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A Rained-Delayed Baseball Game = Fun!

This is fun!

During a two-hour plus rain delay back on May 17, the Clemson Tigers and Davidson Wildcats provided what fans were left with a few laughs. Sit back and enjoy. Go Tigers!

Jamaica and a Silent Auction

Whether you are local, national, or international reader of this blog, you can help send our LCC students to Jamaica this summer for a mission experience unlike any other!

If you're local, the auction is THIS Sunday night, May 29, from 6-8PM at the Bluffton campus.

All proceeds go to our High School/College Jamaica Missions team.

Over 150 items including: more than 50 local restaurants, great golf (Berkeley Hall, Daufuskie Island, Hilton Head Island courses, etc.), overnight packages, beauty treatments, and a host of other items!

Want to get involved?

1. Come to the auction this Sunday night (great desserts and coffee too!).

2. BID ONLINE!  You can view, bid, and buy items online ahead of time if you can’t make it on the 29^th!

Thanks for helping to make this trip a reality for our students!

What's On at LCC!

This is a very busy season of ministry for both campuses of LowCountry Community Church. Check out what's going on, then jump in!

PAVING THE WAY! I announced this past Sunday that our Bluffton campus is seeking to raise $350,000 over the next five weeks. These monies will be used for the following:
- the addition of approximately 120 new paved parking spaces
- a new entrance/exit on McCracken School Rd. across from Bluffton High School
- clearing trees along McCracken School Rd. and Buckwalter Pkwy. opening up the line of sight to our existing facility
- a prominent new LCC road sign fronting our property on Buckwalter Pkwy.

This one-time cash offering will be received on June 26th. Please pray!

BUMPER CROP (Food Drive) was this past Sunday. Thank you for participating. You gave heaps of food which was distributed this week to four local food banks. Your generosity in helping others is amazing! And speaking of generosity...

SAMARITAN'S PURSE: A few Sunday's ago, we announced that 10% of that day's offering would be given to Samaritan's Purse for tornado relief here in the South. Thank you for giving over $5,200 toward that end!

FINANCIAL PEACE UNIVERSITY began this week on Monday at 6:30 pm at our Bluffton Campus.  FPU is a life-changing program that teaches you how to make the right decisions with your money. You’ll be empowered with the practical skills and confidence needed to achieve your financial goals and experience true financial peace! The cost is $110.00 per family and includes many resources. REGISTER TODAY! It's not too late! Child-care is available. CLICK HERE to register.

SILENT AUCTION, May 29 at 6 p.m. Join us for at the LCC Bluffton Campus for free desserts & coffee and to bid on great items like local dining, golf, entertainment, vacation packages and much more. All proceeds go to this summer’s LCC’s High School/College mission trip to Jamaica.  Out -of-town? No worries. Online bidding is up and running at: thewaylcc.com.

NEW SERVICE TIMES STARTING SUNDAY, JUNE 5! We are moving to two services at the Bluffton Campus beginning June 5.  Our new service times will be 9:30 & 11:00 a.m. Mark your calendars!

LOWCOUNTRY BUILD TEAM - Join us for a mission trip to…Beaufort County! This will be a full mission trip experience, except you sleep in your own bed. We will be helping struggling people right here in our own community. Building experience is helpful, but not necessary. Just be willing to work hard and help us change a family's future.  CLICK HERE for more information.

PROMISELAND SUMMER CAMPS! Check out all the information on our three summer camps for kids ages 4-11. CLICK HERE to register!

And, finally ...

Our local newspaper, the Island Packet, ran an article on churches that were either not in debt or trying to get out of debt. LCC was prominently mentioned. If you'd like to read the brief article, click here.

You Think You Know? Answer

First of all, let me thank you for playing along with last Friday's brain teaser. Dozens of you chimed in with your answers. I know this has been driving some of you nuts, so...

Here's the answer to last Friday's brain teaser: 48

Here's how we arrive at 48. Let's start at 12 noon. We clearly don't have anything at 12 noon. The first time which fits our answer is 12:11. There are three ones. 

The question didn't say that only three numbers are repeated, but three numbers are in the time, such as are in 12:11. With me?

So 12:11 has three ones and 12:22 has three twos.

And the next ones are 1:11, 2:22, 3:33, 4:44, 5:55, and then nothing happens for a long time, until 10:00, and that's one that a lot of people miss: 10:00 has three zeroes.

(I can hear you screaming from here!)

And then, of course, there's 10:11 and then 11:01. And here's one that people miss all the time, 11:10. And then of course, 11:11 has four, but even though it has four, it has three, so it counts.

And then 11:12, :13, :14, :15, :16, :17, :18, :19, :21, :31, :41, :51, and that adds up to 24.

So, from 12 noon to 12 midnight, we've got 24. Therefore, in a 24-hour period, we have a total of...

48!

Six of you guessed the correct answer, but the person who got it first was (drumroll, please): Cari Dollar!

(Applaud now!) And so, the heartiest of congratulations goes to you, Cari. An autographed copy of one of my weighty tomes will be winging its way toward you shortly.

And now for the source of this riddle ... Thanks to the website www.cartalk.com. Click and Clack, the "tap it" brothers, (Ray and Tom) have a PBS radio show which can be heard every Saturday morning called Car Talk. Each week they have a riddle of some type. The one we attempted was on one of the recent shows.

Have a great day!

You Think You Know?

I haven't posted a brain tickler here in a long time. Let's see how well you do. This should be fun and get your weekend started off.

These days, almost every automoble on the road has a digital clock, which gives the hour and the minute, but not the second. At various times of day, such as five minutes before six, the clock will display three of the same digit. For example 5:55.

Here's the question: How many times during the course of a complete day (24-hours) does a car's digital clock display a time that has three of the same digit?

Ok, see if you can get this without going to Wikipedia, general internet knowledge, or the brainy tenth-grader who lives on your block. And this question pre-supposes that the clock is NOT on military or European time.

Hint: Pay very close attention to the question. (duh!)

The person with the first correct answer will win an autogrpahed copy of my book, "Happily Ever After". If you already have that, and can't fall asleep at night anyway, I will award you with my booklet on Islam. If you already have both of those, then you're going to have to settle for the knowledge that you bested some of the brightest minds in the world - or at least the few hundred people who subscribe to my blog!

The deadline is Monday, 23 May, at 12 noon (EST). The answer will be posted on my blog site shortly after. I'll also share the source of the question and the answer with you.

Good luck!

Leaders and the Pecking Order

In his book Descending Into Greatness, author and pastor Bill Hybels notes: "Take ten chickens, any ten.  Put them in a pen together, and spread a little chicken feed.  In short order, you will witness an amazing phenomenon.  

In a matter of minutes, the chickens, previously strangers, will form a hierarchy based on dominance or, in everyday language, they will establish a Pecking Order.  Instinctively, they will determine, through a series of skirmishes, who the Number One chicken will be; then the Number Two; the Number Three; all the way down to the unlucky Number Ten chicken.

Much is at stake in this dance of domination.  Chicken Number One pecks at and intimidates Chicken Number Two, without experiencing any kind of retribution from Chicken Number Two.  Chicken Number Two will take it from Chicken Number One but will turn around and peck away at Chicken Number Three, who will in turn, take out its frustration on Chicken Number Four.  

The Pecking Order continues all the way down to Chicken Number Ten, who, needless to say, has a pretty miserable life - pecked but no one to peck."

I (Jeff) might add, "and maybe even pecked to death."

This phenomenon of the Pecking Order does not belong exclusively to chickens.  We see it today very clearly in the business world.  But the truth is, it's not just in the business world but everywhere.  It happens at family picnics, parties, class reunions, sporting events, conventions, and the Church.

Get a bunch of pastors or church leaders together and invariably the conversation will get around to just a few questions. “So where do you pastor? What is your position? How many people attend your church? How big is your staff?” Some even ask, "How big is your budget?"  And the larger your numbers, the higher you rise in their eyes.

Church leaders, pastors, missionaries, and church workers, lining up in the order.  The truth is no one is immune to this phenomenon.

We all have the tendency to look at others in terms of their profession, education, wardrobe, car, and home, all with the subconscious mind-set of fitting them into the Pecking Order.

So, what’s the problem? After all, isn't it just a natural occurrence?  

Here is the problem. Every time the disciples of Jesus tried to set up a Pecking Order, Jesus rebuked them and taught them they needed to be servants.  

“Within minutes they were bickering over who of them would end up the greatest. But Jesus intervened: 'Kings like to throw their weight around and people in authority like to give themselves fancy titles. It's not going to be that way with you. Let the senior among you become like the junior; let the leader act the part of the servant.'” (Luke 22:24-26)

Image: Jody Campbell, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Florida

Hudson Taylor On God's Provision

The great English missionary statesman, Hudson Taylor (1832-1905) was a missionary to China. He founded the China Inland Mission, which at his death included 205 mission stations with over 800 missionaries, and 125,000 Chinese Christians.

Taylor was a man who lived by faith and understood God's provisionary care for His children. One of our LCC elders, Bill Clark, recently passed this quote along to me. Leading a church that has decided to live debt-free means that we have to rely on God to provide for every penny - up front - on every major initiative that we do. Our Hilton Head Island campus is in the midst of this faith step right now. The following truth is one I need to memorize!

"It really is just as easy for God to give beforehand, and He much prefers to do so. He is too wise to allow His purposes to be frustrated for lack of little money, but money obtained in unspiritual ways is sure to hinder blessing."
- (Hudson Taylor in Early Years: The Growth of a Soul, Dr. & Mrs. Howard Taylor)

Monday Morning Reflections

It was a great day at LowCountry yesterday!

- I informed our people that I will be making a MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT this coming Sunday regarding LCC-Bluffton's future. It is God-sized and exciting!

- We had a tremendous time of worship, and I always like it when our Worship Community (choir) leads us. Their love of singing, joy, and desire to lead others in worship is contagious. Thanks, everyone!

- I gave the third message in a five-part series called Automate the Important. We are examining the five habits which are necessary if we are to grow in our spiritual walk with Jesus. Yesterday was on spending time in God's Word.

- In doing my research, I found quite a few  statistics - some troubling and some encouraging. Here are a few:
     - when asked to name the four gospels, only 45% of American adults could do so (Gallup);
     - when asked if the Golden Rule is part of the Ten Commandments, 45% said it was (Gallup);
     - The Gideons distribute in excess of 45 million New Testaments annually. That works out to 86 per minute!
     - 92% of Americans say they own a Bible, yet there is an appalling lack of Biblical literacy among Americans.
     - In an USA Today report on America's religious illiteracy, 50% of high school seniors think Sodom and Gomorrah were married.
     - Gallup said it well: "We revere the Bible but we don't read the Bible."

- And speaking of religious knowledge - or lack of it -  here is an on-line 15-question quiz . Go ahead! Take this short quiz, and see how you do in comparison with 3,412 randomly sampled adults who were asked these and other questions in the U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey. It will provide you with an accurate glimpse of your religious (not just Christian) knowledge. I'd love to know how you did!

- This year's first Baptism at the Beach was attended by approximately 250 persons yesterday; we baptized 30 adults, teens and children. The surf was a little rough, (to say the least), but we didn't lose anyone. It was awesome to hear stories and testimonies of God's work and grace in people's lives!

- Finally, there's a LOT going on at LCC's two campuses right now. Here's a snapshot:

GIRLS NIGHT OUT - Friday, May 20 at 6 pm - Bluffton Campus - Discover the Princess in you and join us May 20, to watch the romantic and humorous film, The Princess Bride.  We’ll enjoy an array of sweets, treats and gourmet popcorn, and a lot of fun.  The cost is only $10.00, with a portion of the proceeds going to our Women of Faith Conference Scholarship Fund.  CLICK HERE for more information. 

Miracle Offering Sunday - Sunday, May 22  - Hilton Head Island Campus  - Our island campus will be receiving an "above and beyond" offerings toward the down payment on our new (to us) 13,000 square foot facility on the Island. CLICK HERE to watch a tour of our future facility. 

Do the Five - Sunday, May 22 @ 4 pm -  Joint Campus Event at the Bluffton Campus.  Here at LCC, this is THE CORE of our discipleship process for Christ followers. By exploring in depth each of the five purposes of LCC, you have the opportunity to gain knowledge, understanding, and spiritual truths that will ultimately develop you into a more passionate follower of Christ. Dinner and childcare is provided. We encourage you to take the classes in order, but only the CONNECT Class is required to be taken first. REGISTRATION ENDS ON THURSDAY, MAY 19 @ NOON! CLICK HERE to register.

BUMPER CROP (Food Drive) - Sunday, May 22 

Local food pantries are running very low on supplies. Please help by taking home a grocery bag, filling it, and leaving it behind your car’s bumper on May 22. We will pick it up during the services next week. Every little bit helps someone in need. For more information, or to help please contact Pastor Joe at 843.836.1101 or by email.

Financial Peace University - Monday, May 23 @ 6:30 pm - Bluffton Campus  - The next 13-week session of Financial Peace University (FPU) begins Monday, May 23, 2011. Financial Peace University is a life-changing program that teaches you how to make the right decisions with your money. You’ll be empowered with the practical skills and confidence needed to achieve your financial goals and experience true financial peace! The cost is $110.00 per family and includes many resources. Child care is available. CLICK HERE to register.

INTRODUCING-->SILENT AUCTION, May 29 at 6 p.m.

Join us for at the LCC Bluffton Campus for free desserts & coffee and to bid on great items like local dining, golf, entertainment, vacation packages and much more. All proceeds go to this summer’s LCC’s High School/College mission trip to Jamaica.  Online bidding starts May 15 at: thewaylcc.com.

LOWCOUNTRY BUILD TEAM - Join us for a mission trip to…Beaufort County! This will be a full mission trip experience, except you sleep in your own bed. We will be helping struggling people right here in our own community.   Building experience is helpful, but not necessary. Just be willing to work hard and help us change a family's future.    CLICK HERE for more information.

Have a great day!

Would You Help Me Write This Week's Message?

At LCC-Bluffton we are in a series called, "Automate the Important." We are talking about the habits which, when practiced, help us to grow in our relationship to Christ. This coming Sunday is about the necessity and benefits of reading God's Word.

Would you help me share some practical tips with our LCC people by answering the following four questions for me? You may respond to the email address at the end of this post. I would deeply appreciate your involvement and I believe what you share will help hundreds, if not thousands, of others. And so, in advance, THANK YOU!

Question #1: What is your practice of reading the Bible? (chronologically, thru-the-Bible-in-one-year, a specific reading plan, open-and-point, etc.)

Question #2: What is your motivation to keep you going? To stick with it - even on those days you may not necessarily feel like it?

Question #3: What benefits and blessings do you see for your life because of your time in God's Word? (Understanding, of course, that these are not our primary motivations for spending time with God in His Word.)

Question #4: Do you most often read in book or digital format?

Make sense? Please send a few thoughts and responses to my email address. I will be sharing your comments with our people but keeping you anonymous. Kindly send your response NO LATER THAN THIS WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 12 NOON EST.

If you live somewhere other than the Bluffton/Hilton Head area, and many of you do, and would like to hear this message, it will be on our LowCountry Community Church podcast through iTunes a week from tomorrow, in addition to being posted on our website, under "Messages."

And again, thank you so much!

Yo, Momma!

If you are a mom, you'll get a kick out of this rap from Christian comedienne, Anita Renfroe. It's a great salute to moms: In the Muthahood!

Happy Mother's Day!