Ken

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 CaseKasey ChambersAlecia NugentGrascalsMy Morning JacketFinding new music is like waking up to a great cup of coffee that will never grow cold.Enjoy!

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.

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…

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…

Here's another reason why I love Google: