Hey Gang,

The blog has been quiet here … VERY QUIET … mainly because I haven’t been posting.  We’ve wrapping up an 8-day whirlwind vacation that stretched the east coast from New York City to Orlando, FL.  I hope to jump back into blogging soon enough but will need a day or so to recover and catch up.  In the meantime, here’s a little recap of our trip for those who may be interested.  (that would be a few friends on Facebook and my family!)

New York City – Andrea Bocelli

I was blessed to receive an opportunity to attend the FREE concert by Andrea Bocelli in Central Park last week in New York City.  I’m a huge fan of Bocelli and thought this would be like a bucket list experience.  One of the world’s greatest singers, with one of the world’s greatest philharmonic orchestras, in one of the world’s greatest cities, in one of the world’s most famous city parks … you know … epic!

Experiencing something like that is even more fun with friends so Joy (my wife) and I flew up to NYC with another couple from St. Simons Island and spent a couple of nights in Times Square.  We left the kids behind and had a few days of “us” time.  Joy had never been to NYC and it was only my second visit.  We did it hard – from Rockefeller Center to the top of the Empire State Building, shopping on 5th Avenue to waving outside the Fox News windows on 6th Ave.  We had Italian one night and some great pizza at Lombardi’s another day.  We did taxis.  We did subways.  We walked a kazillion miles.  The forecast was for rain and the news said that if the concert was rained out, it would be rescheduled for the next night.  This was a big burden for me because we flew out the next morning to meet up with the kids and leave for our family vacation time.

Well, the rain came.  The gates to the Great Lawn at Central Park were to be opened at 3:00 PM.  Because of the rain, people weren’t lining up quite so early so we got there at 3:00 and waited in line for over an hour in the rain.  Thankfully, Joy sported us some $1-store ponchos that we shared with our friends. (Mike/Leisa Dunn)

The rain was nasty and it got pretty chilly with the wind blowing.  The blessing in the rain; however, was that people just didn’t come to get in line.  We were one of the first 50 people in line on the East Side entrance and as a result, when they finally DID open the gates we got the most incredible seats on the Great Lawn possible.  Friends of mine who waited until the rains held off said the lines on both the east and west sides were 30 blocks long and met! We were literally about 30-40 feet away from the stage – and we could’ve gotten even closer but I didn’t want to be so close to the high stage that I couldn’t see the orchestra and choir in the background.

The concert was as magical and epic as I would’ve guessed.  My DroidX camera photos just don’t do it justice.  We were RIGHT THERE center stage.  The people who paid $1,000 for the “VIP” seats didn’t have seats as good as ours.  (Yep, they were there in full force, Donald Trump & Alec Baldwin to name a couple).

Bocelli was joined with the New York Philharmonic and the Westminster Symphonic Choir.  They were amazing.  He was joined with many special guests including Chris Botti (an amazing trumpeter), Bryn Terfel, Andrea Griminelli, Ana Maria Martinez, and Pretty Yende.

Two of my favorite guest moments included Celine Dion singing “The Prayer” and Tony Bennett singing “New York, New York” with Andrea.

(this photo courtesy of BocelliCentralPark.Com)

One incredible moment of worship for me was Andrea’s rendition of “Amazing Grace”.  Lastly, although he did not sing two of my favorite songs I really wanted to hear (“Sogno” and “Besame Mucho”) he did conclude with a finale of my favorite, “Nessun Dorma”.

A quick flight home from NYC and we gathered the kids and took off to Disney World for FIVE days.  Yes, FIVE DAYS.  “The Happiest Place on Earth”.  I will recap that in a separate blog post.

As for Bocelli in Central Park?  It was a whirlwind trip – really crazy to try and fly up there for a concert and back to dump out our suitcase, repack and drive away again for 5 days.  But it was worth it.

As a composer, a  musician, a singer, and a creative person – I was so totally inspired.  It was one of the most awe-inspiring concerts I’ve witnessed and truly was a once-in-a-lifetime event.  I am reminded when I watch some incredible talent and hear such beautiful music how God created us and blessed us with these talents.  Ideally, they are given to us to bring honor and glory to Him.  It inspires me to take my own talents and use them to bring glory to God and inspire others.

Here’s the last few seconds of the grand finale to “Nessun Dorma” – sorry for the jerky camera work, my wife and friends were trying to pack up the blanket we sat on which I was standing on!

Hey Gang,

As you may have heard, I’m hosting a small 3-day (really, more like 2-1/2 days!) retreat here on St. Simons Island, GA in October.  It’s called “Refuge” and it’s more of a sabbatical time of spiritual renewal than it is an equipping-resource event.

One question that I get asked over and over …

“Fred, with all the conferences out there equipping people, why should someone come to Refuge … I mean, can’t they just have their own private sabbatical any time?”

One of my favorite bloggers and leaders, Michael Hyatt, has talked about Sabbatical several times on his blog – you can checkout his posts below:

“Should You Dare to Think About a Sabbatical“?

“Six Ways to Take a Micro-Sabbatical”

Let me ask you some questions:

1.  If left to yourself, without structured help, will you really take the time to stop your merry-go-round and get off for a few days to focus?
2.  Is there value in community, and gathering with other like-minded creatives that will inspire you?
3.  Is there worth in being equipped spiritually, physically, and emotionally?
4.  Can a person who has been recharged in their inner-man return to their routine with a renewed passion, more focus, clarity, and vision?

To be totally honest, those are rhetorical questions.  Of course, the answer to all of those questions is a resounding YES!

So what we have brewing for this “Refuge” event is a real intimate time where you can:

* draw near to God, in personal solitude AND in corporate worship and teaching
* be challenged and inspired in fresh ways to make your daily walk with Christ authentic, real, and personal again
* have a safe place with licensed counselors to vent, confess, and pray
* relax and have a LOT of fun, fellowship, and let the tension and stress of leadership melt away

Someone recently told me how badly they wanted to come, but things would just be too busy.  I almost started laughing – I wanted to say EXACTLY — that’s why you NEED THIS SO BADLY.

A few things you can count on:
1.  Life will keep you busy.
2.  The disciplines of rest, prayer, worship – essentially, Sabbatical, will yield HUGE DIVIDENDS in your personal growth, leadership, and creativity.

That being said, if you’ve been on the fence about this event, I hope you’ll take that step of faith and join us.
Details at:  www.refugessi.com

Hey Gang,

Joel Klampert (visionary behind the Forge Conference) and myself (visionary behind the Refuge retreat) teamed up through the wonders of Skype to interview each other about our events.

Enjoy the details – but best of all – you can WIN a registration.  Just comment on this post, or Joel’s post (or both!) and let us know which event you’d like to attend.  (Free registration prize does not include travel or lodging).

A Joint Conference Interview from Joel Klampert on Vimeo.

Hey Gang,

For those who may already be following our blog and twitter updates (Blog:  www.RefugeSSI.Com | Twitter:  @refugessi) this may be old news.  But it’s still exciting news and I am thrilled to post it here.

We’ve just secured Ian Morgan Cron (web | twitter) as our primary speaker and “guide” for the Refuge retreat that we’re hosting here October 23-26.  Ian is a gifted speaker, spiritual advisor, he’s an ordained priest, worship leader, songwriter, and an accomplished author.  His brand new book, “Jesus, My Father, the CIA” was just featured by Barnes & Noble, noting Ian as one of their “Discover Great New Writers” program.

My first encounter with Ian was at the re:create conference in Franklin, TN a couple of years ago.  He was there as a spiritual guide and counselor and led us through some incredibly powerful times of worship.  His sensitive way of leading us through the Eucharist was amazing and inspiring.

Ian will be speaking in several of our sessions, along with others.  Since the “Refuge” retreat is designed to be small and intimate, it’s a huge treat to be able to spend some time with him.

Here’s a short video excerpt on prayer from a recent interview Ian did:  (more videos at IanCron.Com)

I assure you, this will be time well spent.  Do you need to unwind, recharge, pull away, and hear from God?  Of course you do!  Early-bird registration is only $99 (ending June 30th!).  Checkout the “Refuge” site and register today, and bring your spouse, your staff, friends.  It will be a powerful time of rest, renewal, and restoration.

Early Bird:  $99
Dates:  October 23 (Sunday night Meet & Greet) – Wednesday, October 26th

REGISTER TODAY!

Well, the cat is out of the bag — officially.  I posted on Monday about our event, “Refuge” to be hosted here on St. Simons Island in October.  I’m so thrilled to hear and see the positive response to this idea of gathering for 3 days of sabbatical – leaving our stress and face-paced schedules behind to worship, pray, hear God’s voice, and yes … have a lot of fun!

I’ve spent a good bit of time casting vision for the retreat on the site at RefugeSSI.Com.  Today, I wanted to list 4 things that “Refuge” is NOT:

1.  “Refuge” is not an equipping, how-to seminar.  You won’t learn how to build a better praise team, preach a better sermon, lead a better business, or create a dynamic flow in a worship service.  The only how-to we’ll focus on is “how to care for your soul and spiritual state”.

2.  “Refuge” is not an exhaustive series of sessions.  The point of “Refuge” is to give you some space and time – we have just as much unstructured, “unhurried” time as we do sessions.  See our schedule.

3.  “Refuge” is not a budget-breaker.  $99/person does not come close to covering our actual expenses.  Through Worship International, our nonprofit, we will be buffering the budget through donations and sponsorships so that attending is accessible.

4.  “Refuge” is not a parade of Christian celebrity.  We may have a well-known guest or artist pop in … you never know.  But, our intention is not to attempt to draw people in with a big list of speakers and artists that are famous.  (Here me now – I have nothing against them, and have absolutely no issue with conferences that do have a huge lineup of celebrity-level bands and speakers – I quite enjoy hearing and seeing them, and most have been elevated to that level of influence for a good reason) … Refuge is really a vision I had to provide a space in a beautiful location for spiritual awakening.  The vision has been shared by many here in our South Georgia tribe … folks you know from twitter and blogville, like Russ Hutto, Mandy Thompson, Shannon Lewis, Chris Moncus, and Travis Paulding.

Pray for us as we endeavor to kick off our first event.  Consider joining us.  Follow the event on Twitter @refugessi and the event hashtag at #refugessi
Thanks for your support!

I’m thrilled to officially announce a dream that has been years in the making.  That dream is called:

Refuge.

On October 23 – 26, right here on beautiful St. Simons Island, GA, we will have a gathering of worshipers, leaders, and friends who share a deep need — the burning desire to enter into a 3-day sabbatical retreat so that we can draw closer to God, hear His voice, and find rest, renewal, and restoration.  One glance at the schedule for Refuge and you’ll quickly see this event is unlike most conferences or seminars.

Details will be coming throughout the Summer.  Space is limited, so take advantage of the early registration and come join us.

Please visit the Official Site and subscribe to the blog updates at:
www.RefugeSSI.Com

I’d also be grateful if you’d consider following our updates on Twitter:
Twitter ID:  @refugessi
Twitter Event Hashtag:  #refugessi

Lastly, you can “like” us on Facebook.

Right now – I’m excited, nervous, and overwhelmed – all at the same time.  I can’t wait until October.  Hope to see you there!

Thankfully, I was unaware of the events unfolding last night when I went to bed.  Otherwise, I probably would have stayed up all night watching the news unfold.

Upon waking up early this morning I discovered that we had killed one of the great enemies of the United States, Osama Bin Laden.

My oldest child, Jon Michael, was not even 2-years old on Sept 11, 2001.  Bin Laden has been on the run ever since.  Since 9/11, we’ve had 3 more children.

I explained that justice had been served.  At the same time, I didn’t want my children to forget something very important.  Despite the horrors committed by this person, despite the sin, despite it all … Father God loved this man … as much as you, as me, or anyone.  Like all of us, God hated the sin.  Yet, this was still a human being.

On Facebook, one of my friends chimed in with this Scripture, which I thought was fitting:

“As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live”.  (Ezekiel 33:11)

Thoughts?

SAVE THE DATE:

October 23 – October 26, 2011

On these dates, a dream will become a reality. Hosted by Fred McKinnon here on one of the most beautiful places on earth: St. Simons Island, GA.

A sabbatical-style getaway for 3 days of rest, solitude, recreation, worship, and encouragement.  For those who want to rediscover that “still, small voice”.  For those who are weary from the trials of leading.  For those who are desperate for inspiration and vision.  Designed for those in ministry but available to anyone from Pastors, Worship Leaders, Executives, to Stay-At-Home Moms.

Interested?  Stay tuned …

Hey Everyone!

I’d like to help spread the word about a great retreat that is happening with my friends at AllAboutWorship.Com.  The “AllAboutWorship Retreat” is happening in Overland Park, KS on May 19-21, 2011.

I was honored to help lead and speak at last year’s retreat.  It was the first time that AAW co-hosts, Wisdom Moon and Ben Abu Saada held this retreat and it was incredible.

This year’s guests include Sarah Reeves, Brenton Brown, and Pocket Full of Rocks.  You can count on some great times of refreshing and encouragement.

For more information, click the banner or visit www.worshipretreat.org

OK – well, maybe not “live” … but close.  I’m headed out to Franklin, TN for the annual “re:create” conference.  There’s a great tribe from the Golden Isles at re:create there including Russ & Lydia Hutto, Mandy Thompson, Erik Fletcher, and Shannon Lewis.  Then there’s me and my lovely wife, Joy … oh wait … she’s not making the trip.

There will be PLENTY of folks blogging and tweeting like crazy from the event so my plan is to put the phone down and tweet less, blog less, listen more, and engage directly.  But I want you great folks to come along for the ride so I’m embedding the live “twitter/media” feed from Twubs.Com below.

So this is possibly the only blog post you’ll see this week – but come back often, as the content in the embedded frame below will update “on the fly”.

The Twitter/Media Feed from Re:Create 2001

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.

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

When you say “praise Him in the dance” and think of incorporating “dance” as an act of praise … what comes to mind?

How about this?  1300+ people from a church in Budapest Hungary rehearsed this dance and came together and “danced” to celebrate Easter Sunday.  What’s even cooler?  They are organizing the same thing for Easter 2011 … worldwide.  For more info, visit www.uptofaith.com

HEY -

We interrupt your afternoon with a quick announcement (yes, two blog posts in one day!) ….

TONIGHT, I will be joining several others in a live, online discussion, sponsored and hosted by the AllAboutWorship Podcast.

The topic?  Senior Pastor and Worship Leader Relationships!

Check out the details, and join us tonight!

Wednesday, July 14 2010

Last night, millions of viewers said “farewell” to a guy named Captain Phil Harris of the F/V Cornelia Marie. Although he passed away in February 2010, the rest of us experienced his passing via the “reality TV show”, “Deadliest Catch“.

I’m not sure when I got hooked on this show … and I don’t quite understand why I will watch the same thing (cussing, smoking, throwing hooks, and pulling in crab pots) for hours upon hours.  I’m intrigued by the personalities.  Overwhelmed by the work.  Energized by the risk.  Captivated by the rewards.

Captain Phil was quite the case.  Supposedly, he was the exact same kind of person “off the camera” as “on the camera” … the same guy before and after their “fame” from being on TV.

Captain Phil … he smoked like a train, cussed like a sailor (oh, wait, essentially, he was a sailor, or a fisherman, at least!) … fought with his crew, fought with his kids … yet, was clearly a compassionate, loving man.  My wife and I were in tears as he loved his boys, showed them deep affection, and told them the four words that EVERY BOY WANTS TO HEAR FROM THEIR FATHERS:

“I’m Proud Of You”.

So … why this eulogy over a guy I never met?  I’ll tell you – Captain Phil represents something very powerful to me.  He represents the kind of guy that Jesus sought out to be His disciples.

18 While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen.19 And he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.  (Matthew 4:18-19, ESV, YouVersion.Com)

We hear all the stories of how Simon Peter must have been.   We infer from the stories in the Bible that Peter was rough, tough .. I bet he had quite the mouth on him.  I bet he could fight with the best of them, and could beat anybody in poker.

I bet when Simon Peter dropped his nets and followed Jesus … that his personality, and perhaps, even his habits, didn’t change overnight.

He wasn’t in a suit.
He wasn’t carrying His Bible in a leather case with a cross on it.
He wasn’t speaking King James.
He probably wasn’t clean shaven and polished.

He was ROUGH around the EDGES.

Jesus wanted Him.  Jesus called Him.  Of all the righteous, religious, uppity-fancy people walking the earth … and Jesus chose people like Simon Peter … like the tax collectors … the prostitutes … and yes, people like Captain Phil.

Did Captain Phil know Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior?   Well, I doubt any of us can answer that for sure.  Before you fire off your comments about how a Christian would never use that language, just stop and consider what I’ve written above.  Maybe you don’t smoke and cuss … but those are outward expressions of a sinful nature (and perhaps, just culture and physical addictions) … and I bet if you wrote down your less-visible “inward” sins … you’d back down …

All I can say is … I hope he did … ’cause I’d like to go fishing with him in heaven.

Farewell, Captain Phil Harris.

Introducing, “The Forge Conference” … something I’m very excited about.  I’ll be there leading/teaching, along with tons of your favorite artists, worship leaders, bloggers, and friends.

This worship and ministry training conference is ABSOLUTELY the BEST BANG FOR THE MONEY out there when it comes to conferences!

I hope you’ll come join us in New Jersey Sept 30-October 2, 2010.

To help you … we’re doing a FREE REGISTRATION GIVEAWAY at TheWorshipCommunity.Com – so if you’d like to go, register in the contest!

Forge Pricing is $99 a person or $67 a person for teams of 6 or more
The Forge Conference
Sept 30th-Oct2nd
Ocean Grove NJ

About Conference:
The Forge Conference is a melding or forging of two visions God gave to:
Doug Gould, Joel Klampert, Adam Fagan Kela, and Jack Osteen.

Vision one is creating a worship and tech training conference that is small and reasonably priced for teams to come to as well as instilling into attendees the true heart of worship.

Vision two is creating a conference that is designed to make people in ministry get real and get deep. It is a conference that is more like a retreat and deals with the heart issues in ministry and teaches people in the trenches how to make Christ center within the context of relationships.

Those two visions put together creates a conference/retreat that serves the local small church and builds Christ’s church through an atmosphere of Unity in a way that has never been done before.

The Bottom Line is: Training, education, stretching, healing, relationship, unity

Speakers/Artists Include:

Brenton Brown, Joel Auge, Mckendree Augustas, Grant Norsworthy, Fred Mckinnon, Joel Klampert, Doug Gould, Sheri Gould, Brent and Tammy Hodge, Jack Osteen, Adam Fagan Kela, Jonathan Lee, Shannon Lewis, Travis Paulding and MUCH MORE!!

How cool is it when you fly up to New England and join a praise team consisting of folks you have “known” via the web/blog/twitter world but never met in person.  Can this group really fit together?  Can they pull off more than 30 songs of music and lead a group of people into worship?

That’s what happened for me last weekend.  I was invited to come lead worship and play keys at two events hosted by Lifepath Church in Rhode Island.

“Stirred But Not Shaken” was a men’s retreat held in a retreat cabin up in in the snowy mountains of New Hampshire.  Then we had a big night of worship on Sunday evening at Lifepath in Middletown, RI.

Joining me was Joel Klampert (guitar), Chris Moncus, (photos and fill-in bass) Conner Byrd (guitar), Michael Mahoney (bass), and David Klampert (drums).

I’ve had the privilege of meeting some of my “internet” buddies face to face a few times already.  This experience was no different.  An instant connection and a deep sense of comfort and familiararity (spell check says that’s not spelled correctly, oh well) was there … I knew about their wives, their families, their jobs, their churches … [sarcasm] thanks to this thing Al Gore created called the internet.  [/sarcasm]

When we arrived in NH we were without power … and stayed without power until the early Sunday morning.  This meant leading worship with flashlights on our music because the generator was barely strong enough to power our sound equipment and the much-needed heat.  When evening came it got dark … very dark … and the two or three lamps we added to the generator overwhelmed it so much we had to go old-school.  Acoustic guitars … singing in the dark.  40+ men, singing at the top of their lungs, “open the eyes of my heart, Lord …. open the eyes of my heart … I want to see You” ….

What?  We didn’t require the latest, greatest songs and the mega-band?  Nope.  We had it, we used it, it was good … but I think one of the most sweet memories I will have from this weekend is standing in the dark (completely unable to play or participate musically due to the lack of power) and just watching Joel and Conner resort to grabbing their acoustic guitars and leading us in the pitch, black night.  Wow.

I felt like a Christian in the early church – maybe in a cave in Antioch, hiding out from pending persecution.

Our “night of worship” was a beast – 20+ songs in 2 hours.  I had only played or led maybe about 5 of the songs.  I learned them on the flight.  The people showed up and expressed themselves in worship and adoration.  It was awesome.

Thanks, guys, for an awesome event.  Thanks to the people in New England who came and shared these days with us.  It was incredible.  To my new friend, Jack Osteen – wow, what incredible words you gave us.  I left challenged from the Word of God and your touch.

For the Kingdom,
Fred

So yesterday I blogged about one of the most inspiring moments of my life – seeing “Gungor” live at re:create.  Their album released yesterday, and I hope you picked it up.  (get it here on iTunes) It’s awesome, though after seeing them live, even the album was a bit anti-climatic.

My friend Bobby (who I’ve known via blogworld and twitter for years and finally got to meet!) captured some cool footage from the conference.  So … enjoy!

(HT – Bobby Marchassault, MyWorshipRevolution)

Hey Everybody,

I’m about to board a flight to Nashville, TN with my good friend Russ Hutto for the annual “re:create” conference.  Can’t wait to make new friends and see lots of folks like … well, to list all of their names and link to their blogs would take all morning!

I want to be “in the moment” as much as possible so probably will restrain myself from blogging every day and “tweeting” about every nuance.  (Can I hear an “amen”!?).  So, I’m going to embed the code that will allow you to view all tweets from myself and others who attend that use the #recreate hashtag.  Enjoy.  Be sure and view the Media tab as well!

You’ll hear from me whenever I can.

Hey Gang,

Join us tonight for a “Night of Worship” at St. Simons Community Church at 6:00 PM EST.

If you’re in the area, I hope you’ll come and worship with us.  If you’re out of town, consider joining us “live” online at:
www.sscclive.com

Let’s join together in person and across the internet for a glorious time of worship and praise!

As you know, I’m an Advocate for Compassion International.  We have a sponsored child in Tanzania, Africa and were in the process of selecting a child in Haiti when the earthquake happened.  Compassion is there, updating through their Facebook, Twitter, and Blog pages.

Below is a video from President Wes Stafford.  This shows the heart and vision of Compassion and is a personal update from Wes.  For those  of you who have sponsored children in Haiti, you will definitely want to see this video.

In a bit of GOOD NEWS, one of the Compassion US staff, Dan Woolley, was rescued yesterday after being trapped in an elevator shaft for 60+ hours at the “Hotel Montana” in Haiti.  Dan had just arrived in Haiti with a contractor team for the Child Survival Projects (CSP).

Today is a day we remember our veterans – those who have served as well as those who are serving actively.  THANK YOU.

Last night we went out to Oglethorpe Point Elementary School to watch my oldest (Jon Michael, 9) son in their Veteran’s Day program.  The kids did an incredible job.

They did this medley of all the songs of the Armed Forces.  My heart was stirred as the veterans would stand when their song was played.  As I scanned the gymnasium I saw so many of my friends …. men and women from church, from the school, from the soccer field, from the restaurants … and I realized that they were veterans.  I had no clue.

During one song, all the veterans came forth on the stage to receive a special card the 2nd and 3rd graders had made for them.  They were singing.  We were standing … applauding … whistling … and crying.

Maybe I’m getting soft … but my heart was stirred to the point where tears were welling up in my eyes as I watched them … young and old … marching across that stage.

Veterans, you have given your lives, your time, your energy, your freedom, your families, your dreams … for us.  For our freedom.

Today, let’s honor you.

I can post this blog … because of you.
I can worship freely … because of you.
I can have as many children as I want … because of you.
I can do so many things … because of you.

God bless you!

Hey Gang,

Worship Leader magazine has invited me to teach my “Worship + Web 2.0″ class on their live “webinar” next week.  Here’s the details – please consider tweeting this, sharing it on Facebook, etc.  It’s basically the same class that I’ve taught the last two years at the National Worship Leader Conference.  To register, click here.

Worship + Web 2.0
taught by Fred McKinnon

Monday, November 9, 2009
11:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (duration 1 hour)
(that’s 2:00 PM EST)

Facebook, Twitter, Blogs – can all these web-based technologies really enhance our worship services? Do you ever hit a creative “dead end” in your efforts to plan an impacting worship service? Join Fred McKinnon as we discuss how worship leaders and service planners are using the web to network, share, and collaborate on service planning through these tool

(Fred McKinnon is the Worship Pastor at St. Simons Community Church on St. Simons Island, GA. He is the founder of TheWorshipCommunity.com and blogs daily at FredMcKinnon.com about worship, leadership, faith, and ministry. Fred has been using social media as a tool in worship ministry and has been a guest speaker at the National Worship Leader Conference for the past two years.)

If you haven’t attended a Worship Leader Webinar yet, this is a great place to start. Offering the most accessible high-quality training available in the skills worship leaders need to lead their congregations, all you need is an Internet connection and a telephone. For only $39.00 a session, individuals or entire teams can attend.

REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR
(limited to 100 attendees)

Hey Gang,

I’m up early and headed out to Jekyll Island, GA for the annual “Way Radio 90.7 FM Beach Concert” on Jekyll Island.  This year I was asked to put together a “house band” for two of the Centricity Music artists, Daniel Kirkley and Jaime Jamgochian.

So I’ve put this band together and we’re going to try and rehearse with these artists this morning on Jekyll for the first time and miraculously pull off the task of learning about 12 of their songs in a couple of hours.  (yes, you read that right – we haven’t had an opportunity to rehearse with the artists until this morning).

So if you’re in the area – jump in the car and drive over to Jekyll Island.  The concert starts at 2:30 … I’ll be leading the band for Daniel and Jaime, and then “Downhere” will be headlining and closing out the concert with their full band afterwards.  Bring a beach chair and have some fun.

Jaime Jamgochian will also be staying over and leading worship for us at SSCC tomorrow morning at both the 9:00 and 11:00 services!

See you there!
Fred

Hey Everyone,

Sorry for the last-minute notice … but you are invited to a live “Round Table” discussion tonight, sponsored by the incredible “AllAboutWorship” podcast folks.

Tonight’s topic?  “Manly Worship” – What is “Manly Worship”?  Is there a need for worship songwriters to focus more attention on music that ministers more to men?  Is there a trend in worship music within churches that connects more with the heart of women vs men?  Or is this issue moot and the hearts of men need to be challenged in this area?

Here’s the best part.  You can call in live and be part of the discussion!

Time:  10:00 PM EST (9:00 CST)
Date: Today, Tuesday 9/29

How to tune in?  Go to:
http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/41106/

Here’s a look at the panel tonight:

Songwriter/Worship Leader, Mandy Thompson, will be joining us. Visit  www.MandyThompson.com to learn more about her ministry.  Mandy will be joining us live from her home in New England.  (which soon enough will be back here in Georgia paradise)

Kennedy. Songwriter/Worship Pastor from Kansas City will be joining us.  Troy hastaught classes on worship leading ministry in conferences around the nation including the recent National Worship Leader Conference 2009.  Log on to www.NewWorship.com or visit his blog to learn more about Troy.

And last and least … myself.

So … tune in tonight, and spread the word!

(more info at AllAboutWorship.Com and Co-Host, Ben’s website)