Ken's BlogPoint

new blog address

2009-06-29T15:59:00.000-07:00

No worries! My blog is still alive and lives at www.kenhensley.com. I've had the kenhensley.com domain since the late 90s and it had been on a free hosting site up until last month. When that arrangement expired, I decided to revamp it and make it my primary blog site.

tied to the mundane

2009-05-29T14:47:00.001-07:00

"Jesus said, "You're tied down to the mundane; I'm in touch with what is beyond your horizons" John 8:23 MSG

a new season in life

2009-05-21T11:03:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, we began LifePoint in 2005 and for the first two years I worked full-time with the church. We had been granted start-up money that was used during the first two years to provide for salary, rental of our worship space, and other start-up costs. Beginning in 2007, I started working full-time at Blue Haven Pools and Spas since LifePoint was not at a point where it could continue to pay me a full-time salary. The idea was to draw my salary from outside the church while continuing to pastor the church as much as possible.

The last two years have been physically and emotionally challenging for me; the last six months even more so (click here to read a post from February about working two jobs). But these were challenges of my own choosing. I do not regret making the decision to work outside the church. During the past two years LifePoint has touched and blessed many people – people who are now closer to God because of our church. In 2008 alone, we had ten people decide to become Christians!

Over the last several months I have felt a strong desire to return to full-time ministry. Working at Blue Haven was always a means to an end, never the end itself. A career in the pool industry is not my calling. My hope and desire two years ago was that I would once again be full-time at LifePoint. Unfortunately, LifePoint is not in that position.

After much prayer and reflection, I made the decision to seek another pastoral position. Several of our LifePoint leaders have been aware of this from the very beginning. Last week, Tonya and I accepted a pastoral position with Mountainview Community Christian Church in Highlands Ranch (Denver), Colorado. I will be their Pastor of Spiritual Formation and share in the weekend teaching responsibilities as well as other areas very similar to what I had hoped LifePoint would have become.

This has been one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made. Simply put, our family loves LifePoint and always will. Without a doubt, it has been the best church experience of my entire life. While we are excited about the next season of our lives, it is tempered by our reluctance to leave people we love dearly.

Mountainview has asked me to be on-site by July 15. This means that I will preach at LifePoint through the end of June. No final decisions have been made about what the next steps might be for LifePoint. Several of our leaders and me have recently started exploring our options and would welcome your input. There are several viable options that we are looking into. I am planning on sharing this again on Sunday and would be glad to field any and all questions you might have.

This is an post I never thought I would have to write. While we definitely sense God’s hand in directing our path, we are accepting his guidance with a bit of sadness. As your pastor and friend, I have been blessed in untold ways over these last four years and wouldn’t trade any of them for anything.

We would appreciate your prayers. May God’s peace rest on you.

taking responsibility

2009-05-16T12:04:00.001-07:00

Since most of you will read this before or after worship, I guess it’s a good time to offer a confession: I got a ticket this past week for not wearing my seat belt. I had just left the Spring Street trolley station and was on my way to Hope’s softball practice. A La Mesa police office on a motorcyle spotted me and pulled me over.

I have to admit to not being happy about it. In fact, I was a bit ticked off. I thought to myself ... Don’t they have anything better to do than drive around looking for seat belt violations? Shouldn’t they be out fighting real crime?

My fuming continued as he asked for my driver’s license, registration, and insurance. I had been hoping for a warning, even a stern warning, instead of a ticket. As I watched in my rear-view mirror, he began writing the ticket -- something that made me squeeze the wheel a bit harder.

For a fleeting moment I thought of asking him, “Weren’t you in that show called Chips?” I may have been upset, but I wasn’t going to be stupid.

But here’s the reality: I deserved that ticket. One hundred percent guilty as charged. There was no misunderstanding, no differerent interpretation. I wasn’t wearing my seat belt. End of discussion.

Isn’t it ironic that we often get upset when we get caught doing what we know is wrong? We take moral indignation and turn into immoral indignation. “You can’t tell me what to do” is often our angry reaction to being called out or told the truth.

Parents, teachers, coaches -- anyone who works with young children -- know that the hardest part about raising children is getting them to take responsibility for their actions. It wasn’t the imaginary ghost who made the mess. It was me. “I did it” are three of the most difficult words to say.

And that’s just as true for adults as it is for kids.

You have passed a major milestone on the path to spiritual maturity when you are able to take responsbility for your actions. It wasn’t the devil who made you do it (he may have contributed to it, but you made the choice).

And watch out for those cops on Baltimore Avenue.

2009-05-14T12:40:00.001-07:00

In a struggling economy, do otherwise reasonable people make unreasonable demands? Or maybe I notice it more in customer service. I guess it never hurts to ask.

2009-05-12T08:14:00.001-07:00

Words to live by from my daily reading: When you see trouble coming, don't be stupid and walk right into it _ be smart and hide. Proverbs 22:3.

mother's day

2009-05-09T14:15:00.000-07:00

My mother only knew how to play one song on the piano. It was part ragtime with hints of a church hymn mixed in. I find myself still humming that tune even though she passed on nearly 13 years ago.

There are other memories which tend to surface around Mother’s Day ... like how my mother would carry one of those old Panasonic cassette recorders to bluegrass festivals and record her favorite groups. You could never hear the actual music because mom would start singing along and forget about the recording.

Or my mom’s love of flowers and her affection for cats.

Now that I can no longer pick up the phone and talk with mom, I wish I had paid more attention to Mother’s Day. When you’re young (and often stupid!), special days seem more burdensome than blessed.

There isn’t anything I wouldn’t give to sit next to my mom one more time in church or to hear her play that old ragtime tune. I’d even be willing to eat her meatloaf again if it meant 15 more minutes of conversation.

So let me encourage you to give your mom a big hug this Sunday. It’s the least we can do.

disney channel original movies

2009-05-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

The Disney Channel likes to call their new movies “D-COM’s.” It stands for Disney Channel Original Movie. Hannah Montana, Camp Rock, and others.

The irony is that all the “original” movies tend to follow a very predictable pattern. The same actors and actresses bounce from one movie to another. If you turned off the sound, you would think you were watching the same movie each night. Of course, I’m a bit jaded because I’m “forced” to watch all the new D-COM’s. Or maybe I just can’t recognize art when I see it.

Back before Jesus was born, King Solomon once wrote “there is nothing new under the sun.” In other words, human nature has remained pretty consistent for thousands of years. We create new toys to amuse ourselves (can anyone say “Crackberry”), but our basic needs, hopes, fears, and dreams remain the same.

God-followers have always been asked to walk a path that may not be shared by the crowd. Jesus held values that challenged the prevailing values of his day. To say he danced to the beat of his own drummer would be an understatement. And he expected his followers to walk the same path. The King James Bible describes the earliest Christ-followers in this way: “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also” (Acts 17:6).

We’re starting a new teaching series at LifePoint Church entitled, “The Upside Down Way of God.” We’ll look at five Christian principles that may seem upside down:

The First will be Last
It’s Better to Give than to Receive
The Weak are Strong
Slavery is Freedom
We Die to Live

upside down way of God

2009-04-25T11:34:00.000-07:00

I used to think that older people who talked about the “good old days” were just being nostalgic for when they were younger. Every “good old day” always sounded brighter than the present day. Back in those “good old days,” even a baby’s dirty diaper smelled better.

Now that I’m inching towards being included in the “older” demographic, I find myself in a curious position. I find myself talking with other forty-something people about “the way kids are” and about how things were different “back when I was young.” It’s kind of funny. Not the getting older part, but about how perspective changes with time.

Then again, our perspective should change with time. We learn, we grow, we experience significant life events. Wisdom isn’t the result of growing older; it’s the result of growing older and paying attention to what we learn along the way.

As Christ-followers, our perspective is informed by more than life experience alone. When we choose to follow Jesus, we are choosing to walk where he did, as he did. Our steps are to fall in line with his. In many respects, our goal is not to be Christ-like but to be living examples of Christ to the world.

The decision to follow Jesus puts us at odds with the prevailing values of our culture. It has always been that way. It was that way for Jesus and his first disciples. It was that way during the Roman Empire. It’s that way today.

We’ll be starting a new teaching series at LifePoint Church next Sunday entitled, “The Upside Down Way of God.” We’ll look at five Christian principles that may seem upside down:

The First will be Last
It’s Better to Give than to Receive
The Weak are Strong
Slavery is Freedom
We Die to Live

2009-04-24T08:21:00.001-07:00

RT @johncmaxwell: "However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results." Winston Churchill

words

2009-04-22T08:19:00.000-07:00

Words matter. Understanding the words we use matters even more. I found this to be true while helping coach a team of 8 year-old girls in softball. “I want to bunt. What does that mean?” Or another girl asked me what a “fair ball” was.

Softball players have a language of their own, borrowed from the baseball diamond. A few examples: getting in a pickle, worm-burner, rope, shiner, high cheese, heater, Texas leagueer, and on the list could go. To an outsider, it might be a little intimidating until the basics are mastered.

The same can be true of church. We may find ourselves speaking a language that people disconnected from God may not understand. Newer, more modern versions of the Bible help -- they translate the Bible using contemporary language. But no matter how current or contemporary the translation, there will always be words that need to be defined for new listeners.

Rather than abandon words such as redemption, salvation, holiness, righteousness, and others, we need to help people understand what they mean. One of the best ways to do that is not through translations of the Bible alone but through lives that have been transformed. To see redemption in action. To see holiness with flesh on it.

Words do matter. Even more so when they come to life!

Bono's op-ed piece

2009-04-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

It’s 2009. Do You Know Where Your Soul Is?

BONO

I AM in Midtown Manhattan, where drivers still play their car horns as if they were musical instruments and shouting in restaurants is sport.

I am a long way from the warm breeze of voices I heard a week ago on Easter Sunday.

“Glorify your name,” the island women sang, as they swayed in a cut sandstone church. I was overwhelmed by a riot of color, an emotional swell that carried me to sea.

Christianity, it turns out, has a rhythm — and it crescendos this time of year. The rumba of Carnival gives way to the slow march of Lent, then to the staccato hymnals of the Easter parade. From revelry to reverie. After 40 days in the desert, sort of ...

Carnival — rock stars are good at that.

“Carne” is flesh; “Carne-val,” its goodbye party. I’ve been to many. Brazilians say they’ve done it longest; they certainly do it best. You can’t help but contract the fever. You’ve got no choice but to join the ravers as they swell up the streets bursting like the banks of a river in a flood of fun set to rhythm. This is a Joy that cannot be conjured. This is life force. This is the heart full and spilling over with gratitude. The choice is yours ...

It’s Lent I’ve always had issues with. I gave it up ... self-denial is where I come a cropper. My idea of discipline is simple — hard work — but of course that’s another indulgence.

Then comes the dying and the living that is Easter.

It’s a transcendent moment for me — a rebirth I always seem to need. Never more so than a few years ago, when my father died. I recall the embarrassment and relief of hot tears as I knelt in a chapel in a village in France and repented my prodigal nature — repented for fighting my father for so many years and wasting so many opportunities to know him better. I remember the feeling of “a peace that passes understanding” as a load lifted. Of all the Christian festivals, it is the Easter parade that demands the most faith — pushing you past reverence for creation, through bewilderment at the idea of a virgin birth, and into the far-fetched and far-reaching idea that death is not the end. The cross as crossroads. Whatever your religious or nonreligious views, the chance to begin again is a compelling idea.

•

Last Sunday, the choirmaster was jumping out of his skin ... stormy then still, playful then tender, on the most upright of pianos and melodies. He sang his invocations in a beautiful oaken tenor with a freckle-faced boy at his side playing conga and tambourine as if it was a full drum kit. The parish sang to the rafters songs of praise to a God that apparently surrendered His voice to ours.

I come to lowly church halls and lofty cathedrals for what purpose? I search the Scriptures to what end? To check my head? My heart? No, my soul. For me these meditations are like a plumb line dropped by a master builder — to see if the walls are straight or crooked. I check my emotional life with music, my intellectual life with writing, but religion is where I soul-search.

The preacher said, “What good does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” Hearing this, every one of the pilgrims gathered in the room asked, “Is it me, Lord?” In America, in Europe, people are asking, “Is it us?”

Well, yes. It is us.

Carnival is over. Commerce has been overheating markets and climates ... the sooty skies of the industrial revolution have changed scale and location, but now melt ice caps and make the seas boil in the time of technological revolution. Capitalism is on trial; globalization is, once again, in the dock. We used to say that all we wanted for the rest of the world was what we had for ourselves. Then we found out that if every living soul on the planet had a fridge and a house and an S.U.V., we would choke on our own exhaust.

Lent is upon us whether we asked for it or not. And with it, we hope, comes a chance at redemption. But redemption is not just a spiritual term, it’s an economic concept. At the turn of the millennium, the debt cancellation campaign, inspired by the Jewish concept of Jubilee, aimed to give the poorest countries a fresh start. Thirty-four million more children in Africa are now in school in large part because their governments used money freed up by debt relief. This redemption was not an end to economic slavery, but it was a more hopeful beginning for many. And to the many, not the lucky few, is surely where any soul-searching must lead us.

A few weeks ago I was in Washington when news arrived of proposed cuts to the president’s aid budget. People said that it was going to be hard to fulfill promises to those who live in dire circumstances such a long way away when there is so much hardship in the United States. And there is.

But I read recently that Americans are taking up public service in greater numbers because they are short on money to give. And, following a successful bipartisan Senate vote, word is that Congress will restore the money that had been cut from the aid budget — a refusal to abandon those who would pay such a high price for a crisis not of their making. In the roughest of times, people show who they are.

Your soul.

So much of the discussion today is about value, not values. Aid well spent can be an example of both, values and value for money. Providing AIDS medication to just under four million people, putting in place modest measures to improve maternal health, eradicating killer pests like malaria and rotoviruses — all these provide a leg up on the climb to self-sufficiency, all these can help us make friends in a world quick to enmity. It’s not alms, it’s investment. It’s not charity, it’s justice.

•

Strangely, as we file out of the small stone church into the cruel sun, I think of Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, whose now combined fortune is dedicated to the fight against extreme poverty. Agnostics both, I believe. I think of Nelson Mandela, who has spent his life upholding the rights of others. A spiritual man — no doubt. Religious? I’m told he would not describe himself that way.

Not all soul music comes from the church.

Bono, the lead singer of the band U2 and a co-founder of the advocacy group ONE, is a contributing columnist for The Times.

2 new podcasts uploaded

2009-04-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

For those keeping score: I just uploaded two new podcasts. Find them here.

better than a bunny

2009-04-11T20:33:00.001-07:00

As a child, I loved getting a chocolate bunny at Easter. Not the hollow kind, but the solid five-pound bunny rabbit that would take a good part of one month to eat. I’m not sure how many of those I actually finished. “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak ...”

But Easter is so much more than chocolate bunnies or grown men dressed up in bunny suits.

Easter is a celebration of God’s most awe-inspiring miracle: his ability to bring life out of that which was dead. When Jesus’ burial tomb was discovered empty, angels from heaven asked his followers: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” In other words, Jesus is no longer dead -- he’s alive!

The miracle that happened on the first Easter Sunday has happened millions of time since then. In small towns and places like San Diego, all across the world, God has brought the dead back to life. No tombs required. Those who have found themselves dying from despair or shame have found new life through the Risen Son.

Now that’s better than any five-pound chocolate bunny.

writing

2009-04-03T14:50:00.000-07:00

As some of you know (especially my Facebook friends), I have finished writing my first novel. I began writing last fall, after I started commuting to work on the trolley. Every morning and evening I spend about 45 minutes each way on the trolley. I began reading novels to help pass the time and started ripping through them. San Diego's Central Library is only three blocks from my office and I would walk there on lunch and swap out books.

After a few months of reading other people's writing, I decided to write my own. Most of the novel was written on my Sprint smartphone(s) -- the latest being an HTC Touch Pro. It has a slide-out, full QWERY keyboard with both function and CTRL keys. I did do some writing on my laptop, but the majority of the book was written with my thumbs and an occasional finger.

The novel is currently being read by three potential literary agents. Of course, there were many more rejection letters/emails than acceptance letters/emails. But I am very encouraged by the number who wanted to see the manuscript -- and how quickly. Now, I am in the active waiting period.

So ... I started a second novel. This one has been written exclusively on my HTC Touch Pro. It's about a travelling evangelist who knowingly rips people off. Quite fun to write.

I always knew my thumbs would amount to something.

rediscover

2009-04-01T15:25:00.000-07:00

Rediscover the basics of the Christian faith. Our new teaching series starts Easter Sunday and will explore such basics as Jesus, the church, our journey, and our mission. Rediscover the essential truths of a healthy, mature faith.

Sundays at 10:30 at LifePoint Christian Church in San Diego.

at the swap meet

2009-03-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

Kobe’s Swap Meet is an adventure. Part garage sale, part living infomercial. In the early 90s I bought a pair of Hawaiian shorts there that last all of about six weeks. But I loved those shorts!

My parents never went to a swap meet: they went to flea markets. Is there a difference? Not that I know of. But it’s little wonder that flea markets became “swap meets.” Most people try to get rid of fleas, not buy them.

The beauty of a swap meet is the “deal.” It’s finding a treasure that isn’t found in stores (think the early days of the Salsa Master). It’s the joy of bantering and bargaining with the seller. It’s getting to poke around in other people’s stuff and not get in trouble for doing so.

Is there a spiritual lesson to be learned from the swap meet? I don’t have any particularly deep, penetrating observations. No brilliant insights.

Maybe that in and of itself is the spiritual lesson. Not every experience has to be the biggest, the brightest, the most sensational. If we’re not careful, we can become spiritual thrill-seekers and miss God in the ordinary experiences of life.

two new podcasts uploaded

2009-03-28T13:17:00.001-07:00

I just uploaded 2 new podcasts from LifePoint Church. The first deals with worry and the second with handling anger. Find all the podcasts from LifePoint here.

perspective

2009-03-24T09:08:00.001-07:00

This morning while getting out my vitamins, I dropped one of the chromium picolinate tablets (400 mcg, for those who keep score). As is usually the case, it automatically disappears. After spending a few moments looking around, I decided I needed to change my perspective if I were to find the tablet. Squatting down, I found it rather quickly.

Life is like that. Sometimes we can't see problems or opportunities because we're looking at life from the same perspective we always have. That's when we need to bend down (or over) and get a different angle.

I came across this quote that fits well: "Calling attention to consumerism, materialism and capitalism in America is like telling a fish to notice the water." (Kyle Osland, Icon Church).

labels and titles

2009-03-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

At a softball game yesterday, one of the dad’s asked me: “What do people call you? Pastor or minister?” My first response was, I’ve been called much worse than that. I told him of receiving a piece of junk mail once that was addressed to “The Most Holy Reverend Ken Hensley.” How did they know, I said to my secretary. I should have kept the letter for proof.

When I meet people for the first time and they ask what to call me, I just say “Ken.” Part of it may be due to my background in a denomination that disliked titles. Part of it is my belief in the “priesthood of believers,” the biblical idea that all Christians are servants of God. We just serve in different capacities.

The title I cherish the most, however, is a rather simple one. It is to be known as a “Christian.” As a Christ-follower, my aim and ambition is to be like Jesus. The term “Christian” originally came about as a term of derision, or insult. It was applied to Christ-followers in a negative way. Over time, his followers adopted the word as their own.

It’s one of the reasons I dislike denominational labels -- they tend to distract the focus away from Jesus. Our first impulse when asked to identify ourselves should not be to say Baptist or Methodist but as Christian. One of the my favorite books I read while still in high school. The title? “I Just Want to be a Christian.”

People disconnected from God and Jesus aren’t all that interested in our intramural squabbles and denominational points of differentiation. They will be attracted to Jesus.

May we wear the title “Christian” in a way that honors our Christ.

send the dominator to opportunity camp

2009-03-20T14:48:00.000-07:00

Dustin (aka "The Dominator") started attending Opportunity Camp as a camper. In recent years he has returned as a staffer, although he's still The Dominator. While he lived in California it wasn't too difficult to make the trip to Opportunity Camp. But now he lives in Texas and needs to buy an airline ticket. I'm offering the use of my PayPal account as a collection station for those interested in helping Dustin return to camp.

Click the button below to make your non-tax-deductible donation. Any money above and beyond the cost of airfare will be donated to camp.

coming on sunday

2009-03-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

This Sunday (March 22) at LifePoint Church we'll be looking at part four in series on things that hold us spiritually captive. We'll focus on anger and how to learn a better way to blow off steam.

inexpensive postcards

2009-03-18T08:44:00.000-07:00

I've used Vista Print for a number of print projects throughout the years. Spring Clearance Sale at VistaPrint! Save up to 90%

cruel and unusual punishment

2009-03-17T20:11:00.001-07:00

The girls have gained control of the big screen and are forcing me to watch American Idol the "country version." Doesn't this qualify as cruel and unusual punishment?

overcoming addictions

2009-03-16T20:49:00.000-07:00

Anna Nicole Smith is back in the news. Well, sort of. Jerry Brown, our Attorney General, has decided to pursue charges against three people who supplied Ms. Smith with the drugs that eventually contributed to her death.

The three people include her boyfriend/attorney and two doctors. In counseling terms, they served as her enablers. They were the ones who enabled her addiction and kept it alive.

For people battling addictions, the co-conspirators are all around us. Marketing messages tell our young ladies that they must look a certain way, encouraging eating disorders and other harmful habits. These same messages encourage our men to look at women as objects rather than human beings made in God’s image. We are told to take a pill if we’re sick or want strong bones or a healthy sex life.

Credit card debt continues to mount. A Blackberry phone becomes a Crackberry. Kids watch increasing amounts of television because it’s the electronic babysitter.
Technololgy serves us, then becomes our master. As a society, we have surrounded ourselves with enablers who will feed our addictions.

Addictions are no respector of persons. Young and old battle addictions. The rich and poor, black and white, male and female. Some addictions are physical; others are emotional or relational.

But there is hope. The fundamental message of Christianity is this: you can be changed. Words are used like transformation, renewal, rebirth. Words that speak to the fact that you don’t have to stay the same person you’ve always been.

May that message become reality ... in your life.