LifePoint is part of an informal, emerging conversation that seeks to restore the authenticity of the earliest Christ-followers. Many of the people involved in this conversation come from different denominational backgrounds but share many values in common. Many of the values focus on living out the mission of the church. (Click here to learn more about the "seven layers" of the emergent conversation).I’m attracted to this conversation because much of it is saturated in humility. There is a shared sense that we’re all in this together and none of us have completely figured everything out. In previous decades, the church growth movement tended to create celebrities – either incidentally or by their own choosing.Those of us involved in the emerging church conversation have a desire to recapture the humble-power of the early church. In a telling incident, the apostle Peter heals a man but quickly moves to disarm those would…

2004 set a new record for the number of children born to unwed mothers ... 1.5 million in all. What caught my eye was the age group most reponsible for the increase -- it wasn't teenagers, as one might assume. It was young women in their 20s, specifically between the ages of 25-29. According to the article in USA Today, teenage girls accounted for 50% of unwed births in 1970. In 2004, they accounted for only 24%.One particularly interesting note from the article:Young adults having children without being married isn't surprising to Sarah Brown, director of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, who says federal data found that almost two-thirds of girls ages 15-19 agree it's OK for an unwed woman to have a child. "Young adults are acting on their attitudes," she says. "They are doing what they think is OK."Where did two-thirds of teenage girls get the…

I've put together a little video of Hope getting ready to trick or treat. It's my way of playing around with Sony Vegas. Click here to see the video.

The Beatles sang about Rocky Raccoon's revival and a Gideon Bible. Last night (Halloween), we noticed a new neighbor ascending a tree in our yard on his way to our roof. This raccoon was the size of a small pig! Well, maybe. Rocky stared back at us like he was as intrigued by us as we were by him. Well, maybe.Granted, the Rocky Raccoon sung about by the Beatles was a spurned lover and not an actual raccoon. But it does make for a good title.

Is it just me or does anyone else find it a bit strange that Judge Wapner has been hired to appear in a political ad? For those of you too young to remember, Judge Wapner was the original judge in a television show known as "The People's Court." Those were the days before Judge Judy, et al. Every show ended with his sidekick saying, "Don't take the law into your own hands, take 'em to court."After getting over the cheesy nature of the ad (it ends with an echoing, "No on 77. No on 77), I began to think ... I wonder who they are going after with this ad. Unfortunately, it's probably the same people who tuned into People's Court to watch "justice being served." I wouldn't be surprised to see Stone Cold Steve Austin make an appearance in a political ad.