• @RandyElrod I see one @spencesmith don't i? some of those guys look familiar, but I dunno the names … and… http://ow.ly/i/4Uwi#jbp #
• @tpaulding @SaintLewis @RussHutto – thoughts? Considering for SSCC studio (will control ProTools or Logic) – http://youtu.be/RUefSuEcS_k #
• @tpaulding yeah, would add 8. but 1 button press, and it banks the faders, so you can bank thru all your channels in 8 or nudge 1 track in reply to tpaulding #
• @abouse PERFECT – thank you! in reply to abouse #
• SOUTHERN SOUL BBQ IS BACK! http://yfrog.com/5izqgrj #
• Now that you're done w/ lunch, cmon over and join the "What Exactly Is a Culture of Worship" discussion at http://bit.ly/bzjqMs #
• @SaintLewis you have a mixing/fader control surface inside your computer??? (it's meant to take the place of the mouse) in reply to SaintLewis #

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• @RandyElrod I see one @spencesmith don't i? some of those guys look familiar, but I dunno the names … and… http://ow.ly/i/4Uwi#jbp #
• @tpaulding @SaintLewis @RussHutto – thoughts? Considering for SSCC studio (will control ProTools or Logic) – http://youtu.be/RUefSuEcS_k #
• @tpaulding yeah, would add 8. but 1 button press, and it banks the faders, so you can bank thru all your channels in 8 or nudge 1 track in reply to tpaulding #
• @abouse PERFECT – thank you! in reply to abouse #
• SOUTHERN SOUL BBQ IS BACK! http://yfrog.com/5izqgrj #
• Now that you're done w/ lunch, cmon over and join the "What Exactly Is a Culture of Worship" discussion at http://bit.ly/bzjqMs #
• @SaintLewis you have a mixing/fader control surface inside your computer??? (it's meant to take the place of the mouse) in reply to SaintLewis #

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• Our worship recap: http://bit.ly/9XBAoP #sundaysetlists #worshipset #
• RT @THEjustink: I'm tired of music right now- it all sounds the same. // Justin, me2 Have u heard @gungormusic "Beautiful Things" #
• This is worth stopping, reading, and pondering. http://read.ly/Eph2.4.ESV #
• Learning 2 old gospel songs 4 yet another funeral. "Farther Along" and "The Unclouded Day" – both totally new to me. #
• @mandythompson why come @dwherndon can have this on his wp-hosted blog, but not yours? (subscribe 2 comments) http://twitpic.com/30tagy #
• @blitzz5 that would be a fun medley, for show, and throw in "I Saw the Light" in reply to blitzz5 #
• @mandythompson YAY … looks good. in reply to mandythompson #
• (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), http://read.ly/Exod34.14.ESV #
• @human3rror hey, can we chat sometime 2day for a few minutes? I will email you as well … #
• Here's how I started my morning. I'm on the other end of the punching bag. Video: http://youtu.be/6e70ZqBdckM #
• @human3rror but then u would lose the job of answering pointless emails on Facebook like mine! in reply to human3rror #
• @YouVersion hey, how do I download the ESV to my Android device for offline use? #

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• I’m in a sleepy stupor – what a hard, crashing nap. Great services today @sscc, watching AZ manhandle PH on NFLFootball #
• The very first link on Sunday Setlists blog carnival already deleted. Hilarious how after 26 wks, people can’t follow the rules. #
• I’m amazed- AMAZED at how many people don’t understand #
• I’m amazed at how many people don’t understand “link to your blog entry, NOT your blog’s homepage”. Delete. Delete. Delete. #
• whatever I said about AZ “manhandling” PHI earlier? Never mind. #
• We got a game going on here folks. Headed to my brother-in-laws on SSI for the rest. #
• Today was a great day … but it’s time to call it a night. See you Monday #
• Wife woke me up at 5:00 AM ’cause I was snoring so loud. Oh well, can’t get back to sleep, may as well get an early start on my day! #
• Time to go meet the in-laws at MCD’s for a quick b’fast send off – they are going back to N. Georgia. #
• Lots of services to plan this week – sorting teams, musicians, vocalists for SSCC and two special events #
• I lost $15 cash yesterday – that flat out stinks. #
• Another great reason for Twitter. The $15 I lost – was found, thank you Twitter. @tpaulding found it on the floor, put in offering box! #
• Hey – anyone know where Francis Chan/Cornerstone stand doctrinally on Charistmatic/Sign spiritual gifts? Just curious – @reply me. #
• Time for eval/planning mtg. #
• Now over 40 people have posted blogs about their worship experience as part of SundaySetlists? Join the fun: http://is.gd/gtVH #
• Off to pickup kids who are out of school for MLK, then play some raquetball at SSH&F. L8r. #
• Daddy night w kids. Grilled chicken, yellow rice, and mixed veggies. #
• Church Relevance’s “Top 60 Blogs” – check’em out at http://is.gd/gs1M #
• I’m so excited – just got something I’ve wanted since college – a hammer dulcimer w/ the stand, tuning fork, and all the works. #
• My goal for hammered dulcimer? To have Rich Mullins “Creed” mastered by Easter Services. I have a few months. #
• Retweeting @theworshipcomm: Good morning everyone, Day 2 of Week 2 of PurePraise study is now online for discussion at: http://is.gd/gzpF #
• Worship Leaders – shut up and sing? Your comments would be appreciated: http://www.fredmckinnon.com #
• So, I guess you’re supposed to twitter about the inauguration? I think Obama did a great job, and he has my prayers. God bless America. #
• Gotta head home so Joy can teach her cycle/spinning class at gym. Raquetball for me at 5:00 PM. Bring it. #
• Home from gym, 4 games of raquetball – icepack on my back now. Ouch. #
• For those who haven’t joined the conversation, checkout the “Worship Leader, Shut Up and Sing” post at http://www.fredmckinnon.com #
• Brrr – 27 degrees outside. My studio/office was 50 degrees this AM. I’m having my pryaer time downstairs by the fire! #
• My new avatar – special to me, the guy in the background is a friend and one of our vocalists, currently in aggresive chemo. Pray for him. #
• Meeting w/ Senior Pastor re: this weekend’s prayer/worship conference #
• Back from a trip to take our van to the body shop – Rebekah broke off the handle to the door! #
• I just gotta say I think it was cool that Andy Stanley got to pray today, in whatever gathering that was, in DC. #
• Church Staff Tweets – what association (if any) is your church affiliated with (ie. Willow Creek, NorthPoint, Acts 29, ARC, Sov Grace, etc) #
• TOTALLY digging “I Have Found” by Kim Walker – that will be our walk-in Friday Night for Prayer/Conf, led by Kim Dixon #
• Confirming hotel reservatinos and flight information I booked in Nov for re:create. It’s all good #
• Apple Reports Record $1.61 Billion Profit for Q1 2009 – that’s why not having debt is a GOOD THING. Way to go, Apple. #
• Off to get Larry’s Subs for worship team, PurePraise study at 6:00, then rehersal from 7:00 +. #
• Uh oh, thanks to my brother, I’ve discovered Poker Palace on FaceBook, and Hold’em it is. #
• OK – enough tv-watching, card-playing, facebook-chatting, fun. It’s time to go to sleep. G’nite – see you all tomorrow. #
• Loving the new PlanningCenterOnline “public access” feature – wanna see this Sunday’s plan for @SSCC? http://is.gd/gX2v #
• HappyBirthday Joy – my wife is 39 today. And she’s AMAZING. #
• FreePlay Friday – Happy Birthday Joy http://tinyurl.com/a9qa4t #
• FreePlay Friday – Happy Birthday to my wife Joy, leave her birthday wishes here! http://tinyurl.com/a9qa4t from: @fmckinnon #
• FreePlay Friday – Happy Birthday Joy http://tinyurl.com/a9qa4t from: @fmckinnon #
• I wish that @intensedebate could figure out why my comments are NOT syncing back to WP. If I deactivate ID, most of my comments disappear #
• Headed to Brunswick for Ruby Tuesdays salad and hopefully, white chicken chili. Joy’s B’Day lunch. Woo hoo. #
• Rehearsal time for tonight’s Prayer/Worship Conference w/ Tom Tanner – 7:00 PM @sscc #
• Back at @sscc to load ProPresenter and rehearse for 9 am prayer/worship conf with Tom Tanner #

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Hey Everybody,

Starting out this New Year in 2009, I thought I’d try a new feature out on the blog here.  It’s called “Intense Debate“.   Part of what makes blogging so rewarding is being a part of the interaction through you, the readers.  That’s what makes the comment section come alive. One of the easiest ways to jump off in the New Year is to do what we call a “roll call” here in blogworld … if you’re reading (via RSS or here on the site), you can leave a quick comment with your name and location.  Please – even if you usually don’t comment – let us here from you!

Back to IntenseDebate:
There’s a whole pile of features with IntenseDebate, but it essentially exists to “enhance and encouarge converations on your blog or website”.  Here’s a quick video recap of some of the features:

IntenseDebate provides many new features meant to inspire discussion and easily follow the conversation.

In order to better organize the discussion, we’ve implemented comment threading which allows users to directly reply to one another.

Users also have an identity that spans across all blogs powered by IntenseDebate. Along with this is a reputation value, based on the quantity and quality of the comments users make, meant to give an overview of a user’s commenting history. Quality is determined by the users through comment voting, which also serves to move the best comments to the top.

With all of our comment systems being interconnected, we make it easy to track users and their activities across all blogs using our system by providing email and rss notifications.

In short, IntenseDebate has completely transformed the commenting experience.

IntenseDebate. Comments Rediscovered.

Now, you can always comment here without signing up for IntenseDebate, but to take full advantage of the features (not just here, but on a growing list of popular sites as well), consider registering – it’s FREE.  Also, those who are registered will quality to show up in the sidebar under the “Who’s Talking” heading …

So, let the conversations begin!  Signup for IntenseDebate (you can just leave a comment below and checkoff the box that you wish to signup!) and come back and leave your first official “comment“.

HAPPY NEW YEAR everybody!

Friday – Jan 2.  I’m not ‘officially’ back at work – though I’m taking today to sort of get back to work in my home office and get some things taken care of.  There are currently 305 messages in my inbox – yikes.  I haven’t done my business finances in a couple of weeks – yikes.  I have a bunch of new cases for the new “Aluminum Unibody Enclosure” Macs to add to my e-biz stores – yikes.

That being said – I’ll keep this FreePlay Friday quick with some “bullets”:

• First – prayers for my good friend, one of SSCC’s main drummers, and a faithful “FreePlay Friday” reader and commenter, R.V. Cate.  His mother passed away unexpectedly Sunday, Dec 21.  R.V. still came and played the drums for our Christmas Eve service.  R.V. – we love you, pray for continued peace and comfort, and look forward to drumming with you at practice in the morning.  You and your family are loved and have a special place in our hearts.
• Second – prayers for my good friend, Patrick Eades.  Patrick is the Director of our local CareNet, which is a massive ministry that extends into multiple counties and has a huge impact in our region.  God has blessed Patrick and promoted him into a great position of influence in the pro-life community.  He sent this prayer request today in his “e-care” newsletter:“… While I have you, I want to ask for your prayer as I am preparing for a six day training and consultation for Pregnancy Service Center in Salina, Kansas. I thought I asked weeks ago, but after reviewing previous e-cares I see that I neglected to ask for prayer on this crucial training. I leave very early Monday morning and will return the following Sunday.  This is a strategic location in that it is very close to Wichita where Doctor George Tiller performs hundreds of late term abortions each year and proclaims having provided over sixty thousand abortions since 1973 (http://www.drtiller.com/). Tiller is also infamous in that he has installed a crematorium in his abortion clinic to dispose of the dead babies (http://www.dr-tiller.com/). As a result I consider this a key area in our nation and thus a key need for our prayer. This center’s leadership asked for me specifically as a Care Net Consultant, so I am honored, but humbly seek your prayer. I am grateful for your prayer as fly into Wichita on Monday to prepare for training in Salina for the week.”
  
  (speaking of CareNet, I realized that I never mailed CD/DVD to those who donated to CareNet a while back when I did a promotion – if that was you, PLEASE let me know – I spoke with Patrick and he’s going to attempt to get the names to me)
• Free Music – Michael Cowan, a good friend from college (fellow Theory/Comp Major!) has a great band in Athens, GA called “Scarlet Snow”.  They kicked off the New Year by allowing their new album, “The Needle EP”, to be downloaded for FREE.  Don’t waste a moment – go to “downloadtheneedle.com” and get your FREE ALBUM – no strings attached.  While you are there, if you are into smooth jazz, also pickup Drew Davidsen’s “Mission Drew” track with code “smoothjazz”. Drew is a fellow “IndieHeaven.Com” artist – we met a few years ago, and he’s an incredible jazz musician.
• Free Graphics – Russ Hutto is offering a free “wallpaper” graphic each month – this month is a way-cool one of Psalm 57:10 that you can use as your desktop background on your computer.  Check it out here.
• Locals?  This Sunday is the first Sunday of the month, and that means “Fam  Jam” at SSCC – if you have kids in the 1st-5th grade range and you live nearby – come checkout this awesome service where “kids bring their parents to church” this Sunday at 10:00 AM in the Kid’s Clubhouse Theater.

In closing … I’d like to show you how I disposed of my Christmas Tree:

And that’s with NO gasoline … man, those things go up quick.  I said “I wonder if this thing will burn since it’s still so green” … well, I almost paniced … that fire had to be at least 25 feet high and started hitting the trees above it.  Too bad it only lasted about 2 minutes.  I was always a pryo-maniac.

How did you dispose of YOUR Christmas Tree?  Post your response, and any other random “FreePlay Friday” information below!

Happy New Years Eve

It seems like the thing to do (from what I’m seeing in my blogroll) is share stats today.  So here we go, the stats for FredMcKinnon.Com, just in case you’re interested.

But before I do stats, I’d like to encourage your reply to my “Questions for 2009″ post yesterday.  (click to open it in a new window)

Top Refererers

1.  google.com
2.  Twitter
3.  Facebook (no doubt, as a result of Twitter’s updating my status)
4.  TheWorshipCommunity.Com
5.  (a site that I found out had some bad stuff on it, so I’m not linking there anymore, thanks for the heads up, Chris (what in the world?)
6.  SSCommunityChurch.Com
7.  images.google.com (I guess people love my pics)
8.  webmail.att.net (I guess people actually read my emails)
9.  stumbleupon.com
10.  ragamuffinsoul.com (thanks Carlos)
11.  chrisfromcanada.com (thanks, Chris)
12.  mikeymo1741.blogspot.com (thanks, Mike)
13.  billchia.com (thanks, Billy, what a year, right?)
14.  burnsidewriterscollective.com (thanks Jamie)
15.  rmckinno1.wordpress.com (my brother, Robert!)

Top Posts:

#1 – Palm Treo versus Blackberry (sad, that has NOTHING to do with worship!)
#2 – Mike Guglielmucci Exposed
#3 – The O Holy Night Saga Category
#4 – How He Loves Us
#5 – About Me

Top Search Terms: (redundant keywords and phrases skipped)

#1 – fred mckinnon (duh)
#2 – mike guglielmucci
#3 – palm treo versus blackberry
#4 – how he loves us lyrics
#5 – tyranny of the urgent
#6 – bad o holy night
#7 – gators wear jean shorts (hahahahahahah)
#8 – mandisa god speaking
#9 – steven curtis chapman’s family
#10 – manual worship leader

That’s out of over 60 keywords, most of which have to do with the top 4 search terms.  “bad singer fred mckinnon o holy night” is probably the craziest.  In my search for weird terms in the list, I didn’t find those great ones like “wet my pants” that Mandy has … so I suppose “redneck naked” is the most controversial search term I could find in my Google Analytics at #159.

Well, I suppose I should blog more about controversial topics and head-to-head gadget reviews if I really want more traffic, right?  Nope … it ain’t about the traffic.  It’s about downloading, and hopefully, encouraging someone.

With that said, here’s a reminder to go back and answer these “Questions for 2009“.

Hey Everybody,

So it’s almost New Years … tomorrow will be New Year’s Eve … and in 48 hours, we’ll be celebrating the New Year … 2009.  I’ll be enjoying my family, and hoping the DAWGS can pull out a victory.

I’ve been pondering and thinking about next year – how God would use me, how I’ll invest my time and energy.  Over the years, I’ve invested myself into way more activities than I could ever do great.

One thing is certain – I’m excited about continuing to pour myself into the ministry of my family and my local church position at SSCC.  I believe God will continue showing up and showing Himself strong at our church in 2009, and I pray that I’ll become a better, more sensitive, and more anointed leader for that incredible ministry.

What about blogging?  Has it run its course for me?  I have to confess, I’ve tried to keep the discipline of posting routinely here, but it was increasingly more difficult towards the end of the year.  Another key component to blogging is being sure I keep up with YOU – with your blogs, your lives, and what YOU have to say.  I have gone weeks without having the time to visit the Google Reader, so if you’ve missed me on your blog, I apologize.  Then again, I’ve missed so many of YOU as well.  (and the reality is, if I’ve missed you, you probably won’t be here to read this!)

That being said, I’m praying for a God-given vision and clear strategy for how I should use this space in 2009.  A huge part of my doing this is for my own discipline – to journal, to have something to reflect upon, to have an outlet for me to express myself to clear my mind.  But connecting with you, networking, and hopefully – encouraging you in worship, family, and leadership is also a major objective.

To do that properly, I need to ask you … the faithful readers … what would you like to see in 2009?  How would YOU like to see this space used?  If you continue to subscribe (and thanks to the hundreds who do!), how can I be an encouragement to you?

Sunday Setlists:  this has been a huge success, and each week, I read in the comments about how people love it, and have learned so much by observing what other churches are doing.  I say we keep this for a while.

FreePlay Friday:  this has been my random outlet.  Not the most-visited day, by any means – but a chance for me to break off any specific topic and just be “me”.

New ideas?
I’ve considered doing “Tech Tuesday” – and devoting Tuesdays to postings that are more tech-specific – ie. loops, sound, recording, etc.

What do YOU think?  What about the old podcasts I used to do … I still get asked frequently “why don’t you ever release new podcasts”, etc.

Eager to hear from YOU.

For the Kingdom,
Fred

Hey Ya’ll,

Happy Saturday – I don’t usually find time to respond to being “tagged” in blog posts … but Bridget Willard tagged me and some friends, so I thought I’d actually play today!

1.  Wrapping paper or gift bags:     Wrapping Paper.  My wife gives gift bags all the time, but she doesn’t like getting them!!

2.  Real tree or Artificial?  Real … artificial is … sacreligous

3.  When do you put up the tree?     1st or 2nd weekend of Dec, as soon as we can

4.  When do you take the tree down?     right after Christmas, or 1st week of Jan

5.  Do you like eggnog?  nope

6.  Favorite gift received as a child?    Huffy Bandit

7.  Hardest person to buy for?   My wife

8.  Easiest person to buy for?  Me

9.  Do you have a nativity scene?  Nope

10.  Mail or email Christmas cards?  both

11.  Worst Christmas gift you ever received?   don’t recall?

12.  Favorite Christmas Movie?   The Christmas Story

13.  When do you start shopping for Christmas?  The absolute last minute

14.  Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?  Nope

15.  Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?  Haystacks (Melted Butterscotch and chow mein noodles)

16.  Lights on the tree?   Yes, tons of them – white, all through the tree. I’m the light guy.

17.  Favorite Christmas song?  Hmmm .. maybe Sleigh Ride …?

18.  Travel at Christmas or stay home?    We’ll be home Christmas AM, then start traveling at noon

19.  Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?   Of course!

20.  Angel on the tree top or a star?  Either .. we’ve done both.

21.  Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?  No, that’s not allowed.

22.  Most annoying thing about this time of the year?  My managing the orders for my e-biz.

23.  Favorite ornament theme or color?  The stuff the kids make.

24.  Favorite place for Christmas dinner?  My parents!

25. Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays? MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

So, I’m gonna tag some folks – if you can’t do it, no worries … let’s choose:

Jon Morris, Mike, Kit Palmer, and Billy Chia

Hey Everybody -

I’m curious what’s in the playlist of all you folks in this community.  Here’s the deal:

1.  Open your iTunes (or iPod)
2.  Turn on Shuffle > Songs
3.  Hit Play.

What are the first 5 songs that come up?  (note:  if you’re in a hurry, you don’t have to listen to all 5 songs – as soon as a song starts playing, you can hit the “next” button and it will shuffle to another song.

For me, I’m going to do 10 … you can do as many as you want.  Post them below.

Title: Artist  (Album)

1. A Mighty Fortress:  Josh Strecker (8 Hymns)
2. New Mercies:  Melissa Jones (Symphony)
3. There Is A River:  Matt Tommey (Show Your Glory)
4. As Long As You Are Glorified:  Sovereign Grace Music (Come Weary Saints)
5. When Seattle Sleeps:  McKendree Augustas (A View for Opened Eyes)
6. Broken and Beautiful:  Brian Doerksen (It’s Time)
7. Everlasting God:  Todd Fields (North Point Live)
8. The Power of the Cross:  Travis Cottrell (The Lamb Has Overcome)
9. As Long As I Have You:  Mark Roach (Song Discovery #61)
10. UGA Battle Hymn:  University of Georgia Marching Band/Larry Munson (no kidding)

I’m surprised that none of my classical, 1980′s or jazz music appeared.  I think much more of that is on my Mac Pro library at home.  This was coming off my MacBook Pro’s library, used @ SSCC.

What’s in your library?

FreePlay Friday Logo by Russ Hutto - www.russhutto.com

MEXICO VACATION

Hola amigos!  Joy and I are still in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico on an awesome vacation.  Thanks to a sporadic wireless signal that comes into one corner of our suite I can get online.  I thought ahead enough to bring my USB-headset so we’ve used Skype to call home a couple of nights ago.  “Nana and Grandad” are doing fine with all four kiddos who we miss terribly.  We’re winding down our activities and plan on being completely lazy today and tomorrow.  Our flight leaves mid-afternoon Sunday, so the next few days will probably move very slow.  That’s OK, because once we return, life resumes and the days fly by.

Joy and I took the bus into Puerto Vallarta on Wednesday and did the tourist thing.  It was fun – we grabbed some of the fajitas at the legendary “Pipi’s” restaurant.  They lived up to the fame.

Yesterday was perhaps one of the highlights of the trip.  We hooked up with Vallarta Adventures for their “Outdoor Adventures” tour.  To make a long trip short (the total trip was about 6 hours) we were given a nice breakfast at the tour office here in Nuevo Vallarta.  Then we piled on an inflatable speedboat and went across the Bay of Banderas here on the Pacific Ocean.  We arrived on the beach at a small fishing village … I was thinking “Survivors, Hit the Beach”.  From there we boarded a big jeep truck that took us up winding roads into the mountains.  When we arrived at base camp we were suited up in all of our climbing gear, helmets, gloves and we got on mules.  Rode the mules about 15-20 minutes further up into the mountains.

Fred & Joy on Zip Lines over Jungle Canopy

From there we spent hours flying over the canopy of the jungle on zip lines and repelling down waterfalls.  It was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever done.  Talk about “once in a lifetime” opportunities.  Joy and I had a blast.

Fred Rappeling Down Waterfall

FINANCIAL BAILOUTS:

We have limited English channels here – Hallmark, CNN, Headline News, USA, TNT … but all we’re hearing about is this “financial bailout”.  I’m no economic guru but it just makes me sick.  I can’t believe that we’re gonna let this pass.  Sure, I realize if we don’t do anything it will make it hard on everyone.  But I think that we – Americans – are to blame.  Sure, bad bankers and lawmakers are to blame.  Greedy Wall Street Execs are to blame.  But what ever happened to common sense?  Why don’t Americans admit that our “loans to get loans to pay more loans”, “credit card driven” society is a bad idea?  Don’t we know that the Scriptures say that the “borrower is slave to the lender”.

I want to throw up when I hear President Bush explaining why we MUST go this deeply into debt … because it will do what?  Free up the “credit market” so we can all get loans again.

HELLO AMERICA – FREAKIN’ CREDIT IS WHAT GOT US IN THIS PLACE TO BEGIN WITH!  STOP LIVING ON CREDIT!  STOP TRYING TO GET LOANS THAT YOU CAN’T AFFORD.

In closing, let me tie today’s two points together.  I’m grateful for this vacation we’re having.  One of the biggest reasons I’m grateful is that “it won’t follow us home”.  What do I mean by that?  It’s paid for.  We budgeted for vacation.  We won’t be paying down this vacation on a credit card for months to come.  We’ve disciplined ourselves to be on a strict, detailed budget.  Thanks to Dave Ramsey, our lives are changed forever on how we deal with finances.  With the exception of our mortgage we are 100% debt free, and I cannot imagine going back to the bondage of debt.

What’s your thoughts on the financial situation?  Let’er rip!

It’s TIME for a PARTY!

To all you RSS subscribers out there … I’d like to say “Thanks”.  Today I noticed that RSS Subscribers on FredMcKinnon.Com have surpassed the 200+ mark.  That, combined with an average of 550+ actual visitors on the website, I’m grateful to be approaching that 1,000 people/day mark.

Why?

Way back when, Carlos said it best:

Because a click is a person.
A person has a heartbeat.
A heartbeat has a passion.
A passion can change the world.
You can change the world.

Thanks for spreading the word about the ramblings I have over here.  (“ramblings”, ©RobertPooley, the guy who originally sparked my interest in this ‘blog word’).

To celebrate, I’d like to ask all of you … yes, even the lurkers (you know who you are!) to take 30 seconds of your time and comment, a “roll call” of sorts … no affirmation votes here, we need the real deal …if you’ve never commented before, don’t worry … I don’t spam you, sell of your email address, etc.  If you’ve never commented, it will be moderated until I approve it – so be patient.

What I’d love to know:
1.  Name
2.  City, State, Country
3.  How do you subscribe?  (Rss, Email, Web, etc.)
4.  Favorite topic?

Would you do me the honor of replying?

Hello Everyone,

For those who missed it, I published what I thought could be a risky blog nearly 24 hours ago. “I Thought We Were *SUPPOSED* to Sing” was perhaps one of the most ignited, passionate, engaging posts that I’ve had with the “comments” here in a long time. It was AWESOME seeing so many of you come out of “hiding” to leave your responses.

One such response came to me “off-blog” … via private email. It came from someone I respect and trust deeply. Someone who I had the privilege of studying under for four wonderful years at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, GA. His name is Dr. Michael Braz.

Dr. Braz is an amazing and talented individual. I wanted to post some of his thoughts because they were quite stirring. Dr. Braz defines his religious views on his Facebook profile as “Reform Judaism with Buddhist sympathies”. So these thoughts don’t necessarily come from a “Protestant/Christian” point of view, but from a spiritual, professional, and musical point of view.

He was gracious enough to give me permission to publish this. I will come back and offer my thoughts with Part 3 on Thursday, and we’ll all come together for some fun on FreePlay Friday.

It’s an easy read, I’ve highlighted and inserted a few thoughts for emphasis … here we go:

Hi, Fred–

… It may surprise you to find that I keep up with your
writing/performing/opinionating, etc. (as I also do with Russ Hutto and
other GSU music alumni). The reality of our working in two quite different
worlds in no way dampens my fascination with the way you are growing in your
chosen vocation.

One of these days–I don’t know when, but I hope it’s soon–we’ll sit down
for a meal and tackle some of the common annoyances of the world. One
example might be how we condition people to be audiences, rather than
participants. Another might be how we intimidate people away from using
their singing voices (children are especially adept at teasing their
parents–especially their fathers–who try singing in church). [Fred says, "sign me up for this class and let's broadcast it on Mogulus]

Again, keep in mind that I am a very happy and willing stranger to the
terrain of praise bands, competing blogs (and breaches of blog etiquette),
intramural church politics, etc. On the other hand, I have just spent 9
months overseas supplementing my appreciation of spiritual traditions in a
variety of settings, especially Hindu and Buddhist. It’s somewhat ironic,
when you consider that my fascination towards comparative religions began as
a 16-year-old high school senior in Miami, stepping in at the last minute
for a pianist at a week of Baptist revivals, and that I served St. Matthew’s
Catholic Church (Statesboro) for 2 years as its first paid music director.

What I think I’m trying to say here–with limited success–is this: people
are willing to be entertained, especially by those they perceive as doing
something better than them (music, sports, acting). At the same time, they
are a result of their conditioning, which serves as a sort of straitjacket
limiting their modes of expression.

At any rate, there is much to talk about, should you ever find your way up
here. You might even bring a digital recorder–I have been known to take
requests. [note to self, Fred ... this is an open invitation to get what could be the only live recording of one of the most amazing Gershwin "I've Got Rhythm" piano solos ever known.  I want it.]

All the best,

Michael Braz

Now there’s some words to chew on, my friends.

Comments? I’ll be back with mine on Thursday. Stay tuned.

Good evening everyone,

Many of you won’t see this until the surprise is “no more”.  It’s 10:45 PM EST on Saturday evening … and tomorrow morning, most likely before noon … I’ll have a Sunday Surprise.  It’s going to be fun, it’s going to build community, networking, and should bring some excitement around here.

On Sunday?  What, the SLOWEST DAY of the week for blogworld?

Yep – and you’ll see why.

Check back often tomorrow … ’cause the “early bird gets the worm”.

See you tomorrow.  Are you ready?

Fred

Hey Everybody,

What an incredible couple of days I’ve had at the National Worship Leader Conference. Yeah, originally the “shuttle” schedule was pretty lousy, but thanks to a new blog/twitter/worship buddy, Jim Drake, we’ve hitched some rides with his clan which has made transportation much easier.

So right now, as I type this … I’m sitting in the Speakers’ Green Room. Laura Story (author of the huge song, “Indescribable” is sitting on the couch to my left. A Pastor and some other friends from Franklin, TN are to my right. Across the rug is legend, Ron Kenoly. Can I tell you that sitting in this room off and on all day with Ron Kenoly is like sitting under a wise man who is chock-full of Godly wisdom. He’s like a grandfather. I could sit and listen to Ron all day long. He’s so authentic, and his heart bleeds for God and His Kingdom.

Truth be told, I’m just too tired to give you all the dozens of pages of notes I’ve taken in the many sessions over the last two days. This conference schedule starts with us leaving the hotel before 8:00 AM, and not getting back to the hotel until after 10:00 PM.

Here are some highlights:

Extravagant Worship in the main sessions with some of the most influential, gifted worship leaders on the planet. I’ve been led in worship by Matt Redman, Paul Baloche, Sarah Kelly, Jonathan Noel, Rush of Fools, Leeland, Matt Maher, Phillips, Craig & Dean, Rita Springer, and in about an hour, Lincoln Brewster, Kathryn Scott, Don Moen, and Gateway Worship. Tomorrow night we’ll be led in worsip by Buddy Owens, CeCe Winans, Phil Sillas & Lily Cruz, Israel Houghton, and Tommy Walker. Yes – in the same week. Can you believe that?

Today:

I took Shaun Groves‘ Advanced Blogging class. It was awesome. Shaun is the real deal. I didn’t have the adapter to make my Lappie work with their projector, so he’s loaned me his … he trusts me to return it to him, and gave to me when I was in need. That’s huge for me. I learned a lot about blogging from him today.

Earlier today I took a powerful class by Ross Parsley. It was about Multi-Generational worship. Let’s face it, most churches have “multiple generations” represented and I was really looking forward to this class. Ross didn’t disappoint – he comes across as very humble, incredibly authentic, and laid back. He’s got tons of wisdom, and I consider it an honor to sit under his teaching. The folks at New Life Worship should count their blessings to have this gift.

Gordan MacDonald was the afternoon speaker and he was really great. It was during that “sluggish time” of day where my body was distracted, fatigued, yet I knew in my spirit that what he was saying was important. Plus, I’ve learned that when these guys who have been in ministry for 40+ years speak, I should shut up and listen. Gordon delivered big-time, and opened my eyes to further understanding what’s going on as a Worship Pastor, and how to navigate that with multiple age groups.

Bishop Joseph Garlington spoke this morning. His keyboard player accompanied his sermon, playing strings, keys, hits, sound effects, and various nuances that made the entire presentation a vivid, interactive session. I thought to myself how these little music “things” throughout the sermon kept me engaged, and heightened my emotions during the talk … thought about how movies always keep a soundtrack growing, and found myself wondering why we don’t do this more?

Yesterday we had more incredible sessions, other classes by Paul Baloche and Ross Parsley, and dynamic teaching by Dr. Leonard Sweet.

Wish I could share more, and I should – I’m on information overload right now, but wanted to get a blog out. Thanks to everyone who is taking this journey with me!

For the Kingdom,
Fred

Hey Everyone,

Welcome to “FreePlay” Friday – where anything goes on FredMcKinnon.Com. Here’s the idea … I can’t help but think I need to be more consistent with keeping my blogging content on target for those people I’d like to influence … those involved in worship leadership and music. At the same time, I have a LIFE (quite a busy, active one) and I enjoy blogging about that, too. I have plenty of friends and family who read here, so this blog isn’t called “All About Worship Leadership and Music” … it’s called “FredMcKinnon.Com” … so you’ll get some “Fred McKinnon”.

But, maybe I can help things a bit my trying to let Fridays be the main “off-topic, free-stylin’ kind of post” day. “FreePlay Friday” is a name Joy uses during the school year. It means the kiddos can pick what they want for breakfast before school. Monday – Thursday, she has breakfast planned out … eggs and toast one day, cereal another day, cinnamon toast one day, oatmeal, etc. FreePlay Friday is when THEY get to pick (individually, I might add) what they want for breakfast.

So today is FreePlay Friday (edition 1) .. I’ll have my own “FreePlay” by blogging about random STUFF that isn’t necessarily related to worship, music, or leadership … and then YOU can get involved in the comments by replying to my “randomness” with comments about what I discuss, OR … start your OWN RANDOM MADNESS in the comments!

OK – so I spent most of my time on the setup … and don’t want this to be long, so …

FaceBook – WHAT HAPPENED?
What happened to FaceBook? My FaceBook account pretty much went dormant .. I mean, I never login. The, a few weeks ago, I got a “friend request” from an pastor friend in VA that was our College Pastor back at GSU. He began to confirm friends off my page, which triggered a massive chain reaction in “friend requests” from those college days in ministry. At the same time, some old college acquaintances from being in the GSU Marching Band started doing the same thing … it’s like FaceBook is coming alive again!

The Shack

Whereas in technology, I tend to become an early-adopter, I can’t say the same thing about culture. I guess this book has been around for a while, but I first heard of it only a few weeks ago. My friends Jay and Brooke have been reading it on vacation, lots of people are Twittering about it, it was the subject of discussion Monday morning at our Pastor’s meeting … and I got an email from my Dad saying “you have to read this book, I’ve put a brand new copy in mail to you”. Well, my copy came in the mail yesterday. Thanks, Dad. I can’t put it down. I read until after 1:00 AM, and woke up immediately craving to start reading it again, which I did over a couple of bowls of Peanut Butter Crunch. I’m not much of a book reader, but this book has captured my attention in a big way. For those who have read it … I just finished the Chapter where Mack first meets “God”.

OK … let the madness begin!

Fred

Hey Everyone,

I didn’t lead worship today, so I’ll pass on making a video “Worship Confessional” this week. I did sit in and play piano with the band, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve had two back-to-back weeks off from being the main worship leader and I’m ready to get back in that saddle again next week.

Recently I was chatting with Alastair Vance online because he was engaged in a Twitter conversation with someone about doing a “Worship Confessional”. The person he was chatting with had some concerns, and because I’ve experienced a handful of triumphs and pitfalls with them myself, I saw him recommend that they contact me.

So now a week or more later, I present to you my ideas of:

“Worship Confessionals – The Do’s and the Don’ts”

First, it’s important to understand what a “worship confessional” is. I’ve discussed them many times on the blog so you can do search the archives, or better yet – visit my friend Jay’s post, “What is a Worship Confessional” published back in June 2007 for a great read.

Assuming you “get” the concept of a Worship Confessional, let’s talk about a few do’s and don’ts. Please know that I don’t consider myself the authority by any means – make your own rules, but these are some of the things I’ve learned from doing a few of these over the last few years.

Do’s:

Mostly these are covered already in the concept of what a Worship Confessional Is. However:

1. Do be honest and authentic.
2. Do try to be short on video length. Nobody has time to watch your 15 minute video.
3. Do respect your church staff, leadership, band, and singers.
4. Do get ownership from your team members and leadership.
5. Do share what you did to make the songs and arrangements “your own”.
6. Do give credit where credit is due.
7. Do try to give a text-version so those who don’t have time to watch the video can get the setlist.
8. Do also post your setlist and worship confessional on TheWorshipCommunity.Com’s forums.
   (sorry, I couldn’t resist a shameless plug for our site!)

Now, from personal experience (my own experiences, and those around me), let me share a few pitfalls.

Don’ts:

1. Don’t try to copy or imitate everyone else. Be real, be authentic. People who watch the videos probably care more about hearing what songs you did, and how you used them, and don’t care so much about all the cool themes, titles, transitions, and credit rolls you create.
2. Don’t ramble on and on. Keep it around 7 minutes or less … 5 minutes or less is even better. Nobody has time to watch your 15 minute video.
3. Don’t use the worship confessional to bash your leadership, musicians, singers, or tech team. If you had problems or issues, it’s great to hear about them … that’s why it’s called a “confessional”. However, you should never use the internet as your public stage to gripe about the people who are volunteering with you. Discuss it first, then share it respectfully.
4. Don’t do worship confessionals and constantly mention your church by name, by link, by tags in the keywords, etc., without first getting the ownership and vision of your leadership. If your church would rather not have your YouTube videos ranked in the Top Google Results of the search for your church name, don’t mention the church by name, and DEFINITELY don’t tag it in the video tags. On the other hand – if you do have their support, GO FOR IT – it’s a great way to get additional traffic and interest in what you are doing. (and oh, by the way … all that stuff about the disclaimer you have on your blog, and how it’s your own, and you can say what you want, and it doesn’t reflect the views of your church … BULL CRAP (sorry) … if you use your blog as a forum to discuss the specifics of your job and role at your church, and you do it by name, you are linking the two, I think your leadership has a right to speak to you about how you represent your employer. )
   
5. Don’t make it all about “you” … include your band and singers whenever possible. (if they want to be involved)
6. Don’t disrespect other team members who wish to not be included. Not everyone chooses to live the super-transparent lifestyle of a blogger, twitterer, or video blogger. Not everyone wants their mug on YouTube for everyone to find.
7. Don’t let your Worship Confessional video be the first time your Worship Leader, Pastor, Elders, Musicians, Singers, or Church Members hear your frustrations over a situation.
8. Don’t assume that nobody from your church reads your blog or cares what you do … they WILL find it, the WILL watch it. Also, those who are looking for something “bad to say” about your church will find it, too.
9. Don’t say stupid things that will come back to bite you.

Example: We once did a Worship Confessional where I was talking about how good the breakfast was in the green room. A lady brought some taramasou once, and of course … any alcohol used in it was likely cooked out … but I made a joke on the worship confessional that “we had rum cake and were buzzing on the platform”. Someone was pretty offended by that remark. In addition, because I’d tagged the video with strong keywords back to our church’s web site, that video was the Page 1, Link #3 result on Google Search when searching for our church by name and city. In retrospect, that was a DUMB THING to say.

Resolution: I’m much more careful now, and I removed that video from YouTube.

I’m sure all of us have our own rules, or lack thereof. Nobody really likes rules, but boundaries can be helpful and can help save you some grief down the road. Just remember that what you do and say on the Worship Confessional videos is “public” in a major way, and once it’s online, you can’t really take it back … even if you delete it, there are copies of it in cache. Use wisdom.

Lastly, have fun. And don’t forget … you may want to remind your “viewers” what a “Worship Confessional” is every now and then … it helps new viewers “get it”.

Tell me about your “ups and downs” with Worship Confessionals!

For the Kingdom,
Fred

Hey Everyone,

Hope you had a great 4th. Again, I realize my blogging has been insanely inconsistent, and the content has been … well, “less than on topic”. I wonder … does anybody care? Have those who do care already unsubscribed from my blog? Probably so – I’ve noticed a dip in readers, and a dip in commentors. Oh well, I will try and get back in rhythm next week.

Weekends aren’t big for traffic and readers anyway, so thought I’d post yet another off-topic post, but relative to my life and love .. my Georgia Bulldogs. Thanks to Travis for forwarding this article to me via email. It’s a bit sad.

UGA VI Obituary (Loran’s article, published 6/29/08)

My friend Uga VI is dead.
His death is not exactly a shock—he was old for a Bulldog—but the news hit hard. Of all the Georgia mascots, he was the most special for a special reason. He was named for me. I can remember when his owner, Sonny Seiler, called nearly ten years ago and told me that Uga VI’s kennel name would be “Whatchagot Loran.” Naturally, I was overwhelmed. You can only imagine the feelings I got when I would see him on the sideline. When he took the field with the cheerleaders, good feelings washed over me. I couldn’t help it. When the network cameras would focus on him, it made me proud and stimulated feelings of great affection. I was immodestly given to pointing out our connection to sideline announcers like Tracy Wolfson of CBS and Holly Rowe of ESPN. I was there when his grandfather put on a tux for the Heisman trophy banquet when Herschel Walker was awarded college football’s highest individual honor. I went fishing with his grandfather, too. On Sonny’s boat, Silver Britches. Once when I went to see his great-grandfather at the Selier’s home on Dutch Island, he wet my pants leg. “You are now a member of the family,” Sonny laughed. While I have known all the Uga’s and have celebrated countless Georgia victories—milestone wins like eight SEC titles and the 1980 national championship—Uga VI, the biggest of the Uga’s, was the one I spent the most time with.
Last summer, I went to see the Seilers and stayed overnight. Uga VI slept down the hall and kept waking me up with his heavy snoring. I didn’t mind. He would snore and then awake with some sort of garbled grunting sound. I think I could make out what he was saying. “To Hell with Tech.”

Saturday, Sonny called with the news about Uga VI’s death. It was a disheartening call. I felt that I had lost a close friend. And I had. This was news I had not anticipated, thinking that we would have one last season together this fall. He would have been ten years old if he had lived another three weeks. That’s a long life for a bulldog. Nevertheless, it hurts to give him up.

Losing your namesake who is universally popular with college football fans across the country brings a tear to your eye. You see, Uga was important to those who follow the game—not just the passionate Georgia fans. It was always uplifting to see fans of other schools, with their team colors prominently displayed, stop to have their photos made with Uga.
Over the years when I traveled and my relationship with the Bulldogs surfaced, there was always considerable interest in Georgia football. There was Herschel Walker of course. You lead a team to the national championship and win the Heisman trophy and football fans know plenty about you and your school.
People have always been interested in the hedges. They find the hedges attractive. The hedges bring about sentiment. Usually the stands and the playing field are separated by a stale and nondescript fence of some sort.
The thing that most nonpartisan fans you meet in other sections of the country are most intrigued by is the reverence we hold for our mascots. They find the treatment of Uga fascinating.
They are amused by the big red fireplug, which was Uga’s chariot for escorting him to the sidelines for years. Unfortunately, that tradition has become inactive—mainly because the fireplug is too heavy to manage and manipulate. For Uga’s sake we need to find a manageable fireplug. What is more amusing to people everywhere than a fireplug and a dog?
Football fans everywhere are charmed by the fact that the Ugas are buried in Sanford Stadium. Once on a trip to Phoenix, I had lunch with Chip Wisdom who had played and coached at Georgia and wound up with an assistant’s job at Arizona State. “People out here,” Chip said, “are overwhelmed by the fact that all of Georgia’s mascots are buried in Sanford Stadium. That is something that they really find interesting.”
On Monday the Seiler family will bring Uga VI to Athens for interment in the Uga family cemetery at the southwest corner of the stadium, just a few feet from the famous hedges.

As we say goodbye to Uga VI, I propose a toast to former Athletic Director Joel Eaves. He was the one who suggested to the Seilers that Uga I be buried in the stadium. As time went by, Uga I’s descendants got the same treatment. Every home game, the Seiler family drives its big red station wagon down to the stadium and takes a bouquet of flowers over to the cemetery containing all the Uga gravesites in memory of the mascots buried there.

On August 30th when Georgia plays Georgia Southern to begin a new season, I think I will ask the Seilers if I can place the bouquet in the Uga cemetery. In memory of my namesake. My friend, Uga VI.
A damn good dawg.

Hey Everyone,

Saturday is a s-l-o-w- day for traffic on my blog. On the flip side, it’s one of those days I finally get to catch up on reading blogs. So, I’ve just scanned through about 150 new blog posts and was encouraged and entertained my lots of your posts.

Today I’d like to invite you (my handful of loyal readers and friends) to find out more about me …. so, ask away … and I’ll try to answer your questions.

Also, I’d like to know all about you. So I’d like to invite you to leave a comment and tell me about yourself. Who are you, what do you do, where are you from? It’s a roll-call, so everyone please participate!

Lastly – if you visit here, consider adding my two links to your blogroll, if they aren’t there already … and of course, if YOUR LINK isn’t on my list of links, let me know so I can trade the link love.

My Blog: www.fredmckinnon.com (if you are reading via RSS, visit the site to comment)
TheWorshipCommunity.Com: www.theworshipcommunity.com (in maintenance mode, but the /forums are thriving, and v2 will launch very soon!)

So … let’s get started. Ask your questions, and answer the call – who are you? No lurkers now, everyone get involved … please!  Click to comment!!

Worship Confessional: a candid, video recap or “confessional” of the songs, arrangements, and creative ideas used in a worship service. “Confessional” is simply meant to designate the revealing of the inner thoughts and workings of how, why, and what we did. Original concept of the “Worship Confessional” started by Carlos @ RagamuffinSoul.Com.

\0/\0/\0/

Hey Everybody -

Back by request, a video worship confessional. This confessional is “bed head edition”, shot Sunday afternoon following a much-needed, much-appreciated NAP.

Because I’ve learned that not everyone understands the “concept” of a worship confessional, I’ve added the description above at the beginning of this post.

Walk in: Mighty to Save (Hillsongs) [iTunes link]

Song 1: Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone) [from this blog post]

Song 2: Let Everything That Has Breath (Matt Redman) [iTunes link]

Song 3: Center (Charlie Hall) [iTunes link]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWfs1QP_RYA[/youtube]

OK, so two questions for comments:

1. According to Google Analytics, about 30% of new visits last month came from our church’s website. That being said, if you are a SSCC’er … were you here today, and if so, what’s YOUR recap!? Comment below.

2. If you aren’t a SSCC’er, share about your worship encounter today. Comment below. [please]

For the Kingdom,
Fred

Hello friends, family, loyal readers, and occasional visitors!

This is one of those “I just gotta unload a few things” posts. One of those where I just need to express some burdens on me, get you all to pray for me, and hopefully by blogging this, it will relieve some of the noise in my head. It’s kinda long … so you speed readers will choose to skip this blog. That’s OK. I’ll miss those possible comments … but tonight isn’t about comments, although they are welcome. It’s about unloading.

Ever just get to a place where you want to find the “off switch” to your mind, and just flip it for a while. I’m that way tonight. Though, I’ve got a good 3-4 hours of business accounting to take care of. I was going to tackle that last night, but instead was preparing for and participating in a 2-1/2 hour long iChat with a group of bloggers, innovators, writers, and leaders about the upcoming v2 of TheWorshipCommunity.Com.

So here’s the deal. My mind is full with more ideas than I can handle. Most of you know, I’m the Full-Time Worship Director for my church. That takes plenty of time already … time that I absolutely love, and that I’m passionate about. At the same time, I have this entrepreneurial-business side of me that is constantly tweaking, testing, implementing, and engaging in various business ideas – most of them online.

I’m a crossroads in my e-biz … prayerfully considering implementing some tools that could ramp up the volume dramatically. These tools are costly … they would be an investment, and if they ramped up volume, I’d certainly need to hire help so that I’m not distracted from ministry. I’ve been wrestling with this “move” for months. I keep shoving it in the background, but it keeps resurfacing. When it comes to business, I’m typically much more prone to take risks … I typically don’t find myself being very patient.

Blogging and TheWorshipCommunity.Com are both ministry-focused and leadership-focused. Both are things I feel important about, and are extensions of the spiritual gifts and temperament that God gave me.

Beyond that, there are so many other things. Some of them come, go, and are gone for good. Others stick around. One such “idea” has been nagging me for months. It has NOTHING to do with ministry, and is more associated with e-biz. It’s a resource that doesn’t exist (that I can find), that I would be using like crazy if it DID exist .. and that could be a profitable thing to potentially “sell” down the road.

Don’t forget – I’m a musician and writer. I have melodies, lyrics, hooks, phrases banging around in there, too. Sadly, these aren’t getting from my head to the recording platform as they should. For that reason, I’m doing my best to unplug from blogging, twittering, etc., at least one day a week and spend that time focused on creativity, writing, and praying for the implementation of those creative gifts, and how they can best be utilized at my church and in ministry.

Robert Pooley, Craig Walker, and Bobby Lepinay get to hear this vent every year at our annual fasting/prayer retreat. They usually peg me on a few things.

You see … obviously, nobody can really do all those things effectively. I was hearing Dave Ramsey teaching a small business seminar recently and he devoted a big portion to the “power of focus”. I realize that all day long.

Still, I find myself praying, “God, I want to focus, I’ll gladly let go of what You say let go … but all this stuff just keeps coming to me”. “God, can’t you PLEASE turn it off”?

Thus, my dilemma. I get torn. Torn between, “am I supposed to just somehow get rid of this other stuff”, or “maybe God made me this way, as miserable as it is sometimes [and as exciting as it is sometimes, and as exhausting as it is MOST times, and as rewarding as it is sometimes, and as challenging as it ALL the time]“.

Today, I really felt the weight. I’ve become painfully aware of plates falling to the ground recently. I’m at a point with a couple of these “decisions” and “ideas” that I MUST move on them or CRUCIFY them. Then, I say to myself “I think I’ve crucified them before, and they keep coming back”. With that weight comes the fatigue that even 8+ hours of sleep won’t touch.

One thing is certain. God’s yoke is easy. God’s burdens are light.

So, tomorrow morning, I may feel completely different. It’s not like I’ve been walking around oppressed for weeks. I just really felt the weight today. My chest is heavy. I’m tired. But I’ll be OK!

Tomorrow is Wednesday. I’m unplugging from blog’ville. I’m unplugging from Twitterville. I’ll be fasting the whole day, and I’ll be leading 1+ hour of prayer/worship from 12:00 Noon – 1:15′ish PM. Then, I’ll be doing it again from 6:00 – 7:00 PM at our church. I’ll be available for phone calls and reply to some emails, and whatever planning/meetings I need to be a part of at church … but for the most part, I hope to have my door closed, and my heart tuned into God’s Presence, His Creative Power, His Divine Wisdom, and His refreshing love tomorrow.

See you on Thursday.
Fred

Hey Everyone,

Great services today at SSCC.

We began a series entitled “This Side Up” – which is a look at God’s “Upside Down Kingdom”. Today was the “setup” day … but was a great message. The default “coffee shop” set was removed and we had a big “warehouse” type set with lots of boxes and things.

There aren’t a lot of corporate songs that focus on these issues, so I didn’t waste a lot of time trying to pick the “perfect songs” to setup the sermon this week. Instead, I just prayerfully considered a set of songs that would have energy, worship, freedom, and I intentionally made some song decisions to reach out to some of the demographic in our community who desires to have some of the older songs and/or more traditional elements (ie. gimme a hymn).

Walk In:
“Not To Us” (my version, as recorded on Worship Under the Stars) [iTunes link]

First Set:
“Again, I Say Rejoice” (Israel Houghton) [iTunes Link]
I led this from the grand piano … Elizabeth moved over and played my Yahama Motif and knocked out the horn parts. It sounded great, and this song is always a great one to play and sing.

“Blessed Assurance” (Traditional Hymn)
This is one of my favorite hymns from growing up in the Methodist Church. I re-arranged this song in 9/8 time, with a very cool riff that we play as intro, and in between the verses. I hope to record a simple arrangement of this soon .. but wonder if I’ll find any good rhythm loops in 9/8 time. I’ve found that if I can intentionally find a good hymn, even if it’s only 1 out of 5 songs .. it makes the traditional folks very happy. I don’t feel it’s my “job to make folks happy” .. but it IS MY JOB TO GIVE THEM the best opportunity to engage with God in worship. If an older, traditional hymn is the vehicle that helps them .. I’d be foolish not to oblige. Not to mention there is rich theology in so many of our hymns.

Second Set:
“You Have Made Me Glad” (Hillsongs) [iTunes link]
This is a song that Harriet had been leading for “x” years (I dunno how long) before I arrived on the scene. It’s one that I played with her a few times and always loved this tune. I decided to reach back and give our people a chance to sing this familiar song, and they responded by singing out strong. In the first service, I actually repeated it a few extra times – it was too good to stop because so many people were singing along.

“How He Loves Us” (Kim Walker, Jesus Culture) [iTunes Link]
Probably one of the most powerful songs on the planet right now. We had a young couple at our home on Memorial Day, and the guy told me how much this song ministered to him. I thought to myself “now, I never would’ve picked this guy to love this song”. It’s an awesome song … one of my favorites right now.

Closer:
“I Will Never Be” (Hillsongs) [iTunes Link]
This song has become a theme anthem for us … our church is about “changed lives” and our tagline with our logo is “Never be the Same Again”.

Finally … I’m about to save this entry and head off to our first of 3 summer baptisms. Lots of people getting baptized this afternoon, which is more evidence of changed lives at SSCC. Praise God.

How has your weekend been?
Fred

Hey Everyone,

I’ve yet to really “get into” the thick of blogging on the revival in Lakeland, FL … for one primary reason. I’ve not been there, and I’ve not really watched it on the internet. I’ve felt the pressure from some to go … and from others to stay away. I’ve resolved that for now, I’ll pray and say “God, I’ll go down if You tell me to”.

Recently, a friend of mine who was diagnosed with a serious brain tumor (less than 30 days if he doesn’t have radical treatment) went down for prayer. Todd Bentley wasn’t there this evening, but into the worship, the man who was ministering had a “word of knowledge” that someone in a green shirt was there, and had a brain tumor. Well, my friend was wearing a green shirt, so he stood up and everyone faced him and prayed. Nobody interviewed him beforehand, nobody knew his situation, nobody snuck the ushers a card saying “he’s wearing a green shirt and he has cancer” …. I believe this was revelation by the Holy Spirit.

I’m hoping and praying for his glorious healing.

IN THE MEANTIME, the editor of Charisma magazine has sent out an appeal to church leadership. I didn’t receive the email, but discovered it’s contents on “For the Journey” blog. (ht mjd)

His name is J. Lee Grady, and his initial article from Charisma entitled “Honest Questions About the Lakeland Revival” was posted here.  (thanks to Shannon, and his exhaustive list of links and blogs covering the revival)

So, this “email” or document or whatever was sent out by J. Lee Grady, and was posted on For the Journey … and this was too good not to pass along … I echo a hearty “amen” to this.

I’ve seen such bickering already going back and forth.  My favorite approach thus far is what some call the “Gamaliel Approach” .. which is:

Acts 5:38-39
38 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.

39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

That being said .. enjoy the plea for unity, and thanks again to MJD for his sharing this!

An Appeal for Unity in a Divisive Season
The Lakeland Revival has created tensions over doctrine and ministry styles. To avoid a crippling rift in the church we need strong leadership, clear discernment and a lot of love.

Revival is messy. As much as we would love for it to come in a neat and orderly package, history teaches us that outbreaks of the Holy Spirit are often accompanied by holy chaos. There may be conversions and healings in one corner and demonic manifestations in the other. In seasons of revival you can have miracles and mayhem. Holiness and heresy can erupt simultaneously.

When we look at the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts, we tend to focus on the positives: Dead people were raised, whole villages were saved and prison doors were opened supernaturally. On the flip side, this same revival season was interrupted by riots, opposed by religious legalists and tainted by false prophets, greedy charlatans and demons masquerading as angels.

Why must revival movements be so muddled? Perhaps it is because imperfect people (as well as sinister devils) get involved. Strange things happen when God’s power touches a sinful earth.

When revival hit Wales in 1904, almost an entire nation bowed before Jesus within two years. Yet the weight of God’s presence drove the revival’s humble leader, Evan Roberts, into depression. Meanwhile author Jessie Penn-Lewis, writing in her book War on the Saints, suggested that fleshly manifestations in Welsh prayer meetings had snuffed out the Spirit’s power.

In our nation today thousands have been swept into the current of the Lakeland Revival in Florida, which began in early April in evangelist Todd Bentley’s meetings at Ignited Church. The fervor quickly spread because of God TV’s broadcasts, and today up to 10,000 gather nightly at a venue near the city’s airport. In recent days, people who were touched in Lakeland have started similar meetings in Atlanta, Chicago, Charlotte, N.C. and other cities. Bentley and his colleagues believe this is the beginning of a worldwide healing revival that will cover the globe.

But not everyone in the charismatic/Pentecostal community is convinced. Some say this is the last end-time revival while others maintain it is a demonic counterfeit. Cult-watchers and anti-heresy bloggers post Bentley’s comments on YouTube as evidence of a theological scandal. Revival advocates respond by posting documented evidence of healings. It all begins to resemble a childish competition.

Still others worry that Lakeland represents a questionable mixture of truth and error. Since the initial eruption of the revival, my inbox has been full of messages from charismatic leaders who are concerned about weighty issues as well as trivial ones: Everything from Bentley’s tattoos and body piercings to his claim that he once interviewed the apostle Paul in heaven.

When I wrote an article in mid-May calling for scrutiny of some aspects of the Lakeland Revival, I was labeled a Pharisee and a “religious policeman.” People who said they had been deeply impacted by the Holy Spirit in Lakeland used spiritual threats and harsh terms to tell me that I had become the enemy.

I refuse to go on the defensive, and if I need to retract any statement I’ve ever made about this revival I will. But what these nasty exchanges have shown me is that a divisive spirit is certainly at work in our midst—and we need urgent prayer to short-circuit what the devil wants to do.

When the early church was hit with the issue of Jewish legalism, Paul and Barnabas determined that the answer was to seek the counsel of “the apostles and elders” in Jerusalem (Acts 15:2, NASB). The church was being divided because the legalists were insisting that gentiles be circumcised. But when the elders looked into the matter, the apostle James settled the dispute by issuing this wise ruling:

“Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood” (v. 19-20). In other words, James affirmed the gentiles’ access to salvation and overturned the legalists’ bad doctrine.

Based on this biblical example, I am appealing to the elders in our movement. We need to hear from them in this hour. In a desperate moment we need older, seasoned veterans to release the counsel of the Lord.

Today the charismatic movement has become fractured, and opposing camps have formed. On one side there are those in the apostolic camp who tend to emphasize biblical order, proper church government, spiritual warfare and the reformation of society. On the other side are those in the prophetic camp who focus on miracles, healing, mystical experiences and the reclaiming of all the supernatural manifestations of the New Testament.

Both of these camps are contending for valid, biblical truths. We need the prophetic and the apostolic! We need miracles as much as we need healthy church growth and societal change. Yet if we do not have a holy intervention, we could bite and devour one another—and cancel out our collective impact.

A biblical council must include the leaders of both of these camps. And leaders must address all of the difficult issues triggered by the Lakeland Revival. Those include:

1. Biblical guidelines about angels. Some people in the prophetic camp speak of frequent visits to heaven, “third heaven revelations,” and long conversations with angels who use names such as Emma, Promise and Winds of Change. Are these indeed spirits sent from God, or agents of false light?

2. A proper theology of the dead. Some in the prophetic camp claim they have had conversations with dead Christians—including Paul the apostle. Is this within the bounds of Christian experience, or is it necromancy?

3. Pastoral guidance about exotic spiritual manifestations. In some circles in our movement, unusual signs and wonders have been reported in church services—including the sudden appearance of gold dust, feathers, gemstones and oil. At the same time, worshipers are vibrating on the floor, jerking uncontrollably and acting intoxicated. How can we protect people from the abuse of manifestations, and from demonic influence, while at the same time leaving room for genuine encounters with God?

4. Clear guidelines concerning the restoration of fallen ministers. The appearance of one prominent fallen evangelist, Paul Cain, at the Lakeland Revival in May unleashed strong reactions from many sectors of the church. Many people feel unprotected when they sense that church leaders have chosen not to enforce proper discipline for a minister’s unbiblical behavior. In this adulterous generation, how can we draw lines to protect congregations while at the same time offer healing and grace to a repentant preacher?

These are some of the crucial questions we face as a movement. May we proceed with a fresh gift of discernment, while at the same time laying hold of all the blessings that revival will bring us.

OK … long post … but your thoughts?

Hey Everybody -

I’m excited to be heading up to Ft. Belvoir, VA this weekend for the Open Air Faith Festival and Concert. I was honored to be invited as one of the many worship artists who will be performing at the event. It’s a special worship event for all military-ID holders, so if you have a military-ID and are in the area, come on out! If you don’t have a military-ID, let us know if you’re in the area, and maybe we could get out and visit with you.

The official MySpace Profile describes the event as follows:
This event is intended to provide a worship experience for all military ID cardholders assigned to the Military District of Washington (MDW) area. This celebration is intended to provide a social event for all personnel assigned to Fort Belvoir, their families, as well as the general public throughout the surrounding communities.

I say “we” because I’m not traveling alone – I’m flying up with Jay Sellers (previously known as TheToneGuru.Com back when he actually blogged a bit) who has played electric guitar with me for years. He’ll be helping me out on the backing electric guitar parts and singing, along with the rest of the “house band” that we’ll be joining once we arrive.

I’ll be opening the event at 10:30 AM on the Parade Field with a 15-minute acoustic set, which will be low-key, reflective, and intimate.

I’ll be returning with full band at 3:30 for a full set of great worship music.

Below is the schedule of performing worship artists. Most of these artists have a more urban/gospel vibe, so with the exception of SonicFlood, we may be the only other band that has more of a contemporary rock/worship type sound, although I’d not actually qualify my music as “christian rock” by any means. I guess if anything, I’d call it “contemporary worship”.

10:30 AM: Fred McKinnon (Acoustic)
10:45 AM: Trey Eley Experience
11:30 AM: Dr. Howard Patton
11:40 AM: Eddy Nubine
12:00 PM: Jason Crab
1:15 PM: Bishop Bruce Parham
2:05 PM: Paige Epler
2:45 PM: SONICFLOOd
3:45 PM: Fred McKinnon (Full Band, duh, that’s me)
4:45 PM: Antonia Lawrence
6:00 PM: Mary Alessi
7:00 PM: Martha Munizzi

I’ve been asked to stay over and minister/teach in the chapel services on Sunday AM, so say a prayer for me. I woke up feeling a bit rotten today, as well – so I really need God’s strength, wisdom, and favor. As always, pray for my wonderful family while we’re gone.

Interesting lineup – I look forward to meeting the guys from SonicFlood, as we’ll be following them immediately after their set. I’ve known Antonia Lawrence for years, and have been digging the video of Martha Munizzi and Israel Houghton on CCLITV lately, so it should be a blast.

Hey Everyone:

Hope you’ve had an awesome week thus far. I wanted to take a moment to recap our service from this past Sunday, May 11 at SSCC.

We’ve been in a series called “Just Breathe” which centers around the person of the Holy Spirit. This past Sunday, David taught on “Being Filled with the Holy Spirit”. Spending the last 20 years in a more “charistmatic church” setting, I’ve heard this taught many, many times. I can honestly say that David’s teaching this week was perhaps the best teaching I’ve heard on it. It was the straight truth, Biblical, and communicated in such a way that it could be received from anybody who has “ears to hear”.

The sermon was illustrated with three basketballs. One basketball was flat, with all the air sucked out of it. This was a picture of someone who doesn’t know Christ, and the Holy Spirit had not been breathed into them. (breath, or air). Then he had a basketball that looked fine … it was round and inflated, but it only was about 1/2 full of air. It bounced OK, but didn’t bounce well, and was harder to control. This was typical of so many Christians who have received God’s Holy Spirit, but weren’t filled … and as a result, weren’t as effective as they should be. Finally, he got a big air pump and began to pump it into the basketball, filling it completely. This ball was full of air and David demonstrated his dribbling chops as he bounced it around on the stage and between his legs. Then, another guy who was a basketball-dribbling MASTER came out with two basketballs … and the sound guys started the “Harlem Globetrotters” sound track … this guy whirled those basketballs around like a pro.

The point was that these were not only filled, but in the right hands. How could be live if we were filled with the Holy Spirit, and surrendered into the Hands of God.

One of my favorite lines was (paraphrased) when David said “I don’t really care what you want to call it … baptism of the Holy Spirit, infilling of the Holy Spirit, filled with the Holy Spirit, receiving the Holy Spirit, surrendering completely to the Holy Spirit …. but all of these theologians have come across multiple viewpoints and agreed that there was a point in time after their salvation where they realized they needed to truly surrender to the fullness of the Holy Spirit”. (you’ll have to listen to the podcast to get that quote just right)

So, I’d encourage you to take a few and listen to this sermon on the podcast. It was awesome.

Now, onto the songs. (where available, songs are linked to iTunes)

Open: “In The Secret” (Vineyard)
(great opener, old-school Vineyard song)

First Set:
“Fix My Eyes” (Fred McKinnon) [Video Available]
(2nd week in a row, chose this song because it’s about being filled with God’s Holy Spirit).

Second Set:
“Surely the Presence”
(low lights, sweet, quiet arrangement with piano, led by Kim Dixon)
“With All I Am” (Hillsong)
(continued worship led by Kim Dixon)

Just Breathe Intro (view it at TravisPaulding.Com)

Closer:
Consuming Fire (Tim Hughes)

Well, that’s a wrap for this confessional. (sorry no video this time!).

How was your Sunday?
Fred