

trolley adventures continue

2009-01-27T21:18:00.000-08:00

This morning I arrive at the trolley station, trot up the stairs, and start to wait for the trolley to arrive. Feeling a bit cold (OK, by San Diego standards it was cold), I decided to run back to the car to get my coat. As I'm returning to the station I see my trolley roll off into the distance. At least I was warm while waiting for the next trolley.

So ... when it's time to leave work, I get down to the street (from my 3rd floor office) and remember I had left my coat up in the office. Jogging back up the steps, I grab my coat, and hit the street again. I'm zipping up my coat as I see my trolley rolling off into the distance. In my mind I'm saying, "unbelievable." I guess I could have said it out loud and no one would have thought anything about it since it is downtown.

So ... I wait for the next trolley to arrive, which takes about 30 minutes. When it does arrive, it is a two-car trolley as opposed to the normal four or six car trolley. It's barely started on its route and it's already crowded like a cattle car. And it only gets worse with each successive stop.

Directly in front of me is a lady talking out loud, to no one in particular. My first thought is that she was talking on a bluetooth. Then I notice she doesn't have a bluetooth. Then I try not to make eye contact because the stuff she's talking about is really strange.

But at least I had my coat. And I was warm.

a bit melancholy

2009-01-25T18:43:00.000-08:00

Back when my father died, we divided up dad's belongings among myself and my four brothers. This included dad's coin and silver collection. Since 2000, my share of the coins and silver has traveled with us from San Francisco to Atlanta to San Diego. Every now and then I would take it out, look up information on the Internet (because everything you find on the Internet is true), and update a spreadsheet I had started years ago.

Yesterday as I was reading the newspaper, I noticed a three page ad for a traveling coin and jewelry show. I had been considering selling part of the collection -- having just looked up local coin dealers last weekend. So I packed up my collection in an old camcorder bag and went to the show. The buyer quoted prices for the different pieces and then asked me what I wanted to sell.

I hadn't told him where the coins had come from. I sat there for a few moments and then decided to sell less than half of what I had brought. Even then, I was extremely torn. As I left the show, I felt bad for selling what I had saved for so long and had hoped to pass down to my own daughters. I know dad's intentions were to benefit his children and he saved what he had in order to bless his family. Even still, it was a time of mixed emotions. I think I drove home on auto-pilot because my mind was elsewhere.

I was thinking about my dad and my children. I was thinking about the relatively small worth of the coins and silver compared to the immeasurable worth of the memories they carried. I allowed myself a few moments of sentimentality -- or maybe I'm just getting old and weepy. Either way, or a little of both, I'm thankful for memories and traditions and legacies. And a bit sad, too.

man versus food

2009-01-25T18:22:00.000-08:00

How do you get a job traveling the country and eating food? That's what I'm wondering as I'm sitting here watching Adam on "Man v. Food" on the Travel Channel. This has become one of our family's favorite shows.

blessings and challenges

2009-01-24T21:25:00.000-08:00

Starting a new church carries with it a great number of challenges, some more mundane than others (think bureaucratic paperwork). Church planters start new churches because they actually enjoy change and the challenges that come with it. That’s why so many of us new church pastors are a bit odd.

Just as starting a new church brings many challenges, it also brings many blessings. We get to see a people discover God and grow in their relationship with Jesus. There is the slight but significant change in language, when newcomers shift from talking about “your” church to “our” church.

The greatest blessings always involve people. The lifeblood of any church is her people. Here at LifePoint, we were privileged to start the church with a handful of people we already knew. When stepping out into uncertainty, it’s good to have a few familiar faces to accompany you.

We also have had the opportunity to meet many new people along the way. This has been one of my greatest joys as a pastor: watching God bring people into our church community and then making them a special part of our lives.

Justin and Claudia Gramm are two of those special people that God graciously led into our church. Justin came to us at a time when we were struggling to have good music during worship. From a humble beginning with just one person in the band (himself), Justin helped put together a fantastic team of musicians and vocalists. In a world of uncertainty, I could always be certain of one thing: our music would be done well.

As many of you may know, Sunday, January 25, will be Justin’s last day leading worship at LifePoint as he and Claudia begin to seek God’s next place of service. There has been no falling out or conflict. Life simply has seasons. God brought Justin and Claudia to LifePoint at just the right time and we believe God’s sense of timing is still intact.

Beyond the music, Justin and Claudia have added a friendliness and joy to our church that will be missed. While we will miss them at LifePoint, we can celebrate that they are still a part of God’s kingdom and God’s kingdom will continue to benefit from their many gifts. It’s an irony of the Christian faith that we can mourn and celebrate at the same time.

I thank God for the season we had together.

vote for this dorrito's commercial

2009-01-22T21:07:00.000-08:00

My buddy Bobby from Opportunity Camp is in one of the last four commercials competing for the Dorrito's spot during the Super Bowl. Go to www.crashthesuperbowl.com and VOTE for "too delicious." He is the one who winks.

turbo tax commercial

2009-01-21T19:10:00.000-08:00

Very rarely does a commercial cause me to laugh out loud but when it does ... I find it on YouTube. Turbo Tax has been running commercials featuring green men from U.S. currency. Here is the one that made me laugh.

"Your deduction needs a diaper change."

podcast updated

2009-01-18T17:11:00.001-08:00

I just uploaded the first three messages in our new series at church entitled "Chasing Your Lions," based on 2 Samuel 23:20-23. You can find them here.

more thoughts about the kidney

2009-01-17T09:02:00.000-08:00

As a pastor and a Christ-follower, I’m generally not a fan of pre-nuptial agreements. To enter a marriage with a pre-arranged exit strategy seems to undermine the whole “till death do us part” business. In my mind, a pre-nuptial agreement seems to presume failure -- that the marriage won’t last.

Having said that, if you do decide to craft a pre-nuptial agreement, you might consider putting in a few clauses concerning organ donation. Not in the end-of-life-become-a-donor sense. More like: what if your husband or wife needs a kidney and you decide to donate one? Should you get it back if the marriage ends in divorce?

One husband thinks so. Richard Batista, a Long Island doctor, donated a kidney to his now estranged wife back in 2001. After a long divorce battle, he has decided to ask for his kidney back.

I’ve heard of couples arguing over jewelry, paintings, houses, even pets -- but never have I heard a couple argue over a kidney. One of the best lines I’ve read in news reports comes from Lisa Bloom, a legal analyst for CBS News:

“She ripped out his heart, but he doesn’t get to rip out her kidney.”

Pardon me for being insenstive, but that line would make a great country song. You might have to shorten it a bit, to something like: “You tore out my heart, now gimme my kidney back.”

Left to themselves, grievances will only fester into something worse than the original offense. That’s why Jesus tells us to be proactive in settling matters with those who have offended us:

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).

Holding grudges and exacting revenge may provide a temporary sense of relief but in the end only do greater damage to ourselves and others.

Put another way, if you give someone a kidney, let them keep it.

kidney follow-up

2009-01-15T20:07:00.000-08:00

Writing that last post about the custody battle for the kidney reminded me of something I overheard on the trolley a few weeks ago. Riding home from work I hear this lady say right out of the blue: "Would you hold my liver?" I didn't look because I didn't want to know. Remember, it's the trolley.

kidney: common property

2009-01-15T20:02:00.000-08:00

Has anyone else heard about the couple that's getting divorced and the husband wants some of his property back from his soon-to-be ex-wife. He wants his kidney back. It seems that prior to falling out of love he donated a kidney to his wife. Now he wants it back. Can you do that? Here's a blog post from the New York Times.

upcoming message

2009-01-14T10:20:00.000-08:00

I've been asked to speak on the topic of "leading through discouragement" in a few weeks. A few thoughts are mulling around in my head ... leaders need to press in to God and press on when things get discouraging. Anyone have any thoughts?

softball draft

2009-01-14T09:18:00.000-08:00

Went last night to the softball draft for the 8 and unders for Navajo softball. It was pretty laid back -- no wheeling and dealing. As far as I could tell, no cash was passed under the table and swearing was kept to a minimum. A certain redhead was drafted pretty high, too.

wednesday thoughts

2009-01-07T18:37:00.000-08:00

These are rough times for a lot of people. Companies are down-sizing. Those that are left behind are picking up more of the slack. I left the house this morning with thoughts of paying the rent, bills, tuition, and trying to do the math in my head. Although we've thought of cutting the kids back to one meal a day, we haven't done so (yet). Even though I'm a pastor, I still need to remind myself that God is in control and doesn't need a government bailout. And he has also created us with freewill -- the ability to make choices. Even when life seems bleak, we still have a choice. I stopped doing the math long enough to remind myself of that. I can choose to let God be in control. As ironic as it may sound, that is a most liberating of thoughts!

change your tv, change your life

2009-01-04T18:35:00.000-08:00

Has anyone else seen the new commercial for Sharp HD televisions? The tag line is "Change your tv, change your life." I wish someone would have told me that years ago ...

new teaching series at lifepoint

2009-01-03T20:59:00.000-08:00

It’s not the end of the world to be small.

In the land of the National Football League, Darren Sproles is a boy among giants. Facing off against defensive lineman who weigh in the neighborhood of 300 plus pounds, Sproles is a small man in a big man’s world. Standing 5’6 and weighing only 181 pounds, Sproles would seem to have the odds stacked against him.

Yet as yesterday’s game shows, sometimes having the drive to win is more important than size alone. Darren Sproles darted past men nearly twice his size as he scored the winning touchdown in overtime. If the prize goes to the biggest on the field, Sproles would have finished near the end of the heap.

Today we are starting a new teaching series that looks at how we can live an extraordinary life by facing challenges head-on rather than shrinking back. We’ll focus on a person in the Old Testament who embodies the spirit of a Christ-follower.

Based on a book by Mark Batterson (In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day), the seven principles we’ll cover are:

Having a Big View of a Big God
Facing Your Fears
Overcoming Adversity
Learning to Embrace Uncertainty
Taking Faith-Based Risks
Seizing Your Opportunities
Willing to Look Foolish

As we start a new year, I’m excited to be starting this new series. I’m even more excited to think of what is possible when God gets involved in a person’s life (in your life!).

If you're in the San Diego area, I hope you’ll join us at LifePoint for all seven messages. And bring a friend along, too. These are principles which have the potential to up-end the world and impact a person’s destiny.

old high school friend on cnbc

2009-01-01T13:36:00.000-08:00

Here's a video of Jeff Ostrowski, a fellow East Peoria Community High School graduate, on CNBC commenting on the Bernie Madoff scandal.

lifepoint gets a facelift

2008-12-29T18:35:00.000-08:00

Not the church but the church website. Check out LifePoint Church's newly redesigned website.

wii elbow

2008-12-28T18:05:00.001-08:00

I think I'm developing Wii elbow.

good day at church

2008-12-28T18:03:00.001-08:00

We had a good day at church today. Did an unplugged set with just an acoustic guitar and two vocalists. I finished a series on "What's Under Your Tree" with a message about God's forgiveness. Isn't it a wonderful thing that our God doesn't treat us the way our sins deserve! Next Sunday I'll be starting a new series based on a book by Mark Batterson entitled "Chasing Your Lions." It's about how to allow God to accomplish great things through you.

technological leap frog

2008-12-26T12:11:00.000-08:00

Games sure have changed since I was a kid. Back then, we were told to go outside and find sticks to play with. OK, maybe it wasn’t that primitive but it seems like it when you see the stuff kids play with today.

We bought the kids a Wii for Christmas and it’s amazing how responsive the technology is. A sensor bar picks up the movement of the wireless remote and allows you to actually swing a bat or roll a bowling ball. With the addition of a guitar you can be rocking along with Bon Jovi.

On the plus side, the Wii requires the players to actually move (a sneaky way to exercise); on the down side, it requires the players to actually move. For the kids, it’s fun. For old guys like me, it just makes us sore.

Technology keeps moving on. Most mobile phones have more computing power than actual computers had less than two decades ago. Televisions are getting bigger, brighter, and with a decent speaker system can make you feel like you’re at the event you’re watching. GPS, the Internet, microwaveable meals.

We’re living in an age of technological leap-frog, where the latest advance gets jumped over by the next big breakthrough. Trying to keep up with all the changes is nearly impossible. Trying to understand them can be frustrating.

Though technology may be changing rapidly, there are other elements of the human experience that remain changeless. The needs to be loved, have friendship, and feel useful are universal needs that existed just as much during the Industrial Revolution as the Internet Revolution.

People have searched for meaning, for life’s purpose, since the beginning of time itself -- even without the advantage of GPS.

The greatest need of all never changes: the need to be in a healthy, growing relationship with God. Without such a relationship, no amount of technology can fill the void or give direction.

As we approach a new year (2009!), let us recommit ourselves to nurturing the greatest need of all. May this new year be a year when we pursue the One who pursued us all along.

God bless you and here’s to a great new year!

multi-channeling

2008-12-23T18:18:00.000-08:00

First it was blogging, then it was tweeting, and now it's Facebook. Although I'm typically an early adopter, my wife had the first facebook account in the family. Find me on facebook and be my friend!

praying like habakkuk

2008-12-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

Lord, I have heard of your fame, I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known (Habakkuk 3:2).

When we experience tough times, it’s easy to get discouraged. Discouragement simply means that we’ve lost courage. Courage to face a challenge or courage to change course. A difficult economy can even stretch the limits of a natural-born optimist, putting a damper on his or her courage.

It’s tempting when we face difficulties to begin doubting whether or not God can doing anything about what we are going through.

Habakkuk’s prayer (printed above in italics) is a reminder that we serve a God who is more than capable to not only meet our needs but to exceed them as well.

His prayer is a call to action, a plea for God to exhibit his power in Habakkuk’s day as he did in the days of Habakkuk’s ancestors. Habakkuk wasn’t satisfied only knowing about God’s fame and awesome deeds; he wanted to experience them for himself. And he wanted his community to experience it, too (“Renew them in our day, in our time make them known”).

Whenever you face a crisis or a challenge, it is an opportunity to put God’s fame and awesome power on display in your life. It is a chance for you to experience first-hand what others have experienced for themselves: the working of God in your life. Perhaps your prayer will be, “God, I’ve heard of what you’ve done in the past but I want to experience it for myself.”
When you pray that kind of prayer, be prepared to “stand in awe” just as Habakkuk did.

I might even go a step further and say that it is the responsibility of the church to seek God’s intervention on behalf of our friends and neighbors. We must ask God to renew his deeds in our day and in our time, just as Habakkuk did. Our prayer to experience the fame and power of God cannot be a selfish prayer.

When the news gets discouraging, remember to put your courage not in the stock market or Congress (!) but in the One who holds all of life in his hand.

hannah writes my sermon

2008-12-20T19:58:00.000-08:00

Hannah sat down this afternoon and said she would write my sermon for tomorrow. Here is what she came up with:

Today’s sermon is about Christmas. Christmas is a time of joy, happiness, love, compassion, and many other virtues that lots of people forget. For those people in our towns, cities, states, and even our own personal lives, it’s not even about those virtues. The typical, non-Christian person’s idea of Christmas is a long morning full of unwrapping gifts and drinking hot cocoa next to a fire set ablaze.

The Christian’s idea of a Christmas scene is a Nativity manger under a shack-looking thing with shepherds and wise men huddled around the newborn baby Jesus and his earthly parents, Mary and Joseph. How different is that from the other’s view who don’t see it like that? It might be identical. The wise men brought gifts, so do we need to automatically assume that we are to offer gifts, and expect some in return? Others that see the Christmas scene as a Christmas tree with glowing lights around it and presents underneath it will see it the same way too. They give presents and also expect some. They expect Ones with their name on it written in someone else’s handwriting. Why are they looking if they already have one? Jesus’ present to us was that He died, with our name on it.

Why, then, do you ask, that they are still not content with their ultimate present? Maybe, they have not met their wise men. The wise men traveled from afar to get to the baby Jesus, the King. Some researchers found out it could have even taken 2 years to get to them. Never once did they give up, either. They kept on going throughout circumstances we are not even aware of. They came, and never gave up on getting to Jesus.

Why aren’t we like that? We should be their wise men. Travel to them, no matter what the circumstances are, and what they might be. Know that they, too, received that present, the ultimate present of eternal life that they don’t have to pay for. The one with their name on it.

Think about all those people that you may know, or you may not. Think about all of them, the ones that don’t know that they have eternal life under their Christmas tree. Be their wise man. Their wise man that will travel far to get them to their King and their Savior. Be a wise man.

reading the obituaries

2008-12-20T19:57:00.000-08:00

I read the obituaries in the paper.

I think it originally started while we lived in Georgia and the local paper was much smaller than the Union-Tribune. To feel like I was getting my money’s worth I felt compelled to read every last bit of the paper. That included the police blotter and the obituaries. On any given day, there was a good chance I would know someone in either list.

Even though the Union-Tribune is a larger paper, I still read the obituaries. It’s interesting to me how a lifetime gets summarized in three or four paragraphs. What gets told? What gets left out? How will the person be remembered, if only for a few inches in the local paper?

There are obituaries of people who have lived over 80 years, typically with a picture from their late teens or early 20’s. You can usually tell by the hairdo or the World War II uniform.

The obituaries that interest me the most are the ones that are closest in age to myself. It’s a bit sobering to read the life story of someone who is just a smidge younger or older than yourself. It’s a reminder that all of us are terminal and life is fickle. One’s story can end at any moment and be left for the next of kin to describe in three or four paragraphs.

As I read the obituaries of other people, the question that surfaces in my mind is this: “What story am I leaving behind?” Am I being intentional enough about what I value and believe that those who are left to write my obituary will have no difficulty telling my story? When I think of what I want people to remember, are those the things I am devoting my life to?

I’m not necessarily suggesting you read the obituaries every day -- but every now and then might be a good exercise. Regardless if you do or don’t, what you do need to do is to spend time thinking about your legacy and what story you are leaving behind. If it’s one that would make you and God proud, good for you and keep it up. If not, do something different. Start today living the life you want people to remember.

san diego food bank

2008-12-11T08:54:00.000-08:00

LifePoint has become involved with the San Diego Food Bank. The food bank estimates that over 400,000 people in San Diego county will need food assistance at some point this year; of that number, over 100,000 of those will be under the age of 12. We did a small food drive at church, participated in the 5k Walk for the Hungry, and spent a few hours last Saturday sorting and boxing food at the warehouse. In 2009 we expect to become even more involved on a regular basis. It's hard to believe that in a county as beautiful as San Diego that people go hungry but it's true. When we were talking about ways of serving our community, it seemed that this was well in line with what Jesus himself did - feeding the hungry.

new podcasts

2008-12-10T08:11:00.000-08:00

I just added three new podcasts -- the last two messages from our series on discovering life's purpose and the first message of our Christmas series. You can grab all of our podcasts at the LifePoint podcast site.

christmas in san diego

2008-12-09T08:27:00.000-08:00

Last Friday we took the girls and two of their friends to "December Nights", the big Christmas production at Balboa Park. Balboa Park is the crown jewel of San Diego and it was beautifully decorated for the holidays. All of the museums were open and offered free admission. There was food from across the globe and three stages with live music. They estimated nearly 300,000 people attended during the two-night event.

As it would happen, I saw four people I knew within the matter of two minutes. Two were from LifePoint and the others were Hannah's soccer coach and his family. Even in San Diego, it can be a really small world sometimes.

new christmas series

2008-12-08T10:26:00.001-08:00

We just started a new Christmas series at LifePoint entitled, "What's Under Your Tree?" We're looking at the gifts of God -- hope, peace, forgiveness -- and how they are available to us every day and not just at Christmas. If you're in San Diego, we'd love to have you -- our worship starts at 10:30.

i'm inverting

2008-12-08T10:17:00.000-08:00

A little more than a week ago, I bought an inversion table on sale at Big 5 for $99. It may turn out to be the best $99 bucks I've ever spent, besides the $99+ bucks it cost me to get married or to feed my children on a weekly basis. For the past ten days I've been hanging upside down one or two times a day, 15 minutes at a time. I've been amazed at how much better my back feels. I'll have to upload a picture of me inverted (with my shirt tucked in so you won't freak out at my belly).

Check out LifePoint Christian Church San Diego Non-Denominational - Home

2008-12-04T20:02:00.001-08:00

I just installed this new widget called "Tell a Friend" from socialtwist.com. It allows you to refer a site using a bunch of different social mediums. It's pretty cool. I first put it on justingramm.com, the website for our worship leader at LifePoint.

an economic perspective

2008-11-27T08:18:00.000-08:00

The economy has been on everyone’s mind. Housing reports, taxes, jobs, unemployment, stocks, bonds, credit, and so on. Our state and city governments are running budget deficits and having to make cuts. On the personal level, many of us are tightening our belts and trying to make wise choices in difficult times.

I’m not going to profess to be an economist, though some of it is common sense: spend less than you make and avoid going into debt. Other than that, my next best tip would be to buy low and sell high.

No, I’m not an economist -- I am a pastor. As such, I’m intrigued by one of economic’s most basic principles: the law of supply and demand. Simply put, the law of supply and demand states that when demand exceeds supply, prices go up. When supply exceeds demand, prices go down.

In the Christian “economy”, the law of supply and demand takes on a different meaning. Jesus once said that the harvest was plentiful but the workers were few (Matthew 9:37). The harvest Jesus spoke of is not corn or even coffee beans. The harvest represents people -- brothers, sisters, neighbors, co-workers, fellow students -- who have yet to have a meaningful, life-changing encounter with Jesus.

The demand is great but often unrecognized. We see the people in our lives -- brothers, sisters, neighbors, co-workers, fellow students -- but fail to see the harvest. Perhaps this is why Jesus said to his earliest followers, “Open your eyes and look at the fields. They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35). Even then, it was possible to be one of Jesus’ travelling companions and not see the same things he saw.

While demand is greater than ever (the “fields are ripe for harvest”), the supply of workers remains low. Yet I believe we may be entering a time when people will be searching for something more stable than an interest rate or savings account. Times of uncertainty have a way of encouraging people to look for certainties.

The demand for real hope, real assurance, and real stability will only increase. The question is: will Christ-followers step up to the plate and offer the One real answer and solution?

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matthew 9:37-38).

justin's web address

2008-11-26T14:46:00.001-08:00

It's always best when you actually tell people where the website is found! Here it is: www.justingramm.com.

justin gramm dot com

2008-11-26T14:44:00.001-08:00

I just finished building a new website for Justin Gramm, our worship leader at LifePoint. He's recorded a new CD and the site is designed to promote it.

billy mays here ...

2008-11-25T08:17:00.000-08:00

“Hi! I’m Billy Mays here for ...”

If you watch any television at all, you’ve surely seen an infomercial featuring Billy Mays, the dark-bearded, loud-talking pitchman for products like Orange Glo, OxiClean, Mighty Putty, Weed Auger, and now health insurance. Every commercial begins with Billy Mays bursting on the screen, introducing himself, and then delivering a high-octane pitch for the next 60 seconds or 60 minutes.

Billy Mays got his start selling the Washmatik on the Atlantic Boardwalk in New Jersey. He travelled the county and state fair circuits selling food choppers (maybe the Salsa Master!) and other items. His big break came when he met the founder of Orange Glo and became their principle sales man. From there the Billy Mays infomercial franchise was born.

I found it more than a bit ironic that an infomercial pitchman can become a household name. Maybe it’s a sign of the times. Maybe it’s a sign we watch way too much television.

What makes Billy Mays so effective is his approach: he appears genuinely enthusiastic about everything he is selling. Does he actually use Mighty Putty around his house? I doubt it (according to Wikipedia he lives in a million dollar house in Florida -- I wouldn’t put Mighty Putty on digs like that). But that doesn’t matter. For those 30 or 60 seconds he makes you feel like he’s discovered the most incredible, unbelievable product ever ... and he’ll double your order if you order RIGHT NOW!

When we talk to non-Christians about our faith and hope in Jesus, we obviously can’t offer to double their salvation if they respond right away. But do we speak with the same energy and enthusiasm of a person who has discovered the most incredible, unbelievable opportunity ever ... the opportunity to get right with God and tap into his unlimited power?

I’m not suggesting we shout at someone for 60 straight minutes the way Billy Mays does. And we can’t throw in a bonus offer.

What we can offer another person is a first-hand experience with the living God. Be enthusiastic about what God is doing in your life. Don’t be afraid to get excited. I’ll let you in on a secret: It’s OK.

downsizing, reorganizing

2008-11-23T08:14:00.000-08:00

I’ve never been a big talk-on-the-phone kind of guy. But that is changing. As with many other companies, we have laid-off a number of people on the Internet side of Blue Haven Pools and Spas. This means that those who are left are wearing many hats, myself included. One of those hats includes answering the phones.

Just Friday I talked with a nice lady from Bronx, NY, who ordered a couple of our inflatable snow tubes. And I had to tell a customer she wouldn’t be getting the cover she ordered for her pool. You never know what you’re going to get when you pick up the phone.

In between phone calls, I try to write a little code, design a few pages, manage our pay-per-click campaigns, and listen to Marvin the homeless guy carry on a conversation three floors below on the side of 7th Avenue. One of the unfortunate perks of downsizing has been getting a new office with a real window, unlike the fake window in my last office. Marvin sits below my real window.

Downsizing is difficult because it’s people, not numbers, that get downsized. It’s one thing to let people go for incompetence. Incompetent people tend to fire themselves. But when a good person is let go for economic reasons, that’s a tough thing to do.

Many of you may find yourselve in similar situations. Economic news, housing trends, employment reports -- it seems like the bad news just keeps coming. Maybe you’ve delayed going on vacation or buying a house, or perhaps you’re just scaling back in general. You might even be a bit nervous about what the future holds.

I once heard (and probably said this myself) that character is formed during difficult times. Then I heard John Maxwell put a different spin on it. He said that character isn’t so much formed during difficult times as it is revealed during difficult times.

We certainly grow as a result of facing challenges. But our true character, the real you, is brought to the surface when the going gets rough. As Christ-followers, we can face difficult times with an assurance that God is bigger than our troubles. We can march into the headwind with the attitude of Paul: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

Rather than worry, try praying. And let God take care of the rest.

bobby shoots a video

2008-11-20T13:45:00.000-08:00

My buddy Bob Brindley from Opportunity Camp has shot a video for the Doritos Super Bowl contest. It's pretty funny. Click here to watch it. He's the guy sitting at the table next the lady.

39 isn't much different than 38

2008-11-10T21:15:00.000-08:00

A personal note for those of you keeping score: I turned 39 this past Thursday (November 6). Truth be told, it doesn't feel much different than 38.

three new christ-followers

2008-11-10T21:13:00.001-08:00

At the close of last Sunday's message, three people made the personal decision to become followers of Jesus. That brings our year-to-date total at LifePoint to eleven people!

the point of life

2008-11-10T21:09:00.000-08:00

I am starting a new teaching series at LifePoint Church entitled, "The Point of Life." Every life has meaning and purpose, including your life! This series will focus on how to discern God's purpose for your life ... and how to live it to the fullest. Every Sunday at 10:30 right here in San Diego!

pre-election musings

2008-11-01T11:27:00.000-07:00

Nearly four out of every five messages on my voice mail at home have been political calls. The same percentage holds true for television commercials and postcards in the mail. During some commercial breaks, every commercial has been a political one. In case you weren’t paying attention, this is an election year.

Many people around the world live in countries where decisions are made for them and would love to have our freedoms. They do not have a say in the laws that are passed. Nor do they get a vote about who will lead them. Freedom is one of the greatest reasons why immigrants have risked their lives to come to this country since the very beginning.

Those who enjoy freedom must also accept the obligations that come with it. To remain free, people must keep themselves informed about the issues that affect not just themselves but all of us. This is a tough challenge when our list of propositions seem to multiply like rabbits each election cycle.

On this year’s ballot is a wide-range of issues, from who will be the next presiden to community college trustees, from bond issues to the definition of marriage. People ask me all the time, “How should I vote?” My response is simple: study up on the issues that matter (not just to you but to God as well) and cast an informed vote. If you don’t understand an issue, read up on it, ask friends, and if you still don’t understand it -- take a pass. There’s no requirement that you vote for everything that’s on the ballot.

On the other hand, don’t shy away from making a difficult choice because it may be unpopular. If you have certain convictions about an issue, vote in line with your conscience. Vote for what you believe in, not what you think is likely to pass.

The right to vote is what people in other countries have died to obtain. It’s what our own fathers and grandfathers died to preserve.

Honest people will come to different conclusions. You know what? That’s OK.

As God’s people, our first call is not to the ballot box but to the prayer closet. From my perspective, the best hope for bringing about lasting, redemptive change is not in the statehouse, courthouse, or even the White House. It’s what happens in your house.

new podcasts online

2008-10-26T19:28:00.000-07:00

I just uploaded three new sermon podcasts to the LifePoint podcast blog.

hannah for president, the video

2008-10-26T07:16:00.000-07:00

hannah for president

2008-10-26T07:12:00.001-07:00

Since President George W. Bush is often referred to as "W", it looks like we may have to call her "G." Hannah decided to run for president of her school so we made posters, printed stickers (one featured Sponge Bob and said "All Krusty Krabs vote for Hannah"), and she had to give a speech on Friday. Well ... drum roll please ... she won! Below are a few pictures and then I'll post the video of her speech.

the retun of lee majors

2008-10-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

Remember Lee Majors? He was the actor who became nearly every man's envy in the 1970s when he married Farrah Fawcett. He also starred in the Six Million Dollar Man, as an ex-astronaut with bionic limbs. Well, he's back.

This morning I'm drinking coffee, watching Fox News, and here comes a commercial for "Lee Major's Bionic Hearing Aid." Has it come to this? Former stars getting their own made for TV products and starring in their own informercials?

Do we really think the bionic man would need bionic hearing aids?

it's been a while

2008-10-26T07:01:00.001-07:00

One day here, a few weeks there, and I realized this morning I hadn't posted anything since early October. This time of year -- every four years -- tends to grab my attention. Things have been busy at LifePoint and Blue Haven as well. And we still have kids ... and soccer, volleyball, girls scouts, birthday parties.

All said, we're doing very well. Both girls are enjoying their new teachers at Southwestern. Tonya has a good class. And me? I've decided to grow my goatee back in spite of the fact that it now has gray hair in it. I've gone from looking like a professor to a distinguished professor.

the real sarah palin

2008-10-10T15:15:00.001-07:00

hope's first volleyball match

2008-10-09T21:00:00.001-07:00

lifepoint bike ride

2008-10-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

To offset the donuts we have on Sunday mornings, we decided to have a bike ride around Coronado. The weather was beautiful!

jim cramer on the colbert report

2008-10-07T13:59:00.001-07:00

the awakening of cnn

2008-10-07T10:29:00.000-07:00

company dives into lending poo

2008-10-06T09:38:00.000-07:00

Long ago I signed up for Google Alerts, a news aggregating service that Google provides. You create profile of keywords and Google spiders newspapers and other news sources for those keywords. It then sends you an email with a brief synopsis and a link to the full story.

One of the profiles I created is for my day job at Blue Haven Pools and Spas Supplies Direct. Today I got an alert that read, "Company Dives into Lending Pool." It took me to the New Orleans Business News website. Here is a screen shot of the story:

To read my comments in yellow, click the picture to view a larger image. The URL is quite funny (at least I think so). It reads, "company_dives_into_lending_poo.html."

Here's the orginal story.

chivalry

2008-10-05T08:47:00.001-07:00

Chivalry lives in San Diego! Of all places, I saw it first-hand on the trolley last Friday night.

It was about 5:30 and the train was filled up. At the City College stop, an older lady got on board and began to grab a handle, having resigned herself to standing up. Two different guys and one gal actually got up and offered her their seat. I felt like giving them a thumbs up.

It’s a sad fact that we’re not surprised much any more by bad behavior. What people do find surprising are the little acts of kindness and courtesy that get extended to them unexpectantly.

Acts 10:38 describes Jesus as someone who “went around doing good.”

May God's people be known as a church community of people who go around doing good. Plus, it’s fun surprising people.

say it ain't so, joe

2008-10-02T19:51:00.001-07:00

Just finished watching the vice presidential debate. Two thoughts: 1. Wow! Governor Palin came off as normal, authentic, likeable, and knowledgeable. 2. There will be a clip on YouTube within a few hours of Senator Biden saying, "Bush's, Bush's, Bush's" where every time he said "Bush's" it sounded like bushes, with the last syllable a squeaky higher pitch than the first one.

video you'll only find on youtube

2008-09-30T11:11:00.001-07:00

What can we expect from the upcoming vice-presidential debate? This is courtesy of Hot Air.

on the record

2008-09-29T22:24:00.000-07:00

I'm watching "On the Record" and Newt Gingrich is the guest. They're talking about when the government bailed out AIG, the troubled insurance company. The only private sector person in the room was the current chairman of Goldman Sachs. Henry Paulson, the Treasury Secretary, is the former chairman of Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs has about a 20 million dollar investment in AIG. No other investors were brought into the discussions.

This "bail out" conversation gets more interesting by the minute.