FredMcKinnon.Com

Hello Everyone,

A couple of days ago I posted “Effective Leading” and asked for your comments on two words:
1 - communication
2- leadership

Your comments were incredible and continue to come in.

I’d like to further discuss these as we dive deeper into this discussion about Effective Leadership. These comments are inspired by the time we had in staff meeting and the notes I took from Pastor David’s discussion with us.

Communication:

This is critical. We cannot expect people to follow our leadership if we do not clearly communicate. It’s far easier to under-communicate than to over-communicate. Think about your role as a leader. What are the non-negotiable aspects of your ministry? These need to be communicated over and over to those who are following. As you define your mission and vision statement, find ways to continually communicate this.

As a church, we have asked ourselves these important questions:
1 - Who are we?
2 - Why do we do what we do?

Answering these questions gives some good direction in finding a vision statement to clearly communicate this to others.

Our response at SSCC:

Our mission is to help people discover God’s purpose for their lives as fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. We seek to create environments where people are encouraged and equipped to reach up, reach in, and reach out.

As leaders, it’s easy for us to focus on the “big communication” - like our church vision, our business model, our strategy, etc. Let’s not forget how critical basic communication is with those who serve with us.

As a Worship Leader:
1 - communicate your gratitude to your team OFTEN
2 - communicate your gratitude to your tech team OFTEN
3 - communicate your thoughts and vision for introducing a particular song, or flow
4 - communicate the vision behind actions.

For example, we’re encouraging our singers to make every effort to memorize their lyrics each week so that we can get rid of our music stands. Just giving them instruction without communicating vision is critical here. I have to explain to them WHY it’s important, and the BENEFIT that we’ll have in doing so - both on an individual basis and a corporate basis.

What are some examples of good (or bad) communication that you’re experiencing. Feel free to share your business, church, or personal mission statement that you are communicating as well. Let’s discuss.

For the Kingdom,

Fred

• Comments (5)

Hello Everyone,

We had a great staff meeting at SSCC yesterday and Pastor David (link to his outdated, inactive blog!) shared some of his thoughts regarding effective leadership.

It was good stuff, and I’d like to share my notes, but before I do .. I thought I’d give us a day for discussion.

David mentioned two important words for us to discuss, and what they mean:

1.  Communication
2.  Leadership

As it relates to your field of ministry, work, and relationships, what are your thoughts on each of these two traits?

Start the discussion.
Fred

• Comments (6)

Hey Everyone,

So it’s official. I will be teaching a class this year at the National Worship Leader Conference in Austin, TX. The title: “Worship Planning + Web2.0″.

“From FaceBook to Twitter, Blogging, Social Networking, and Online Communities … how can the web enhance your ability to plan and create great worship encounters for your congregations.”

I’ll start writing the syllabus soon - but I need to hear from you ALL … how has the web, and more specifically, the 2.0 web helped you as a Worship Leader, Musician, or Tech?

1. Leave a comment and share your story.
2. Blog about it, email it, and share it on your links … I need HUGE PARTICIPATION here.
3. COME to the class if you’re attending the NWLC!

Let the stories begin.
Fred

• Comments (12)

Hey Everyone -

Hope you had a great weekend. I hope to get a “Worship Confessional” out this week sooner-than-later. (yeah, right!).

I wanted to give a big “thanks” and “shout out” to our team members at SSCC. They are incredible. We’ve been asking a LOT from our volunteers … the “ask” when we moved from the old shopping center facility to our new facility only increased that much more.

One of the additional “asks” is that our volunteers, praise team members, host team, greeters, etc … all those who are there early, and stay for the morning … we’ve asked them to park off-site about 5 minutes away. We’ve hired a shuttle to run back and forth between SSCC and the Sea Island Bank parking area. Truth be told, I think we severely underestimated our parking capacity.

Yesterday was no exception. Our 11:00 AM service was full, and we didn’t have any parking spaces. So, because of the sacrifice of our volunteers (most of whom have a great attitude about it!), we were able to have spots for people to park.

This morning, I felt like writing a “Thanks” and “Encouragement” to those who served on the Worship Team yesterday. After doing so, I thought it would be good to share … to encourage all of you other worship leaders and ministry leaders … stop, and take a moment to show some gratitude for those who give sacrificially with you. A little “thanks” goes a long way.

Granted, this is specifically for our team, but here it is … I offer this with gratitude and sincerity:

Hey Team,
Just wanted to say “Thanks” for your serve yesterday to the Kingdom of Christ. We had a great Sunday.

I’d like to honor and recognize the sacrifice you all make, in time and energy. In case you didn’t hear, the parking lot was completely full during the 11:00 AM service.

Because you willingly sacrificed by riding the shuttle or being dropped off, someone was able to have a parking spot at SSCC.

I want you to know that your sacrifice and give isn’t without notice. I’m grateful for your generous donation of time and effort. But more importantly, God notices. He sees from heaven. Surely, He saves a great reward for you. With these beautiful works of righteousness and sacrifice, you can know that God sees and rewards you.

Thanks so much for all you do. Going the extra mile. Serving the people so that they can have a great time with Christ.

As I close, I just want to encourage and exhort you … obviously, Sunday AM isn’t always a time when we, as a “worship-leading team” have the luxury to just abandon ourselves in worship. I feel like if we just “lose it” up there, we can’t really be leading others. It’s our time to give - our time to lead … yes, to model worship by “doing it”, but at the same time, we give ourselves to the discipline of playing, singing, paying attention to arrangements, parts, and focusing on eye contact and ministry to those out in the congregation.

So, my challenge is to make sure you’re carving out some time in our hectic days just to “sit” at the feet of Jesus. We’ve been committing the 1st hour of each day here at SSCC with prayer and worship. What a privilege - it’s part of our work day. I’m the first to admit that I realize none of you receiving this email (or at least, most of you) have that luxury to “spend an hour in prayer and worship on the clock”. But I do want to encourage you to find that time - maybe only 15 minutes, 30 minutes … grab an iPod, or a CD, or just have a quiet place … and love on Jesus. Let Him love on you.

I won’t want for us to all get so caught up in ministry that we forget to just stop and love on Jesus. Remind yourself of the story of Mary and Martha. Martha was so busy with life, with activity, with responsibilities in preparing for Jesus’ visit, and she got really frustrated with Martha, because she was more concerned about just worshiping Jesus. When Jesus finally spoke up about it, He told Martha that Mary was doing the right thing.

I don’t write this to suggest we aren’t spending time with the Lord - on the contrary, it’s just a loving reminder to stay IN LOVE with Jesus. As the Worship Director, it’s imperative that I REMAIN IN LOVE with Jesus, and that I challenge, remind, and encourage YOU to do the same. He’s all that matters. He’s everything.

Amen???

Love you all!
For the Kingdom,
Fred

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