Ken

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…

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…

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 ...Pizza with the Pastor. This is our way of introducing recent attenders to myself and LifePoint.Starting Point. This will be our basic introduction to Christianity and the LifePoint, story, vision,…

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"?