Random selections of other blogs. Note: I am not responsible for content on other blogs.
On Saturday, I purchased a new digital camera -- a Sony Cyber-Shot (for you techies, a DSC-H2). It's a 6 megapixel with 12x optical zoom. Since I consume mass quantities of coffee, it also has an anti-blurr feature :-)
Here are a few sample shots. They've been reduced in size and compressed with Photoshop.
Yoko Ono is in the news, calling for December 8th to be a day of worldwide healing. December 8th was the day John Lennon was killed while walking in New York. Here's the article from the Washington Post:
John Lennon's Widow Calls for Healing
The Associated PressSunday, November 26, 2006; 2:38 AM
NEW YORK -- Yoko Ono is calling for the anniversary of the death of her husband, John Lennon, to become a day of worldwide healing.
In a full-page advertisement appearing in Sunday editions of The New York Times, Ono urges readers to mark the anniversary by apologizing to those who have suffered because of violence and war.
"Every year, let's make December 8th the day to ask for forgiveness from those who suffered the insufferable," writes the former Beatle's widow, who signs the letter Yoko Ono Lennon.
Ono urges readers to take responsibility for failing to intervene on behalf of victims around the world.
"Know that the physical and mental abuse you have endured will have a lingering effect on our society," she writes in a portion of the letter directed to victims. "Know that the burden is ours."
Ono was with Lennon when he was gunned down as he returned home from a recording studio on Dec. 8, 1980. The shooter, Mark David Chapman, remains in New York's Attica state prison. His fourth request for parole was denied last month.
Of her own loss, Ono says: "I don't know if I am ready yet to forgive the one who pulled the trigger. ... But healing is what is urgently needed now in the world."
"Let's wish strongly that one day we will be able to say that we healed ourselves, and by healing ourselves, we healed the world."
LifePoint will be working with City of Refuge to provide Christmas gifts for homeless children in San Diego. City of Refuge is located in Sherman Heights and serves the poor and homeless in San Diego's urban areas.
There are two ways to help: purchase a gift or give money. If you purchase a gift, please spend no more than $15 per gift so that each child will receive an equal gift. City of Refuge also prefers to receive your gift unwrapped so they can properly sort them. LifePoint will be receiving gifts and money until December 9. Let’s work together to spread the love of Jesus to his precious children this Christmas season.
Gifts can be delivered on Sundays to 4698 Alvarado Canyon, Suite A, from 9:00-10:30 or after 12 noon. Please make checks payable to "LifePoint" and earmark it for Christmas gifts.
LifePoint Christian Community
4698 Alvarado Canyon, Suite A
www.lifepointcommunity.com
Sundays @ 10:30
I grew up in a church tradition that sang mostly hymns; in fact, for much of the time we sang only hymns. One of the hymns I remember singing went like this ...
When upon life's billows
You are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged
Thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings
Name them one by one,
And it will surprise you
What the Lord hath done.
Count your blessings
Name them one by one.
Count your blessings
See what God hath done.
Count your blessings
Name them one by one.
Count your many blessings
See what God hath done.
I count among my many blessings a family that raised me with Christian values. My mother and father modeled humility, servanthood, and a love for others.
I count among my many blessings a family that consists of a loving wife and two beautiful daughters.
I count among my many blessings a church family that has been an anchor of stability in an uncertain world. LifePoint is the most recent incarnation of this reality.
Thanksgiving has come and gone but the need to be thankful remains.
It's a lesson every pastor should learn early in ministry ... don't get sucked into the numbers trap. As a pastor, it's easy (even tempting) to measure ministry effectiveness by the numbers: attendance, giving, percentages of involvement, etc. We feel good when the numbers are up and begin to question our sanity when the numbers go down.
Perhaps it's because numbers are ever-present and even unavoidable. We live in a numbers-driven society ... the stock market, gas prices, speed limits. Baseball managers are hired and fired based upon winning percentages. Politicians are elected by counting ballots. We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries ... the numbers of years we've lived or been married.
When it comes to church life, numbers can drive you crazy. LifePoint had our highest attendance average in October; November has been about 25% lower. At the same time, our weekly offerings have been greater in November than in October. Try to figure that one out!
We had a LifePoint Cafe tonight featuring two really good artists and yet we had a low turnout. Even though the quality of music was outstanding it was hard to shake the disappointment of low numbers. That's what numbers can do to you -- take a good event and taint it.
How do we overcome the numbers trap? I'm not sure ... it might be a part of the human condition, or at least our western expression of it. At a deeper level, we need to draw our affirmation from the steady love of God rather than the fickle nature of numbers.
Stay tuned ... I'll let you know how I'm doing :-)
Hannah and Hope had their Thanksgiving "feasts" at school yesterday. Unfortunately for me, they were two separate feasts at two different times. So ... we had about two and a half hours of straight feasting. Then at 5 PM we gathered at Shakey's Pizza for Hope's soccer party. I could only eat about three mojo potatoes.
It had to happen sometime in our convenience-driven society: Drive through flu shots. Motorists in several cities can get a flu shot without leaving their car. To reach the passenger side, they use a really big needle. Just kidding.
Article from the Orlando Sentinel
Austin News
Get it with a bagel in Galesburg, IL
A shameless plug for a new design. I did this in the aftermath of the midterm elections. ...
The caption says: "That whoopie cushion thing gets me everytime." Buy It Here
Yesterday while pulling into the car wash, I registered a Kenny Rogers look-alike sighting. The fellow two cars in front of me climbed out of his Mercedes (you didn't think Kenny would drive a Kia did you) and was the spitting image of Kenny Rogers. I took a picture with my cell phone that I'll upload later.
I found this on Google news. It seems like a really smart scientist has developed a t-shirt that will finally allow me to be a rockstar. Read the article.
I made the decision after a few weeks of hesitating to upgrade to Blogger's new beta version. It has some slick features that I finally succumbed to. Two that attracted me were the abilities to give your posts "labels" or categories. Other blogging software has incorporated this feature for quite some time. The other feature is the "drop and drag" template editing. It would be nice if someone developed elements for Digg, Technorati, and some of other common blogging add-ons.
What continues to puzzle me, however, is why Google/Blogger doesn't have 3 column templates as part of their standard offering. It seems like that would be a fairly common template. So ... if you use Blogger beta and would like a 3 column template, click here. This is the site where I found the code to rework my 2 column template into a 3 column template.
This little gem was actually created by an anonymous guitar player at LifePoint.
I heard this on the drive home and found this post online:
SAN DIEGO -- A man who police said robbed a bank in the Core-Columbia district collapsed from an apparent heart attack when a security guard confronted him outside the financial institution, authorities said Thursday.
The robber used a demand note to steal an undisclosed amount of cash from a Bank of America branch at 450 B St. about 11:10 a.m Wednesday, San Diego police said.The bank security guard followed the suspect outside and confronted him when he made a failed attempt at climbing a fence, said San Diego police Sgt. Kerry Tom.
The suspect, who is in his 60s, then collapsed from an apparent heart attack, Tom said, adding that he was taken to a hospital. His condition Thursday was not immediately disclosed.
Moral of the story? Robbing a bank is bad for your heart.
Yesterday was my 37th birthday and I have a few additional gray hairs to prove it. Interestingly enough, the gray hairs didn't start popping out until I started LifePoint. The girls bought me a fleece from Old Navy -- because dad needs to look cool while staying warm. Tonya gave me a James Taylor CD (James Taylor At Christmas
For dinner, we went to the House of Blues in the Gaslamp. I enjoy taking the girls to places around town that have character and vibe. The House of Blues is a visual treat. Last night, they were having a Joan Jett and the Blackhearts concert so the place was beginning to fill up with people who appeared to be stuck in the 1980s. It was quite funny. I almost felt transported back to East Peoria Community High School and expected to see the guys smoking cigarettes out on the Boulevard after school.
After dinner, we strolled down 5th Avenue to Ghirardellis and enjoyed a few sundaes (only one each). And then it was back home ... to start another year.
While listening to the Michael Medved show yesterday, I heard an interview with John Harris one of the authors of "The Way to Win." It's a book about political strategy, especially as it applies to winning presidential elections. So ... with a little free time on my hands last night I stopped at the local Barnes and Nobles and picked up a copy. It's been a good read so far.
The first part of the book deals with how the New Media (blogs, talk radio, cable news) has changed the political landscape. It zeros in on the influence of Matt Drudge as the one who brought about the revolution. The authors call this New Media revolution and its production The Freak Show.
Here's the book on Amazon ...
Our new teaching series at LifePoint is called "Developing a Spiritual Fitness Plan" and will focus on practical ways we can become spiritually fit.
If you're like me, spiritual growth has not been automatic -- it's been three steps forward and two steps backward. There are seasons of spiritual growth that are more productive than others. There have been times of feasting alongside times of famine.
That's probably why I identify with the apostle Paul, who so openly admitted his struggle to be like Jesus. We often like to think of biblical characters as the ancient counterparts of superheroes. Paul would be the first to dispel any notion that he was a superhero. In fact, he would be downright embarrassed by the thought.
I'm glad that spiritual development is a process. That means as long as I keep my feet moving, I'm doing alright. It's dangerous to use human benchmarks to chart our progress. God is more interested in our heart and sometimes a heart realignment won't always be easily benchmarked.
This ought to be a good series.
Just a few minutes ago -- at Cosmos, nonetheless -- one of the customers asked to have the music changed because "that man can't sing." The man she was referring to was Johnny Cash!
I was dumbfounded, especially since this wasn't some young chick who had never heard of the man in black ... it was a "mature" lady who was quite adamant in her dislike of Cash. She carried on for about five minutes until finally everyone quit listening and she went back to reading.
What is our world coming to when people no longer appreciate legends?
I've included a picture of Cash for you people who need to develop a greater appreciation for American culture. I hear you can even Google his name and find a few articles about him.
We had our first "ladies only" cafe at LifePoint this past weekend and the music was outstanding. We hosted Annie Bethancourt and Paige Aufhammer, two musicians who also happen to be Christians. Each of them writes and sings with an obvious passion for life. Musically, it may have been one of our best cafes yet!
I especially appreciate the fact that they write songs which reflect their faith without becoming sappy or filled with cliches. It's music that takes you from spectator to participant -- in other words, you have to wrestle with what is surfacing in the song. That's not a bad thing!
For music to be authentic, it has to spring from a place that is both personal and shared. It comes from an artist's experience yet it relates to the shared experiences in the audience. It's this common ground that makes music a powerful connector.
This is why I appreciate Christian artists who write songs that connect faith to life without turning people away. Christians and non-Christians alike wrestle with issues of love, redemption, hurt, heartache, and so much more. Some Christian artists think that to gain a broader audience, they must abandon any and all faith-inspired music. That's why I'm encouraged to see a new generation of artists who are effectively bridging both worlds in a way that honors God and finds common ground -- without sacrificing musical quality.
That's about all ...
Annie Bethancourt
Paige Aufhammer
LifePoint began in our living room with a group of folks who had a dream about creating a new church. We have passed several milestones since then: grand opening, our first baptism, and our first anniversary.
We have several milestones still to achieve: becoming financially independent, giving birth to new churches throughout San Diego, and much more! Each milestone, every dream represents an opportunity to watch God at work in our midst.
We are most definitely in the midst of a God-directed growth phase. I have been encouraged by how many of you express confidence in LifePoint by bringing friends along with you. Every person represents untold potential in the hands of God.
To help us increase our impact and influence, we will be introducing several new things over the next few months. In January we will have our first Starting Point meeting, a time to explore how a person becomes a Christ-follower and what it means to follow him at LifePoint.
Later in 2007 we will roll-out even more focused events. LifeLink will seek to help you get involved in a ministry or team based upon your passions and abilities. GroupLink will be an introduction to our LifeGroups.
These spiritual development modules will be offered on a rotating basis. I would love nothing more than having to offer each one every month! That day will soon be upon us!
Buried in a little hole in North Park is a great pizza joint. My friend, Jim, took me to Lefty's Chicago Style Pizza on 30th, just north of Upas Street. It's small and lively. Cubs souvenirs hang on the wall and the guys who run it are actually from Chicago.
Here's the clincher: they have Pabst Blue Ribbon ... on tap! In fact, only two beers are on tap: PBR and Newcastle. PBR is a definitely a tip-of-the hat to their Midwestern roots.
I didn't see any tax lawyers, but there was definitely an eclectic mix of people. Check it out ... and remember to get the stuffed pizza.
I've been working with my coach on creating a "spiritual development plan" for the people who come to LifePoint. In other words, how do we intend to help them mature and become better equipped Christ-followers? To this point, we have focused primarily on how to bring people in -- something a new church has to do. We're now entering a stage where we need to begin thinking and acting more strategically and structurally.
So, I spent most of yesterday brainstorming ideas, looking up relevant Bible verses, and trying to get a feel for the "flow" of things. Tonya chipped in with a name I liked and we're hoping to put it in place before the end of the year.
It will include ...
I really believe this is the next stage we need to put in place. Attracting new people is something we will always do -- now we need a way of connecting, developing, and deploying the people God brings our way.
Stay tuned ... more details to come.
Due to my refusal to pump an endless stream of quarters into La Mesa parking meters, I typically park several blocks away from Cosmos and convince myself it's for my health. As I walk up Palm Avenue, I pass a United Methodist Church that has one of those message boards where they post upcoming sermon titles. I had to chuckle a few weeks ago when I saw this one:
"Simplify, Simplify, Simplify."
My first thought was ... wouldn't it have been simpler to just put "Simplify"?
As I reflect on yesterday's worship gathering, two particular things stand out:
In order to encourage our folks to brings friends, we have always tried to provide a guest-friendly worship experience.
LifePoint is truly a team effort. Not everyone can write a script or play guitar – but everyone can share in the mission of building God’s church. When each of us works together, something special happens.
The early reviews are in ... and by most accounts, The Not Really All That Early Early Show was a tremendous success. We redesigned our stage as the set of our late-night talk show and ran the entire worship experience like it was a talk show. Our creative team, especially Eric Piepenbrink ("Christian Mann"), did a fantastic job from start to finish.
If you missed the live production, look for the video to be released in the next few weeks. I'm going to try to get a compressed version uploaded to youtube ... a LifePoint first! We'll probably stream parts of it from our website as well.
Yesterday I had the privilege of attending a gathering of pastors at Hope International University. For the past several years, pastors from the independent Christian Churches and Churches of Christ have met for a day of networking. I was asked to lead a roundtable discussion on how LifePoint is using techology to build our church. It was fun sharing all the different things we've tried ... what has worked and what hasn't.
The featured speaker was Leroy Lawson, a pastor and former President of Hope. I first Leroy back in January of 2005 when he and Russ Blowers were guests at the church planting boot camp Tonya and I attended in Northern California. It was a great opportunity to be around two men whom God has used in tremendous ways.
Leroy spoke yesterday about the need to fight discouragement by eliminating a pastor's tendency to be competitive -- competitive in the sense of comparing one's situation to that of other pastors. He emphasized that we are to be competitive but in terms of working together against a common enemy.
I had the chance of spending a few minutes with Marcus Bigelow, the man who really shaped the original Stadia vision that drew me to planting with them. He is about to resume more day-to-day responsibilities with Stadia West, the region of which LifePoint is a part. I think this will help revitalize an enthusiasm for church planting on the west coast.
Well ... I capped my day with the open mic at Cosmos. It was a good day.
I'm multitasking -- watching ESPN and working on videos for this Sunday. ESPN just ran a story about how Major League baseball honored those who were hostages in Iran back in the late 70s. It seems that Bud Selig learned that one of the hostages was a lifetime Brewers fan and decided to give him a lifetime pass upon his return. Other owners soon did the same. The ESPN piece chronicled how these passes helped the hostages return to normal lives, even helping restore relationships to children.
It was a great story. Go baseball!
It seems that the manufacturers of Head On have finally recognized how annoying their commercials can be ... the most recent commercial has a guy interrupting the narrator to voice his annoyance with the commercial but praise for the product.
We've been working on a special creative push for October's teaching series. On October 22 @ 10:30 AM we'll be hosting the one and only production of The Not All That Early Early Show. The entire worship service will be designed around a late-night talk show theme. Christian Mann (Eric Piepenbrink) will be our host for the show. A few things we'll have include ...
We've even created a website just for the show.
And now a few promotional pictures ...
The latest person to endorse Hannah's candicacy for recycling commissioner ...
We had people talking southern, a lady from Austria, a guy from Greece, and a few surfer dudes today at LifePoint.
It is exciting to see the development and maturity of our church community. We are continuing to grow with every week. Last Sunday was a good example.
Jim Osbourne did a fantastic job speaking about the need to have servant hearts. And this was after playing lead guitar during our opening music!
Eric Piepenbrink found our communion audio clip via a recommendation from his dad.
Several people arrived early to set up refreshments, prepare communion, and to get KidPoint ready.
We had a group of people pray for our worship time, for our teacher, and for the people who were coming to LifePoint.
A good number of our guests were there because a LifePoint person brought them along.
What a privilege it is to walk alongside such a great group of people.
While I was out "thrifting" this afternoon I ran into an old friend from our first tour of duty in San Diego. He's the father of another friend of ours and that's how we got to know him. I almost didn't say anything because I wasn't 100% sure it was him -- but I knew it was somebody I knew. I'm glad I spoke up because we had a really good visit.
From there I retreated to Twiggs, one of my two working cafes. In other words, one of my two "offices." There's been a fellow who's a regular, an artist who illustrates children's books. He's lived in San Diego for about a year but will be moving up to San Francisco in a few days. We chatted for a while about his time here and his move up there.
At any given time, life is the summation of our relationships. Some are old and weathered by time; others are new and just gaining momentum. Some are separated by time or distance; still others are yet to be discovered.
That's all for now ...
There have been two more school shootings over the past week. One of the details that emerged from the shooting at Platte Canyon High School in Colorado brought me to tears. It was about the young student who was killed before the gunman committed suicide.
That would be a text message I would keep forever.
There is no doubt that we live in a fallen world. We live in a world where evil exists alongside good and where people exercise their freedom in ways that both bless and destroy others.
When I watch stories such as these unfold, they remind me of what our neighbors need the most ... a relationship with God. There is a peace that does pass all understanding and it comes only through Jesus Christ.
I'm sure there are cynics reading this who would argue that I'm offering a simplistic solution to a complex problem.
To those cynics (and you know who you are) I would ask, "What is your solution?" "How do you propose to solve the problem of evil?" Is it by growing even more cynical, even more bitter, and then dying? Isn't it ironic that those who are the fiercest about removing God from our public dialogue and lives are the same ones who offer no feasible way of dealing with evil! Even if one doesn't believe in God ... how could you not believe in the presence of evil?
On a more personal level, one of my "take-homes" from the story of Emily Keyes is to devote myself to building an even stronger relationship with my daughters. For you fathers out there, let me encourage you to buy this book: "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters." It's well worth the time and money you invest in it.
Our next series at LifePoint is entitled, "The One Liners of Jesus." We've decided to build a talk show theme into each week's service. This will lead up to a full "show" on October 22. We're calling it The Not Really All That Early Early Show. We'll have a house band, guests, a desk for me to sit behind, and more.
We've even created a website for the "show." We'll use it when promoting the series.
You can find it here. Take a look and tell me what you think.
I went to the top of Mt. Helix for the first time this morning. In all the years we've lived in San Diego, I have never been to the top of Mt. Helix. It offers a great view; unfortunately it was overcast and the view was somewhat obscured. I enjoy spending time at high altitudes because it helps give perspective. I decided to reread Acts 17 because it deals with how Paul adjusted his approach to reach the most people with the message of Jesus. But I kept going and I'm glad I did. There on top of Mt. Helix, with a view that encompassed hundreds of thousands of people, I read these words: "One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: 'Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.' So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. " (Acts 18:9-11).
As I looked out over San Diego, those words spoke to me. They reminded me that there are thousands upon thousands of people yet to restore friendship with God. They reminded me to keep on speaking, to keep on creating.
As I contemplated these words I was reminded of the story of Jonah. God wanted to send him to Ninevah, to warn the city and call it to repentance -- Jonah ran away instead. That act of disobedience lead to a bit of rough sailing.
Jonah eventually goes to Ninevah and the city breaks out in revival. But the book ends with Jonah still stewing over God's decision to offer mercy to such a wicked city. Here's how God teaches Jonah (and us) a great lesson:
1 But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. 2 He prayed to the LORD, "O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3 Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live."
4 But the LORD replied, "Have you any right to be angry?"
5 Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah's head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, "It would be better for me to die than to live."
9 But God said to Jonah, "Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?" "I do," he said. "I am angry enough to die."
10 But the LORD said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?"
-- Jonah 4
As I mentioned earlier, a reporter from the San Diego Reader came last Sunday to profile LifePoint for the "Sheeps and Goats" column. Well ... here it is. It's fair and balanced and unafraid!
Our next LifePoint Cafe is this Sunday night featuring Tom Brosseau and Will Edwards. We've hosted Will twice before but this is our first time to have Tom. Here's a snippet from Will's email newsletter:
If you're in the area, stop by! Show starts at 7 PM.
Back during our years in Covington, GA, one of my many joys was getting to know local musicians and artists. Much like here in San Diego, I developed a musical circuit and tried my best to work it into my schedule.
This included the Newborn Opry, a great old schoolhouse that hosted live bluegrass on Saturdays. It was a one-room schoolhouse that had a stage at the front and seating out on the floors. Most of the musicians were locals and the crowd was, well, elderly.
I imagine that my parents' love for bluegrass was buried in my subconscious when we moved to Georgia. Those of you who know my musical interests, know I'm a conflicted man. I love bluegrass but am not a big fan of country music.
I remember the first night I went to the Newborn Opry. I sat in a wooden chair along the wall. It was the old fold-down type that used to be in school auditoriums. Looking over the room, I began to notice that everyone was older than me ... way older than me. The place was filled with grandmas and grandpas of all kinds. To be honest, it was a very emotional experience for me as I sat there and could see my parents sitting on almost any row, mom singing along with her tape recorder and dad tapping his foot.
This fellow turned out to be Johnny Roquemore. As we talked, I discovered he had recently moved from Malibu to Mansfield (now that should be song title) and I had moved from San Francisco to Covington (that should not be a song title). I invited him to come play at our church for a series we were doing that summer called "The Gospel According to 'O Brother Where Art Thou.'" And he did and was enthusiastically received. Our kids still talk about his spelling song.
That was the beginning of a friendship that remained for the next three years. During this time, Johnny got a spot playing at a local bar in Covington called The Depot. Some nights it would be him solo or with a few buddies. I tried my best to make it each week because I got a kick out of his music. On my first night there I had a drunk lady try to get me to dance ... and you should have seen her face when Johnny told her I was a preacher. You should have seen my face when she then told me where she went to church!
Johnny became a frequent guest at our church. Our worship pastor brought him for our final Sunday. That's when he played the song that has now made me semi-famous to my daughters (and does anyone else matter?). Why? It's on a CD!
I've uploaded it here (mp3). It's simply called "Ken Hensley." For those of you from the west coast, the reference to "honky tonk" means it was a bar :-)
Below is where you can hear more music:
Johnny Roquemore and the Apostles of Bluegrass. Another buddy of mine, John Nipper, is also in this group.
There's a new awards show in town and it's called San Diego H.A.T. awards. It stands for Honoring Acoustic Talent. Cast your vote at the San Diego H.A.T. awards website.
The San Diego Reader has a weekly column called "Sheeps and Goats." LifePoint was featured back in the spring of 2005, before we held our first public worship service. The reporter came to our service yesterday and we will be featured again this Thursday.
Here's the link to our first column.
FYI ... I think coffee shops that offer free WiFi should post a small sign showing their internet service provider. For those of us who use Outlook for email, it would help tremendously.
Nearly every day I drive past SDSU's big electronic sign that greets travellers on Interstate 8. For some time now I have noticed advertisements for the upcoming speakers series. Speakers included James Carville, Ann Coulter, and Rudy Gulliani. But it seems that the series has been cancelled due to low ticket sales. Only 120 tickets had been sold for three different nights of speakers ... and that is in an auditorium that will hold thousands.
That's why I chuckled when I saw the price tag: $193-313 per ticket per night. For SDSU students, ticket prices were originally $300, then $160, then $25. Even $25 is a bit pricey for college students.
Here's the full article from the San Diego State Aztec describing the cancellation:
Series called off
Poor ticket sales force cancellation
Stephanie Nehmens, Assistant city editor
Posted: 9/18/06
The price tag was too high, even for an event such as this.Promoters for the San Diego Speaker Series had no choice but to cancel all planned events on Friday because of poor ticket sales.The event was scheduled for three separate nights during the fall semester to host five of America's prominent political figures, starting with former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani on Sept. 26.Other figures expected to speak included Ann Coulter, James Carville, Bob Dole and Wesley Clark.
Ticket prices for general-public seating in Cox Arena for all three nights ranged from $193.50 to $313.50.For San Diego State students, ticket prices were originally almost $300, but dropped to about $160 and finally went down to a special price of $25 per night.
There were more than 6,400 seats available for each event night in Cox Arena, and as of last week, there had only been 120 tickets sold for all three events, Cox Arena Director John Kolek said."Not only were the ticket sales bad, but it would have been embarrassing for the speakers to see as well," Kolek said.
The San Diego Speaker Series is co-operated by Guy Levy, an SDSU alumnus who said that after attending speaker series' elsewhere, he wanted to bring a similar kind of series to educate the San Diego population.But following the cancellation, SDSU students won't have that opportunity this year.
"I was so disappointed - I thought it was going to be a really good series," Associated Students President Matt Keipper said. "I had tickets to all three."I think it would've been a great educational experience to see both sides of the political spectrum. I really wanted to see Giuliani."
Kolek said that there is no talk of rescheduling the event, and if speakers do come to Cox Arena, the structure of the event will be different. Series ticket holders will be getting most of their deposit money back, except for a non-refundable fee that SDSU charges, Kolek said.
He said he is currently trying to fill the available nights in Cox Arena, but does not have any events scheduled yet.Those who bought tickets to the series can receive a refund at the respective ticket offices where they had been purchased.
No, it's not a police bust. This is Georgia State Senator John Douglas -- getting shot by a taser gun. From the look on his face, I've already decided to avoid getting tasered any time soon.
Here's the story:
State Senator Tasered in Show of Support for Law Enforcement
By Crystal
Tatum, Staff Reportermailto:Reportercrystal.tatum@newtoncitizen.com
COVINGTON — State Sen. John Douglas had a shocking Friday morning.
Douglas found himself on the business end of a Taser gun fired by a captain with
the Newton County Sheriff’s Office.
But there’s no need to scour the paper for the legislator’s mug shot: It
was a voluntary act — Douglas’ way of showing local law enforcement officers
that he supports their work.
Sheriff Joe Nichols said authorities who carry Tasers are first required to
be Tasered themselves so they know what the experience is like.
“I’ve made it a point in my public career to be a champion of public
safety. ... I feel like you have to lead from out front, you can’t lead from
behind,” Douglas said.
So, before a throng of law enforcement personnel during a Friday morning
training session, Douglas got zapped. Rather than penetrating his skin with the
taser prongs, Capt. Mark Thomas used a training device that was clipped to
Douglas’ shirt to fire a low-voltage shot.
Though the pain lasted only seconds, Douglas said the shock’s effects took
a while to get over.
"The actual feeling was like waves of electricity going through your body.
It only lasts a few seconds and it doesn’t leave any pain, but it did leave me
kind of washed out and lethargic. If you had to give that two or three times to
somebody trying to get away from police, I can’t imagine. I can only attribute
that to being hard-headed, because it got my attention the first time out,” he
said.
A Taser is a weapon that delivers an electric shock and is used by law
enforcment to disable a suspect without resorting to lethal force.
Douglas said he thinks Tasers are good tools for law enforcement, adding
that the devices have saved lives of officers and suspects. “Not letting
them use Tasers is like tying one hand behind their back and telling them to do
their job anyway,” he said.
We have several special things planned at LifePoint for the rest of September. I'm excited that we will be working alongside the San Diego Park and Rec Department to help clean-up parts of Fiesta Island. We have a team of volunteers who have agreed to help!
Also ... next Sunday (September 24) will be a busy but blessed day. Look at this!
You can learn more about Christiane at her myspace page.
Tom can be found online at www.tombrosseau.com.
Will's internet resting spot is www.willedwards.net. FYI: Will was our featured artist, playing two songs at our grand opening. He also kicked-off the first LifePoint Cafe!
Yesterday was September 11, 2006. All the networks and cable channels had 9/11 specials. The President gave an address during primetime to commemorate the occasion. Even Monday Night Football included a special piece about remembering what happened five years ago.
Our youngest daughter, Hope, also had soccer practice yesterday. That’s a typical day – from the national to the local. As I approached the park where she was practicing, traffic was stopped and being redirected. The fellow in front of me rolls down his window and says, “Just turn around. You can’t get through because a girl has been hit by a car.”
What was a nuisance for him was a cause of concern for me. Both of my daughters were already at the park, having arrived with Tonya a few minutes before me.
I quickly parked and scurried to where a crowd was gathered. As I looked into the circle, I felt a rush of relief that it wasn’t Hannah or Hope and then suddenly realized … it’s not my daughter, but she is somebody’s daughter.
As I counted my blessings I offered a prayer to God on behalf of this little girl. She was bruised and scraped but was conscious and alert.
That’s often how life unfolds. We are bombarded by highs and lows. Hurts and hopes often reside side-by-side. May life never get so busy that another person’s pain becomes a nuisance to us.
Lord, let our hearts beat in sync with your heart.
On that morning, I was scheduled to have coffee with our worship pastor and start planning our upcoming worship services. We met at a little soda fountain on the square. When he arrived, he mentioned that there had been a plane that had flown into a building in New York and we both thought it must have been an accident. Only a few minutes later did we learn that a second plane had flown into the World Trade Center and these were no accidents.
We immediately packed up and went back to his house. For the next several hours we sat speechless and just watched the images on the television. We both watched each of the towers fall. Even today I can't fully explain or describe what I felt.
Needless to say, I scrapped my planned topic for that weekend and spoke about healing.
Five years later, the images of 9/11 still bring tears to my eyes. This morning one of the cable networks was replaying their broadcast from that day. Even as I type, I still get shivers.
Politics and prognosticating aside, 9/11 reminds me that we live in a fallen world that desperately needs hope. It desperately needs Jesus. It did then ... and it does now.
Wow! That's about the best way I can describe LifePoint's one-year anniversary as a new church community. In all respects, today was an outstanding Sunday. Our music was good, the atmosphere was good, and even the pastor didn't fumble around too much. One person did wonder why I was wearing a shirt with pink stripes -- but she's six years-old and lives down the hall from me.
As I reflect on God's faithfulness to us, we have much to be thankful. As I look forward into the future, we still have much more to do. In some respects we are just now "getting our legs." We definitely have challenges, just as any new baby / organization / business would at one-year-old. Just trying to live and function in San Diego is a financial challenge. New churches are certainly not exempt from challenges ... in fact, they seem to attract them :-)
We also have tremendous opportunities that lie ahead. We started LifePoint because we wanted to see more and more people experience the life Jesus has in store for them. We have only seen the beginning of that! Many of those stories are yet to be written.
Our passion for the arts is beginning to build us a reputation among artists as an "artist friendly environment." My dream is for LifePoint to be a springboard for redemptive creativity among artists. In other words, a place where artists can be inspired to create art that makes a difference. I'm especially pleased that we have a willingness to bring in artists who not from within our church community. On one level, this is a bit risky. But it's also a sign of trust and validation that more than offsets the risks involved.
Challenges and opportunities are a normal part of life -- in and out of church. Wouldn't have it any other way.
I’ve survived a few births during my life, not the least being my own. Certainly the highlights include watching my two daughters being born. Living through nine months of the first pregnancy even led me to write a book about it. Fortunately, no one has seen fit to publish it.
(It was entitled "You're What! A Man's Guide to Pregnancy." I let my neighbor in Atlanta read it while his wife was pregnant and he enjoyed it. She enjoyed the parts he shared with her.)
I’ve been a part of two companies during their own prenatal days. In the dot-com days, companies were being birthed from scribbles on a napkin. In medical terms, the first of those companies has expired and the other is beginning to walk after a few setbacks.
Aside from the births of Hannah and Hope, nothing else could compare to the joys and challenges of launching a new church.
The vision for LifePoint began when God changed the direction of my life back in 2001. After a few years of preparation, God opened the door for us to return to San Diego. LifePoint began with 7 adults and 2 children who met in our home for Bible study and planning.
From that very humble beginning, God has formed us into a growing church community. What we celebrate this weekend is not so much the past twelve months but the future that lies before us.
Let’s get going!
For all you aspiring artists and t-shirts designers, a great online resource for creating and selling merchandise is cafepress.com. I first became aware of Cafepress about four or five years ago. You upload your designs and they handle the rest. They stock the merchandise, print the t-shirts, and ship them to your customers. They have a base price and you are allowed to charge anything above that. When your item sells, you keep the difference.
LifePoint has a cafepress store ... www.cafepress.com/lifepoint.
So does CrossThreads (a little side business) ... www.cafepress.com/crossthreads.
Click on the following picture if you want to learn how to set up your own free store.
Have you noticed how over the past 12 months MySpace has crept into the public consciousness? It's on a radio jingle for another company. Every aspiring musician has a "MySpace" page. We've had people visit LifePoint who first found us via MySpace.
Well, today I went to pay our rent for September. Our landlord is a local realtor and I usually hand deliver the check. Not that I have to ... I just do. As we were talking, I noticed that the receptionist behind the counter was checking her MySpace page -- at work!
Have you got a MySpace page? Want to be a MySpace friend? :-)
Sometimes we get so busy that we fail to slow down and recognize the many good things that God has poured into our life. There will be pessimists quick to point out the rough spots -- but I'll leave that up to them.
I'm continually amazed that God saw fit to bless me with a wonderful wife and companion. It's a joy to watch her interact with our daughters and to see them adopting many of her wonderful qualities. She's also a very dedicated teacher who loves her job and the people she works with.
Our daughters, Hannah and Hope, are a constant source of laughter and emotions (FYI: I'm sure there will come a time when the emotions will not be so cherished). Hannah just got braces and it's fun just to look at her. Hope's sense of humor is maturing and pretty quick. I'm just happy to be around for the ride.
Things at LifePoint continue to move forward. We have had a steady stream of new faces, some from our postcards and others from Craigslist. It's become quite a challenge to remember all the names -- a challenge I would welcome any day.
Each week I am surrounded by the same people who helped launch this crazy endeavor. Many of them serve quietly in the background and without much fanfare. It's such a pleasure to work alongside some of the same people who helped us get started in ministry back in 1991.
I feel very blessed to have a worship band comprised of people who just enjoy leading worship. Each of them are talented musicians but more importantly, they have the servant-heart of a Christ-follower. Since Justin Gramm stepped in to lead our worship, the worship has taken on a very positive tone. Our morale is good and the music continues to move in the right direction.
Now, on a personal level, if I could just shed about 10 pounds ...
Since I know all of seven people have been anxiously awaiting the return of our LifePoint podcast ... I'm pleased to say we're back online! I would like to say that the hiatus was due to an extended summer vacation or that the FCC took us offline. Or even that my newest blog fan hacked the podcast. But ... all that matters is that we're back up and running.
You can subscribe to our weekly podcast here. Or look for us on iTunes. Seriously.
As the youngest of five boys, I learned certain survival instincts early in life. It didn’t take long to figure out that not only was I eight years younger but I weighed about 100 pounds less than my next oldest brother. From there, the ratios only widened and were not to my advantage.
For a while, one of my survival tactics included being able to run places the others couldn’t fit. Places like behind couches and under beds. Unfortunately (for me), I eventually outgrew that one myself.
As a result, I have said “uncle” more than one person ought to have to.
Not only do we develop survival tactics to survive older brothers, we develop survival tactics to survive in relationships. Not all survival tactics are bad. If you anticipate getting shipwrecked, it’s wise to pack a few supplies.
But sometimes our survival tactics actually work against having a healthy relationship. Perhaps you trusted a confidant only to have that trust violated. As a survival tactic in future relationships, you decide it’s better to clam up than to share your feelings. That’s not always healthy.
God cares about our relationships because he designed us to need each other. We were made for friendship. The Bible has much to say about how to develop healthy relationships.
I’ll share more as the month goes on. Just don’t make me say “uncle” and we’ll be alright.
LifePoint is turning one-year-old on September 10 and we’re going to celebrate! It won’t exactly be a wild party, but there will be free food and desserts.
LifePoint Christian Community began with seven adults and two children who met in a home. Following six months of preparation, we held our first public worship gathering on September 11, 2005.
We want to celebrate how God has blessed the birth and growth of our church community. LifePoint is a testimony to God’s faithfulness. And we want you to be a part of the celebration!
On September 23, LifePoint will be joining Volunteer San Diego and the San Diego Park and Recreation Department to help preserve the nesting sites of the endangered California Least Tern. We’ll meet at North Fiesta Island in Mission Bay Park! There will also be opportunities for children ages 5-13.
We had another great LifePoint Cafe last night with two local artists -- Michael Tiernan and Nathan Welden. One of the key values at LifePoint is that we want to actively support the local arts scene. We believe God is a creative God and that the church should look for ways of encouraging the arts.
For too long, there has been an antagonistic relationship between the "church" and the arts. There was a sense that art was too emotional or expressive or even human. Rather than embracing the arts as a way of communicating truth, the church resisted the arts. In some cases, churches even eliminated the arts altogether. At LifePoint, we want to build a bridge between our community of faith and the arts community.
Now ... on to local music. One of my favorite things to do is hit the open mic circuit. Why? Because it's a garden-style variety of music and musicians. You have people playing out for the first time alongside old guys with no thought of "making it big." You also have musicians who ought to make it big.
The level of talent is strong in San Diego. There are phenomenal guitar players, great writers, talented vocalists. Many of them have strong spiritual underpinnings though their music wouldn't be classified as "Christian" by them or anyone else. And that's OK. I would much rather have good music with a strong positive theme than shabby music about cutting off your sister's big toe (I admit that's a bit drastic and was totally made up -- but there probably is a song out there about cutting off your sister's big toe).*
If I started to list all the artists I've heard and been impressed with, I would definitely overlook some who deserved to be mentioned.
Why should we support the local music scene? For one, it's good. For another, it's often free! I also feel like it's similar to supporting an up-and-coming athlete and providing valuable encouragement. The level of contact and friendship you have with a local musician is unlike anything that's possible when they do make it big.
And you can look back and tell your children ... I knew that guy when he was playing at Twiggs for free!
* Note: There is a Steve Poltz about cutting off big toes but the toe cutter is a Hitchhiker Joe and he cuts off your big toe, not your sister's big toe.
This is a new design I came up with late Saturday night. I thought about incorporating several Elvis impersonators and perhaps Don King ... but this is what I settled on. I used a font called "Hammer Keys" to produce the double effect. "Elvis" was filtered in Adobe Photoshop after a bit of cropping and erasing work.
You can actually buy this design on a t-shirt. Click here to find out how.
We spent this afternoon shopping for new mattresses for Hannah and Hope. We finally settled on mattress sets from Sleep Train in La Mesa. The girls enjoyed shopping for mattresses since they were allowed to hop on and off different beds. The bed frame that Hannah uses is actually the one I grew up on. When I was in early elementary school, I shared a bed with two of my older brothers. With five boys and two parents and only three bedrooms, there was more than a fighting chance that somebody would be sharing a bed. I can speak from personal experience that this bed frame is 100 percent sturdy.
I've been kicking around a few ideas about what should a LifePoint Christ-follower look like. In other words, after a person has been a part of our spiritual community for a while ... how would they be different? What would they value? Those are the sort of questions I've been kicking around (along with ... how do you get there!).
One thought that has kept creeping up is this: practicing our ABC's. I first heard a pastor from Dallas speak about this regarding his church. He said it was their goal to have every member practice their ABC's.
A stands for "Attend worship." I would hope that anyone who considers LifePoint to be their spiritual home would regularly attend our worship gatherings. It's in worship where we encounter God as a community, tell our stories, and reenergize. From the beginning of the Christian movement, Christ-followers have met for worship on a regular basis.
B stands for "Be in a LifeGroup." We believe that simply attending worship will not produce deep, lasting spiritual change. It's surely a good start but more is needed. We emphasize small, intentional communities of people because that is where friendships are developed and strengthened. So much of Christianity is relational -- just look at all the "one another" passages in the New Testament.
C stands for "Contribute to service." One of our core values at LifePoint is that the spiritual life is not a spectator sport. Christ-followers do not watch from the sidelines but look for ways to get involved. It is when we are serving others that we are most like Jesus.
So ... after a person has been a part of LifePoint for three or six months, I would hope they would be a person who is practicing their spiritual ABC's.
Our second round of direct mail for LifePoint will hit mailboxes this week. We did our first round before our grand opening last year. We did the design in-house and have been working with Rush Printing to handle the printing and mail services. We will be mailing four different postcards to the same 25,000 households over the next four weeks.
Here are the final proofs (click the thumbnail to see a larger picture):
Card One
Card Two
Card Three
Card Four
Have you ever felt like you were in a movie? I had that feeling yesterday as I was walking into the Wal-Mart at Parkway Plaza. As I approached the outside entry, I noticed there were streams of people coming from all directions -- just to get in Wal-Mart. We were all walking in single file and no one was talking. It made me think that Wal-Mart has become the pied piper of capitalism ... only it draws us in, rather than leading us out.
LifePoint sponsored a booth at CityFest yesterday. Matt Tuggle did a great job helping unload and setup everything ... at the bright and early time of 7:30. After eating a muffin together, I left Matt to bolt over to Mission Valley in time to do a few things before our worship gathering started. After that, Jonathan and I headed back over to CityFest to relieve Matt, Charles, and Cory.
I told Jonathan that working at CityFest revived my days of working at the Heart of Illinois Fair in Peoria. For three summers during high school, I had a job selling t-shirts at the fair. I worked for one of those rolling booths that travelled the fair and festival circuit. We had about 50 or so different iron designs and I learned how to crank out t-shirts as quickly as possible. I also learned how to shout out at people walking by. I wasn't quite as eloquent as the two guys who worked at the lemonade stand next door ... but I did have a larger vocabulary :-)
Anyway, back to CityFest. We created a booth that showed the various sides of LifePoint with the overall theme being, "If going to church was like going to Starbucks ..." We had a chance to interact with a number of people and had 30 people enter a contest to win free Starbucks gift cards. Not too bad for a crowd that wasn't exactly at CityFest looking for a church.
At the end of it all, Jonathan and I broke everything down, loaded up, and headed home. It's Monday afternoon and I'm beginning to recover.
Who knows ... we may hit Octoberfest next!
We've been preparing for LifePoint's booth at CityFest for about three weeks. Our creative team has done a great job of designing a low-cost booth that is still very attractive. We are displaying various posters with scenes from around LifePoint. These include our worship gatherings, teaching times, KidPoint, and our LifePoint Cafe. I'm especially pleased that several of our featured artists are allowing us to have their CD's for sale at our booth.
Having a booth at CityFest is part of an intentional strategy of interacting face-to-face with our neighbors. We'll see how this one goes ... and then maybe we'll tackle Octoberfest in La Mesa!
I met this afternoon with one of the musicians who has played at our LifePoint Cafe. She was bringing me a stack of CD's for us to put out at our CityFest booth on August 13. We had a wonderful little visit, catching up on how things are going with her career.
After she left, I reflected on something that has long been a passion of mine -- creating an artist-friendly environment at LifePoint. I would love to see LifePoint become a place where artists are not only welcomed but where they take up residence. A place where they return to draw spiritual strength and support. A place where their creativity is encouraged and challenged to have redemptive value.
I think of what the Belmont Church was in the 1970s and 1980s as artists from the Nashville area began attending. A more recent example would be Mosaic in Los Angeles. Both seemed to foster an environment where the artist felt at home.
I believe it's hard for most churches to create an artist-friendly environment because most churches are not artist-friendly. "Creative arts" in many churches simply means the music they use. It's not a holistic, all-encompassing approach.
As I think through the various churches in San Diego, not many jump out as "artist friendly" churches. Certainly not among artists in their 20s and 30s. The work of many of these same artists have very spiritual undertones. Unfortunately, they don't feel a need to root themselves in a faith community. Or maybe they tried and didn't feel at home.
My hope is that God will use LifePoint to become that kind of faith community. And we're getting there ...
Life has returned to normal around the Hensley household. Tonya and the girls flew back into town last Wednesday night and we're are slowly getting readjusted to each other :-) Honestly, it's really good to have the girls (all three) back around.
By the time I arrived to pick them up at the airport, they were already in the baggage claim area. I inched my way forward trying to hide from them. Hope was the first one to spot me and I tried to duck behind a column. She came running at full-speed and jumped right into my arms. We both stood there for about 30 seconds as Tonya and Hannah began looking frantically for Hope. When they finally spotted us, Hannah took off at full speed as well. Fortunately, I was able to brace myself for the collission.
So ... life has resumed a certain pace and little piles are reappearing around the house. Life is good!
