FredMcKinnon.Com

Hey Everyone -

Hope you had a great weekend. I hope to get a “Worship Confessional” out this week sooner-than-later. (yeah, right!).

I wanted to give a big “thanks” and “shout out” to our team members at SSCC. They are incredible. We’ve been asking a LOT from our volunteers … the “ask” when we moved from the old shopping center facility to our new facility only increased that much more.

One of the additional “asks” is that our volunteers, praise team members, host team, greeters, etc … all those who are there early, and stay for the morning … we’ve asked them to park off-site about 5 minutes away. We’ve hired a shuttle to run back and forth between SSCC and the Sea Island Bank parking area. Truth be told, I think we severely underestimated our parking capacity.

Yesterday was no exception. Our 11:00 AM service was full, and we didn’t have any parking spaces. So, because of the sacrifice of our volunteers (most of whom have a great attitude about it!), we were able to have spots for people to park.

This morning, I felt like writing a “Thanks” and “Encouragement” to those who served on the Worship Team yesterday. After doing so, I thought it would be good to share … to encourage all of you other worship leaders and ministry leaders … stop, and take a moment to show some gratitude for those who give sacrificially with you. A little “thanks” goes a long way.

Granted, this is specifically for our team, but here it is … I offer this with gratitude and sincerity:

Hey Team,
Just wanted to say “Thanks” for your serve yesterday to the Kingdom of Christ. We had a great Sunday.

I’d like to honor and recognize the sacrifice you all make, in time and energy. In case you didn’t hear, the parking lot was completely full during the 11:00 AM service.

Because you willingly sacrificed by riding the shuttle or being dropped off, someone was able to have a parking spot at SSCC.

I want you to know that your sacrifice and give isn’t without notice. I’m grateful for your generous donation of time and effort. But more importantly, God notices. He sees from heaven. Surely, He saves a great reward for you. With these beautiful works of righteousness and sacrifice, you can know that God sees and rewards you.

Thanks so much for all you do. Going the extra mile. Serving the people so that they can have a great time with Christ.

As I close, I just want to encourage and exhort you … obviously, Sunday AM isn’t always a time when we, as a “worship-leading team” have the luxury to just abandon ourselves in worship. I feel like if we just “lose it” up there, we can’t really be leading others. It’s our time to give – our time to lead … yes, to model worship by “doing it”, but at the same time, we give ourselves to the discipline of playing, singing, paying attention to arrangements, parts, and focusing on eye contact and ministry to those out in the congregation.

So, my challenge is to make sure you’re carving out some time in our hectic days just to “sit” at the feet of Jesus. We’ve been committing the 1st hour of each day here at SSCC with prayer and worship. What a privilege – it’s part of our work day. I’m the first to admit that I realize none of you receiving this email (or at least, most of you) have that luxury to “spend an hour in prayer and worship on the clock”. But I do want to encourage you to find that time – maybe only 15 minutes, 30 minutes … grab an iPod, or a CD, or just have a quiet place … and love on Jesus. Let Him love on you.

I won’t want for us to all get so caught up in ministry that we forget to just stop and love on Jesus. Remind yourself of the story of Mary and Martha. Martha was so busy with life, with activity, with responsibilities in preparing for Jesus’ visit, and she got really frustrated with Martha, because she was more concerned about just worshiping Jesus. When Jesus finally spoke up about it, He told Martha that Mary was doing the right thing.

I don’t write this to suggest we aren’t spending time with the Lord – on the contrary, it’s just a loving reminder to stay IN LOVE with Jesus. As the Worship Director, it’s imperative that I REMAIN IN LOVE with Jesus, and that I challenge, remind, and encourage YOU to do the same. He’s all that matters. He’s everything.

Amen???

Love you all!
For the Kingdom,
Fred