Preface: I saw a “tweet” from Dave Ramsey the other day that said “Business Owners – Share Your Story Often, Your Team Needs to Hear It”.  (or something like that).  I “retweeted” it and decided to do it right here.  So for today, the Worship Leader/Music Guy in me puts on the Entrepreneurial Hat to tell the story of how HPP Enterprises was born.

I’ve always been a little entrepreneur.  I was that kid on his bicycle trying to win the grand prize at school for selling the most wrapping paper or all-occasion cards.  I can’t begin to count how many cases of “Caramel, Almond, and Krunch” candy bars I moved.  By high school the neighbors closed their blinds, shut off the lights, and locked the doors at the sight of my pedaling up their drive way as if I were the re-po man from the furniture store.

Rewind to somewhere around November 2004.  In addition to leading worship for our church I had been operating a music company called “Highest Praise Productions” and it’s web-hosting subsidiary, “HPP Christian Web Solutions”.  That’s a different story altogether … several, actually.  My older brother, Rob McKinnon,  called and his line was something like this:

“Fred, you’re knowledgeable about the web … can you help me find some Lego Bionicles for Ethan’s birthday … they are sold out everywhere”.

That request changed my life.  I googled and searched.  I scoured Ebay.  I sorted Ebay by “completed listings” and saw that every time somebody listed these, they SOLD.  As hard as I was trying to find an answer to Rob’s question, all I could think of was this “new question” that raced through my mind:

“Where can I buy these in bulk so I can resell them”?

Randy Elrod, one of my mentors, has a saying:
“Find where your passion intersects a need and you may have an entrepreneurial opportunity”.  (see his blog post)

I can’t say that I had a passion for selling Legos, but I did have a passion for making supplemental income and starting businesses.  My wife, Joy, often says that if I had a job with a million-dollar salary, I’d still be meddling around in little business opps.  It’s in my DNA.

I don’t think that I was much help to my big brother.  But his request was a big help to me.  My searching quickly turned to “where to buy wholesale toys” instead of “who is selling Bionicles”.  And that search was the beginning of HPP Enterprises.

(be sure and checkout Part 2, “My Gamble, and How It Paid Off“, that will be published next).

After hearing about the much-anticipated, controversial book for nearly a full year, Randy Elrod has officially released his book, “Sex, Lies, and Religion”.

I’ve had the pleasure of spending some quality time with Randy and his wife, Chris.  He’s one of those guys that you are immediately captivated by.  Chris, his lovely wife and life partner is equally amazing and when you hang around them you get the idea that this is how God intended marriage to be.

I got my pre-release copy of this book a couple of weeks ago and was drawn into the story from the very beginning.  The opening scene hits home for me because it is literally taking place a stone’s throw from my home and I couldn’t help but smile, recalling the “personal connection” I had to this book and it’s author.

I won’t go into a lot of details about the book – you can get that information when you buy it and read it for yourself.  Known for beautiful works of watercolor art, many of which are nudes, I began to get a better understanding of Randy’s heart for true art, the physical body, and expression.

What is the difference between nude art and pornography?  This book addresses that topic and many, many others.

“Sex, Lies, and Religion” will be a challenging read, especially for those who are overly religious.  Randy will tackle some issues of sexuality, expression, and intimacy that can challenge your thinking.  He certainly challenged mine.  I honestly can’t say that I’d endorse or agree with every statement in the book.

On the whole, the book is a welcome challenge and I am already inspired by reading it.  Personally, with four young children in our home and decades of religious influences  affecting my paradigms and ways of thinking,  I NEEDED TO READ THIS BOOK.

In closing, I think this book can certainly bring about freedom to so many people who could be in bondage to sexual sins, lusts, or intimacy issues.  Most importantly, the purpose is not just to “improve your sex life” … it’s to bring a greater awareness of our intimacy with Christ.

Curious yet?  Go get your copy of “Sex, Lies, and Religion” by Randy Elrod today at:
http://sexliesandreligion.skyroo.com
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from cre:ate 2.0 Publishing to read and post a review on my site. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 > “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

(this FreePlay Friday logo designed by Russ Hutto)

Hey everybody,

IT’s FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!

During my time of mentoring this week with Randy Elrod, this simple question kept coming up … and I realized, it’s not necessarily the easiest question to answer.

So I ask you,

“what gets you up in the morning”?

(and no, I don’t mean your alarm clock).

Passion – Drive – Purpose?

Hey Ya’ll,

- Many of you know him on Twitter as @recreate
- Many of you know him as the guy who hosts the “re:create” conference in TN
- Many of you know him as the guy who does the “Lifework 2.0” seminars.
- Many of you know him as an author, an artist, an entrepreneur, a mountain climber, a husband, dad, worship guy.
- Many of you know him as the guy who called out Perry Noble last week.  (haha)|
- Many of you know him as a mentor and life coach.
- Everyone knows him as the best customer at Merridee’s in Franklin, TN..

Well …

I know him as an inspiring man, full of passion for Christ and His Kingdom, a man whose eyes sparkle with vision and hope, and best of all, a man who has seemingly undressed himself of the layers of religiosity and legalism that so often cover a person who has been involved in ministry for decades.

This man is Randy Elrod.

I met Randy for the first time at re:create this year.  It was one of those moments where you feel an instant bond, a spiritual connection.  I could “so relate” to this man. I remember pulling Randy aside and saying “Randy, I’d love to spend some time with you.  I don’t need to confess some deep, secret sins, though I know it would be safe to do so.  I’ve just got this constant battle of ministry, life, and entrepreneur blood going on and I can’t make it stop, and I know I’ll never be successful without getting some outside help and focus”.  Half way through my sentence, Randy’s eyes got big, a few more sparkles started flashing in them, and his head began to nod with am emphatic “yes – yes, I can help you, I know what you are feeling”.

So, what do you do when a man who knows everybody, and that everybody knows, offers a day of mentoring?  You book it fast.  You do what it takes to make it happen.

TODAY IS MY DAY.  Pray for us.  Pray for me.

Let’s face it.  Ministry is tough.  As leaders, we are held to a higher standard.  The world is watching and they are eager to pounce on the story when someone in ministry screws up.

The fact of the matter is this – we are all destined to screw up.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not discounting the power of God’s Holy Spirit – the power to transform our lives, and change us “from glory to glory”.  Still, this is a process.  We are still human, and though we have a new “birth” through Christ, the old sinful nature still wrestles with us.

Don’t take my word for it – listen to the Apostle Paul:

15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. 17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. (Romans 7: 15-20, ESV – YouVersion.Com)

We discussed this last week during the re:create conference for a while.  We paint ourselves into corners by pretending we have it all together – that we are living the perfect lives.  We would never get vulnerable and confess our struggles – then, we find ourselves out of a job, crucified, and kicked around.  It happens all the time.  I once even confessed a struggle AFTER I’d sought out counseling and was walking in victory and it still was used against me.  Thankfully, God vindicated that one in my behalf.

So we find ourselves in this “don’t ask, don’t tell” environment.  Don’t ask your staff or co-laborers how they are doing … because truth be told, we’re afraid of what the truth may be.  And whatever you do … “don’t tell” or volunteer anything.

I want to see this culture changed in ministry.  It’s time that we learn to walk in love and trust one another.  It’s time we find people who can hear our struggles and help us wihout us fearing the fierce kick in the butt from the religious crowd.  As Randy Elrod said this past week, “I’m tired of people getting fired by people who haven’t been caught”.

What about you – do you ask, do you tell?  Do you have a safe place?  Don’t fool yourself – we all have issues.  How do we wrestle with them?   By hiding them in the dark?  No – those things that are hidden need to be exposed.

Thoughts?