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For more than a quarter of a century, churches throughout the country have been inspired by the words and music of V Michael McKay. As a well-respected gospel music conductor, clinician, speaker, songwriter, and author, McKay has dedicated his life to a greater level of music ministry with a passion to meet the needs of the people in the contemporary Christian community. He stresses the importance of biblically-based text with a contemporary music idiom that encourages the congregation to participate fully in music throughout the service.
McKay (b. 1952) is a two-time Dove Award winner and a 2000 inductee into the Gospel Hall of Fame. National artists such as Yolanda Adams, Tramaine Hawkins, Darryl Coley, and Albertina Walker have recorded his songs. His compositions, "The Redeemed Praise" (#8), "In His Place" (#10), and "The Decision" (#63), first appeared in For the Living of These Days: Resources for Enriching Worship published in 1995 by Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc., Macon, GA. In addition to "The Decision" (#388), four other compositions, "The Lamb" (#179), "A Perfect Sacrifice" (#229), "Welcome To My Father Father's House" (#340), and "Koinonia" (#579) can be found in the African American Heritage Hymnal published by GIA Publications. "Koinonia" also appears in Gather Comprehensive published by GIA Publications (#606), a hymnal and service book for Roman Catholic parishes in the United States since the Second Vatican Council, and in the most recently published Zion Still Sings: For Every Generation published by Abingdon Press (#89), a revision of Songs of Zion, a supplemental worship resource for African American congregations in the United Methodist Church.
McKay was music director of "The Church Without Walls-Brookhollow Baptist Church" in Houston, TX when he composed "Koinonia" (see Example 1). The Reverend Dr. Ralph D. West, Pastor/Founder called him late one Friday evening and asked him to...