Chris MacKinnon's Blog, page 3

Are You Willing to Worship Alone?

Church has changed in the past couple of years. COVID-19 will do that. The good news is we are in a slot of this pandemic where in most areas churches are allowed to be open.

We are glad to be able to get together and feel the power of Holy Spirit connection in one room. For a lot of folks this is better than the online church we had before. But it still isn’t the same, is it?

In my slice of the world we still have to wear masks, social distance, and are not supposed to have congregational...

Tackling COVID-19 Vaccination Questions from a Christian Worldview

Note: The posts on this website are my personal thoughts and conclusions based upon Scripture. They are not endorsed by any church I have attended, pastored, or served in.This is an especially important distinction to keep in mind when reading thoughts on hot-button topics, such as the one discussed in this post.

Christianity and the COVID-19 vaccine. Chances are I already have your attention. These two worlds bounce off each other, all around us, every day.

To say they collide is to impl...

The Fine Line: COVID-19, Vaccines, and Social Media

I stopped myself recently. It wasn’t anything inflammatory or even for/against any side of the debate. It was just math; information based on calculations from other information. Zero commentary. All I had to do was copy, paste, and post.

Are you wondering what it was? Tempting as it was, and is, I had to choose to leave it alone.

Discussing COVID-19 vaccinations is a dangerous game. Just saying the term out loud sets off defense mechanisms on all sides of the camp.

How involved shou...

Is My Bible App Making Me Lazy?

I am a tech guy. I love innovation and possibilities when it comes to technology. One of my friends calls me first whenever something doesn’t work on any of his devices.

As a pastor and worship leader, my favorite tool was my iPad. It is loaded with applications for writing, reading and researching, note taking, Bible study, sermon writing, worship leading, and much more.

When I was a kid my dad brought home a Commodore 64. I used one of the first word processing programs on that computer,...

Explaining and Teaching During Services (Removing Roadblocks to Experience)

Have you ever wondered what seekers feel when they come to your church? One of the most common reasons people give as to why they will not attend a service is because they don’t know what to do or feel like they will not know what is going on.

As preachers and worship leaders, we can help make it easier for people to overcome that hurdle. Sometimes all it takes is an explanation for 30 seconds or less. Doing so opens the door for acquiring the small bit of knowledge to launch a seeker into a ...

The Fine Line: Tearing Down Government Leaders

Today marks 100 days since President Joe Biden took office. Media will be posting all types of statistics to help shape our personal opinion of the President, some of them based on the opinions of others.

It’s a tempting today for people to jump online and look for ways to fill their social media ammunition buckets. There will be posts to rave about the President and others to tear him down. Comparisons will be made to past leaders. Fact-checkers will be busy proving and disproving stats. And...

You can’t be “Pastoral” with Everyone

When you are a pastor, there are two primary elements of your ministry you and the people agree on. You study the Bible and you tell people about it. Whether you preach, teach, or write, most people understand these basic parts of what you do.

Another element of pastoral ministry is counseling. Real counseling isn’t just listening and being a friendly ear to hear about people’s problems, though some who go to a pastor’s office think of it like that. It also involves sharing biblical guidance ...

Don’t Fear Feelings of Loss (A lesson from Good Friday)

Holy week is the most important season for Christianity. So much is unpacked and delivered over these days in the lives of Jesus and the Disciples.

Celebration. Teaching. Looking to the future. Taking advantage of the present.

It can be hard to go through this week from a strictly “in the moment” perspective. We see it all in hindsight, with books and sermons and podcasts and musings of almost 2,000 years. Through all of the good and bad, we process these events through the lens of Easter ...

The Fine Line

To be a Christian is not easy. There is a constant battle between who we could be and who we should be, what to desire and what to turn away from. No one of us is perfect and yet God calls us to strive for it.

At times we walk along a fine line and have to choose a side to fall on. Culture makes us choose. Work makes us choose. Maybe it is family or friends. In a world constantly flipping over or twisting around us, it could simply be the gnawing in our guts driving us to pick a side.

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The “Magic” of Christmas (4) ~ Possibilities

Surprise. Wonder. To see a great magic trick is an enjoyable experience. It sparks something inside of us. And we want to see more.

This is why a great magic act builds to a grand finale. Start with a few basic tricks, some of the familiar ones, and add a little personal flair or twist to them. Move on to the more complicated and test the boundaries of what people know and expect. But to finish off, give them something to blow their minds and leave them wondering and wanting more.

What abo...