pictures from camp

Opportunity Camp 2006 is now over and in the pocket. We had one of the best camps in recent years. With 100 campers and more than that staff, it was a great experience for everyone. Here are few pictures snapped by our camp photographer (scaled down for better loading).

Bobby ("Jack") interviews me on how campers can be on the evening show. One of my new responsibilities at camp is to serve as the "screener" for the evening program. All the little kids would come running up to me and say, "kenhensley, can I be on the show tonight"?"

Camp food rocks!

Bobby and Amy -- hosts of our evening program -- appeared this year as Jack and Janet from Three's Company. The week was spent looking for a third roommate to replace Chrissy. Bobby and Amy are both actors based in San Francisco. Amy and her husband just returned to the Bay Area from NYC.

Campers sing during morning assembly. Even though most of these kids are not regular church-goers, they pick up the songs really quick.

Jackie helps a camper on the ropes course. Besides being a youth pastor in Texas, he also doubles up as a ropes course instructor. And he grills a mighty fine BBQ brisket.

A camp tradition -- taking pictures with Mr. T at the beach. Chris is pointing, Eric is holding.

Spending a little free time together.

The green stick is known as the "spirit stick" and is given to the cabin or tent that shows the most spirit at circle time. Sporting the nice sweatshirt is Ishmael, a long-time counselor at Opportunity Camp.

I liked the picture but I have no idea what they're talking about!

It's either a fish story, a rap song, or sign language.

the journey to camp and beyond

I left San Diego yesterday around 3 PM and headed north to Los Angeles and then over to the 101. The 101 follows the Pacific Ocean for much of the northern route. Coming out of Los Angeles towards Santa Barbara is simply beautiful. It was a clear sky and the ocean was magnificent.

First coffee stop: Camarillo. Had to use my pocket pc to find the closest Starbucks. Second coffee stop: King City.

After leaving King City, my next intended stop was Salinas -- the lettuce capital of the world. Nearly bought the farm before making it to Salinas. A mattress fell from a truck in front of me, causing the first car to swerve off the road. The mattress then bounced over the hood of the next car and landed directly in front of me. I ran over it with my left front tire and dragged it for just a little while. Fortunately, I never lost control of the car and everyone was ok. This all happened while talking on the phone to Tonya.

I decided to spend the night in Salinas -- which turned out to be a good idea. Arriving about 10:45, I thought I'd see if I could find a spot to eat. Not a good idea. After driving down what appeared to be a crack street, I decided I wasn't all that hungry and returned to the hotel. Unfortunately, I had consumed mass quantities of coffee en route from San Diego and had trouble falling asleep.

The next morning I enjoyed a fine country breakfast just outside of Salinas in a little diner that reminded me of Covington, Georgia. From there I was at camp in less than an hour.

Gave my first talk this morning about Jesus coming to serve. The theme for camp is "The One-Liners of Jesus" -- looking at various statements of Jesus. The camp is smaller and younger. I believe we have 101 total campers and the oldest of them is only 14. A younger camp has it's challenges but getting beat up is usually not one of them.

I'm hoping to post each day but don't hold me to it.

awards and graduation

Hannah and Hope had awards day this past Friday and then on Saturday, Hope walked the graduation line -- for kindergarten. She even gave a nice commencement address in her cap and gown (no kidding).

techno demons

The techno demons reared their ugly heads today at LifePoint. We had no projection/multimedia whatsoever. None. Zippo. For whatever reason, we couldn't get any ouptut from the laptop to show up on our screens. This was the first time in nine months this happened. This was also the second week for using a new HP laptop with souped-up video capabilities.

Last week it worked fine -- just as normal. Today ... nothing! We rebooted, unplugged, replugged, twisted the plug ... nothing! All the settings for dual monitors, extended desktops, etc., were set the way they should have been ... nothing! Windows recognized two monitors were connected ... nothing! MediaShout recognized two monitors were connected ... nothing!

There were times I was wishing it was an Etch-a-Sketch so I could pick it up and shake it above my head. Come to think of it, I still might.

a pet peeve

I'm not sure who came up with the phrase "pet peeve" to describe things that really annoy you. And if what I'm about to share applies to you, then you need help!

Twice in the recent past have I gone into a restaurant's restroom only to find that previous "occupant" failed to flush. What type of person goes into a restroom and leaves a parting gift for the next person? I would expect this if I were visiting my elementary-age daughters at their school -- it's the type of thing an eight-year-old boy would do.

On encountering my first "gift," not only did the previous person refuse to flush, it also appeared he was never trained to aim. Perhaps we need to leave a few Cheerios in our public restrooms and consider it a civic duty.

monk email

I've found a new online diversion that's actually semi-productive. It's called "Monk Email" and it's hosted by careerbuilder.com. You can dress up your own monkey, type in a message, and it converts the text to audio. Then enter a buddy's email address and you have just created a world of fun.

Here's the link: http://www.careerbuilder.com/monk-e-mail/

church-mart revisited

In yesterday's message, I talked about how churches in the modern area began sterilizing their environments in an effort to create a non-threatening atmosphere for non-believers. This was in response to the Baby Boomer generation leaving church en masse and then beginning to return in the 1980's and 1990's.

Innovative church leaders began eliminating church-speak, that highly specialized form of church language only known to insiders. They began writing music that was actually enjoyable and somewhat resembled what a person could hear on the radio. Pastors began wearing normal clothes. Church services became programmed and produced.

The result was that a few of the churches began attracting and keeping large numbers of Boomers. New models for church planting were created.

One of the casualties, however, was that many of these worship environments didn't convey much of a sense of worship. They were designed to look like theaters and religious symbols and icons were hidden away. Rather than creating sacred space, they created sterile spaces.

In some ways, these churches inadvertently become Christian versions of Wal-Mart. Big box stores/churches designed for convenience and consumerism.

This might have worked well for the modern, Boomer generation but it fails miserably with the postmodern generation. The postmodern generation values experience and wants to feel like they have entered a sacred space when they come to worship. Being a visual generation, they are drawn to visual expressions of faith and spirituality. Architecture, environment, and atmosphere have become important again.

busy weekend

Hannah and Hope had their first piano recital at the Piano Exchange in Mission Valley. They've had other recitals but they have all been in the home of their teacher. This was their first "public" recital and they each did a fine job. The Piano Exchange has a great recital room, complete with stage and baby grand piano. Tonya and I were both proud of the girls.

And then later in the day we took the girls to see RV, the movie with Robin Williams and Jeff Daniels. All four of us enjoyed it. It's a bit goofy, but that's ok.

Sunday was a great day at LifePoint. Our band continue to gets better and it sounded good again yesterday. We also featured a painting by a local artist -- Estevan Gargost. People seemed to really enjoy that.

Sunday night I drove up to Rancho Bernardo for the Global Day of Prayer service at Maranatha Chapel. Doug Duncan, our keyboard player at LifePoint, was playing keys in the worship band for the service. It was a great experience.

new ads in local newspapers

We have two new ads for LifePoint appearing in this month's editions of the Good News, Etc. and the Christian Examiner. These are 1/8 page ads targeting mature, adventuresome Christ-followers who might be interested in helping a new church community. You can pick up a copy at any local Christian bookstore.

granola and a few other thoughts

Since Tonya and I have been trying to "count our points" each day, I've discovered a new attraction to granola. Granola bars, granola cereal, granola in my yogurt. I have consumed more granola in the past month than in the past five years. Yummy!

I've also been working on the drafts of a new direct mail campaign for LifePoint. To keep costs down, we're handling the design in-house and it has been fun to stretch a bit. You can view the first working samples here. These are scaled down to 800px width and compressed for quicker viewing. The originals are much bigger (6x9).

Last Sunday we had our first guest speaker -- Steve Denney. Steve and his wife, Ali, have relocated to San Diego to start a new church downtown. I've grown to enjoy Steve's friendship and we hope to be supportive in whatever way we can.

Our worship band continues to get better with each Sunday. A few weeks ago we fielded a band that included an acoustic guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums. Every now and then we'll throw in an organ blend just to mix it up. We've been blessed to have God assemble a talented mix of musicians with servant hearts.

Tonya and the girls only have about 10 days of school left and then they will be out for the summer. Tonya will be teaching third grade in the fall (she's been teaching first grade) and she's excited about the change.

Tip of the day: Nature Valley's "Oats and Honey" granola bars only have four points total.

a few attempts at humor

Since redesigning the newsletter at LifePoint, I've included a side column that features a bit of humor. A few samples should suffice ...

Forgotten Bible Slogans

• When it comes to building the perfect ship, nothing works better than gopher wood.
• Prophets may rock but shepherds rule.
• Why betray a friend with a handshake when you can do it with a kiss?
• Rebellion isn’t cool.
• Don’t blame the locusts.
• Healthy miracles are high in Omega-3 Fatty Acids.
• In hell, all the coffee is cold.
• Love your neighbor but choose your neighborhood wisely.
• Recycle your papyrus.
• WWJD: What Would Jesus Drive?

If Church Were More Like Starbucks

• Worship leaders would be called worship baristas and be expected to remember your favorite songs.
• Communion would taste more like biscotti.
• With leather seats and catchy music, you might actually be tempted to stick around when it's over.
• Your favorite song would have ten different words in the title, one of which would be soy.
• Contribution gift cards.
• T-Mobile Hot Spots in the sanctuary.
• Angry neighbors would complain about the “gentrification” of their neighborhood. And then they would come anyway.
• Church newsletters would carry the disclaimer: Caution Contents Are Very Hot.

Songs You May Never Hear Quoted at LifePoint

• Shoplifters of the World Unite (The Smiths)
• Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes (They Might Be Giants)
• I Love You But You're Boring (The Beautiful South)
• I Got My Mojo Working And I Thought You'd Like To Know (The Young Fresh Fellows)
• All The Things You Could Be By Now If Sigmund Freud's Wife Was Your Mother (Charles Mingus)
• A Short Reprise for Mary Todd, Who Went Insane, But for Very Good Reasons (Sufjan Stevens)
• We the Cats Shall Hep Ya (Cab Calloway)
• Kicker Of Elves (Guided By Voices)
• Satan Gave Me a Taco (Beck)

news in bits and pieces

I normally get gas at a local independent station that's around the corner from our house. It's close and convenient, and generally cheaper than other places. The owner seems a bit fiesty, in a good way. Not too long ago, he posted this sign: "Fight Back: Drive Less."

Today I needed gas and stopped at a different station. After swiping my debit card and starting to pump, I heard these voices and realized that they were showing CNN on the credit card screen. On the pump. It was one of these "real crime" shows that feature combative attorneys and "forensic experts." Even though gas costs more, it still takes the same amount of time to pump.

As I was pumping my gas and getting my news at the same time, I thought to myself ... "This is absurd." Now, I must confess, I actually like the idea of having something to occupy my five minutes of pumping. Otherwise, I might be tempted to do something exotic like clean my windshields.

But how can you absorb the news in such little bursts of time? The truth is, you can't. You can't make sense of it because it's just mental spackle. It's just there to fill the cracks in your day.

Even though our culture encourages us to be disjointed, we have to be intentional about staying connected in a meaningful way.

new coach

Since the pre-launch days at LifePoint, I have been blessed to have had Bruce White as my planting coach. During those days Bruce was also serving as the director of church planting for the Southwest Region of Stadia: New Church Strategies. Earlier this year, he made the decision to return to the staff of Eastside Christian Church in Fullerton (click here to see his staff picture).

Since then, I have been given a new coach -- Dan Scates. Dan's main job is serving as the multi-site minister for LifeBridge Christian Church in Longmont, Colorado, a church of about 3,000 people. Dan is also coaching other church planters.

Why mention all of this? Because I believe every new church pastor needs a coach.

pizza with the pastor

Starting in June, we'll be hosting a regular "pizza with the pastor" at LifePoint. It will be a time for regulars and newcomers to hear the LifePoint story as well as our vision for the future. And there will be free pizza ... hand-tossed by the pastor.

rediscovering church

Our new series at LifePoint will focus on rediscovering the church that reflects God's heart. We'll be using the book of Acts as our roadmap.

how NOT to share the message of Jesus

Click here to watch a video on how NOT to share the message of Jesus.

potential direct mail campaign

Below are some rough drafts of a potential direct mail campaign we may run for LifePoint. Comments / suggestions are welcome.

mourning in the internet age

I paste the following article for your consideration. I receive these daily emails that deal with electronic marketing, internet trends and issues, etc. This came today.

---

Thursday, May 18, 2006
Mourning In The Internet Age
By Max Kalehoff

Relationships--whether physical or in the virtual world--are the fabric of life, and one inevitable fact in life and relationships is death. So it is natural that as the Internet and social media become more ingrained in people's lives and identities, death and mourning will follow accordingly. We're so early in the evolution of the Internet that death is not something we intuitively associate with the Web, nor is it something we completely understand. But one thing is clear: we all will eventually embrace its presence and impact.

For the living, social media can play a massive role in the mourning process that follows death. It can enable more efficient communications with our immediate and extended personal networks. For example, a blog or e-mail group could be set up to communicate key details and updates to family members, friends, colleagues and distant contacts, either at home or across the globe.

The Web also can serve as an important platform for expressing grief and emotion, as well as a tribute to the deceased. In reference to social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, Warren St. John recently wrote in The New York Times that "personal Web pages have suddenly changed from lighthearted daily dairies about bands or last night's parties into online shrines where grief is shared in real time."

Of course, the Internet has been encroaching on death and the mourning process since the advent of the earliest online communities, such as USENET and proprietary discussion boards within Prodigy and AOL. Mourning also is evident on patient and wellness support communities like WebMD We're also seeing mourning occur on more personal interactive platforms, like personal blogs and uploaded home videos on YouTube. In a society that often treats its pets like humans, we also see pet mourning extend online, as with the tribute to Sam, the world's ugliest dog And virtual gathering spots like MySpace are spawning a new breed of directories and obituary sites for the deceased.

I don't mean to sound morbid, but it will be interesting to see how the Internet continues to shape death and mourning as we know it. I'm sure we'll see a lot of privacy issues factor in, as personal identities created online must be dealt with when the people who created them die. This will probably become a standard line item in our wills, and in estate cases. I'm sure search-engine indexing will be called into question. We're in uncharted waters, and this is an inevitable trend we all must think about.

What do you think?

Max Kalehoff is vice president of marketing for Nielsen BuzzMetrics, a global measurement service for consumer-generated media.

what's in a name?

I received an email this morning from an old college friend who had just found our website. In his email, he asked me why we chose the name “LifePoint.” That’s a great question!

Since we’re neither Baptist nor Methodist, using those names were out of the question. One of the drawbacks to being non-denominational is that you lose potentially catchy names like “First Baptist.”

But seriously, we chose LifePoint because we believe there is a point to life. Every life is a gift from God and therefore every life has a purpose. Ultimately, the point of every life is to find its way back to God.

Though we often refer to ourselves as simply “LifePoint,” the other two words in our name are not insignificant. Our full name is LifePoint Christian Community. We are unashamedly Christian, believing that Jesus is still the way, the truth, and the life.

We also like to emphasize the relational side of church. A community is a collection of diverse people who are learning to live alongside each other. That’s what God intended the church to be.

What’s in a name? Quite a bit.

old college reunion of sorts

As some of you know, Tonya and I no longer work in the denomination in which we were raised. Back in 2001 we felt God leading us into a more contemporary, relevant environment and it all ended up with us starting LifePoint.

But we still have many friendships and relationships from the "old" days. A few weeks ago at the Pepperdine Bible lectures we ran into a few former classmates from college. Here's a picture or two ...

hijacked by high schoolers

My favorite open mic is quickly becoming by high school students! The audience is becoming more and more teenage and young teen at that. Unfortunately, I think this may be keeping some of the "older" artists away because it's not a listening audience. In fact, it's a rather rude audience. I'm not getting THAT old ...

the clutter gnome

Every now and then I get to feeling a bit goofy and I'll make up a graphic for one of my messages. The first one below is the "clutter gnome," the little guy who sneeks in your room and messes up your papers. The last one is the background we've been using for this series.

lifepoint podcast

Just a reminder ... we podcast our weekend teaching series and you can find it here. It's also available by doing a search at iTunes.

pepperdine bible lectures

It's a rough life ... first off to Orlando for the National New Church Conference and then to Malibu for a week-long Bible conference at Pepperdine University. For those of you who haven't visited Pepperdine's campus, it's definitely not Kansas State. The campus is built into the Malibu hillside with dramatic views of the Pacific Ocean. It's absolutely incredible. My college offered not-so-dramatic views of Dairy Queen.

After a second week of classes and workshops, I'm ready to be a regular joe again.

a great cafe!

It's not very often that I use an exclamation point in my blog heading. Especially since I've been using all lowercase letters and to use proper grammar seems out of place ...

But last night's cafe was worthy of an exclamation point. We featured two local artists -- Dustin Shey and Gregory Page. Both did a fantastic job. Dustin went solo, just him and his acoustic guitar. I first met Dustin back during the pre-launch days of LifePoint. It was good stuff.

Gregory Page is the first artist I've invited to the LifePoint cafe that I hadn't first met in person. He's very well-known in local music circles and I can see why. He brought along an awesome female vocalist and a violin player. He himself started off with the ukelele and then went to the acoustic guitar. It was fantastic ... in spite of our demon-possessed sound system that seems to have a mind of its own.

We'll be hosting another cafe at the end of this month ... stay tuned.

tonight's cafe

I'm really looking forward to tonight's LifePoint Cafe. We're hosting Gregory Page along with Dustin Shey. Page has worked with Jewel, Steve Poltz, Jason Mraz, AJ Croce, and many others. He's the first artist we've hosted that I haven't met first in person. I've only listened to his music online. It ought to be a great show!

a little shakey at shakeys

A new Shakeys Pizza Parlor opened near our house. It's the first one I've been to since growing up in Peoria. We used to go this Shakeys on University in Peoria. It even had a player piano and you could pick the songs it played. Nothing but fond childhood memories.

So you can imagine my excitement to have a new Shakeys nearby. The excitement had greatly dissipated during the 50 minutes it took to get two mini pizzas. The whole time I kept thinking about this article in USA Today that talked about the new ovens Papa John's is installing that can bake a pizza in four minutes. Shakeys must have running low on coal.

back from florida

Ok, I could have blogged last week but the simple truth is ... I didn't want to. Well, actually, I had things I wanted to blog about but I didn't want to take the time to do it.

I spent last week in Orlando at the National New Church Conference. It's a gathering of all kinds of nutty people -- people who have started a new church or who are considering doing so. Either way, you're a bit nutty.

It's hard to describe the conference's atmosphere, or mojo as the Seattle crowd would say. Electric. Passionate. Creative. Risky. It was either the Holy Spirit or the air conditioning, but I felt more than a few tingles.

Speakers included Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill in Seattle, Gene Appel from Willow Creek, Ed Stetzer, Dave Ferguson from Naperville, Larry Osbourne from North Coast, and a dude from Walt Disney Co.

There were about 100 people there who were connected to Stadia. I got to visit with Marcus Bigelow, Stadia's president and the guy who ignited my calling to plant churches.

All in all, it was an outstanding week.

to lake havasu and back

We left this past Monday to drive to Lake Havasu City to see friends from the Bay Area. For our Monday route, we chose the charm and beauty of Barstow and Needles. For our theme song, we chose Jay Farrar's "Barstow." "By the time we make it to Barstow, we'll be more than halfway to _____." Those of you who have been to Barstow and Needles can fill in the blank. Those of you who haven't been to Barstow or Needles, save yourself the trip and use your imagination.

We arrived at Lake Havasu on Tuesday and had a great visit with Curt and Kim Russell (and John and Jake). We knew the Russells from our church days in Walnut Creek. Curt works for PG&E and recently took an assignment in Needles. Needless to say, they live in Lake Havasu and he drives about 35 miles to work. He's overseeing the clean-up of a contaminated site.

Most people in Southern California think of Lake Havasu as a party town. Many western college students will head to Lake Havasu for spring break and I can see why. It's hot, sunny, and there's water. Lake Havasu also has a number of snowbirds; typical of Arizona. But there are people who actually live there year-round. It has a number of nice parks and family activities. It even has two Starbucks. (Though I committed a coffee faux paus and bought coffee at McDonalds on the drive out of town).

For the route home, we opted to go South to Yuma. This meant following the Colorado River along AZ 95 until arriving in Yuma. We stopped in Quartzsite, AZ, and enjoyed a fine dining experience at the local Carl's Jr.

Unfortunately, the air condition does not work in Tonya's van. As we travelled south to Yuma, the outside temperature peaked at 102 degrees. Of course, it only felt like 98 degrees to us. I think the girls did better than I did. After entering San Diego County, Tonya's van also decided to start cutting out. Three times we had to pull over, wait a few minutes, and then start back up. It didn't appear to be overheating. It may be time for a new van.

So ... we arrived back in San Diego around 5:00 and within minutes the girls were in the pool. By 6 PM, dad was asleep.

another good sunday

We fielded a full band this morning at LifePoint. It was good to have a full stage again -- we had bass, djembe, guitar, and keyboards. I also announced a new schedule change that we're making on April 30. We'll be moving to a one-service format with worship being at 10:30. This will give us the 9:00 time slot to do occasional classes, seminars, etc. It will also give us the benefit of having one larger service rather than two smaller ones. More to come later ...

the easter bunny

OK, I had about fifteen minutes of free time that I used to Photoshop a few pictures of the Easter Bunny. Actually ... I wanted to put something a little off-beat up on the LifePoint website.

one of my friends is almost famous

One of the elders from our church in Covington is featured on the ABC News website in this story. It's about "age-appropriate automobiles" ... I bet you didn't such a term existed. I've saddled up inside this particular car/truck/suv and can tell you firsthand it's pretty cool.

Jan. 3, 2006 — It wasn't until Jim Tudor got his new Honda Element that he noticed a quirk in its design. Why was the boxy vehicle's sunroof over the empty back seat instead of over his spot up front?
"I found out that it's supposed to be for my surfboard," says Tudor, who's 56, a grandfather of two who never surfs anywhere but the Internet. "It was really only after the fact, when I started doing a little reading on the car, that I found out I wasn't supposed to be the one driving it."

lifepoint sermon video

Here's a link to a sermon video a few of our media guys put together. They went to a local mall and asked people what they knew about Jesus. I've reduced it in size for quicker loading. If you'd like the the uncompressed version, let me know.

reconnected with a friend

Last Saturday I ran into a guy at Hannah's softball game. Our daughters were on the same team last year. What I really appreciate about him is the fact that he reads ... and I mean READS. He is constantly reading things for the purpose of stretching and growing. I'm always sure to ask him what he's been reading and he usually throws out three or four things I should read.

Last Saturday was no exception. We spent the better part of the game talking about a theology of governing. Fascinating stuff.

Too often Christ-followers bring a superficial line of reasoning to very complex stuff. It doesn't have to be that way. We should not be afraid of wading into the deeper waters because that's where the mystery (and truth) lies.

a tom petty sighting in la mesa

There's this guy who comes into Cosmos nearly every time I am there. He's always wearing a denim jacket and looks like Tom Petty. I'm expecting to hear "Free Falling" at one of the open mics.

the water wasn't that cold

This is confession time. Our pool has a vacuum system that runs along the bottom of the pool, sweeping up leaves, etc. However, it has a very bad habit of getting stuck in the corner where the steps are. So every now and then I have to go "set it free" and walk it to a different side of the pool.

Today at lunch I noticed it was stuck and went outside to fix it. After leaning down to grab the hose, I lost my balance and ended up in the pool. Standing up. I was in the water up past my waist. Shoes, wallet, everything.

But I fixed the sweeper. And it was stuck again fifteen minutes later.

i'm back

Finally ... it's been over a week since I've last posted a blog. I'm sure this has been a major bummer for at least three people, two who probably live in the far reaches of Siberia. Thanks for reading!

Since 2003, I have had ongoing back troubles. If you were to ask my Georgia-based chiropractor, he would tell you I have a herniated disk in the my lower back. Ask the orthapedic and he would say it was two degenerative disks. Either way -- it hurts when it flares up!

Well, it flared up last Wednesday. Which meant that Wednesday and Thursday were spent lying on my side watching television. I felt my mind and body begin to adjust to the news cycle. Same stories every 30 minutes. By Friday I was able to move around, even drive to breakfast. Spent the latter part of the day back on the bed. By Saturday I was able to walk for extended periods of time. By Sunday I was able to speak at both services, though I confess to running out of gas midway through the second message.

Whenever this flares up, it creates an odd sight. My legs will be straight but my upper torso will be slanted to the left. I stretch, sleep on my left side only, and occasionally try to physically move my body back into alignment.

This time around, I started taking MSM as well as additional calcium. I also reverted to something that is probably due to my dad's influence -- I purchased apple cider vinegar and began drinking three tablespoons three times a day. There's no way I could drink that stuff straight ... I mix it with either honey and water or just straight apple juice. Does it help -- who knows!

Today is Wednesday, one week later, and I'm standing straight again. On my "to do" list once it settles even more is to lose a few pounds and start exercising.

Well ... there you have it. More than you ever wanted to know.

ups and downs of church planting

LifePoint turned six months old last weekend. We held our first public worship gathering on September 11, 2005, and it has been a wild ride ever since.

Starting a new church is so much different than working in an established church. In our previous churches, there was a certain continuity -- the ball kept rolling on its own. I could drive in the parking lot on any given Sunday and expect a certain number of people, and know that most of the volunteers would be there.

In a new church, you have to be comfortable with a high level of uncertainty. We don't know from week to week who may or may not be there. As a church that sublets our worship space, we also don't know what new stuff may mysteriously appear. We've shown up on Sundays and found choir risers (which we don't use), professional lighting racks, missing chairs, no cables ...

On the flip side, we couldn't have asked for a better rental arrangement than the one we have with Mission Valley Christian Fellowship. Working with them has given us a level of stability that is critical in starting a new church community.

There is also the blessing of working with people who are discovering church for the first time or rediscovering it after a long time away. I've always heard that new churches attract new people and it's true.

Personally, it has been one of the most tasking things I have ever undertaken. I can certainly appreciate how the apostle Paul felt when he spoke of carrying the burden of his churches. Numerous mornings I have awoken early with thoughts about needing to do something -- or wondering "how in the world are we going to do this?"

Well ... that's enough reflections for now. My coffee is getting cold.

recent graphics

Here are a few graphics I've been working on lately. Some are finished, others just drafts.

floating our boats

Last Saturday it rained cats and dogs, with my apologies to cats and dogs. We're talking serious rain, not the light sprinkle that most San Diegans confuse for a downpour. At about 9:00 AM I got Hannah and Hope together to make boats out of Tupperware and we sailed them along the curb. It reminded me of a similar time in my own childhood. We were visiting Grandma Hensley in West Plains, Missouri, and it thunderstormed. My cousin and I improvised boats out of old milk cartoons and set sail. Grandma lived on a steep hill and the boats often went faster than we could run.

Good times ...

excused from jury duty

After being called back for day two of jury duty, I was unceremoniously excused by the prosecutor. I think he felt that since I am a pastor that I might be reluctant to convict someone. I got that idea from the question that he asked me. Surprisingly, he didn't ask me my convictions about drinking. What kind of world are we living in?

jury pool continues to shrink

The jury pool has begun to shrink. I'm not seated among the first 24 so I'm not sure about my chances. In my mind there are several I would strike. It's a DUI case involving an old lady - 2 counts.

jury duty

So I'm blogging from the courthouse.

hand dryer at city library

Every now and then we venture downtown to the main city library. It's quite an adventure (Usually connected to the homeless dudes reading magazines to kill time).

Well ... today I needed to wash my hands and used the vintage air dryers in the men's room. It was so strong that it created a circle on the back of my hand! It was like turbo-dryer.

lifepoint cafe ... march 26

Our next LifePoint Cafe will be March 26 and will feature the music of Kim DiVincenzo and Kyle Phelan. Look for flyers to come out soon.

On another music note ... The Gooses will be releasing their first CD this Friday night at Cosmos.

watching the sparks fly

I spent about five hours in the dentist's chair yesterday. For most of the morning he worked to replace a few old fillings and added two new ones. It's the strangest observation to be lying there while a drill is inside your mouth. The smell took me back to my childhood and going to Dr. Spaulding, a dentist on the south side of Peoria. Only Dr. Spaulding didn't have a television with headphones like Dr. Salazar did.

new teaching series in march

This is the graphic for March's teaching series at LifePoint. It will focus on how we can learn to effectively share our spiritual story.

tommy lasorda

I just happened to be watching television this morning at 5:40 or so and caught Tommy Lasorda on a morning show. It's been years since I've seen Tommy Lasorda on anything. To the uninformed, Lasorda was the longtime manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He was being interviewed in regards to the World Baseball Classic. This man is a passionate patriot! He also has a strong opinion regarding those who use steriods -- needless to say, it's not a good opinion.

prayer labyrinth

On Wednesday and Thursday I volunteered at the prayer labyrinth during the National Pastors Conference. It's a series of guided exercises that walks people through a spiritual journey. It was fun to serve and I enjoyed watching how people experienced the various stations in their own unique way. Spiritual formation is still a somewhat foggy concept to many in the evangelical church. Maybe not for long ...

my mom would be proud

Those who knew my mom, knew she was a cat lover. It all began when we befriended a stray cat that later became known only as "momma." She earned the title many times over. I must have been in late elementary when momma moved in and cats became another part of our family.

My mom fed them, tried to bathe them, and bought a variety of cat pins that she wore with pride. I never questioned two things -- that my mom loved me and that she loved her cats almost as much as me.

Well ... I'm blogging this from our living room chair, with Hope sitting on the couch. She's home sick from school and so I'm "doctoring" her back to health. We have two cats in our household and Smokey is sleeping on Hope's lap while Pokey tries to "help" me type this blog.

My mom would be proud.

bono addresses prayer breakfast

A friend of mine who knows my interest in U2's spiritual underpinnings sent me the following link. It's a video of Bono addressing the National Prayer Breakfast. Once he gets settled in, it gets pretty interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH0JFbjfhy4

tethering ... the antidote to t-mobile

For several years I have had conflicting feelings: my love for coffee and my desire for free WiFi. This is where matters get complicated. Tonya and I have owned stock in Starbucks since 2000 and I love the company, how they do business, and their coffee. But they do not offer free WiFi access. Instead, they require you to have a t-mobile account.

We already have broadband access at home and I'm too stubborn to pay for another ramp to internet access. So ... what I've been doing is going to independent coffee shops that offer free WiFi. Since I'm working out of the house, it's a great way to get out among people. But it also means that I'm not going to Starbucks.

Hence, the conflict.

Until now. The technical term is called "tethering." I'm actually typing this blog via a connection between my cell phone and laptop. Since my phone has EVDO (Sprint's data network) capability, I can surf the net on my phone anywhere I can get a cell connection. With the addition of a USB cable, I can also fire up my laptop and go online.

Howard Schultz should be partially happy. I'm back buying his coffee, minus the t-mobile account.

swan lake (something called ballet)

Thanks to a friend from LifePoint, we received two free tickets to the Russian National Ballet's performance of Swan Lake at the CA Performing Arts Center. I decided to take Hannah and make it a daddy/daughter date. As we were getting settled in, she asks me, "Will they be saying any words?" And not a single word was spoken the entire night!

From an artistic standpoint, it was a beautiful presentation. The dancers all weighed 110 lbs and had muscles that put me to shame. The set was nicely appointed and it was an all-around fun evening.

Hannah and I brought the average age down to about 63 or 65. I was actually surprised at the number of middle-aged guys (40 and above) who actually appeared to be paying attention. I nodded off two or three times during the first half -- not due to a lack of interest but more so because I had been awake since about 4:45 that morning. I took advantage of intermission to get a double expresso and that did the trick for the second half.

The best part was getting to spend an evening with Hannah. She picked out a pretty dress and actually held my hand as we walked around. I figure I have until about 12 or 13 before that becomes less common.

volunteer opportunities at lifepoint

LifePoint has the following volunteer opportunities! If you're interested, please email Pastor Ken for more details (and probably a free cup of coffee).

Community Service Coordinator. This person will help locate, coordinate, and publicize community service opportunities. LifePoint desires to be a church that serves our local community in practical, tangible ways.

Athletic Coordinator. This person will be the point-person for initiating athletic opportunities. May include one-time events like volleyball, frisbee golf, or ongoing activities like softball leagues, etc.

KidPoint Teachers and Helpers. We are looking to include additional teachers and helpers in our KidPoint ministry. KidPoint is offered during our 10:45 gathering and teaches toddlers through 4th graders.

LifeGroup Leaders and Hosts. LifePoint emphasizes small, intentional groupings of people known as LifeGroups. These groups meet on a regular basis for study, support, and encouragement. We are looking to launch additional groups and need leaders and/or hosts. Groups can meet in homes or somewhere else (like a coffee shop).

Multimedia Operators. If you are comfortable with a mouse and keyboard, we could use your help. We need people to run our multimedia during our 9:00 and 10:45 gatherings. On-the-job training will be provided.

Knick Nack, Paddy Whacks! We have many miscellaneous opportunities every Sunday including setting up and taking down the KidPoint tents, setting out our directional signs, helping prepare/clean-up communion, and much more! Ask at your own risk!
If you are interested in serving in one of these areas -- or another one not listed -- please contact Ken directly. Thanks!

first mobile blog

OK, I like gadgets that have a degree of functionality. Hence my first blog from my Pocket PC (Sprint PPC 6700). It runs the windows mobile OS and has wifi/bluetooth/evdo built in. EVDO is really slick -- it allows me unlimited data transfers wherever sprint has a cell connection. The phone features a slide-out keyboard and the screen automatically reorients to landscape. With the windows os I can also work on documents and then sync them with my laptop. Can you tell I'm excited?

a window seat to life

I must admit something ... I like sitting by the window when working at a coffee shop. This afternoon, I'm doing some adminstrative stuff at Cosmos in La Mesa. Just outside the window is La Mesa Boulevard. It's always interesting to take a moment's break and watch people walk by -- especially those who don't know you're watching. Without the benefit of sound, I play a little game trying to figure out what they're talking about. I sometimes do the same thing with the television -- it's a good little exercise.

I believe most people don't either use or train their powers of observation. We simply let life roll by without noticing much of what happens.

It really is amazing what you notice when you start paying attention!

new faces, exciting times

One of the things I love most about starting a new church is getting to meet new people. We've seen a steady flow of new faces since launching LifePoint last fall. Over the last month or so we've seen an increase in young couples and I've had the opportunity to grab coffee with a few of them. When a church is new, no one has tenure! That's a good thing.

My prayer is that LifePoint will always be a place where new people feel comfortable.

Hope to see you Sunday ...

prayer night

Tonya and I hosted a night of prayer at our house last night and what a great night it was! I began by sharing a passage from Joshua where God instructs the Israelites to follow the lead of the ark of the covenant. They are told to follow the ark because "they had never been that way before." When it reaches the Jordan river, the water stops flowing as soon as the priests enter the river.

It was an awesome experience to hear people pray that I had never heard pray before. We spent the night seeking God's direction for LifePoint, particulary in regards to our worship ministry. I was again humbled by the intense devotion God is building in other people. As we were praying, I was thanking God for allowing me to work alongside such good people. Starting a new church community is an adventure best experienced with a good group of people.

We were reminded that LifePoint is not an afterthought to God but originated in his own heart.

a good cafe

We hosted our second Live at the LifePoint Cafe last night and it went really well. We had two great artists -- Carlos Olmeda and The Gooses. Carlos drove down from a concert in San Luis Osbipo to play for us! The Gooses did their usual good job and had everybody laughing right from the start.

We had nearly 50 people in attendance, over half of whom had never been to LifePoint before. Tina did her usual great job with the coffee and all of our LifePoint people were very helpful.

I see our cafes as part of a gradual outreach process. It was interesting to watch people browse around our facility, picking up cards, and looking at the art. There's no hard sell on attending church -- in fact, we're pretty low key about it.

We're building good momentum among a slice of the local music scene. Artists like to be appreciated (and paid!). Our LifePoint are great about interacting with the artists and I believe the artists notice.

Stay tuned for the next one ...

the week in review

It's been a long time between posts -- long for me, maybe not for you.

We are in the midst of a few transitions at LifePoint, several of which have kept me rightfully busy. As a new church community begins to develop and take shape, it is my task to see that we continue to allow God to shape our heart, vision, and values. The first two years will put in place the DNA of a church and it's important that our DNA is healthy and reflects who God wants us to be.

Our girls also began softball practices (yes, that is plural). Hope is playing her first year of organized softball, called "minis" and Hannah is in her second year with the Navajo league. She also played for three years in Georgia as well. Both girls are naturally coordinated -- not sure where that came from. It's a blast to watch them interact with other players and their coaches. It also keeps our cars humming.

And I've been taking the opportunity to sit down with people over coffee and just talk about how things are going. It's amazing how few people get asked about how they are REALLY doing -- not the "how are you doing? question we ask but really don't care to know the answer. Not that I've ever asked that question before ...

Last but not least, Friday night ushered in the weekend complete with three sick people out of a family of four. I'm afraid I'm on the verge of making it four for four.

This has been our week ...

tina gets baptized

This past Sunday night we baptized our first person since starting LifePoint. We first met Tina through an ad on Craigslist advertising a new small group that would be studying the topic of "Simple Spirituality." I remember when she came by the house to pick up the materials and we talked for about thirty minutes. She has been a key part of LifePoint ever since ... and that was back in March of 2005. Now we share more than a common love for great coffee ...

church planting and the dotcom days

As some of you know, I ventured (or strayed) into the dotcom world in the late 90s. It was a heady time when new companies were popping up in dorm rooms, garages, and in coffee shops. Entrepreneurs were getting funded on the basis of scribbling a few notes on a napkin. "Conventional" business world was temporarily suspended in favor of the "new" economy that we were entering.

For part of that time, I was involved in running my own start-up and had a chance to interact and network with other 20/30-year olds who were involved in start-ups. Later I worked for six months at Christianity.com, now on its third owner.

Two things converged to create a chaotic experience:

• Internet companies were going public and create enormous sums of paper wealth for lots of people. This often happened irregardless of profitability (an "old" economy assumption);
• As this happened, more and more companies kept getting huge sums of venture capital (also known as "other people's money or OPM).

In my opinion, this changed what I thought was the beauty of the Internet revolution -- a group of people setting out to change the world. These early missionaries bootstrapped and worked long hours because they wanted to make a difference. They believed in their mission.

As the venture capital increased and IPO's created instant millionaires, you saw fewer missionaries and more mercenaries. Here's the basic difference:

• A missionary does what he does because he feels called to the task and would do it for free.
• A mercenary is a hired gun who is simply there to make money.

In my opinion, the mercenaries ruined the Internet revolution.

This is why I love to be around other church planters. No one goes into church planting for the money! I believe the assessment tests are designed to select only those people who are a bit nutty and crazy.

And Christ-followers who are attracted to church plants tend to be missionary in nature as well. This is a good bit of the reason why the most evangelistic years of a church's life will be the first ten. A majority of the people are "on mission."

The truth is ... God always expects the church to be missionary in nature, no matter if it's one year old or 100 years old. May God create more missionaries and fewer mercenaries.

monday morning observations

I believe Arlen Spector has dyed his hair for the Judge Alioto hearings. That's really an old observation, but I thought I would share it any way.

We went to Garden Grove on Friday night to spend a few hours with Tonya's cousin and her husband. Their wedding was the first one I ever did ... and they're still married 15 years later! On Saturday we drove to Knotts Berry Farm for breakfast (it was OK) and then to Downtown Disney where we walked around the in rain for about two hours. I could have done that at home for much less money!

On Sunday night I popped into Horizon Park Chapel last night for their 6 PM service. A friend of mine had told me a little bit about the church and a few of the worship leaders there. HPC is a church plant from Horizons in Clairemont Mesa ... and it has the Horizon's feel about it. (It even has the name "Jesus" emblazoned directly behind the band).

Back in the early 90s, Tonya and I worshiped on a regular basis at Horizon's Saturday night service. It was a great experience for both of us.

HPC is a definitely an urban church and had that feel about it. It was an enjoyable night and the pastor went verse by verse through 1 Timothy 4. This teaching style can be traced back to the influences of Calvary Chapel/Chuck Smith. HPC is home to a group known as the Dance Floor Prophets.

I love the part of town they are in and am glad they are doing well.

did an angel just stop by?

Alright ... so I'm sitting in Twiggs working on a communion video for Sunday. In walks a man I've never seen before and he walks straight up to me. Pulling out my earbuds, he simply says, "Life may not seem fair but remember Jesus always loves you." And he turns and walks back out the door. And he's gone just like that.

"Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it" (Hebrews 13:2).

some new music

Discovering one new artist almost always leads to a few more. A few weeks ago we watched the movie "Because of Winn Dixie" and one of the artists on the soundtrack was The Be Good Tanyas. Canadian folk. Really good.

When I discover new artists/groups, I usually do the following: Go to Google and try to find shows, festivals, concerts, etc., and see who else they play with. Generally speaking, artists play with artists who are similar in style. Perhaps it's just the hunter in me.

Well, from that five minutes of "work," I found a few more goodies I'd like to share with you. In no particular order, but I do recommend they find their way to you iPod.

Neko Case
Kasey Chambers
Alecia Nugent
Grascals
My Morning Jacket

Finding new music is like waking up to a great cup of coffee that will never grow cold.

Enjoy!

the next "live at the lifepoint cafe" ...

Our next "Live at the LifePoint Cafe" will be January 29 at 7 PM. The LifePoint cafe is a time to fire up the coffee and serve up great music. This night will be no exception.

I'm very pleased to announce our two artists. Carlos Olmeda plays a mix of blues, folk, and Latin -- you have to hear it to believe it. Here's how he describes it: "Acoustic Alternative -Tricultural -Genre Inclusive -Adult Contemporary." See what I mean ...

Our second group is simply known as The Gooses. These four guys pull together an incredibly fun set. In some ways, they remind me of another of my favorite groups ... the Barenaked Ladies. Click here to listen to a sample.

See you there.

the creative arts at lifepoint

From the very beginning of LifePoint -- back in the days when God was still forming his vision in my heart -- a key part of our environment has been the creative arts. As a young church, we've only just begun to scratch the surface of what is possible. As a new community, we have many great opportunities ahead of us.

Catherine Henry and Eric Piepenbrink have agreed to serve as co-coordinators of our creative arts ministry. As I met with our creative arts team last week, I outlined several of our goals and priorities for 2006. One of those was to have a point person who could serve as a catalyst for our creative efforts. Instead of one, God has blessed us with two gifted people!

Catherine and Eric both have extensive backgrounds in both the arts and business. I believe these experiences will allow them to help expand our creative vision. I'm excited about what lies ahead.

a good morning

We had our first Local Artist Showcase for 2006 at LifePoint this morning. Aaron Bowen did a fantastic job at both services -- even getting an encore call at our second gathering. Everyone seemed to really enjoy Aaron's music. It's always fun to have different artists come perform each month.

Why do we do this at LifePoint? Mainly because we feel a responsibility as a church community to build a bridge to the arts community. Throughout much of church history, the arts flowed from within the church community. By and large, that is no longer the case. For whatever reason (and I could name a few), the church began resisting the arts back in the 19th and 20th centuries.

I believe that our God is a creative God and we are made in his image. This means it should only be natural for the church to be a creative place. If we are not creating and innovating, then we are not fully allowing ourselves to be made in the image of God.

another reason to love google

Here's another reason why I love Google:

next local artist showcase

Each month at LifePoint we feature a different local artist as a way of connecting with the local arts scene. On January 8 we will have Aaron Bowen and he will play a couple of songs at both gatherings. You'll enjoy it.

coffee faux paus

I committed a coffee drinker's faux paus on Saturday ... I let my supply run out. I used the last of the beans on Saturday night and had no beans left for Sunday. After coming to this sad realization, I began scrounging around the pantry hoping to find a stray packet of anything resembling coffee. No such luck. So I committed the coffee drinker's second greatest sin and fixed tea. First cup: Cinnamon Stick. Basically tasted like water with a hint of cinnamon. Second cup: Green Tea. Nothing to shout out about.

You might be wondering ... what is the coffee drinker's ultimate sin? Drinking cold coffee, of course.

new teaching series at lifepoint

On January 1, I'll be starting a new teaching series at LifePoint entitled "Developing Healthy Habits." This series will focus on how to develop habits that are healthy rather than destructive. We'll start the series with a message about setting right priorities. Below is a little graphic I've put together for the occasion ...

and you thought your ear hair was getting long

This just in from Fark.com ...

Radhakant Bajpai, 50, of Naya Ganj, India, is one of many medical record breakers to make their way into this year's Guinness World Records Book. The hair sprouting from his outer ears measures 13.2cm (5.19 inches) at its longest point and was confirmed by Dr R P Gupta.

Mr Radhakant said: "God has been very kind to me."

Read original story.

scenes from christmas morning

Happy day after Christmas! I hope you enjoyed a very, Merry Christmas and had time to reflect on important things. Here's a few pictures from our day ...

These are my "spoils."

christmas caroling

A few of us LifePointers went Christmas caroling tonight at the apartment of an old, dear friend. Tonya and I first met Henrietta Bell when she was a young 85 years-old. That was fifteen years ago. She recently celebrated her 100th birthday and appears to be going strong. We sang for about thirty minutes and had a great time. Following the singing, we retreated back to the house for food ... and more food! It was a fine night.

fifteen years

Tonya and I celebrated our 15th anniversary yesterday in style ... dinner at McDonalds and a night at Motel 6. Just kidding. We let her parents watch the girls and we went to La Jolla for dinner and a night at the Grand Colonial Hotel. It's a beautiful hotel built in 1913 and with a view overlooking La Jolla Cove. For dinner, we ate at Azul's. I won't eat again until tomorrow! It was absolutely fantastic!

God has been good to me. I have been blessed with a loving and supportive wife for fifteen great years. She has been a great wife, helper, and mother to our children. May every man be so blessed.

Behind every successful man is a surprised mother-in-law.

entering the digital age whether you like it or not

The following piece of information just entered my inbox and I share it with you:

U.S. TV Must Be All-Digital By February 2009
NY Times

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday approved a budget that calls for all American TV to be broadcast via digital signal by Feb. 17, 2009. Translation: Consumers who don't subscribe to cable or satellite television or who don't own TV sets capable of receiving digital signals will be out of luck. Since only 15 percent of U.S. households do not currently subscribe to cable or satellite TV, the 2009 date should not pose much of a challenge. The new budget provides up to $80 per household in the way of coupons for those who must purchase converter boxes for their old TV sets; the converters permit old-tech analog TVs to continue to function. Among those objecting to the moves yesterday was Consumers Union. "This is the government making your TV go black and then only paying for part of the costs for some of the people to make it work again," said Gene Kimmelman, public policy director of the organization.

roadside memorial

Near our house, on Baltimore Drive, there is a roadside memorial honoring a lost loved one. Once when walking by, I stopped and briefly looked around. I noticed the other night that someone has decorated it for Christmas ... flowers, wreaths, and Christmas lights. The Christmas lights are strung along the back of the makeshift memorial. It's a simple reminder of life's priorities. Those sorts of things always send chills up my back. In a good way.

live music blog

Just a quick blog while listening to the open mic at Cosmos ... it's good stuff. A bunch of newbies tonight, which is always a nice break -- when they're good. One dude ripped through some old Jackson Browne stuff and it was awesome. Well ... it's time to clap.

richard pryor and peoria, il

"Will it play in Peoria?" Why they selected Peoria as a testing ground for viability, I'm not sure. Peoria's other claim to fame was being the world headquarters for Caterpillar Tractors. Go Cat diesel power!

Through the years, Peoria did give birth to a fair number of celebrities. Dan Fogelburg, Sam Kinison, and Richard Pryor. For those who don't know, Richard Pryor passed away today from a heart attack.

Read more at The New York Times.

laptop is back in action

I'm finally blogging again from my trusty Dell laptop. After chatting with Dell support online, they decided to send a tech out to replace my motherboard. The tech arrived, deconstructed my laptop, took out the old motherboard, put in the new motherboard, reassembled my laptop, and left. It's working like a charm. It's the tech equivalent of getting a new engine.

steve doocy the weather guy

Every so often there is a news figure that is so quirky and unconventional. Steve Doocy from Fox's "Fox and Friends" is one of those characters. I get a kick out of his comments and faces. Unfortunately, the show is on East Coast time and goes off out here about the time normal people wake up.

Official bio:

"Steve Doocy joined FNC from WCBS-TV in New York, where he co-anchored "Early Morning Newscast." Prior to his stint there, Doocy served as the co-host of "Parent's Helper," and "Wake Up America," daily programs on America's Talking. Prior to joining America's Talking, Doocy was host of NBC's nationally syndicated program "House Party" from 1989 to 1990 and "Not Just News," FOX's children's news magazine from 1990 to 1994.

Throughout his career he has received 11 local EMMY Awards for various feature coverage as well as the Associated Press' Feature Reporter of the Year Award. A graduate of the University of Kansas, Doocy began his career as a feature reporter at WRC-TV (NBC) in Washington, D.C."

Why am I telling you this ... I don't know!

catching up and random thoughts

It's been several days since I last blogged; a major disappointment to the three people who need my blog to survive. The main reason is that my laptop is out of commission -- a major body blow. It's not getting AC power and the battery drained out. Without AC, it's not able to recharge the battery.

At first I thought it was a bad cord and searched all over town (figuratively speaking) to find a compatible replacement. Bought one at Fry's that didn't fit. Then went to CompUSA, Office Depot, Wal-Mart (I was desperate), and finally to Circuit City. At Circuit City I found an adapter kit that had the right size plug. And it would work with the universal adapter I bought at Frys.

So ... with anticipation building, I plugged it in last night and ... nothing! Nothing happened. I did notice I could get a green light when I wiggled the plug around. My diagnosis: the original cord was fine and it's the connector within the laptop that is bad. UGGGG. That means I have to either send it back to Dell or find a local option. At any rate, that means going without my laptop for some period of time. That's a problem for several reasons:

1. All of LifePoint's projection software is on my laptop.
2. All of my personal notes, projects, messages, etc., are on my laptop.
3. The podcast is on my laptop.
4. Itunes is on my laptop.
5. It eliminates any need to go hang at Twiggs.

The laptop is only one-year old :-(

On another note ...

Hannah and Hope had their first piano recital on Sunday. Both of them did an outstanding job and were very comfortable playing in front of people. I had planned on uploading a few pictures but ... they're on my laptop!

why craigslist works better than amvets

We contacted Amvets about donating some furniture to their store. "No problem, we'll send out a truck." Later that day the chairs are still on the porch with a note attached that reads, "We don't take furniture."

Not to fear, Craigslist is here. I snapped a few digital pictures, logged on to CL, uploaded the pictures, and waited. Within an hour we had received over 80 responses from people wanting to pick up our chairs. Since it was Friday night, we arranged with the first responder to pick them up the next day. They were gone by 9:30 AM.

We've used CL in both Atlanta and San Diego to give and receive things. In Atlanta, we gave away via CL a piano and riding lawn mower. Here in San Diego, we gave away all our moving boxes. In addition, we've picked up free patio furniture, a bookshelf, desk, filing cabinet, and a Johnny Cash CD.

Try it. You'll like it.

free concert tomorrow night in la mesa

Since I know hundreds of people who like good music read my blog on a daily basis I thought I would drop the following plug ...

Saturday at 7 PM Will Edwards and Aaron Bowen will be in concert at Cosmos in downtown La Mesa. Both of these guys are great singer-songwriters and play great acoustic music. Cosmos is a fun and inviting place to grab coffee and hangout.

Will was the first local artist to play at LifePoint and Aaron will be featured in January.

To get to Cosmos, take the Spring Street exit of I-8 and stay to the right. Turn left at La Mesa Boulevard and Cosmos will be on your immediate left.

While we're speaking of great music ... don't forget the "Live at the LifePoint Cafe" on December 18 (7 PM) featuring Will Edwards and Michael Tiernan.

the battle of two natures

At our LifeGroup this past Wednesday we discussed the nature of repentance and how hard it is to admit we're less than perfect (note: if you didn't know that before, you know it now!).

It's essentially a battle between two natures: our human nature that we were born with and our God-nature that is granted to those who are born again. Our human nature had free reign for a number of years before we submitted to God's call and gave our hearts to him. When we became Christians, we were clothed with Christ and God asks us to throw away our former wardrobe.

The trouble is ... we like some of our old clothes. I once held on to a plaid shirt that I wore while in high school. It didn't make its' way to Goodwill until I was around 25 years-old. Of course, plaid never goes out of style.

While clothing fashions may indeed be somewhat cyclical, our former spiritual wardrobe will never be in fashion for the believer. It's not just out of style, it's downright harmful.

That's the battle of repentance. The battle to change when the old clothes feel more comfortable or even enjoyable.

somebody up there loves you

Watching television this morning I noticed that Direct TV has a new commercial that ends with a picture of the sky and the line, "Somebody up there loves you."