Thanks to my buddy Jonathan, I went to Berean's and bought two new books (and a Veggie Tales video for my daughters).The first book is one that I've been wanting to read for several months: The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus. He says the greatest threat to the movement of Jesus Christ is Christianity! McManus is the lead pastor at Mosaic in Los Angeles, a church that is forging a new way for postmodern ministry. Mosaic was influential in shaping some of my thinking regarding LifePoint.The second book is entitled, "Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2." Yes, that U2. Many people who like U2 don't realize their Christian background. This was a more spontaneous purchase. I saw it on display, thumbed through it, and bought it. At least now I can better appreciate my U2 iPod.Stay posted.

The following is from a blog called "Out of Ur." A great reference to Abraham's willingness to follow God in faith. I've posted it here because many people consider LifePoint to be a part of the emerging church conversation. It's a good post.How Emergent Are You? McLaren's Seven Layers of the Emergent ConversationIslam has its five pillars. Buddhism has its eight-fold path. Evangelicalismhas its four spiritual laws. And now the Emerging Church has its seven layers ofconversation. Last month I was part of a small gathering of church leaders that hosted anevening with Brian McLaren. And the conversation turned as hot as the chutney. Anumber of participants were eager to discuss the criticisms that have beenlevied against the emerging church in recent months. The hijacking of theemergent movement by those merely interested in new worship trends rather thanmore substantive issues aggravated others. Everyone was looking to McLaren tochime in.Always more…

This just in from my handy, dandy Google news alert service. It's an interesting article reviewing two recent books that deal with the declining moral standards of Americans - Christians included.I'll post part of the article here and provide a link to the rest.Country experiencing moral decline? Sociologist, theologian both seesignificant dropBy RICHARD N. OSTLINGAP Religion WriterAs the 21st century began, University of Virginia sociologist JamesDavison Hunter produced a jeremiad that deserved far more attention than itreceived: “The Death of Character: Moral Education in an Age Without Good orEvil” (Basic Books).Hunter contended that America is suffering a dangerous decline in“character” and morality among youth, and criticized public schools' attempts atmoral education and “values clarification.”He said educators, misled by psychology, treat morality in terms ofpreferences, supposing that the inherently moral self should be liberated tomake autonomous decisions. That never works, he claimed; history and experienceshow that morality stems from strongly held,…

As LifePoint gets close to being three months old, it's been amazing to see how God has nurtured a growing sense of community. It shows up before and after our worship gatherings. It shows up during our weekly LifeGroups. It shows up in coffee shops, over lunches, and around living rooms. It shows up in the level of caring that blows me away. It shows up when people open their homes to people they didn't know several months ago.One of the greatest opportunities in starting a new church is to build into it a healthy DNA. Over time, this DNA replicates itself. If the DNA is healthy, that's good thing; if it's toxic ...We certainly spent time during our pre-launch days teaching about biblical community. But now we're seeing it happen!

One of the blessings of returning to San Diego has been reuniting with a friend from Northern California. Her and her family were members of our church community in Walnut Creek and she is now playing softball at San Diego State. We remember back when she would watch our children and change their diapers!We took the family over to one of her practice games yesterday against Loyola-Marymount. It's the last inning, bases loaded, and the Aztecs are down by one run. And Tamani's at bat. A wild pitch ties the game. A few pitches later Tamani drove in the go ahead run -- which also turned out to be the winning run! Go girl (click here to see her picture).It's been great to be back around Tamani. She comes to LifePoint and helps out with the kids. We have her over for dinner most Tuesday nights. She's just a great…