JeffCranstondotcom

Who is Franck Eggelhoffer?

Love and marriage are wonderful. Until it happens to your only daughter.

One of our family's most-quoted movie lines is from the film, "Father of the Bride." Steve Martin plays George Banks, the bride's father. His stress level over his daughter's upcoming nuptials has put him over the edge. The wedding planner, Franck Eggelhoffer, masterfully played by Martin Short, "helps" him by giving George some of his own sleeping pills. When Frank discovers George has taken too many, he replies, "Bye-bye, George. See you next Thursday!"

So, in the best spirit of the paraphrase, I declare, "Bye-bye; see you next Monday." I'm off traveling this week from Hilton Head, to Raleigh, to Baltimore, then Long Island, N.Y., to visit Sagamore Hill, and to see Lauren, and then back home again. I'm not planning to update the blog but if something strikes my fancy - and it usually does - I'll share it.

(If you know what Sagamore Hill is, you're my hero...if not, and your curiosity has got the best of you, follow the link above.)

Podcasts I Like

Podcasts are cool things. I can take my iTunes pretty much anywhere and spend time listening, laughing, and learning.

Here are the podcasts I am listening to presently...

- Church Leader Insights with church planter Nelson Searcy.

- Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast. This is part teaching and part Q&A. Always excellent.

- A Prairie Home Companion: Garrison Keillor's weekly stories about life in Lake Wobegone. A good communicator is a good story-teller and Keillor is one of the best.

- Columbia International University: My alma mater posts its chapel messages. Josh McDowell, Gov. David Beasley, Sinclair Ferguson, Phillip Yancey, and Geoff Surratt among many others. 

- The Dave Ramsey Show: Dave tells it like it is in the area of finances. Love this guy!

- Menlo Park Presbyterian Church: Senior Pastor John Ortberg is becoming one of my favorite teachers/preachers. Love his humor and application of Scripture.

- NewSpring Church Audio: Pastor Perry Noble is one of the most honest communicators you will ever hear. And folks world-wide will attest to that!

- NPR's Car Talk: Click and Clack, the Tappit Brothers. America's funniest mechanics. If you've never listened to one of their shows, listen! You'll be a fan before you know it ... and you might learn something along the way.

- Travel With Rick Steves: Rick is one of the top travel gurus in the world. He's taught me how to travel across the globe without ever checking a bag!

There they are. What are your favorites podcasts? Help me out here; I don't want to be missing something worth knowing about that's out there!

Monday Morning Reflections

- My last blog post commented on the heat: high 90s with high humidity. I'll never do that again!

- The A/C was out in the worship center yesterday. It was brutally hot and reminded me of preaching in India. Everyone maintained a fairly positive attitude and we shortened the services somewhat. I knew the stage lighting added some heat, but I could actually feel the lights yesterday.

- It also reminded me of the summer of 2000. We were the Church at Hilton Head then and were meeting at Hilton Head Middle School. They were "working" on the school's A/C and we went without in July and August for six weeks. That's when I stopped wearing ties.

- Yesterday was also my tenth anniversary as pastor of LCC. We moved here in May of '99 and my first Sunday was Father's Day in June. LCC and her elders surprised me with a Kindle. THANK YOU! I will wear this thing out; it's a fantastic gift. My first book purchase has already been made: The Lamb and the Fuhrer by my friend Ravi Zacharias.

- It's been a truly wonderful experience. And ten years has brought back many memories. The following is a memory mind dump ...

- setting up and tearing down for years ... the summer without A/C ... coming to a church that was essentially re-launching ... being embraced by a loving core group of God's people ... wondering if we would ever get it off the ground ... worrying if my girls (not to mention Darlene and I!) would make the adjustment from a healthy church with children's and youth ministries to a somewhat unhealthy church without children's and youth ministries (or much else at that time) ... reading through all of the elder meeting notes in my second month, coming home ashen-faced, Darlene asking, "What's wrong?" and me saying, "What have I done in taking this church?"

- Our first beach baptisms behind the Marriott with pizza and testimonies ... our "Christmas With Elvis" outreach ... trying to decide whether to cancel church when we had a mandatory mid-week evacuation in September of '99 (we didn't) ... Come to the Manger, our annual Christmas outreach drama/musicals at Lawton Stables where thousands attended ... breaking the 250 in attendance barrier for the first time ... meeting for various worship/prayer/discipleship meetings at Spring Lake Clubhouse, HHCA, Main Street Theatre, Island Lutheran Church, Central Church, and anywhere else that would hold us

- ... exceeding 500, 750, and 1000, 1500, and 2000 in attendance for the first times ... hiring some really great people ... seeing our own people being touched by God and following His lead to minister overseas ... offering prayer to people for healing after a message one Sunday, seeing the aisle immediately fill up as they responded, and me holding my hands out and saying, "What a minute!" (I didn't know how we were going to pray for that many people!) ... our first Sunday in the new Bluffton facility ... announcing we were going to start a campus on Hilton Head the first day in the new facility and one of our dear church people saying, "Can't we even enjoy the new building for one day?" ... the elder prayer meeting seeking God's will at what is now the Hilton Head Island campus ... the first worship service of the HHI campus ... the first service in our HHI campus facility ... Serve Day when we shut church down and scattered into our communities to serve God and people ...

- so, so much more.

- But most of all my memories revolve around people. I've had a front-row seat and seen hundreds and hundreds of people come to faith in Jesus, seen marriages healed, children dedicated to God, hundreds of folks baptized, 900 LCCers serve our communities in one Sunday morning ... and I could go on and on.

- LCCers, thank you for the privilege of allowing me to serve Jesus and you as Pastor of LCC. It's a fantastic place to be, a place where God really is working in the hearts and lives of people, and the place where I desire to finish out my pastoral ministry.

- Here's to another ten year run. What do you say? Let's reach one more for Jesus - every day.

It's HOT!

5-Day Forecast for Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday
99° F | 77° F	97° F | 76° F	92° F | 72° F	90° F | 72° F	90° F | 74° F
Clear	Partly Cloudy	Chance of T-storms 20% chance of precipitation	Chance of T-storms 20% chance of precipitation	Partly Cloudy

(Glad I'm Going to Heaven!)

A Few of My Favorite Things

Reading Jenni Catron's post today got me thinking about my favorite things regarding summer. Here's my list off the top of my head - in no particular order.

- Baseball

- Boating/tubing/wakeboarding with the fam and friends at Lake Marion.

- Catching up with friends from years gone by who usually visit Hilton Head for some holiday time. I love getting those, "Hey, we're in town! Whatcha doing?" phone calls.

- Corn on the cob ... steak on the grill.

- Fireworks.

- Driving out in the country somewhere with all the windows down and Alan Jackson turned up.

- Freezing in the office all day then getting in the truck where it's got to be 110 degrees, and just thawing out for a few minutes.

- Beach baptisms.

- Cook-outs.

- Vacations.

- Taking walks around my neighborhood, your neighborhood, or the beach.

- Sunshine, green grass, and the smell in the air after a late afternoon rain shower.

Okay, this is starting to get cheesy, and before I make myself sick, what are your favorite things about summer?

Monday Morning Reflections

- Good morning!

- Since it's summer and it's incredibly hot here - I, along with thousands of other pastors - tend to fear the "summer slump". We may have felt it a little bit yesterday in attendance at Bluffton - but not at the HHI campus! They had one of their highest "regular" Sunday's.

- And we're certainly going to keep pouring it on and reaching more and more people for Jesus. We have what I think are two of our most informative and challenging sermon series ever this summer.

- We started yesterday with "Speak God." We've undertaken a five-week study through the Lord's Prayer from Matthew 6. I am loving this already! We had a great time yesterday beginning to unpack this beautiful, poetic, and majestic teaching.

- Jesus tells us that when we pray, we are to begin with worship. "Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name..." Only when we know Him as our heavenly Father, can we truly and authentically worship Him. Author Larry Crabb wrote, "Efforts to first worship God without getting to know Him tend to reduce worship to mere appreciation when God cooperates with our agenda." Wow...

- And yes, I did quote M. C. Hammer yesterday!

- When this is completed, we will present a series called, "Got Questions?"  We've asked our people to submit biblical questions they have always wondered about and have wanted answers to. This should be interesting, don't you think?

- Get involved! Submit your question here.

- Do you Twitter? (Don't comment if you do!) I still don't get it. Half the time I bore myself with my own life; why would I want to do that to other people? Must be a generational thing ... could I be getter old?! Perish the thought...

- I watched the HBO series about John Adams on DVD a couple of weeks ago. If you are a fan of American history, see this. It was incredible. One of the highlights of it for me was the interview with historian David McCullough. The series was based on his book. The dude is incredible.

- Now I'm reading a new biography of Andrew Jackson. What a character he was! (See my "Currently Reading" list here. (Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong century...)

- Watched "Lonesome Dove" on TV last night. This is one of the greatest cowboy movies ever! Probably didn't get a lot of sermon material out of it, but I could ... redemption, justice, death, life, vision, good vs. bad ... it has it all.

- I've read many times that Mother's Day is one of the highest church attendance Sunday's of the year, but that Father's Day is one of the lowest. Why is that? Hey, invite Dad to church this weekend!

Studying the Word

Interested in knowing more about God's Word? On June 21 & 28, at 10:00 a.m. at our Bluffton campus, Barb Turner will be leading a class called, "How to Study the Bible." The class will also be offered at our Hilton Head Island campus on Monday nights, July 20 & 27, at 6:30 p.m.

Barb is a fantastic teacher and will share several skills to help you go deeper in your study of the Bible. This class is for you if you want to be able to spiritually feed yourself for the rest of your life!

Contact Pastor Brian Rose  for more information or to register.

How to Identify a Leader - Part Six

#6 - A Potential Leader Will Solve Problems Well.

When St. Petersburg, one of the most splendid and harmonious cities in Europe, was being laid out early in the 18th-century, many large boulders brought by glaciers from Finland had to be removed.

One particularly large rock was in the path of one of the principal avenues that had been planned, and bids were solicited for its removal. The bids submitted were very high; understandable, because at that time modern equipment like we have today did not exist and there were no high-powered explosives.

As officials pondered what to do, a peasant presented himself and offered to get rid of the boulder for a significantly lower price than those submitted by other bidders. Since they had nothing to lose, officials gave the job to the peasant.

The next morning he showed up with a crowd of other peasants carrying shovels. They began digging a huge hole next to the rock. The rock was propped up with timbers to prevent it from rolling into the hole.

When the hole was deep enough, the timbers were removed and the huge boulder dropped into the hole below street level. It was then covered with dirt, and the excess dirt was carted away.

It's an example of what creative thinking can do to solve a problem. You can judge leaders by the size of the problems they choose to tackle. People almost always pick a problem their own size. Potential leaders will find other ways to move boulders; ways which others have not considered.

 

How to Identify a Leader - Part Five

#5 - Potential Leaders Will Work Well Under Pressure

When I was in high school, my buddies and I enjoyed bowling. We'd head to the alley's on Sunday afternoons and then try to break 200. Then we'd brag about how good we thought we were all week. (We needed to get some real lives, didn't we?) My high score is a 219; a score which I have barely exceeded on Wii bowling ... (my daughter, Tiffany, kills us all in Wii bowling!)

Odds against rolling a perfect 300 game are 225,000 to one. Not good odds, are they? Those who near that perfect score say they really begin feeling the pressure the closer they come to the pinnacle of bowling perfection. I read about one bowler in Campus Life magazine some years ago who was one strike away from a perfect game. His lifelong dream was within his grasp. Just one more strike! The inner pressure he felt became so great that he silently packed up his shoes and ball - and left the bowling alley. He never bowled again in his life!

The value of a potential leader lies in what they can do and what they can endure. You will notice that potential leaders have the ability to thrive under pressure. They are risk-takers, willing to try something that may even seem impossible to them.

Do you want to find and develop a good leader? Then find someone like this and invest in him or her. Someone willing to hang in there when times get tough and the pressure starts to build. A potential leader will begin to thrive in conditions like these.

Monday Morning Reflections

- I think yesterday at LowCountry was best summed up by my buddy, Jamie. He was on his way back to his seat after taking communion, looked at me and said, "Y'know, Jeff, I just think God is doing something really cool in this church." I couldn't agree more, buddy.

- We took today's services at both campuses and themed them around communion. The songs, the Scripture, the interaction -  all pointed to Christ's sacrifice.

- Many stood for prayer. It was cool to then see those seated nearby encircle their brothers and sisters to pray for them.

- Our elders and pastors were on hand to anoint people with oil, (James 5), and pray for those who desired it. The depth of hurt and pain some of our friends carry is always incredible to me. But even more incredible is the depth of God's love and grace.

- Great to see the office lounge filled with newcomers checking out LCC and moving toward membership.

- We were back to three Sunday morning services today...haven't done three in a row since February. Came home after lunch, laid down, and slept the sleep of the righteous. Three services kick my tail.

- We begin a new series this weekend called, "Speak God." We'll unpack the Lord's prayer from Matthew over the next five weeks. It's gonna be great...can't wait! Why not read and pray the Lord's Prayer right now and start preparing your heart for all He wants to teach us?

- Right now my heart is breaking over the news of a colleague and friend who has been pastoring a thriving, five-year-old church plant of over 1000 in Georgia. He confessed to an extra-marital relationship yesterday and has resigned. He has a wife and two children. He's well-known among church-planting circles and has been used by God in such tremendous ways.

- In the last two months hundreds of people have come to faith in Jesus Christ and this church baptized over 100 people. They have no building, rented offices, the whole "church-in-a-box" thing that we did for so many years. And they are really kicking a dent in hell. But hell has kicked back.

- Please pray for this family, who I am choosing not to name. And please - stand against the wiles and snares of the evil one for me and every other pastor and Christian worker you can think of. He is seeking whom he may devour.

- But "greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world."














- I took the above photo last week while out in Calibogue Sound. Dolphins came over to the boat, the sun was setting and all was right with the world for that brief moment of time. Thank God for those gifts, huh?

- Reach one more for Jesus this week.