Hey Ya’ll -

How ’bout that title … basically, this is a quick update to let you know what’s going on with several things I’ve mentioned (or meant to mention!) ….

1. O Holy Night – the saga continues. I spent about 45 minutes on the phone with the REAL “O Holy Night” singer yesterday. I’ll post the interview here this weekend. Plenty of people “claim” to be the real “O Holy Night” singer … and the fact that more than 15 YouTube vidoes alone have people “claiming” to be the real person and the dozens of “urban legends” surrounding it … well, that fact is what made the real person decide to break his silence and step forward.

As far as the big question – “was the singer for real, or just cutting up” ….

… you’ll have to wait.

2. Highest Praise Worship Podcast:
I released a new Highest Praise Worship Podcast last week but was too busy to announce it here. It features 3 cool songs for corporate worship by Barry and Terri Collecutt, Will and Crystal Yates, and Mark Condon, so check it out:
web | iTunes

3. Amazon.Com Saga:
Thanks to everyone who contributed their input regarding the Amazon.Com situation. For now, I’ve decided to run BOTH accounts simultaneously. You CANNOT list the same products in both accounts, so the products that are automated by my inventory source provider are in the original Marketplace account, and the products that I physically ship and sell are in the new “ProMerchant” area. The “new seller” logo is gone, I have my first official 100% positive feedback (thanks, Chris), and have sold 31 items already – so I think it’s moving along nicely.

4. New Blog Alert:
“Thinking Out Loud“, a new blog by the Technical Director of SSCC, Travis Paulding (known on TheWorshipCommunity.Com as dtpuga). Travis and I share an office and he’s always talking about how he has too much work to do for “blogging”. Well, he’s eating crow. Travis is now Blog Boy #2. And it’s a good thing – he’ll talk about life, his baby girl (eta about 3 mos), technical stuff, ministry, and whatever else he feels like discussing. So go over and leave a comment on his first post, and give him some link love. I’ve added him to my blogroll.

5. Christmas – Be Still
I’m very blessed by the strong encouragement I’ve gotten from everyone about recording the “Be Still” album. After publishing this blog, I hope to finish up the final version of “Away In A Manger” and start on Silent Night.

Speaking of Christmas and music – stay tuned, because we’re about to do a CD/DVD blowout on Worship Under the Stars that you won’t believe. (Can you say Abe Lincoln?). Seriously, watch the blog for a package sale that will be an incredible deal.

OK – so regarding, “Be Still” … It’s your turn to contribute - what peaceful, (slower) Christmas songs would you like to see “make the cut” and get on the album?

Have a great day – I may be back over the weekend, but will be at soccer tomorrow AM and the UGA/FL game tomorrow afternoon!

For the Kingdom,
Fred

Hey Everyone -

“Worship Under the Stars” 2006 is officially moving forward. For those who don’t know, this is a large, outdoor worship event that I produced and led last year (which was forced indoors due to a Hurricane). I’ll be leading this event again this year on Jeykll Island, GA.

No need to post everything twice, so if you’d like to stay in touch about “Worship Under the Stars”, visit today’s announcement and feel free to subscribe to the blog update list.

>> Announcement at Worship Under the Stars

For the Kingdom,

Fred

(for those who may get multiple copies … this is cross-posted at worshipunderthestars.com and myspace.com)

Hey Everyone -

Hope and pray all is well with you. I’ve celebrated the birth of my 4th child this month. It’s that time, and plans for “Worship Under the Stars” 2006 are beginning to pick up.

For those in the area, thought you’d like to know that I’ll be “on air” tomorrow morning (Friday, April 27) in the early “drive time” on WECC 89.3 FM with Paul Hafer. We should be on the air somewhere between 7:15 – 7:45 AM. We’ll be giving away a Worship Under the Stars DVD and talking about WUTS2006.

Hope you can listen!

For the Kingdom,
Fred

Hey Ya’ll -

For those who may not be in touch with the “Worship Under the Stars” blog – I’ve just posted an official announcement there regarding WUTS 2006!

CHECK IT OUT!

For the Kingdom,
Fred

Hey Ya’ll -

I don’t normally post twice in one day … it goes to show how crazy things have been. I logged in this morning to “blog” and noticed that my “Worship Under The Stars CD’s are Here!” entry was saved a few days ago, but never published. I didn’t even realize I’d failed to hit the “Publish” button.

So, if you are getting both of these entries at once – don’t forget to check out the other article – my worship CD, “Worship Under The Stars” is finally here! Woo-Hoo! Here’s a testimony I got just this morning:

Hello there Fred and staff! I just received the CD today and have listened to it over and over! I was in Valdosta today and as always visited the bookstore, “The Potter’s House” and bought 4 new CD’s. None of them capture the “Spirit of Worship” the way that this CD does. What an awesome and sweet prescience of the Lord!!! I most definitely want to purchase the DVD, so please send it on! I’m so much looking forward to this year’s “Worship Under the Stars”!

I was out of town all last week visiting Pensacola, FL. I went on my annual “January Sabbatical” – a time of prayer, fasting, and retreat. I’ve been going for 11-12 years now and it’s so awesome. I hook up with a group of about 10 guys each year and we have a serious time of getting close to God. It’s always a time of seeking and receiving. This year was no different.

While in Pensacola, I was privileged and blessed to both lead worship AND teach the Word in two churches:
Coast Community Church [church site | Pastor Robert's blog]
Harvest Outreach Church [church site | Pastor Bobby's blog]

Both of these men of God have awesome churches (and awesome blogs). It was a privilege to minister in their churches and I felt warmly received and blessed. I got to stay with Pastor Craig Walker and his beautiful family while I was there – Craig and I ministered together for 2 years in Vicksburg, MS back in the 90′s.

Lots more to share – but rather than make this a long entry, I’ll just try and be more disciplined to blog more often. Please send this blog to your friends, and recommend it to them. I always enjoy hearing back from you in the “Comments”, too.

For the Kingdom,
Fred

PS: Joy, my gorgeous (and pregnant) wife celebrated her 36th birthday this past Monday. Happy Birthday, sexy!

My Other Blogs, Podcasts, and Sites:
Highest Praise Worship Podcast
E-Business Online Podcast & Journal
MySpace

Dear Family, Friends, and Visitors:

It’s with great pleasure that I announce that after more than 12 years of leading worship and producing records for other artists, I’ve finally released my first, live album –
Worship Under The Stars” 2005. I’m very critical of my own music, but I can honestly say that I am very pleased with the outcome of this record.

The album was recorded “live” on Sept 10, 2005 on Jekyll Island GA. It has a companion DVD that was also made (should be shipping in 2-3 weeks, althouth the CD’s are shipping now). I produced and led this evening of worship which included a world-class band and more than 2,500 excited, passionate worshipers from all across the Southeastern United States. There are 12 songs including 4 originals! (The DVD includes a 5th piano solo as well).

You can listen to samples at HighestPraise.Com.

To purchase, use these links:
CD ($12.95) – shipping immediately
DVD ($17.95) – shipping in 2-3 weeks
CD/DVD Combo ($24.95) – CD ships immediately, DVD ships in 2-3 weeks

DOWNLOAD VERSION OF CD – get it instantly!
The download version of the CD is $10.95 and has all (12) songs encoded as high resolution, 192kbs MP3 files. To purchase the download version, it’s recommended that you have broadband as the file size is over 100MB.

I appreciate your support!
For the Kingdom,
Fred F. McKinnon

I’d be blessed if you’d consider purchasing a copy today!

Hey Ya’ll -

Merry Christmas Eve, Eve, Eve – as we say in our household! Can you believe it’s almost here!?

This Christmas season has been far to crazy for me, and I sure hope I can learn from this year, and plan accordingly for next year. Too many projects were all coming together at the same time. Of course, none of the projects were SUPPOSED to still be on the “burner” this late into the year, but it always seems that things drag on and on and before you know it – it’s supposed to be time to relax and enjoy the holidays, and you’re overwhelmed with STUFF.

I’d hoped “Worship Under The Stars” would be completed and “for sale” by now … but instead, we’re not even in replication. I’m supposed to get the final Audio Master CD tomorrow, and my cousin, John McKinnon, is about 1/2 way finished with all the video post-production. I’m having to wrestle around with getting the graphic design finished – at this point, I’ve had it in the hands of 3 different designers, but have yet to go to press with anything. Today I had to write out all the credits, copyrights, and all the “copy” that goes in the CD cover.

One thing I did get done today was a new “Highest Praise Podcast” for Christmas – check it out!

I suppose the thing that has kept me the busiest is the Christmas buying rush – not for my music CD’s … but for all sorts of games and toys that I started selling last year. I’m just a entrepreneur at heart, and even though I know I should be spending more time doing music/ministry – the practical need to pay the bills and attempt to put a little cash in savings now and then seems to popup and grab my attention. Last year, just prior to Christmas I launched into “e-tailing and dropshipping” – where I have products for sale on two of my own retail sites, and then Amazon.Com (hppenterprises) and Ebay (hppenterprises). The two retail sites are www.discountkidsgames.com and www.thekidmall.com.

Last year, I sold a few things but this year, with 200+ positive feedbacks from previous buyers, folks seemed confident to buy from “HPP” and each day I’d have to process tons of orders. Most everything is “dropshipped” — meaning I get the order and then have a wholesale distributor ship it to the end-user/customer on my behalf – complete w/ my return address and everything. It’s been a blessing to make the extra income, etc.

Speaking of extra income – I’ve also found another “venture” that is quite crazy – yet profitable – for now … it’s called “auto-surfing”, and although there are tons of scam sites that offer “commissions for surfing web sites”, this particular one has been true blue and has been paying out for months. I have devoted a “business blog” to journal my experiences with this, and you can read more about it at “The Entrepreneurs’ Blog“. If you’d like to get involved, all I can say is to “READ MY RULES OF ENGAGEMENT” before doing so. Nevertheless, it’s been another source of provision that has been helpful in helping us “make ends meet” around here.

One of major studio hard drives crashed this week – I prayed for a miracle and received one – the drive itself still had the data on it, and I was able to crack open the firewire drive enclosure, remove the drive, and get all the contents off the drive before sending it back to the manufacturer to be repaired (and formatted/wiped clean) under warranty. All of the “Worship Under The Stars” video footage was on this drive, along with my audio edits and 4-days worth of recording a local praise band from Brunswick in the studio.

So, getting that record mixed, some websites updated (I’m grateful for a few specific clients of HPP Web Hosting who have been more than patient in waiting for their sites to be updated), and some administrative business work finished – maybe I’ll be able to catch Santa in his sleigh and go for a ride. I know Jon Michael, Will, Rebekah, and “?” will think that was cool … and yeah – even though I posted it before on this blog … I’ve been surprised how many folks didn’t know there was a Baby McKinnon #4 on the way – due May 10.

That’s all for now – much to do … we’re having a Christmas Party tonight with our homegroup from church.

God bless, Merry Christmas!
For the Kingdom,
Fred

Hey Everybody -

Happy Thanksgiving … a little late. I hope that you had a great time of thanksgiving. We certainly have much to be grateful for. We traveled to McRae, GA for some time with my family and had a great time. I was able to go deer hunting 3 times, and got 2 deer … so I was thrilled – time for some venison stew, chili, and burgers!

Lots is going on … and I just wanted to take a brief moment to say “hello” to everyone. The trip to Dallas was great – it was a massive learning experience. When all was said and done, we did not finish mixing “Worship Under The Stars“, but we should have the final two songs mixed this week. Hopefully, the same progress is moving forward on the video editing and DVD authoring up in Atlanta.

On the agenda this week:

Staff meeting at my church, Christian Renewal Church, SSI
Trip to Dublin, GA to discuss “Worship Under The Stars” in Middle Georgia.
Finish approval of “Worship Under the Stars” mixes.
Coordinate graphics/menus with DVD authoring team.
Complete 3rd Quarter Royalty and Consignment Sale Payouts from HPP
Staff Christmas Party Friday Night

And that’s only the beginning – so like all of us, the world can get pretty crazy and busy. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, Amen!

Speaking of “Fixing Your Eyes” – consider subscribing to the Highest Praise Worship Podcast – that song (from the Worship Under The Stars event) will be featured in this week’s podcast, hopefully to be released today or tomorrow.

Finally – do me a big favor – someone showed me a really cool site called “Frappr.Com” which lets you create a map for people to “push pins” and show where they are located. Would you take a moment and “push a pin” to show me where you are!

Below is the current map (I’m the only pin pusher right now!) … this should automatically display with the most recent updates, even after this blog entry has been posted.

***PUSH YOUR PIN ***

God bless ya!
FRED

Hey Ya’ll -
I’m about to leave for Dallas, TX where I’ll be spending the rest of the mix doing the final “mixes” for the Worship Under The Stars recording. I’m still a bit overwhelmed, and feel like I’m not prepared to do the “finals” yet, but hopefully I’ll like the sound of things when I get out there.

I’ll be staying on campus at Christ for the Nations and working with Randy Adams. Please pray for safe travel and for super-productive times in the studio this week. Hopefully, I’ll come home with the “master” on Saturday evening which will be used for mass replication.

If you’ve not yet pre-ordered a CD, DVD, or CD/DVD package, please consider doing so at http://www.worshipunderthestars.com/products.php

Pre-Order income will help offset the cost (about $10K +) of the studio time this week, mastering, royalties, and replication.

Also, pray for Joy and the kids while I’m gone. Her mom and dad have come down from Gainesville and will be here for a few days!

God bless ya!
FRED

Hey Ya’ll -

Man .. is it beautiful outside today, or what!? It’s been so hot (which isn’t unusual for where we live) … but today is a cool 65 degrees with a light breeze and a high, clear blue sky. I only wish I weren’t trapped in the “studio”.

I’m hard at work finishing the final overdubs for the “Worship Under The Stars” recording. This morning was very productive, as I replaced all my vocals on “Restore My Heart”, “How Great Is Our God”, and “Though I Can’t See You” … just finished a salad on the back porch enjoying the beautiful weather, and now getting ready to finish the rest of the songs. I know … I know … you’re thinking “hey – wasn’t that a LIVE recording?” … Ha, yeah, well of course it was. But that doesn’t mean we won’t recut some of those tracks again in the studio – although some of it sounded pretty good “live” – when you isolate those tracks in the studio – sometimes they can sound pretty rough. It’s a common practice, believe me. The good news is … we’ll be keeping live tracks, too – and those will also be used when applicable. The drummer, sax, flute, percussion, etc., are all 100% live and don’t have ANY overdubs at all … and of course … the audience mics … all SIX of them have all the live sound on them as well.

All the other vocalists have finished overdubbing their parts – Shannon Lewis has about 5 spots to fix tonight, and Mack Tucker (his father-in-law) the acoustic guitarist has a few punches, and I’ll be “all done”. I’ve been FedExing audio files to Randy Adams all week as he’s already working on the tracks prior to my arrival next week.

Yep – next week I head back out to Dallas for the final mix – I’m really looking forward to it.

By the way – did I mention … I have a beard now? Crazy – I just didn’t shave for a few days, and since I had last Sunday “off” at church (we had some guest worship leaders in town, so I just sat back and ran the sound!) … I didn’t have to shave – and now it’s quite full. Haven’t decided if I’ll keep it or not … but it’s been fun seeing everyone’s shocked expressions when I show up somewhere.

Oh well – this was a nice break, but time to start singing again …

For the Kingdom,
Fred

Hey ya’ll

Hope you’re doing well. I’ve spent the last few days messing around with the live “program tape” of the Worship Under the Stars concert. I dumped it into Apple’s “IMovie HD” program and added some titles, music video text, etc. Then, I saved some clips of individual songs and thought folks may enjoy getting a sneak peak.

It’s important to say that the quality here isn’t that great – this is the live video mix, and there has been no color correction or editing done. Also, the audio is the “live mix” from the house PA – again, no overdubs or editing. The final CD/DVD product (pre-order it!) will be much higher quality!

Here are a few “stills” taken from the video – to watch the videos, visit the Worship Under the Stars – Media” page.

GO TO VIDEOS

For the Kingdom,
FRED

“Back in the saddle again …”

That’s how I’m slowly beginning to feel now that we finished the “Worship Under The Stars” concert last weekend.

Rather than go into detail about the concert and all that happened, I’d simply invite you to visit the Worship Under The Stars site and read the “Post-Concert” review blog entry. Enough to say that it was totally incredible and I can’t wait to do it again.

It took nearly a week to sort through all of the administrative stuff involved in the “post-concert” review – we learned that the whole way we handled product sales, donations, and pre-orders was pretty confusing … at least, to us! Folks who pre-ordered or purchased products were supposed to pay “Highest Praise Productions“, my “for-profit” corporation … and donations were payable to “Worship International“, the non-profit corporation who produced the live event. We had single checks for pre-orders, product purchases, and donations – some made payable to HPP, others made payable to Worship International. Also, we failed to collect S/H on the pre-orders so that was a “hit” I wasn’t expecting.

Nonetheless, I’d gladly have those sorrows over the sorrow of having NO RESPONSE, and PRAISE GOD – we had response.

So what’s next – just trying to get back in the saddle … several things upcoming:
1) the Highest Praise Worship Podcast (3rd issue should be produced this week)
2) adding two new artists to InstrumentalWorship.Com
3) complete revamp of HPP Christian Web Hosting (packages, pricing, design)
4) post-production of “Worship Under The Stars” CD and DVD. (pre-order here)

Today I’m in the studio doing some work on #4 … Randy Adams (our recording engineer at WUTS) has well over 40+ tracks of audio for the WUTS CD. My ProTools recording system currently only handles 32 simulataneous audio tracks (which is usually PLENTY), so I’m having to create “submixes” of the drums, percussion, and house tracks to make room for the other important tracks and the new tracks that we will “add” that either weren’t live or were live and need “fixin”, as we say here in south Georgia.

Thanks for your prayers and support,

God bless ya,
FRED

Hey Ya’ll -

The subtitle of my topic today is “for what it is worth”, and I mean that! My thoughts and opinions on this subject are those … “my thoughts”. I’m open to be wrong or corrected where there is sound, biblical, relevant Scripture to support it.

What am I talking about – oh, I guess I’m referring to all the various “theologies” we hear about God’s involvement in Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters.

First, let me say that I’m deeply saddended by the enormous destruction and loss of life that has occurred. I’d encourage you to donate to the relief effort. And I’d even go further and encourage that you make a “sacrificial gift” – not just a tiny donation, but something that “costs you”. Give an amount that REQUIRES you to give something up. God honors that kind of giving in a big way … remember the widow’s mite?

The Red Cross is a great organization that you can give to:

Oh well, back to the subject at hand – God, and disasters …

This is fresh on my mind – not because of Katrina, but because Tropical Storm Ophelia is now off MY coastline, and it is happening at a terrible time. Worship Under The Stars in the outdoor, amphitheater is scheduled for this weekend, and we need good weather Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Seeing this storm develop has been trying for my faith which has been steadfast for months that we’d have good weather. By noon tomorrow (Thursday, Sept 8th) I will have to make the formal decision whether or not we’ll try to have this event outdoors in the amphitheater, or if we will move it indoors to an alternate venue (most likely, the Jekyll Island Convention Center).

For the most part, I don’t think of natural disasters, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, etc., as being sent “by God” or “by Satan”. I think they are acts of “nature”. The earth was set in motion long ago, and it’s not a perfect world. We have disease, sickness, sin, and yes – natural disasters. I’m not convinced that God sent Hurricane Katrina as “judgment” on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast anymore than I’m convinced that Satan did. As a matter of fact, I don’t remember anywhere in Scripture where Satan controlled the weather. I’m open to being shown differently, though. But even if it’s judgment, didn’t God say that “judgment” would start in the house of the Lord (the church)? (1 Peter 4:17) Yes – there have been prophecies about this happening, but the Army Corps of Engineers said for decades that eventually, a hurricane would hit New Orleans, and they clearly stated how disasterous it would be. Statistically, it was gonna happen some day. Did the Army Corps of Engineers “prophesy”?

And what about other storms that don’t get as much “attention” because they aren’t so drastic. Did God send that tornado that affected a single home? There are floods, tornadoes, lighting strikes, floods, and other natural phenomenons that happen all over this world EVERY DAY. It is part of this natural earth – which is “groaning” for it’s day of redemption.

We’re faced with Tropical Storm Ophelia right now. Some will be tempted to say “Satan is using this storm to disrupt Worship Under the Stars”. I’m not quick to say that at all. From the beginning, we knew that there was an inherent risk in planning an outdoor event during the natural hurricane season. It was a risk that we factored and were greatly aware of. All we could do is obey God, book the date, and pray and believe for God’s favor upon us. But just as God has given us free will to choose, I think God has also allowed nature to “do it’s thing”, as He created it to do. I heard someone say “a hurricane striking land is a natural, bad occurrence, just like a mosquito biting your arm – only a greater magitude”.

OK – let’s move on. I need to clarify some things (for those who are still reading) … I believe God is on His throne in Heaven, and He can do what He pleases. I believe in His supreme sovereignty. I believe that He can (and often DOES) intervene in the natural way of things. We can support this in Scripture where Jesus calms the store, curses the fig tree, etc. We can also support the other extreme where God sent natural disasters (fire, the Great Flood, etc) in judgment against sinful man. However, as I study the New Testament, and the New Covenant that we have with Christ, most judgment that I read about is about a “Day of Judgment” – a great, and terrible day. I see Jesus Christ at the right hand of God, whose sacrifice appeased God’s wrath – not just for Christians, but for the entire world (see 1 John 2:1-2) … yet, they have to accept it. I see most of the bad things that happen as consequences of our being sinful and “outside” of God’s protection, due to our sin and separation from Him.

God promised to spare Sodom if He could find only ten who were righteous. I’m sure there were more than ten righeous in the path of Katrina. If Katrina was God’s judgment for the “sin on Bourbon Street” as I’ve heard over and over, why where the many churches and solid, Christian believers’ homes destroyed too?

Granted, we cannot pretend to understand or figure out the ways of the Most High God. Or can we? We can certainly understand many of His Ways because of His Word, which is forever the same and always releveant. We often hear the Scripture quoted “eye has not seen, nor has ear heard” … but it goes on to say “God has revealed it by His Spirit”.

One thing that I do fully believe. Although these things are set as part of the earth’s natural response, I do believe that God (being Sovereign) can intervene, and WILL INTERVENE. I believe that God’s intervention is often based on the faith of His people, and their willingness to act on that faith, and to simply ASK GOD TO INTERVENE. Furthermore, we know that Jesus calmed the storm in Matthew. Later in Scripture, we are told by Jesus that “we can do everything He did, and even greater things”, (John 14:12-13) so we should be able to cause intervention as well.

I experienced this personally last year – we were doing a Sunday morning “church in the park” on St. Simons Island and a tremendous thunderstorm came in. In the middle of worship, rain started pouring on the equipment and the people. I stopped the song and with a surge of faith, asked the people to begin to pray to God, and to speak to that storm and command it to leave us alone … and it was really supernatural – the storm parted, and went around us. It was if we were in a dry spot, under a tent. You could see heavy rain behind us, in front of us, and on both sides, but it blew right around us and we continued with our worship service.

Regarding Opehila and Worship Under The Stars:
I have prayed and asked God to intervene supernatuarlly (which, ANY intervention of this storm deviating from it’s natural course would be “super natural”). But I’ve done more than that – I’ve taken Jesus at His Word, and I believe that I can do what He did, and even greater things. So, I’ve spoken and said “Ophelia, you go back out to sea quickly and dissipate so we can have this event outdoors”.

I have 24 hours to see it happen. I believe that it can, and have to believe that it will. When I look at the forecast, I quickly relate to the prayer “I believe, but forgive my unbelief”.

Ultimately, my main prayer isn’t about the weather – it’s about me … I pray that God will give me peace and contentment to be full of joy and passion, regardless of whether or not this “storm” obeys our words! We can move our event indoors and it will still be glorious.

Well, I look forward to your comments and input on this … all that I ask is that you prayerfully consider your replies, and support it with Scripture that is in context with the discussion at hand. One thing I know for sure – I know less and less than I thought I knew. God is way bigger than we can imagine, and His ways are mysterious to us many times.

For the Kingdom,
Fred

Hey Ya’ll -

Well, last night I was standing outside in the parking lot at Goldens Isles Parkway Church of God at 8:10 PM … and I couldn’t help notice that there was still plenty of “light”. Granted, it’s getting darker sooner, but “Worship Under The Stars” is only 15 days away, and we were counting on it being dark around 7:00 – 7:30 since the concert starts at 7:00. Since we have a big light show, “kabuki drop” (what’s a kabuki drop!?), etc., we were counting on it being dark.

Well, we arrived at the 7:00 start time months ago … Chris Moncus, who was then working on staff for HPP googled “Sunset Times” and discovered that the Sept 10, 2005 sunset time in Brunswick, GA was scheduled for 18:38 EST (6:38 PM), according to some Navy Tables.

I started getting that bad feeling last night that we’ve goofed – that these “navy tables” we used are either wrong, or we read them incorrectly. Now that I’ve looked at them for the 100th time, I notice the following text at the bottom:

Add one hour for daylight time, if and when in use.

oops.

A search of the “Old Farmer’s Almanac” confirmed my feelings – this site shows the sunset time at 7:38 PM … an hour later than the 18:38 EST the navy tables predict (if I’m doing my military time conversion properly, which now I know I was supposed to add an hour!)

This Daylight Savings Time really messed me up, and not all sites add it in – this further confuses things:
For example: “TheSunRiseTimes ” has a sunset time of 6:38 (like the Navy tables) for Jekyll Island, GA on Sept 10, 2005.

However, SunriseSunset.Com has the 7:39 time listed as “sunset”.

One thing is agreeable – at 39 minutes after an hour, the sun will set on Sept 10. But it’s pretty obvious now that it won’t be 39 minutes after 6:00 PM. I now know that Daylight Savings Time is not factored into some of these charts. Rats.

Oh well – Vertical Window, an awesome, contemporary praise band from First Baptist Church in Brunswick, GA is opening the concert at 7:00, and they’ll play for 40 minutes or so. I’m sure that by the time the concert has finished, we’ll be “under the stars”. Come to think of it … we’re always under the stars … it’s just that we’d like to see them!

Ya’ll come!
For the Kingdom,
Fred

Hey Ya’ll -

Well, today I just kinda felt like blogging … nothing really great to say or share – no huge announcement – no mind bending revelation (ha, like that’s gonna happen!) … just a desire to type, journal, and say “hello” to the world.

It’s around 3:15 EST … and things have slowed down a little bit – God is blessing me with a bit of a “breather” before I take off running again.

So … let’s see … what’s happenin?
Went to Savannah yesterday to see Dr. Fred Daniel of ENT Associates. I started getting this nasty infection in my right ear last Wednesday. It only got worse – I prayed about it and felt like I should try and wait for it to get better instead of just running straight to the doctor – dedicated some prayer time for it everyday … but in the end, I waited the 3 days that I had “in mind” and couldn’t stand it any longer. So, my right ear is pretty much swollen shut and hurts pretty badly, but it’s getting better every day. They put this little “wick/sponge” down in there so the medicine can travel down the ear canal. Hope Joy doesn’t decide to light my wick.

Worship Under The Stars is moving along like crazy. We’re still about $20,000 short on the funds needed to make this dream a reality, so please join me in prayer about folks stepping up to the plate and sowing a financial (tax-deductibe, by the way!) gift to Worship International. Practices are steady and the band and vocals sound fantastic.

Our world changes big-time tomorrow … Jon Michael, my oldest son (will be 5 on August 18) starts his first day of Pre-K school at Oglethorpe Elementary School tomorrow. Gotta have him up, dressed, fed, and out the door somewhere between 7:30 – 7:45. Man, I don’t know how all these Moms managed to do it everyday.

Well, I guess there’s much more I could talk about – but that’s enough for now … the itch is satisfied … but stay tuned.

OH YEAH – hooray to NASA and our brave astronauts for a safe return home today. I told our kids that the “space ship” was coming back, and without any prompting, Jon Michael immediately bowed his head and prayed “Dear Jesus, please help the astronauts get back to Earth safely”. Made me smile!

For the Kingdom,
Fred

Hey Ya’ll -

It’s been a while since I “blogged” … I’ve been totally swamped with “Worship Under The Stars”. As I’d mentioned in a previous post, I won’t be posting daily updates for this event here, because we have a separate blog and website for it … but lots has of new info has happened since …

So, please checkout www.worshipunderthestars.com and see how things are progressing.

For those of you who read this blog, and you’re local – we sure hope you’ll come. If you are from out of town – consider coming in for a great little weekend “getaway” … Jekyll Island is called “The Crown Jewel of the Golden Isles”, and we have some great accommodations, rates, and there would be plenty of time for the beach, golf, etc … so bring it on! Airfares to JAX or SAV are usually very competitive, and you can even fly Delta straight into Brunswick (BQK) for reasonable prices.

God bless ya!
FRED

Hey Ya’ll -

For those of you who are interested in following the news on “Worship Under the Stars”, we’ve launched the site “worshipunderthestars.com” and have a separate blog there just for this event. Rather than post those updates here, I’ll be posting them on the WorshipUnderTheStars.Com site. Other team members and contributors will also be posting. To subscribe, just use your RSS program (for bloggers) or signup via email at:
www.worshipunderthestars.com/blog/index.php

God bless ya,
Fred

Well … here it is … the new “Worship Under The Stars” logo, created by Joseph David Advertising. We’ve been meeting with this advertising/marketing group who has generously given of their time and talent to make this concert a reality. Next step is the development of our posters, billboard advertisements, etc. The accompanying letterhead with this logo is just as sharp! We’ll have the new website updated with the new art direction soon.

Hope you’re having a great week … it’s raining here today!

For the Kingdom,
Fred

Hey Ya’ll -

It’s been a while since I’ve updated you on the initial posting about the “Worship Under The Stars” concert … and LOTS has been happening.

The date has been officially set for Saturday, September 10, 2005 at 7:00 PM. The venue will be the Jekyll Island Amphitheater. We’ve got an awesome band with some great vocalists and songs – it’s going to be an incredible encounter with God!

We were blessed to get the professional assistance of Joseph David Advertising firm who will be developing the “Worship Under The Stars” logo, branding, and our marketing/advertising campaign. We hope to have some logos and artwork to display within 2-3 weeks.

The initial budget to put on the concert, including lodging, fees, lighting, audio engineers, video crew, printing, advertising, etc., is estimated to be around $30,000! We are praying and asking for ministries, churches, and businesses to help underwrite the concert by making donations for the event. My church has graciously agreed to accept donations and I’ve spoken with other churches who have also agreed to accept donations on behalf of “Worship Under The Stars”. PRAISE GOD!

Help us spread the word – it’s gonna be awesome! Hope to see you there.

For the Kingdom,
Fred F. McKinnon

Hey Ya’ll -

Long time no blog … mainly, due to the fact that I spent all of last week on VACATION! Joy and I left the kids at my parents (Me-Ma and Pa-Pa) in McRae, GA and headed up to Myrtle Beach, SC for 6 whole days of R&R … we missed the kids but sure did enjoy the peace and quiet!

While on vacation, I woke up at 4:00 AM with an old vision racing through my mind – a dream I’ve had for a few years – to produce an outdoor worship concert where I’d lead worship with a team of great musicians and singers. I’ve thought about it off and on for a couple of years but never moved on it … until this day on vacation – and I felt the Lord say “It’s time”.

So now, “Worship Under The Stars” has been formed and everything seems to be falling into place. Keep updated here on the blog for more info as it progresses.

The first hurdle to jump was getting the venue. My first choice was to use the big amphitheater on Jekyll Island – what better place to have a worship concert!? I started praying for God to lead me to the right people and to have favor with them … and I felt impressed to look at the Jekyll Island Authority’s webpage … to my surprise, one of the contacts was Kevin Udell … the father of one of my handful of piano students. Moments later, Kevin walks in with his daughter. I mention it to him and he says “funny, we just had staff meeting and were talking about how we could use the amphiteater more, etc.”. By the end of the next day, the venue is secured and the Jekyll Island Authority was so excited about the event that they pledged to help in any way necessary!

It’s been a while since I’ve been over to the Jekyll Island Amphitheater … Valdosta State University usually uses the venue all summer long with broadway plays and theater stuff produced by their drama/theater department. This is the first summer in ages that VSU hasn’t used the venue. It can seat well over 1,000 people and it has a huge stage. The entrance takes you down a wooded path and into the theater – it’s out in the middle of the woods on a beautiful coastal island off the beach. I took a drive to check it out yesterday and took a few pics … see below.

At any case, things are shaping up – I’m forming the band, singers, and the support teams. I hope to secure a lighting crew, video crew, and sound engineers to produce a full audio CD and video DVD of the evening. I’m still waiting on confirmation from the Jekyll Island authority, but the initial date is either Friday or Saturday, Sept 9, 10.

Other than sharing the vision with you, all I can ask for now is PRAYER. LOTS OF PRAYER. Pray for wisdom and guidance and for the rest of the “puzzle pieces” to come together. Pray for the teams we’ll be forming – marketing, advertising, church-relations, media, etc. Pray for perfect weather before, during, and after the event (yeah, it’s the start of hurricane season!).

Until I have more info ….
For the Kingdom,
Fred