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
———–
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.”

Related posts:

1. A Day of Mentoring with Randy Elrod @recreate
2. Teaching on Praise, or UnTeaching on Religion?
3. Giveaway and Review: Donald Miller’s “A Million Miles In A Thousand Years”

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

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

You’ll hear from me whenever I can.

Related posts:

1. National Worship Leader Conference, Day 2 – #nwlc09
2. Join Me for Worship + Web 2.0 Webinar
3. It’s Official – Re:create 2009

Part of the creative discussions we’ve had is how we could incorporate some older creeds and songs.  Today we proclaimed “The Apostles Creed” together.  Now you may be in a church where this is done every Sunday but that’s not normal for us.  In my nearly 3-years of serving on staff as the Worship Pastor, we’ve never recited it.

Here’s how the flow of our worship service went today:

Walk In Song:
“Washed by the Water” (Needtobreathe)
Comments:  I’ve always loved this song and one of our guitarists/vocalists, David Dantzler, nails it.  It was our first time and people really got into it.

Opening Song:
“Glorious One” (Steve Fee)

After a short announcement video, I took about 4-5 minutes to discuss the history and heritage of the Apostles Creed.  I wanted to make this come alive so that it wasn’t some creed we said out loud that meant nothing.  I tried my best to put this creed into context.  It seemed like people were connecting with it and when we proclaimed it together, it was if I were saying it for the first time.

From there, I transitioned with the team directly into the traditional hymn, “Holy, Holy, Holy” in the Key of C.
This made for a smooth transition from “old” to “new” with “Revelation Song” (Gateway Version) in C.
(yeah, I know, some of you saying “that’s not new!” … haha, indeed it’s a few years old now, but still a great song for our congregation!)

After Pastor David’s sermon, we closed by reinforcing what the Book of Colossians was stating … by singing “Center” (Charlie Hall), stating how Christ is the center of it all.

That’s a recap of our services.  I’m sharing this in cooperation with the “Sunday Setlists” blog carnival hosted over at TheWorshipCommunity.Com, where you can see our recap along with many others!  Go check’em out!

Related posts:

1. Sunday Setlists #11 – Share Your Worship Recap
2. Sunday Setlists #15 – Worship Recap, Fam Jam Pics
3. Sunday Setlists #12 – Your Worship Recap

I am discovering a profound truth about Worship/Music Ministry.

Picking songs and leading music is a very small part of what this job is really about. This job … this ministry … it’s really about:
* leading people
* bridging gaps
* listening and learning
* being a peacemaker
* navigating through personalities and expectations
* managing volunteers
* building relationships

Playing the music and leading the singing on Sunday?

That is by far, the EASIEST PART of this job!

Related posts:

1. Worship Leadership – Building Community
2. Culture of Volunteers
3. Holiness, Truth, and the Presence of God

Hey Gang,

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

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

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

Related posts:

1. Tonight – All About Worship Show
2. #sundaysetlists announcement and Night of Worship
3. #sundaysetlists announcement and Night of Worship

Today is the day!  If you’ve been into blogging and social networking at all, Carlos Whittaker (aka “Los”) is no stranger to you.  He’s the blogger over at RagamuffinSoul.Com and we are teaming up with Carlos and Integrity Music to give you a 3-day blog tour of his brand new EP that launched TODAY.

There are 3 songs on the EP:

1.  “Jesus Saves” (hear it right here on FredMcKinnon.Com)
2.  “Rain It Down” (hear it tomorrow, Jan 27 over at Klampert.Com)
3.  “We Will Worship” (hear it Thursdays, Jan 28 over at ChrisFromCanada.Com)

Here’s an exclusive preview of the first song, “Jesus Saves”.

“Jesus Saves”
By:  Mia Fieldes, Jason Ingram and Carlos Whittaker
© 2010 Mia Fieldes/Shout! Publishing (adm in the U.S. and Canada by Integrity Worship Music)/ASCAP, Sony/ATV Timber Publishing/West Main Music/Windsor Hill Music/SESAC and Integrity Worship Music/ASCAP

Jesus Saves by highestpraise

Lyrics:

Your wounded hands have broken my chains
Your holiness has carried the weight
And I am the sum of failing and of grace
You overcame

Jesus saves my Jesus saves
Jesus saves my Jesus saves

Your innocence has covered my shame
Your love has spoken me by name
And I have victory over the grave over the grave
You overcame

Jesus saves my Jesus saves
Jesus saves my Jesus saves

I was dying You came for me
Now I’m living for my savior
Hope is rising up within me
You’re my Savior and Lord

Want a FREE CHORD CHART so you can start singing this anthem in your church right away?  Download it!

Want to buy this song and the entire EP?  Get it on iTunes today!

Related posts:

1. Can you hear me now?
2. BMI and Ebay
3. American Idol – Shout to the Lord

I am actively searching for someone who would be interested in a part-time position in my internet business, HPP Enterprises.  I have an incredible assistant right now but she was offered a great full-time job and needed it … so, I’m back to “asking, seeking, and knocking”.  I’ll be quick to say that for now, the compensation (see below) is not high, and probably equates to around $5/hour, but can increase dramatically once a certain sales threshold has been reached.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO MAKE SALES CALLS.

Suitable for:

* a stay-at-home mom, or self-employed person with extra time during business hours
* someone who is online a lot, and has a few hours per day

Basic Daily Tasks:

* entering orders into distributors’ websites
* entering tracking numbers into order confirmations
* replying to customer inquiries via email
* setting up and managing returns and refunds

Additional Opportunities:

My desire is to find someone who will want to partner to grow this business.  I’m not interested in someone who will only do data entry but in someone who can learn the in’s and out’s of the e-biz (apprenticed by yours truly!) and add revenue.  There are a number of things that can be done to increase revenue that I am aware of, but simply don’t have time to devote to it.

Compensation:

This is a “very-part-time” position for now, meaning you should be able to complete the required tasks in 2-3 hours per day.  (It may take longer when learning, but gets quicker as you get more familiar with the processes and protocols).  Compensation is based on a % of revenue, with tiered commissions.  That means the more revenue the company brings in, the higher % of revenue sharing you earn.  Absolute minimum of $200/month.

Skills Needed:

* Online skills (web browsing, email, IM)
* Excel proficiency (basic knowledge of spreadsheet)
* Available to check on system, M-F during business hours, 9-5 EST.  Could be an hour in the AM, an hour in the afternoon, etc.  Ideal to be available to check and process orders each day, trying to have any open orders submitted by 3:00 PM EST.
* Good computer with monitor, mouse, etc.  (lots of copy/paste, if you are working on a laptop with trackpad, it will be slower and tedious)
* HTML/Web Design skills are a huge plus, and would be used in creating promo mailings, etc.

Interested?  Leave a comment below, or contact me directly.  I will get more info to you and setup an online interview via IM.

Related posts:

1. iPhone is here tomorrow, iPhone cases are here today
2. From the Word – Your Input Wanted
3. My Friday – Am I Ready?

This worship recap is a part of the “Sunday Setlists” blog carnival, now hosted at TheWorshipCommunity.Com.  Visit and see the worship service recaps from hundreds of other churches, worship leaders, and worshipers!

Today was what I call a “float” day at church for me.  I scheduled myself off the stage and free of any leadership responsibilities.  I spent my time doing a couple of things:

1.  Fighting LiveStream:  we couldn’t broadcast live today for anything.  It kept crashing, freezing, and giving us all sorts of problems.  Drove us nuts.

2.  “Floating” to different environments.  I slipped in and out of both services in our main auditorium.  I caught some worship in Rush Hour (Middle School service) and in KidJam (Elementary Students).  It was great to see so many styles of worship, volunteers, and leaders who were engaging with the various age groups.

In our main auditorium, the worship team did a fantastic job.  They did:

Walk In:  We Shall Wear A Crown (Gospel, it rocked)
Opening:  Hosanna (Paul Baloche/Brenton Brown)

Middle Set:
Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Hymn)
How Great is our God

Special:  The Midnight Call … and Todd and Larry showed their singing skills off, wow, they were awesome.

Closing Worship:
You Have Made Me Glad (I Will Bless the Lord at All Times)
Sing to the King

I’m preparing for a big night of worship next week, and hope you’ll tune in with us next Sunday night at SSCCLive.Com, assuming we can get LiveStream to cooperate.

For the Kingdom,

Fred

Related posts:

1. Sunday Setlists – 40th Week of Sharing Worship Recaps #sundaysetlists
2. Sunday Setlists #67 – Worship Service Recaps #sundaysetlists
3. Sunday Setlists #72 – Worship Service Recaps #sundaysetlists

I’m headed out for a 3-day spiritual retreat.  I’m joining a group of “mighty men” for 3 days of prayer, fasting, and worship.  With exception of the last two years, I’ve been able to unplug and pull away in mid-January for the last 12 years.

This retreat is an incredible time.  Each person who attends will write their name on a big dry erase board and write down what they need to hear from God about.  Their visions, trials, struggles, dreams, and needs.  We intercede over that the entire time.  At some point, each person will sit down in “the prayer chair” where all of us will gather around for focused prayer and intercession.

Our fearless leader moved away and the retreat didn’t happen last year so I decided to try and pick up the baton and keep it going.  I’m proud to be joined by some of my worshiping friends here like Shannon Lewis and Russ Hutto.  I’m hopeful that my pastor and some of our pastoral staff will join us as well.

Would you pray for me?  Pray for:

* ability to hear God’s voice clearly.
* confidence to do what He instructs
* God’s anointing and discernment as I bring these men together
* the Gifts of the Holy Spirit to flow through me, so that I can be an encouragement to those who attend
* fresh vision and insight

Thanks a ton.  I’ll be back later this week.  Until then, have fun and be blessed!

For the Kingdom,
Fred

Related posts:

1. Worshiping with the Word
2. Thanks for Praying … I’ve Got an Announcement
3. On Discouragement – Time To Get Vulnerable

I’m packing up to pull away for a 3-day retreat … more on that here …

So … this “Sunday Setlists” post will be quick.

We had a great day of worship at SSCC today.  We decided that we’ve felt too pressed for time and had no room to just pause and make room for spontaneous ministry … or even planned ministry and response.  We had a lot to cover during our “Announcements” segment, especially with all that we’re doing for Haiti outreach … so we pulled a song out of the setlist earlier this week to make room.  It was so nice and wasn’t rushed.

Setlist for Sunday, January 17, 2010

Walk In:  “See His Love” (Tim Hughes version)

Opening Set:
“Your Grace is Enough” — I love to see our people singing out on this one!

Middle Set:
The Solid Rock:  started out with simple piano and chorus, then brought in the band.
Hosanna (Hillsong), led by Liza Odachowski, she did a fabulous job!

Closing:
Russ Hutto led us in “Surrender” and did a fabulous job.  Prior to singing, we just played softly while we meditated on some Scriptures and prayed.  It was so peaceful.  God was moving!

As an extra … one cool surprise this morning?  Sonny Perdue, the Governor of our great State of Georgia right there on about the 3rd or 4th row.  I’m pretty sure he doesn’t read my blog everyday (haha!), but hey … we were honored to have you, sir!

Checkout all the other setlists and worship recaps, and share your own by going to:
http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/sunday-setlists-78/

Related posts:

1. #sundaysetlists – Worship Recap for SSSCC, Jan 10
2. A Worship Recap for St. Simons Community Church #sundaysetlists
3. Sunday Setlists #15 – Worship Recap, Fam Jam Pics

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

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

Related posts:

1. Compassion in Haiti after Earthquake
2. Headed to Peru with Compassion International
3. Peru Trip, Day 1 – Compassion

This one stood out to me this morning:

Genesis:  18:21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.
(context:  the Lord (appearing as a man to Abraham) will go and investigate the city of Sodom to see if it’s really as bad as the “outcry” that comes to him is)

Scholars agree that this man was a Divine Manifestation of God.  He calls him “Lord”.  So, why then, did God have to go investigate Sodom in person to know whether or not their sin was as bad as He’d heard?

My ESV Study notes say:

I will go down to see. These words reveal that the decision to destroy the cities of the plain was undertaken with careful scrutiny of the evidence. This remark should not be interpreted as indicating limited knowledge on the part of God, any more than do the similar and ironic words in 11:5. All that is implied is God’s direct attention to the matter.

OK.  But it still makes me scratch my head.  Huh?  Have you ever noticed that before?  What’s your take?

Related posts:

1. From the Word – Ez 36:26-27
2. From the Word: Receive the Holy Spirit [AGAIN?]
3. From the Word: Daughter, your faith has made you well!

So I have struggled on whether or not I should even weigh in on the big “Pat Robertson” saga.  Not that my opinion matters.  But then again, I think that I do have some insight.  Is it fresh and new?  Probably not.  Has someone already blogged it?  I’m sure.  I just need to get this off my chest.

#1.  Use Discretion.

There is a time and place for everything.  In all fairness (I guess I’ll get flamed for this pretty heavily), there is some wisdom in what Pat Robertson says.  If this whole “pact with the Devil” thing is true (there are plenty of sources denouncing that this ever happened, including some who are devout Christians from Haiti) there could be a huge degree of spiritual oppression.  I believe in spiritual oppression and that it can affect a person, a city, a state, or an entire country.  I also believe there can be freedom from such oppression.  Regardless, you don’t need to sling this in the face of a country who is in devastation and crisis.  Our response should be of love and compassion, not shame and judgment.

#2.  Blow It Early, Lose it Late

I suspect that 90% or more of the people who have commented on Pat Robertson’s remarks never watched the entire clip.  (I have the clip above, as long as the source is available).  Most people heard a sound byte or saw a tweet or a blog comment or a headline … and made their judgment.  It’s clear from the comments that most people didn’t hear Pat’s entire message in context.  I’m not defending him or his comment.  But  … he says everything that he says to bring the final resolution .. the last 10-15 seconds or so, that most people probably never watched.  He says we need to pray for revival, for a returning to God, and then he goes on to talk about how we can send aid and relief, and how we can pray for them.

But … because of the insensitive judgment and remarks EARLY in his interview, he BLOWS the opportunity to be heard later on when he asks people to pray for the country and send aid.  The message:  blow it early, lose it late.  Watch what you say, because if you lose your audience early, they’ll never hear your resolution.

#3.  Disagree in Love, not in Hate

I agree, the timing of Pat’s remarks and the nature in which they would be interpreted was not good.  However, the tone and words in which we (Christians) have expressed our disagreement are far more hateful and harmful to the witness of Christ.  Do we really think that publicly calling a fellow Christian (and yes, despite some of his off-the-wall comments and judgments, I do believe he is a Christian) all sorts of names and ridicules is expressing the love of Christ.  We condemn him for the “harm” he’s caused the witness of Christ; yet, we call him “f*** idiot”, among other things.  “Go to hell, Pat”.  Yeah, that’s real Christian of us.  I expect these comments from the lost, but from Christians?  We’ve done just as much harm.  I think there is a way to disagree and express our disagreement with respect and love, not with judgment and hate.

#4.  Just Because You Think It Doesn’t Mean You Have To Say It

This really goes with #1, Discretion.  But here’s the deal.  Just because you know something … just because God showed you something (or so you think) … it doesn’t mean you’re supposed to spout it out.  Especially on television or the internet.  Sometimes you are made aware of something so that you will pray.  Sometimes, you address a situation privately.  But many times, you say nothing at all.  You water it in prayer, and ask God for wisdom on what to do or say.  You don’t have to say everything you think.  It’s really that simple.

So, was there a “pact” made with Satan earlier in Haiti’s history?  I don’t know.
If there was, could it bring on a spiritual oppression?  I believe so.
If that’s true, is that the cause of an earthquake?  I don’t know.  I doubt it.  There was a fault line under Haiti long before there was any pact made with the devil, if indeed that happened.

Most importantly:
What is God’s heart for the people of Haiti?

God loves them more than anyone could imagine.  He grieves over this disaster.  He grieves over the previous condition of the land, over the poverty, over the corruption.  It’s as opposed to the Kingdom of God as you can get.

God’s heart is to see a nation rise up, to call on Him, to honor Him.  His desire is to pour out his blessings on that land so that they may shine.  His desire is to comfort the hurting, the lost, and the broken.  His desire is to come quickly and rescue those who call on His Name in surrender.

That, my friends, I can say with confidence.

So, comment away.  I’ll try not to censor, even if you are against what I shared.  What I will censor is hateful remarks hurled at anyone.  That’s not what this community is about.

Related posts:

1. Compassion in Haiti after Earthquake
2. Haiti Update Appeal from Compassion International President, Wes Stafford
3. What I Hate about America …

Lots of emails and calls today about the earthquake in Haiti.  As you know, Haiti experienced a terrible earthquake yesterday.  We recently had a “Compassion Sunday” in our church and we sponsored a BUNCH of kids from Haiti.

Haiti needs our help, more than ever.

Sponsor a child in Haiti, or visit Compassion.Com and make a donation to their Disaster Relief Program.

Related posts:

1. Haiti Update Appeal from Compassion International President, Wes Stafford
2. 4 Things We Can Learn from Pat Robertson’s Haiti Remarks
3. Peru Trip, Day 1 – Compassion

CHURCH is a place where I __________________________

(fill in the blank – leave your comments below)

Related posts:

1. Introducing J-Blank, All-Star Youth Pastor Vocalist
2. J-Blank All-Star, continued …
3. Who Needs Church?

Hope you had an awesome weekend.  For those who missed the announcement last week, I’ve officially relocated the “Sunday Setlists” blog carnival to it’s new home over at TheWorshipCommunity.Com.  I’ll continue to post our worship service recaps here, but I’d encourage everyone to go over and see all the other recaps from other churches at the weekly “Sunday Setlists” column which is hosted “smack-dab-in-the-middle-of” the homepage at TheWorshipCommunity.Com.

LINK:  http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/sunday-setlists-77/

Here’s a snapshot of our worship time at St. Simons Community Church yesterday, Jan 10, 2009:

Walk In:  “Glorious” (Paul Baloche Version)
* I first heard this song last summer at the National Worship Leader Conference.  Paul led it and Stan Endicott had a big choir backing him up, and it was just … well, “Glorious”.   The song starts off kind of slow but builds and really grows on you by the end.  It was the first time using this song at SSCC.

Opening Set:
“Love the Lord” (Lincoln Brewster) – a favorite at SSCC
“No Other Name” (Todd Fields, Northpoint Live)
*honestly, we probably “over do” this song, but it’s short, easy, and singable.  You don’t find many songs like that these days!

Middle Set:
Special Music:  “God Speaking” (Mandisa version) with our own Kim Dixon.  She did a wonderful job on this challenging song and the band did a fantastic job covering the arrangement.

Communion Set:
“Amazing Grace/My Chains Are Gone”
“This is the Gift of God” (Carl Cartee)
“Christ Has Risen” (Matt Maher, love, love, love, love this song!)

It seemed that the congregation was engaged and I had several comments about the special music and the closing song.  For the first time in a while, I had a complaint about volume.  This complaint came just before walking on stage to minister that evening which is frustrating.  I’m not sure why folks have to dump a complaint or suggestion on you just before you are about to minister.  For all those reading this who feel like you need to make suggestions or complaints to your ministry team, please … wait until after Sunday.

So if you’re reading this … consider leaving your own worship service recap by visiting TheWorshipCommunity.Com.  You don’t have to blog about it, you can leave your own recap right there in the comments.

Related posts:

1. #sundaysetlists – Worship Recap for SSSCC, Jan 17
2. A Worship Recap for St. Simons Community Church #sundaysetlists
3. #sundaysetlists Worship Review for SSCC, Sunday Jan 24

Top Search Keywords:

fred mckinnon (duh)
palm vs blackberry (I should really write more tech posts, huh?)
nick saban arrested (haha, I love it!)
kate mcrae (keep praying for this little girl)
palm treo vs blackberry (did I mention I should write more tech compare entries?)

As for the Top 50 keywords, I’m disappointed to report that there was nothing super hilarious in there.  I always see these funny keywords and phrases people see in their stats.  My Top 50 are riddled with palm, blackberry, “bad O holy night singer”, and “how he loves us, sloppy wet kiss” references.

Visitor Loyalty:

Well, there are about 40,000 of you who visited my site once, and never returned.  Ouch.

Top Referring Sites:

Twitter, Facebook, and Google make up the Top 3.  No surprises there.

Other blog/site specific top referrers are:
1.  theworshipcommunity.com
2.  sojournmusic.com
3.  sscommunitychurch.com
4.  billychia.com
5.  mikeymo1741.blogspot.com
6.  mandythompson.com
7.  jimdrake.blogspot.com
8.  church.alltop.com
9.  withoutwax.tv
10.  richkirkpatrick.com

Top Posts:

1.  Palm Treo Versus Blackberry
2.  Sunday Setlists
3.  O Holy Night
4.  About Me
5.  How He Loves Us
6.  My Blog – Live Video Feed
7.  Who Are We Kidding?
8.  Loops:  Hosanna by Paul Baloche
9.  Hillsongs:  Faith+Hope+Love Blog Tour
10.  Healer:  Mike Guglielmucci Exposed

So there you have it!  Let’s see what happens in 2010!

Related posts:

1. 2008 Stats
2. Palm Treo vs. BlackBerry
3. New Blog Design, Bells & Whistles

It’s FRIDAY.  YEAH!
I’m excited about today, it’s the first normal Friday in a long time.  Well, normal except I have a sick kid at home.  Joy and I hope to go out and see the Sherlock Holmes flick tonight.  I hear it’s pretty good!  I’m also excited to be able to join a men’s group I do lunch with on Fridays … it’s been a while since I’ve been able to jump in on that!

Today, I thought I’d share a few resources … let’s call it “Things You Should Know”.

1.  A blog reader here recently contacted me and told me he’d been inspired to start his own blog about Worship Arts.  I checked it out, read a couple of posts, and immediately subscribed.  Add this one to your blogroll or email subscriptions:  Worship Arts Methods

2.  I added a new feature on TheWorshipCommunity.Com forums last night.  It’s a program called CometChat that allows a “Facebook Style” instant message client in the footer so you can IM your friends who are online at TheWorshipCommunity.Com Forums.

See?  Go check it out!  (you have to be logged in to chat)!

3.  I just got word that I’ll be kicking off a 3-day “blog tour” (that means I’ll post a review and song, then the next day, another person will, etc.) at the end of this month for the release of Carlos Whittaker’s new CD … so stay tuned and be ready for the very first release, right here on FredMcKinnon.Com on Tuesday, Jan 26th!

Tomorrow (Saturday) I’m going to post some stats from 2009 – where all you folks came from, your favorite posts, funny keywords you used to find this site, etc.   So be ready!

OK – so those are my 3 things … there is a ton of cool stuff happening out there.  What 3 things should I know about?

Leave your comments below!

Related posts:

1. Press Release – TheWorshipCommunity.Com
2. TheWorshipCommunity.Com on Twitter, Hot Topics
3. Friday Kick-Start

Let’s face it.

Twitter and Facebook.  They have really changed the way we experience “community” online.

For a season, you learned what you know about me, and about what I know (which isn’t necessarily all that much) through this blog.  Now, if you follow me on Twitter (which also connects via Facebook) you get a LOT more information.

According to Google Site Analytics and Feedburner Stats …. there are more of you subscribed to and visiting this blog than ever before.  Thousands.  Can I say thanks?  Thanks.

Yet … there is less commenting and community …
I have to confess, I rarely have time to visit many of your blogs these days, but I see your tweets.  Sometimes, I click on them and read your blogs.

So … is this horse dead?  Why keep riding it?  Why keep blogging?

That’s the question I’ve asked.  Soul-searching.  Pondering.

But, I’m still doing this thing called “blogging”.  Why?

Because …

* I can’t tell you some of the stories of my kids in 140 characters or less.
* I can’t ask the questions I have about Scripture in 140 characters or less.
* I can’t share vision and invite you to be a part of in 14o characters or less.

For those who know me personally, I can’t answer the simplest question in 140 WORDS or less, much less 140 characters.  My childhood nicknames were:
Motor Mouth
Mouth of the South

So, there you have it.  292 words to explain why I can’t condense my community to 140 characters or less.

Will you help me make this blog a better community, where we can go a little deeper with one another than 140 characters allows?

Jump in.

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One doctrinal issue that differentiates those of a more “Charismatic” or “Pentecostal” vein is that of the “baptism of the Holy Spirit”.  It’s called many different things … “the baptism” … “the infilling of the Holy Spirit” … “the baptism of fire” … and on and on.  It typically refers to an encounter post-salvation where we receive God’s Holy Spirit … again.

I say “again” because we all agree that upon our salvation experience and profession of Jesus Christ as Lord, we receive the Holy Spirit.  (Ephesians 1:13 says we are “sealed” with the Holy Spirit, Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will be “in us” in John, etc).

Yet, throughout the Book of Acts we see examples where Christians have an experience where they are “filled” with the Holy Spirit.  In many cases, this experience is initiated through another Believer praying for them.

Here’s one such example:

14
Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit.  (Acts 8, 14-17, ESV, YouVersion.Com)

So, they had “received the word of God” … I think this means they’ve received Christ as Savior.  They are now Christians.  Jesus has risen and ascended, and the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Day of Pentecost.  We are “officially” in the New Testament, New Covenant church now.  These Christians received the word just like us.  Yet, it says they had not received the Holy Spirit, though they have been baptized.

Through the prayer of Peter and John, these new Christians “received” the Holy Spirit.  This occurs throughout the book of Acts.

I believe that we, as Christians, can receive the Holy Spirit again and again.  It’s a different type of “infilling”.  It’s not essential to salvation, yet who wouldn’t desire this?

I’ve heard some argue that God used the original apostles to distribute the Holy Spirit in the early church.  Huh?  So, once they die, we don’t get that?  I don’t think so.  Or maybe God was overwhelmed with the exponential increase in Believers, and needed some assistance … the Holy Spirit wasn’t coming fast enough from His throne directly, so he recruited some people to help Him get over the hump?  By no means.

All I know is this.  If I see evidence that Christians are being “filled” with the Holy Spirit … I want “in” on that bonus.  I want all of God’s Spirit.  In me, on me, around me.

Your thoughts?  Join the discussion by leaving a comment below.

Related posts:

1. From the Word: What Are they so afraid of?
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Over the Christmas holidays my Dad and I were having a talk about this Scripture.  (Pause to give thanks for a strong, Christian family and parents who are inspiring leaders in their faith!)  My Dad was saying how this verse really challenges him because his “success rate” of answered prayers isn’t as high as he’d like.  I think that applies to all of us.

Of course, I brought up the fact that we read later in Scripture (James 4) that sometimes the reason we don’t get what we ask for is because we are asking “amiss”, or contrary to God’s will.  (then again, I’ve seen God answer prayers when the answer wasn’t his plan … remember this prayer that God answered “give us a King, give us a King ..”)

This morning I am meditating on this verse.  It would do us good to meditate on it for a long time.   Something peculiar stood out for me this morning.  Jesus doesn’t just say “ask and it will be given”.  He gives us not one, not two, but THREE ACTION WORDS.  There are THREE verbs together here.  This tells me that “asking” alone isn’t enough.

ASK.
SEEK.
KNOCK.  (persistence, right?)

Take for example, a guy who lost his job and needs a new one.  You can “ask” God for a new job all day long.  But I don’t think that prayer will be answered necessarily, if that’s all you do.

ASK for a job.
SEEK for a job, search online, scan the newspapers, ask your friends, post bulletins at your church.
KNOCK on some doors.  Ask people.  Interview.  Submit resumes.  Do call backs.  Do followups.

As we pray and expect God to answer our prayers, think of these 3 action words, and how you can apply them to that prayer.  I’m not sure that simply “asking” is enough.

Comments?  Leave’em below!

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As I hurried out the door this morning in the freezing cold, I almost get to my car when I hear this little voice, standing in the front doorway.

“Daddy, wait, I didn’t get love!” He then gives me that ear-to-ear smile and sounds off a tune on his harmonica. Who can resist such a call!

Man, I love my kiddos.

I wonder how many times we rush off in our mornings and ignore God’s voice. “Wait, I didn’t get any love”.

Fred

Posted via email from fredmckinnon’s posterous

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(Acts 5: 12-13, ESV, YouVersion.Com, emphasis mine)

What do you suppose the people were so afraid of, that they “dared not join them”?

Thoughts?  Leave your comments below, and let’s discuss!

Related posts:

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Well, it’s a new year, 2010 … and to celebrate the new year, I’ve decided to pack up the “Sunday Setlists” blog carnival that has been hosted here for over a year and move it to a place where it will get even more exposure and participation … TheWorshipCommunity.Com.

So from now on, TWC will be the “hub” for “Sunday Setlists” and I’ll be posting our worship service recaps here as a regular person!  So … without further ado, here we go.

Sunday Setlist for St. Simons Community Church
Sunday, Jan 3 2010

It was our first service of the year and we had a limited, short rehearsal on Saturday morning, Jan 2.  As a result, we opted to do familiar material with the exception of one new song, my favorite “Christ Is Risen” by Matt Maher.

Here’s a glimpse of our production sheets from PlanningCenterOnline.

Walk In:  “Everlasting God”
Opening Song:  “Glory to God Forever”

Second Set of Songs:
“Marvelous Light” (led by Shannon Lewis, one of our favorite songs at SSCC)
“Lead Me to the Cross” (led by Michele May, great job girl!)

“Christ Is Risen” (Matt Maher, I heard this song at the National Worship Leader Conference last summer and have been waiting nearly 6 months to introduce it.  I love, love, love this song!  After the services I had more people than I can count who found me to say how much they loved the tune.)

Sermon:  “Above the Noise”, Part 1.
We’re starting a new series called “Above the Noise” – hearing God’s voice through the noise of life.  In Pastor David’s absense, we had Larry Wade, one of SSCC’s Edlers who did the teaching and it was fantastic.  Larry is an awesome storyteller/teacher and really pegged us with a new year’s question …

“what is God saying to me”?

To close things out I thought it would be appropriate to sing “Heart of Worship” which went over well.

It was great to be back!

Checkout the worship service recaps from tons of other worship leaders by visiting “Sunday Setlists”, now hosted at TheWorshipCommunity.Com.

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I believe that Matthew 5 is perhaps one of the more challenging chapters in the Bible.  Jesus’ teaching, “The Beatitudes”, and his explanation of what really constitutes sin ups the ante and is radical.

This morning, I’m especially stirred, challenged, and frankly, somewhat confused by this particular passage:

17
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  (Matthew 5:17-20, ESV, emphasis mine, YouVersion.Com)

We are taught that as New Testament Christians, we are no longer bound by the Old Testament Law.  (think specifically of the Ten Commandments, though there are thousands of other laws and commandments throughout the OT)

Yet here, Jesus seems to be alluding to that very Law, and actually, goes further in the next verses making it even more substantial.  (Example:  don’t commit adultery, but now, if you even think lustfully about a woman, you’ve committed adultery with her).

Guilty.

The only way our righteousness would exceed that of the “scribes and Pharisees” is by grace.  But Jesus doesn’t mention that at all in this passage.  He’s clearly speaking of keeping the rules.

So how does that play out?  Paul will teach us throughout the New Testament that we are not under law, but under grace.  Yet Jesus’ words here challenge us that “keeping the rules” is vital.

What are your thoughts?  Please add to the discussion below by leaving  a comment.

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