Ken

This just in ... I just picked up a new LifePoint a-frame sign from Sign-A-Rama in Clairemont Mesa. It looks really good. I may be forced to go back and order more. We also ordered a vertical banner as well. Haven't unrolled it yet but it's the same design as the a-frame.On another note, I had a good lunch with Scott Julian, the lead planter at SeaPointe Christian Church in San Clemente. It was the first chance we've had to meet in person. If you're in south Orange County, go straight to SeaPointe this Sunday.

One of the things that attracted me to planting a church through Stadia is their approach to planter care. A key part of this strategy is that I'm assigned a coach. We meet once a month to discuss the nuts and bolts of starting new churches ... plus he is available by phone or email anytime I have a question or idea. In addition, I know he is going to ask me tough questions about how things are going and what I can do better.I've come to believe that every pastor should have a coach and someone they are coaching. In established churches it's very rare for a pastor to have a coach/mentor that they meet with on a regular basis. It's just not the way things have been done. Having been one of those pastors for a number of years, I know that most of them try to offset…

Each day I get an email entitled, “Online Spin.” It’s written for people who market products or services electronically. I take what it says and then translate it into church principles and ideas.The goal in electronic marketing is to make it as personal as possible. Why? Because word of mouth of advertising is always the most effective. No matter how personal an electronic campaign can be, at the end of the day, it is still more effective to write a handwritten note, make a personal phone call, or speak in person.One of the things I love to see are people bringing friends to LifePoint. This has happened every Sunday since our Grand Opening! I am humbled by the confidence you place in us every time you invite a friend or neighbor.Having said that, I want to pledge this to you: We will strive to make every Sunday gathering a meaningful…

The following is from LifePoint's weekly newsletter.It has been almost ten years since my mother died. Tonya and I were living here in San Diego, not far from where LifePoint meets. In the course of about three weeks, I experienced the true meaning of Christian community.When mom was put on life-support, our friends at church purchased an emergency airline ticket for me to travel home. When she died two weeks later, they did the same – this time also paying for Tonya to travel with me.Mom was hospitalized in Peoria, IL, across the river from my hometown. During the time we waited in ICU, we had a steady stream of visitors come sit with us. Almost every single one of them was a friend from church. Many of them stayed for hours while we took turns spending time with mom.One episode remains vivid. It was Thanksgiving Day and we were…

Another great Sunday at LifePoint. Our theme for the day was water:community. We looked at the need for investing ourselves into relationships ... if we don't do that now, they won't be there when we need them. Part of the message was autobiographical -- how my personal family has been blessed by our church communities.Our band did a few acoustic numbers and it was a good change of pace. We're continuing to make progress on many fronts and it's great to be a new church. We also had 28 newcomers between our 9:00 and 10:45 gatherings!Our LifePoint podcasts are now listed in the podcast directory on iTunes! You can go here to subscribe yourself. Or browse the podcast directory on iTunes and download it there.I'm recording our podcasts directly to my iPod using a Belkin voice recorder. I'm very impressed with how well it records. I plug it into the…