Jacob McGinnis
Guest Blog Q&A
Meet Jacob McGinnis. This 26 year old is the lead singer from new band The Turning. Over the next few weeks, Jacob will be checking in with SongTouch to share a little about his life, where he’s come from and where he’s going.
This week, we caught up with Jacob to learn more about this former worship leader.
Stay tuned for Jacobs’s first blog…coming soon!
Where did you grow up?
Being a preachers kid, I have had the opportunity to live in many places. I was born in Memphis, TN because is was the closest hospital to Cotton Plant, AR. Shortly after I was born my family moved to Bristol, TN. We later moved to Chattanooga, TN for the first time.
It got interesting when my family decided to become missionaries. We spent 6 months in Ft. Worth, TX, and then 3 months in Virginia at the Missionary Learning Center. We apparently had to wait to go to Costa Rica, where we would learn the language, so we spent a few months in Birmingham, AL. Our 18 months in Costa Rica were spent between 6 or 7 houses. The Southern Baptist Mission Board decided that they wouldn’t allow us to move to Venezuela to be missionaries, so we moved back to Birmingham, AL.
Three months later we moved back to Chattanooga, TN, where my Dad would eventually become the pastor at Eastwood Church. At age 9, we moved to Chattanooga for the second time. By that age, I had moved at least 16 times, covering 7 cities.
How old are you?
Twenty-six.
When did you first start leading worship?
I wanted to write songs and play music ever since I was in middle school. Matt (our guitarist) and his family started coming to Eastwood (our Church in Chattanooga) when I was 16. Matt was nice enough to show me a few chords each Wednesday night. Many months later, Jeremy’s dad (Jeremy is our bass player) convinced me to sing a song in front of the youth. Between the help of Matt and Allan (Jeremy’s dad) I was able to grow into the role of leading worship.
I was probably 17 when I started leading on a regular basis.
Growing up a preachers kid...how has that affected you?
I realized that being involved in ministry is a very difficult role. There is a lot of responsibility, but there is also a lot of heartache. People can be cruel and mean, especially in a church.
Moving so frequently also had an affect on me. Instead of learning to connect with all the new people I met, I learned to hold back. I was careful to assess the situation before I dove into the new friendships. I built up a wall in front of my heart so that I could be safe from the fear of rejection. This battle has been a long journey that I am still on, and I will go into greater detail in a blog…stay tuned.
When did you form The Turning?
The four of us have been playing worship together for many years, but the band wasn’t formed until the spring of 2001.
What were you doing before The Turning?
I was in College getting a degree with a major in the Recording Industry. If I wasn’t going to play music, I was at least going to be involved in the industry.
Did you always want to be in a band?
I was a solo singer and songwriter during my College days, playing in coffee houses and cafés. I really had no desire to be in a band until it came time for me to record a band for a class project. I knew Matt had a few guys he was playing with, so I asked him to come up to MTSU so that I could record them.
I really enjoyed the dynamic that the three guys shared, and I wanted to become a better songwriter and singer because of the strengths of those around me. So in the spring of 2001, I petitioned to be apart of the band, and after a few weeks they said yes.
Any other random tid-bits about you that a SongTouch customer would find interesting?
I am not an athlete and I can’t really play any of the major sports (baseball, football, basketball, and soccer), but when it comes to random sports (Tennis, Volleyball, Racquetball, Ping-pong, Ultimate Frisbee, etc.), I can almost play/compete at every single one of them.
I am a little bit of a techno geek. I enjoy downloading music and collecting DVD’s. I think that TiVo is one of the best inventions in the past several years. I also enjoy a good video game every now and then, and I wish I had the time to be a photographer, video editor, and Photoshop wizard.