I'm within a few pages of finishing The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. It's a book I vaguely remember hearing about a while back but not pursuing until I saw it referenced in a book by Phil Vischer. I finally picked up a copy this past Saturday at Borders and haven't been able to put it down. It's about how social epidemics spread -- and it's fascinating.He talks about the three types of people who help create and spread social epidemics -- connectors, mavens, and salespeople. A connector is someone who is well-connected. The maven is an information gatherer and disseminator. The salespeople is a persuader. These three are what he calls the Law of the Few ... that it only takes a few people to create a wave of change.He also discusses principles of stickiness -- what enables one message or product or trend to stick while others don't?…
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As I was driving along in my car this past week, I heard an interesting statistic: between now and Super Bowl Sunday (February 4) an estimated 2.5 million people will buy an HDTV just for the game. That’s up from 1.7 million who did so last year during the same time frame (link).While I enjoy football, that statistic just cracks me up. I can almost hear the conversations as a couple drives past Best Buy ... “Honey, I was thinking that we needed a new 72-inch high definition TV so that you would enjoy the Gilmore Girls that much more.”I must admit that the new HDTV’s are a fine sight to behold ...larger, clearer, more realistic. But there’s one thing they are not able to do — they can’t put you in the game. While it definitely improves your experience, it’s not the same as being there.We are a people…
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Instead of coming up with a string of New Year's resolution, I've decided to dub 2007 as Ken Hensley 2.0 ... new and improved. I've been trying to eat healthier and exercise more -- and have been moderately successful on both ends. In terms of eating, I've added more color to my diet and try to eat a mix of fruits and vegetables every day. I've even started drinking a variety of natural juices -- pomegranate, cranberry, and a few of the Naked Juice blends (Blue Machine is my favorite). Just the other day I added V-8 to my rotation since I noticed that "one glass is equal to two servings of vegetables." I figured it couldn't get much easier than that! After drinking my first glass of V-8 I did feel better and more alert and even felt like pursuing a career as a trombone player.The other thing I've…
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A few weeks ago I posted about reading "Letters to a Young Evangelical" by Tony Campolo. That one has been finished and passed on to a friend. I'm currently working on two books concurrently. The first is The Gospel According to Starbucks: Living with a Grande Passion by Leonard Sweet. It's an interesting read about how Starbucks creates an environment and how God calls us to live lives of passion.The second book is called Me, Myself, and Bob: A True Story About God, Dreams, and Talking Vegetables. It is the autobiography of Phil Vischer, the guy who created VeggieTales. I'm only about half-way through but it's a good read. Of course, it helps if you are a parent of a child who grew up on Bob and Larry.
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A Few Phrases You Probably Will Never Hear at LifePoint ...“Way to go, Patriots.”“God prefers you to drink decaf coffee.”“Did you hear Pastor Ken got a tattoo?”“The Old Testament is way too long.”“I think we’ll go for a punk emo sound.”“Tuck your shirt in.”“God helps those who help themselves.”“Bingo!”
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