Allan McKinlay: A job interview which turned into a call from God

Wednesday 4th March 2009

Irvine-based singer/songwriter ALLAN McKINLAY spoke to Lins Honeyman about his latest album and the challenges of having a full time music ministry

Allan McKinlay
Allan McKinlay

Doing music full time may be the cherished fantasy of hundreds of thousands of bedroom musicians but in the Christian sphere, where financial rewards are paltry and engagements, save for Sunday services, thin on the ground, giving up the security of a regular day job income takes a giant step of faith. Yet this is exactly what happened to Scottish singer/songwriter and worship leader Allan McKinlay. And extraordinarily enough, Allan's call from God came in the middle of an interview the musicians was undergoing for a non-music job. He recounts, "The lady who interviewed me for the job turned out to be a Christian and she noticed from my CV that I was too. She whispered to me, 'I'm not going to be in this job much longer. I feel God is calling me to be a lay preacher.' I thought to myself, this is a strange interview! After awhile she said 'You know, I don't think I'm going to give you this job,' even though the interview was going really well."

Continues Allan, 'She said, 'I think you and I both know what God wants you to do,' even though I hadn't put anything on my CV about my music ministry. So I went back and told my wife and she said, 'Allan, you need to do what God wants you to do,' and I went full time about two years ago."

Since then Allan has made steady progress on the Christian music scene and the release of his latest album, 'This Is New', has already brought forth some favourable reviews including one from Cross Rhythms who commented, "McKinlay as a songwriter and performer has the potential to be a standout name in the UK Christian scene."

Born and raised in Ayrshire, McKinlay started playing in church only a number of months after being given his first guitar at the age of 15. The following five years saw him gain experience in leading worship around the west coast of Scotland, mainly thanks to his involvement with the Firestarters youth ministry. During this time, Allan met his future wife Naomi and, soon after getting married, the couple moved to Stratford-upon-Avon where Allan began to lead worship at several churches in the region. In January 2006, Allan released his first EP 'Left Or Right' to be followed up shortly after by his debut album 'Show Me Your Ways' and a subsequent tour.

Feeling God was calling him into full time ministry, Allan and his family made the move back to Scotland in January 2007 and started to ply his trade in churches, pubs, coffee houses and festivals, occasionally supporting bands like Superhero and Yfriday. In addition, Allan was recruited as the worship co-ordinator for the Scottish branch of the Healing Rooms ministry.

After whittling down a selection of tracks from a "shortlist" of 50 songs, December 2008 saw Allan release his second album 'This Is New' with the help of the multi-talented Jamie Duffin, son of Wet Wet Wet guitarist and Foundry Music Lab founder Graeme Duffin. Comments Allan, "Jamie's a lovely guy. He's so talented and passionate about producing and could be an artist in his own right. He's very artistic and has lots of ideas without being pushy. Jamie wants to develop the artist and bring it out of them. I'd work with him again."

Allan McKinlay: A job interview which turned into a call from God

I ask Allan how the new album came about. "It's a collection of songs I've written over the last couple of years," he explains. "I keep a journal and quite often I'll write a song in it about how I'm feeling or something I've seen that inspires me. So, after a while, these songs were building up and people were enjoying them at gigs." 'This Is New' refuses to shy away from candid emotions and portrays Allan as a songwriter who is not afraid to bear his heart and soul. "I felt God was wanting me to be honest in my songs," he reveals. "Sometimes as Christians we can feel as if we have to have the answers all the time but actually it's all right not to have the answers sometimes. Even though the album is about trials and suffering, I wanted there to be an aspect of hope as well. In some cases these songs have helped people get through circumstances and that's what it's all about, really."

One track in particular has provoked a great deal of response in terms of its somewhat bleak lyrical nature. "I get a lot of comments about 'Fly Away'. It's a really vulnerable song and came from a dark place. When I played it to my wife she was really worried about me!" Allan laughs. "The song's about being in ministry and the pressure that it brings. Sometimes people are quick to talk to the person up at the front and encourage them but there's this feeling when everybody's gone home you're the subject of criticism and conversations. There's a line in the song that goes, 'The faces smiling, the hands are shaking but the knives are out.' There's a feeling sometimes of being a performance pony and the feeling of wanting to fly away."

With this in mind, I ask Allan what keeps him involved in music ministry. "No matter how tough things get, knowing that people get touched by the songs makes it all worthwhile. There was one lady who bought my album and I later found out that she had died. A couple of my songs were played at her funeral so to know that your songs can affect people and help them is amazing."

Allan has a healthy realism in relation to the ups and downs of choosing to go into music ministry on a full time basis. "The financial side of things is the toughest thing," confesses Allan. "However, you get a lot closer to God through it - it's a real faith venture. It almost forces you to be close and dependent on God. When we're struggling it pushes us towards praying. I've never felt called to do a regular job."

As well as his role as worship co-ordinator for Healing Rooms Scotland and his duties as a worship leader in various churches, Allan is keen to develop his live schedule in and out of Christian circles. "Although I've not been touring too much over the last few months, I've got several bases around the place - in Orkney, the West Midlands and Northern Ireland - and I'm expanding from those areas. I'm also going to be supporting Swedish band Big Street in this country in April as well as playing in pubs and various other venues," adds Allan.

I wonder what Allan's plans are for further releases, given the positive reaction his latest release has received. "Well, I'd love to record a live worship album," offers Allan. "I've got this almost hidden secret prayer to do a worship album. I feel there's a real lack of a live worship scene in Scotland. I'm not saying it would be down to me but it would be great to see something happen." In closing Allan says, "I'm always writing songs so hopefully there will be plenty more albums," - a prospect that more and more people being touched by Allan's powerful ministry will find encouraging. CR

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.
About Lins Honeyman
Lins HoneymanLins Honeyman is a Perthshire-based singer/songwriter and currently presents The Gospel Blues Train on Cross Rhythms Radio on Saturday nights from 11pm and on Listen Again.


 

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