FredMcKinnon.Com

Hello from Ocean Grove, NJ.

A rare moment of quiet and stillness in the “parlor” of the place we’re staying here for The Forge Conference gives me this opportunity to catch up on the blog.

I’ll be here the next few days with a list of some super talented and cool leaders in worship ministry, technology, and ministry.  We’re leading the 1st-ever “The Forge Conference” and I’m excited.

I’ll be teaching a couple of classes and leading some of the “late night worship” which from my understanding, is a free-for-all praise and worship time for anyone to join in with.

Pretty smooth first day – our flight from Jacksonville, FL to Charlotte, NC was quick and easy.  I am traveling with a couple of co-workers from SSCC … Travis Paulding and Shannon Lewis.  I’m proud that our church is reaching out and equipping other churches and leaders beyond our 4 walls.  In Charlotte we connected with long-time friend McKendree Augustas.

Landing in Newark was cool – I’ve never been to New York City and didn’t realize that Newark was right there by Manhatten and was pretty excited to see New York City and the Statue of Liberty from the plane window.  Yeah, I’m just a good ole’ boy from South Georgia.

We were expecting a guy from Ocean Grove to pick us up at the airport and joked for about 30 minutes about this limo-guy walking around with a sign that said “Augustas”.  Finally after waiting outside for a half hour, we got a phone call that the limo dude was for us … well, we didn’t have a stretch limo, but we did have a big ole’ black Suburban.  I told Travis I felt like I was in a Harrison Ford flick like Patriot Games.  Thankfully, no rocket launchers took us out of the NJ interstates.

For those who wish to follow “tweets” and updates on Twitter/Facebook during the conference – we’ll be using the following hashtag, which you can use to “search” the net:  #ForgeCon10
More later …

Hey Gang,

It’s been another whirlwind week and the ole’ blog here has been neglected once again.  At any case, I’d love your prayers … I’m leaving this weekend to lead worship at Fort Bragg, NC.

Fort Bragg is hosting the Billy Graham Association’s “Rock the Fort” event.  I’ll be coming in Friday night and leading a time of worship and prayer for the leaders, artists, and those who are helping put on this event.  I view this as an opportunity to till the ground.  No band – just me, a keyboard, and maybe some song loops.  The plan?  To worship, soak in God’s Presence, pray, and prepare for the big event on Saturday.

This is my second visit to the military bases to minister, my first to Fort Bragg.  It’s the home to some incredibly brave soldiers and I’m honored to minister there.

I’ll be back just in time to enjoy our worship service at SSCC, work a couple of days, then head straight out to the Forge Conference where I’ll be leading and teaching.  This conference is shaping up to be one of the best deals EVER … at only $67 registration.  Details are at www.theforgeconference.com

*Attention RSS readers and Facebook Friends – please click over to fredmckinnon.com to leave your comment, as keeping all remarks in the same place will make this work better!

Lately I’ve been having these thoughts about how important God’s Word is.  Specifically, it’s importance in shaping the truth of who we are, and who God has called us to be.

While the world slaughters us with messages of defeat and anything but holiness, God’s Word builds us up.

So, I’m asking everyone (yes, that means you, lurkers!) to participate and help me build a Bible-filled confessional.

I’ll start below … then, you add your confession.  The only rule is that the confession has to be edifying, and it has to come from Scripture.  (The Scripture reference would be great).

So – refresh the page to make sure you have the most recent comment, and then add yours.  We will build on each other’s comments … so read through the previous ones and try to make your confessional relevant and flowing with the previous comment.

Here we go:

1.  Today I choose to be confident in God’s love and protection for me.  His promise to me says “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”.  (Romans 8:35).

*NEXT … your turn, add to that.

Welcome to the final post in my series on “What Regimen Training Taught Me as a Worship Leader”.  If’ you’ve missed the series, back up and see these other entries:

Part 1: What is Regimen
Part 2: R.A.N.
Part 3: Change It Up
Part 4:  Teach the Why

Part 5:  Encouragement Matters

In the last entry I talked about teaching.  The teaching is critical but it’s not enough.  You have to have encouragement.  In the trenches when the sweat is pouring, the body is resisting, and the mind is telling you there’s nothing left, it’s that encouraging word that pulls you through.

A good fitness trainer will challenge you in your routine, correct you when you’re wrong, and encourage you when you are doing it right. But how can we apply that to worship leading?

So far these teachings have primarily applied to how we (as leaders) interact with our congregations.  Today I want to focus on how we interact with our teams.  How often do you encourage them?

Keep in mind that the majority of us work with volunteers who have already been bossed around all day and have endured stress and anxiety at the work place.  The last thing they need as they volunteer in the band or tech team is to feel the same way.  Encourage your team.  Build them up.  When they play well, acknowledge it.  When they seem frustrated or overwhelmed with a part, encourage them.

Take this beyond words.  I’d encourage you to have a box of stationary in your desk so that you can mail a letter from time to time … you know, write it, stuff it in an envelope, place a stamp on it, and put it in that old thing called a mailbox.

Don’t let this stop with your band.  There is a tech team that makes everything work; yet, they are usually acknowledged only when something goes wrong.

Can this apply to our congregations as well?  Of course it can.  As you notice those who seem to really connect with the worship, make a point to encourage them.  Tell them that seeing them worship and engage encourages you and spurs you on as a leader.  In the same way, with sensitivity, you may approach someone who is obviously struggling.  Pull them aside and give them an encouraging word – tell them how glad you are they came and ask if there’s anything you can pray with them about.

I know this.  When I’m on my last pushup … and my body screams it can’t do another … all it takes is Eric or Matt standing over me saying “c’mon Fred, you can do it, one more” and I push it out.  You can too.

That’s a wrap for this series.  I hope it’s been helpful for you.  I’d love to see your comments, so chat it up!

About the Photo:
Another shot by Chris Moncus Photography, who was hired to take some pictures in Summer 2009 during some of our East Beach workouts.  This is a great group, many of whom are still attending the regimen workout classes on East Beach.  For more info on the “Regimen” training, visit Taylor Made Training.

Well, here we go with Part 4 of this series on the blog called “What Regimen Training Taught Me as a Worship Leader”.

If’ you’ve missed the series, back up and see these other entries:

Part 1:  What is Regimen
Part 2:  R.A.N.
Part 3:  Change It Up

Part 4:  Teach The Why

I’m a parent of 4 kids.  If you’ve been around kids much there is one word they learn at an extremely early age.  Do you know what that word is?

“WHY”

Maybe it’s the God-given instinct to learn, but people like to know “why”.  Leadership gurus have taught for years that if you can give people a reason “why” they are more likely to follow your lead.

One of the things I really enjoy about our Regimen Training (side note:  I’m supposed to be there working out RIGHT NOW – I woke up around 5:50 AM this morning and apparently my alarm clock had been buzzing for 20 mnutes – apparently, I needed the rest!) is the teaching and instruction we receive from the primary trainer, Eric Taylor.

There have been plenty of times when Eric has stopped the group and started teaching.  Proper form, proper technique, breathing, etc … and why.  Why do we ask you to do this? Because if you don’t do it that way, this muscle group is not getting worked or this joint is taking too much of a beating.  How and why does this exercise help in your cardiovascular routine.  Hearing the “why” and some teaching behind the proper way to exercise is motivational and more importantly, it keeps us on the track of safety and maximum results.

Sunday after Sunday, Worship Leaders take the stage, strum their guitar (or in my case, play their keyboards), start singing, and expect everyone else to follow suit.  I’ve found that there is very little teaching and instruction on how to praise and worship our God.  I’m convinced that we come out of the womb educated in praising and worshiping … just watch a little kid or toddler when music starts.  Somewhere down the road of growing up, we tend to forget.

The Worship Leader may bark out a few instructions (oh, wait, let’s use church-speak and call them exhortations!) … “c’mon, clap your hands”, or “lift those hands”.

And though they may not say it out loud – people in your congregations are thinking, “Why”?  Or they may be thinking “I don’t feel like it”, or “I don’t get it, that freaks me out”.

Let’s take the lifting of hands as an example, which is clearly a physical act of praise and/or worship to God from the Scriptures.  Wouldn’t you feel more motivated to engage in that physical act if you understood the “why”?  Perhaps if you were taught – even in a short, 30-45 second burst?

Example:
“One of the many ways we can physically respond to God in worship is with lifted hands.  Many of us do this, or see others doing this, but let’s discuss it for a moment.  Throughout Scripture (some references would be helpful) we see the “raising of hands” as an act of worship and surrender to God.  In doing this, we’re honoring God and we’re physically showing a sign of surrender.  It may seem a little strange of uncomfortable at first but try this with your heart and mind focused on surrendering and worshiping God”.

Now, I understand why.  I’m motivated to express myself and I’m taught why.

Why do we sing?
Why do we clap?
Why do we play our instruments?

Don’t just lead and give instructions – teach the “why”.

OK, let’s have your comments!

About the Photo:
Taken by Chris Moncus Photography.  In this photo, Eric Taylor (Trainer) has his dry erase board – explaining the workout, and teaching how it’s done.  Many times he will explain the proper, functional movement, demonstrate how it should look, and share the benefits of doing it correctly … and the potential harm if we do it wrong.