FredMcKinnon.Com

Hey Ya’ll,

I need your help.  We are developing a new ad/media packet for those interested in advertising on the network of websites for Highest Praise Productions.  These sites include FredMcKinnon.Com, HighestPraise.Com, and TheWorshipCommunity.Com.

It’s a simple survey that should take about 2- 3 minutes of your time and is about worship demographics and ministry.  Please complete the survey, EVEN IF YOU ARE NOT involved in ministry.

We’ll be giving away $100 in iTunes Gift Cards by a random drawing of those who participate in the survey.

Take the Survey – and SPREAD THE WORD!
(comments closed – please take the survey!)

Social Networking Online for Churches

I’ve recently agreed to take on the role of online social networking/media for our church.  We already have a website (which is about to be overhauled and redesigned from top to bottom).  We recently started using Twitter (@sscc) and frequently upload videos from our worship services to places like YouTube or Vimeo.

Several of our staff blog.  The lead pastor has a blog, but doesn’t update it.  (that will change)

I was reading an article today called “Facebook’s Popularity and Your Church’s Social Media Strategy“ (thanks for the link, Travis) and realized our need to utilize FaceBook as well.

We’ve played around with online networking but it’s not been organized or serious.  It will become my job to oversee that.  (I won the award for having more free time than the other staffers, and for leveraging online networking and community the most with my own endeavors.)

I need to create a written vision and strategy.

Does your church have an online communications strategy?  How is your church or ministry utilizing it?  I’d love for you to comment, tweet, retweet, and spread the word – I’d like to get as much feedback from you all as possible.

For the Kingdom,
Fred

Hey Everybody,

Welcome to the 36th consecutive week of the “Sunday Setlists” blog carnival – where we share and exchange our weekly worship service recaps.  Full details are here.  To participate:

1. blog about your worship service this week.  (don’t blog?  Just share your recap in the comments below)
2. link back to THIS POST, and share that you are participating in “Sunday Setlists”
   (link to http://www.fredmckinnon.com/myblog/2009/03/29/sunday-setlists-36/)
3. Fill out the “Mister Linky” below with the URL to your “Sunday Setlists” post.
4. Comment below and then visit the other sites to learn what others are doing
5. Spread the word.  If you use Twitter, use the #sundaysetlists hashtag.

Sunday Setlists for St. Simons Community Church
March 29, 2009

Great day of worship @SSCC.

Walk-in:  Glorious One (Fee)
(we drop this down to C for singability)

Opening Song:  See His Love (Hughes) – Bm

Announcements:  normal church announcements, and a great update from one of our missionaries in Haiti.

Second Set:
Jesus Messiah (E)
Hosanna (Hillsong) (E)

*this was a great medley.  We come out of Jesus Messiah and end it in E, and as the song fades down, we go into a vocal only chorus of Hosanna.  It’s an awesome way to sing that Chorus and hear all the people in the congregation singing.  No band drowning them out.  Pull out your in-ears.  Listen to the most glorious sound ever – YOUR PEOPLE SINGING.  After singing through the Chorus, we end on that C#m and the band kicks in w/ the normal arrangement from the Hillsong album.

Special Song:
Psalm 13 (Brian Doerksen)
We did this lament last week, and it was requested that we do this as a special again this week, continuing our series on Job.  It was powerful, like last week.  (see last week’s setlist to listen to it).

Closer:
It is Well With My Soul (traditional)

Great day.  Harriet (the original, founding Worship Leader here at SSCC) and myself were the main leaders.
Fred McKinnon:  Keys/Vocals/Leader
Harriet Jones:  Acoustic Guitar/Vocals/Leader
Kim Meadows:  Vocals
Larry Wade:  Vocals
Jay Sellers:  Vocals/Electric Guitar
Gary Share:  Bass (loved the fretless on the lament!)
Rick Joyce:  Drums

Your turn!  Put the link to YOUR “Sunday Setlists” post in the Mister Linky below.  Remember, put the full URL to your actual post, and not the URL to your blog’s homepage.  Homepage links (ie.  yourblog.wordpress.com, yourblog.blogspot.com, yourdomain.com) will be deleted.  The URL should go directly to your blog entry only.

Hey Everyone -

Can you say “It’s Friday”!?????   Woo-Hoo!  FreePlay Friday is a fun day for me and you – we talk about whatever we want here on Friday, and break the routine of discussions on faith, church, worship, worship leadership, music, etc.

The last few days of this week have been me sneezing, itching, coughing, dripping, blowing (ok, I’ll stop).  Spring time and pollen counts seem higher than ever before.  The normal cocktail of allergy meds for me aren’t doing it this week.  NyQuil was my friend last night.

Here Goes the Randomness

• I can hardly type, I’m bobbing my head so hard … side-to-side … rock … back and forth … that’s because I’m listening to the brand new Israel Houghton CD, “The Power of One“.  Holy smokes.  Groove galore.
• Rebekah’s birthday is this weekend.  Family coming to town, “Marriage Live Beach Bash” tonight at church, soccer games in the AM on Jekyll Island, and then Bekah’s birthday party.  Hope it doesn’t rain.
• Twitter … it’s definitely here to stay for a while folks.  I’m taking over social media and networking “officially” for our church . We already have a twitter account for the church @sscc … but just got a new one going for our missions team in Kenya @sscckenya.  Way cool, they are sending live twitter updates “from the field” in Kenya.
• FREE GIVEAWAY:
  March is almost over, which means it’s time to have the monthly FREE GIVEAWAY drawing over at HighestPraise.Com.  This month’s freebie is Lincoln Brewster’s “Today is the Day” CD and WorshipToolBox resource (DVD with instructional videos, chord charts, lyrics, sheet music, etc).  All you have to do is signup for the E-News from HighestPraise.Com.  You can expect maybe 3-5 emails per month, usually announcements about worship-related resources and new songs from HPP and some of our friends.

Wassup for your weekend?  Back to the Twitter thing … do you use it?  Does your church?  How is your church, ministry, or business using Twitter or other social media?

BRING IT ON.

We are about 4 weeks into our series on the book of Job entitled “When It Hurts” at SSCC.  (you can listen to the series thus far here)

I was both excited about this series and dreading it at the same time.  I struggle with the God who allowed those things to happen to Job.  I also have strong issues with how much liberty we give “suffering” in the church, almost to the point where it’s “just sit back and take it, there is nothing you can do about it” attitude.

So, I’m on a mission.  It’s too easy to just believe what you always heard.  It’s so easy to interpret Scripture through the filter of the people who taught it to you.  Everyone has a slant.  That slant comes through in how we use the Bible to teach our agenda.

My Quest:

To study and refine my own doctrine and theology of suffering.

Do I believe that Christians will suffer in this world?  100% yes, absolutely.
Do I believe that we often lump things in to “Godly suffering” that don’t belong there?  100% yes, absolutely.

So, I’ll be taking my Bible and keeping extensive notes in Evernote … and maybe one day I’ll be able to come back and share my thoughts.

Can you clearly articulate your doctrine in regards to suffering?