FredMcKinnon.Com

Yesterday (November 6) I celebrated my 40th birthday.  The sadness of being away from my family was tempered by celebrating with 28 great people from our church.  We’d taken a trip to the Seminars4Worship event in Augusta, GA and between the constant birthday greetings from our church group, a non-stop stream of text messages and Facebook alerts, birthday cake (coordinated by my wife from 4 hours away) and the entire S4W concert stopping to sing “Happy Birthday” to me, it was pretty awesome.

This is a big birthday – there is something about “40″ that just feels weird to me.  I’m definitely not a kid anymore.  Are you still a “young adult” at 40?  I’m not sure.

As I woke up yesterday morning in the hotel I just thanked God for my life and asked Him, “So God, what does this decade have in store for me”?.  As if it were a joke, the first thought that came back to me (in that still, small voice that I interpret to be the voice of my Lord) was Him replying “well, Fred, in this decade, you will have FOUR TEENAGERS”.

HAHAHA.  God has such a sense of humor.

Seriously, as I ponder passing into the 40′s, I have noticed something.  More and more, my vision and ideas are about how I help mentor, encourage, and equip OTHERS to fulfill their dreams.  I seem to be thinking less about my own.

Do I still have dreams?  Absolutely.  Some of those that have been buried for years just may come back up.  I wonder if this would be one of the least productive decades of my life (did I mention that by the end of it I’ll have four teenagers) … but my focus turns to what it means to be a father, and how pouring into these children can be (and should be) the MOST productive decade of my life.

So, here’s to a new decade.

Hey Gang,

Writing this blog from the hotel in Augusta, GA – I’m up here with 26 of our praise/teach team volunteers from SSCC.  It’s the first time we have taken a road trip as a team and I’m totally excited about experiencing this “Glorious” seminar.

We had a great bus ride up here … and would be amiss not to mention that our good buddy Mandy Thompson (the Worship Leader/Songwriter Girl) is with us as well.

Can’t wait to worship, be taught, and celebrate with our team.

So … this online friend, Diane Goodwin (blog | twitter) has been making “paper me’s” … paper cutout versions of her online (and real) friends.  More and more folks have been changing their online avatars to their “paper me”.

Jokingly, I asked Diane where my “me” was and despite having a huge demand for them, she was gracious enough to make one.  Granted, we’ve never met.  She’s never seen me.  (well, unless you count online photos, right!?).  She’s in Belfast, Ireland.  (how cool is that).

The inside story here is that having these creates discussions … awareness, to a cause.  These avatars and pictures really “stand out”.  So when people ask about this, I can say that Diane did this, at no charge, for a cause – and that cause is “StandOut International“.

“StandOut International” exists to tackle the problem of child sexual exploitation head-on.  Read more about “StandOut” and consider making a donation.  I’ve just made mine!

So … here’s the “paper me”.  I never looked so good, right?

Last week I kicked off a discussion that is still flourishing.  We are discussing what a “culture of worship” really is, what it looks like, and who is responsible to create it.  If you haven’t read that post (and its ongoing discussion) I’d invite you to check it out first and contribute.

Since the word “worship” covers so many aspects of life – I have to focus down on the more practical aspects that I relate to as a Worship Pastor … and for the lack of better, more modern verbage, a “minstrel” or “psalmist”.

I’m convinced that one of our greatest stumbling blocks to seeing greater corporate participation and expression during our “singing, music, and prayer” portions of our Sunday Services is the lack of these disciplines throughout the week.

Experiencing something on Sunday morning and living a totally separate life Monday – Saturday does not create a culture.  Culture is something that is woven into our lifestyles and choices.  Our perspectives and relationships are formed out of this culture.

As I already begin looking forward into 2011, I am asking myself this question:

“How can I help create a culture where people are engaged in genuine worship throughout their entire week”?

I look back into the Old Testament and see that although we are all called to be worshipers, God always had the Levites who were dedicated to bringing daily worship to God.  I assume (though I’m not versed in Jewish culture, and would LOVE to have some insights here) that this worship-opportunity was made available to the people as well.

Whether it be singing, solitude, prayer, study … what can I do to create a culture in my church where people are doing this throughout the week?

I’d love your thoughts.  Ideas.  Comments.  Open up and share.