**** Producer's Note: The following is a general transcript of LCC Connect's weekly radio program. Contents include but may not be limited to podcasts, program imaging, announcements, and PSAs. More detailed and accurate transcripts of the podcast episodes featured in this broadcast can be found at LCCconnect.com or by following the links provided in the show notes of this episode. ****

Hello, friends, and welcome to Coach Cut's.

Corner.

Streaming bright from Michigan's capital city. This podcast is dedicated to helping you better understand the who, the what and the why of mental performance, personal growth and Lansing Stars Baseball.

Down on the Victory Line Coach Cuts.

Corner, brought to you by Eyewash in collaboration with Lansing Community College. And now, here's your host, Stephen Kutter.

Down on the Victory Line welcome to Coach Cut's Corner, where we challenge limits, push for greatness, and develop athletes who thrive on and off the field. We've built a program centered on discipline, self belief and relentless preparation. Each week I bring you insights from my coaching journey, conversations with high performers, and lessons that drive winning habits. If you're serious about growth, whether as a player, coach or a leader, you're in the right place. Let's get after it I'm sitting here alone in the studio less than 24 hours after losing our first conference game of the 2025 season. Moments like these remind me exactly why I love and sometimes hate this game. Winning and losing is a sum zero experience. Win and everything feels right. There's joy, confidence, validation. Lose, and it cuts deep. It feels miserable. It's raw, frustrating, and honestly, sometimes it drives me crazy. Losing sticks with you. It doesn't care how prepared you were or how much you've invested. You replay every decision, every pitch, every moment over and over. You question yourself, your preparation, your decisions. It really gnaws at you. As a competitor, I've always hated losing more than I loved winning. Losses linger longer than wins ever do. But there's something powerful about losing. It's brutally honest. It forces you to confront reality head on. It demands growth. But as I sit here reflecting, I know one thing for certain. The value of what we do. What I do as a coach, what our players do on and off the field, is so much bigger than the outcome of a single game. It has to be. If wins and losses defined us entirely, the ups and downs would drive us to exhaustion. Over the years, I've learned, often the hard way, to find meaning beyond the scoreboard. But let's be real. Knowing this doesn't magically erase the frustration that I feel at times, including right now. It doesn't quiet the voice inside that keeps replaying every missed opportunity or small mistake. What it does, though, is remind me that greatness isn't measured solely by victories or championships. It's built in the quiet moments, the decisions we make after defeat, and the commitment we show to improve when everything in us wants us to shut down. And that's why I constantly emphasize the idea of invisible growth. Because times like these, when the sting of losing is fresh, are when invisible growth matters most. Today's episode is personal. I want to talk openly with you about what happens next. How do you respond when losing makes you feel this way? How do you harness frustration into fuel? How do you ensure that today, Day one after a tough loss, becomes a starting point for future success? So let's dive in. We've all seen it. Championship celebrations, highlight videos and athletes achieving their dreams. From the outside, it appears sudden and somewhat effortless. But here's the truth. There's no such thing as an overnight success. Behind every headline, every award, every big moment, there are hundreds, sometimes thousands, of invisible hours spent working, learning and preparing. When I stepped into coaching baseball at the ripe age of 38, I was behind by nearly two decades compared to my peers. I had a decision to make. Complain about being behind or commit fully to maximizing every single invisible hour. I chose to dive in relentlessly. I spent hours each night reading, studying, planning and understanding every possible detail of the game and human performance. I realized quickly every successful coach, athlete or high achiever in history had something in common. They mastered their unseen hours. I think of a legendary basketball player, Kobe Bryant, in the stories that he'd practice at 4am long before anyone else woke up. He understood clearly that greatness is built far away from crowds, media and applause. That's exactly what happened for me and our teams. We made two College World Series appearances in our first three seasons, and not because of luck, talent alone, or even circumstances. We got there by consistently stacking bricks hour by hour when no one was really watching. Marie for Leo said, success doesn't come from what you do. Occasionally, it comes from what you do consistently. Take that in. Success is built quietly, one brick at a time. So what do I exactly mean by invisible growth? To me, invisible growth is those tiny daily actions done with complete discipline. It's doing what's required, not just what's comfortable. It's how you speak to yourself privately, how you treat others, and how you intentionally you structure your day. In my life, invisible growth looks like waking up early, enjoying breakfast, spending some intentional moments with my family dogs, and mentally preparing myself during my morning routine, which I've learned how to structure it. Each small action sets the stage for bigger moments later in the day. I also apply invisible growth with our team through processes like Sunday silence practices. On these days, nobody speaks. Players lead entirely through action and intentionality. It teaches them a powerful lesson that true leadership is not about what you say, but what you consistently do when no one's watching. Imagine what you could accomplish if you approach every hour of your day with this intentionality. Imagine your potential if your unseen hours were just as purposeful as your visible ones. Tony Robbins once said, it's what you practice in private that you will be rewarded with in public. Every time you commit to an action in silence, you're preparing yourself for greatness in the spotlight. Now let's address why I feel like invisible growth is so rare. We live in a culture obsessed with immediate results. Some might say a microwave society. Everything is instant. Instant success, instant recognition, instant validation. When results don't come immediately, we start questioning everything. Our approach, our coaches, our teammates, and even ourselves. Early in my coaching journey, I experienced doubt firsthand. I remember late nights wondering if my meticulous approach to planning and training was even working. Weeks and months would pass without obvious change. I remember staying committed, trusting that invisible growth was slowly building beneath the surface. Eventually, the evidence appeared. Players began reflecting lessons I'd taught months earlier. Practices became sharper and results started showing on game days. Invisible growth was happening all along. It really just required some patience and trust. Joe Frazier famously said, champions don't become champions in the ring. They are merely recognized there. And I believe Fraser was exactly right. Champions are created when no one's looking, in those quiet moments when it feels easy to quit but you choose to continue anyway. Now let's get practical. How do you actively turn invisible growth into visible results? I've developed three clear strategies for our team, and maybe you can use these strategies for yourself. First, journal daily, every day, every morning, every night, whatever works best for you. Write down at least one specific thing you did intentionally to grow today. Does this make me better? Ask yourself questions like that. Track your wins, no matter how small. Over weeks and months, you'll see patterns emerge. Your invisible growth clearly will be documented. Second, leverage technology. Our team uses wearable technology called Pyson. This tool lets us track metrics like mental readiness and focus. It makes our unseen preparation tangible. Technology can turn abstract discipline into concrete evidence. Last one. Create visual reminders, vision boards, affirmations, notes on your mirror. All of these daily visual cues keep your purpose front and center. They remind you of why you're committed, especially during those challenging days, months or years. And I'll give you a practical example from our team. For three seasons, we've used win reality virtual baseball to practice hitting and most specifically, bunting. Now, we don't bunt a lot, and it's something rarely glamorous Initially, players question why we focused on something so minor. But soon the invisible reps translated directly into big game successes, winning critical moments. Our invisible growth became our strongest advantage, just like our offense has been our strongest advantage as a team ranking in the top five nationally every year. Zig Ziglar explained it perfectly. I thought what you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. I do know the journey changes you and your unseen hours define that journey. As we wrap up today's episode, I want to leave you with a clear challenge this week. Become deeply intentional about your invisible hours. Take time to reflect each day on these two questions. What did I do today when nobody was watching that directly contributes to my long term success? Second question Am I maximizing my invisible moments or am I letting valuable time slip away? I'll be taking this challenge alongside you every evening. I'll reflect deeply on my invisible moments, looking for ways to improve, grow and become even more intentional. Jerry Rice famously said, today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't. I challenge you. Commit to doing the uncommon. Master your invisible hours. Stack those bricks intentionally and the results will speak for themselves. That's a wrap. Make winning in life your habit, not your goal. Excellence isn't an outcome, it's a daily standard. My mission is to build athletes and teams that compete at the highest level, not just on game day, but in every aspect of their journey. Build the right habits, lead with intent and push yourself beyond the limits others set for you. And don't forget to cherish the small moments they pass by in a blink of an eye. Until next time, keep stacking bricks and go stars. Coach Cutscorner is recorded live in the WLMZ Studios with the Dalian Lowry providing engineering and production assistance. Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed today's podcast, please share it and follow us on all forms of social media. Our program has been built and maintained with the help of many great people. If you want to be part of our mission, you can donate using the link in the show notes below. You can learn more@coachcutter.com and more about our team@lccstars.com see you next time.

Connecting you with Lansing Community College this is LCC Connect.

LCC Connect Voices Vibes Vision.

Lansing Community College Performing Arts is proud to present Collective Rage, a play in five Bettys by Jen Silverman. Betty is rich. Betty is lonely. Betty's busy working on her truck. Betty wants to talk about love, but Betty needs to hit something. Five different women named Betty collide at the intersection of anger, sex, love, and the theater in an array of feministic and queer viewpoints. Featured at LCC's Black Box Theatre October 10th through the 12th and October 17th and 18th. All performances are free to attend. Visit LCC.edushowinfo for showtime information. This play contains explicit language and adult themes. Recommended for adults 18 LCC Connect Voices.

Vibes Vision.

Welcome to the Star Zone. I'm Patty Spagniello. From resource Fairs geared towards our students to arts and entertainment aimed to connect with our community, Lansing Community College hosts many events throughout the year and the Star Zone gives you a rundown on what's on the way, where it's happening, and how you can get into the Zone at lcc. Hello, this is Patty Spagnolo, your host. My guest today is Graham Burke. Graham is the Transfer Center Systems and Operations Manager. Welcome Graham.

Thank you very much, Patty.

Full Disclosure Graham and I have worked together since 2008 and I'm going to brag a little bit about the place we work. The Transfer center the Transfer center came into existence in 2023 in the Gannon Building. Our mission is to provide resources, guidance and services necessary for LCC students to successfully transfer to another institution in an engaging and inclusive environment. We One of the neat things that's going on with the Transfer center right now is that we are working on a remodel. So our space will be even bigger and we'll be able to have more opportunities for colleges and universities to come and help students. But it will also remain a place for students to just come, relax, do your homework, whether you wanted to see a college rep or not, just come in and enjoy the space. The event that we're talking about today though is the National Transfer Student Week, which was created by the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students. Their focus is to create conditions for improvements in community college transfer that are scalable and measurable to achieve greater equity for students for low income households and students of color. So I want to bounce this question to Graham. Why do you think transfer is getting so much focus nationally?

Well, it's a great question, Patty. I think it's getting a lot of attention nationally and in the state of Michigan because there are three big gaps that students typically face when they transfer to a four year institution and that starts with credit loss, just general student support for the transfer process and the transfer pathways. And so at the Transfer center we're looking at those exact three things to kind of close those gaps, provide more Support to those students where they need it. And thankfully, the process has gotten better along the way. Every year it feels like it's a little smoother for students to transfer to four year institutions. But on a national scale, I think it's important to start with just the state of Michigan. A study from the Mid Michigan Community College association has reported that only one in three students started a community college and transfer to a four year. And so while especially at Lansing Community College, a lot of students come here to get an associate's degree or to get a skill and enter the workforce, a lot of them still want to transfer. And that's kind of our job to do a better job, job supporting those students.

And of course we want to see them be successful if they want to transfer to get that bachelor's and probably master's degree at some point. So nationally, we are concerned about students, especially students that do not have as much access to college as maybe other folks do. So yeah, the more that we can help and make it more of a transparent process, the better for the students and really, the better for the nation.

Absolutely.

Okay, so now let's focus a little on National Transfer Student Week. We're going into our third session of this, that we're actually running like sessions every day. So you want to talk a little bit about what's, like what the days are and what's happening and how it benefits students.

Absolutely. I'll go through each day and we'll kind of COVID a little bit of the main focus of each day. It does run Monday, October 20, through the Friday of that week. And we start with a mini transfer fair. And the reason we start with a mini transfer fair is because we look at the top transfer destinations that LCC students go to, and we want to bring them all to campus for a day where students can come ask questions. They get a chance to meet those people one on one. And a lot of students say, well, even if I'm not ready to take that step, is it still beneficial for me to come? I say, absolutely, you should come and meet these people. These are the people that one of their sole duties is to get students prepared to transfer to answer those questions and to offer that support. So to go back to that last question about the student support during the transfer process, these are the people that can help you even if you're not ready. Some students say, oh, I'm three semesters out, I'm four semesters away. That's fine. The sooner that you start planning and the sooner that you meet these people, the better. So that's Monday. That's from 10am to 1pm that's going to be in the Gannon building, second floor on Main campus. We'll be there in the main hallway by the Star Zone. So if you know where the Star Zone is, you can see us from there. If you don't know where the Star Zone is on our website, look at the maps. You can also go to LCC Edu transferweek and that will have full details of all the schools attending. We'll talk much more about the schools that are attending this week. And Monday should be a great day. That's a really good way to kick off the day or the week rather. And then the next day On Tuesday the 21st is a little bit more of a casual day, but it's also very valuable for students that have questions. Tuesday is simply an FAQ day which is hosted in the Transfer Center. So same same general location, but we'll be in the Transfer Center's main office. And that's a day where again you can come and talk to us about your transfer goals and what you're trying to do and what you really see yourself doing. After lcc, we'll have refreshments, we'll have beverages, we'll have a little bit of snacks. So feel free to stop by any of any of the days of the transfer week to take advantage of that. And then Wednesday the 22nd, this one's similar, but it's a little more focused to our Lansing transfer team. And when I say Lansing transfer team, we have four year universities that have representatives that work on main campus on a day to day basis, a week to week basis, a month to month basis. So Central Michigan University, Michigan State University, Northwood University and University of Michigan Flint will all be at the Wednesday event which runs 12 to 3pm Again, if you want to see the details for all the times, just stop on LCC EDU transferweek. And the Wednesday event is a little more focused, like I said, to the people that have a presence on our campus, all the representatives we can put you in contact with and we have great relationships with those people. But that day will be for the universities that have reps that work on campus, which is great. And students say, well, how does that really benefit me? Well, these reps, they're in Lansing all the time, they know lcc, they know the process, they're very familiar with our processes. And so the sooner you get to know those people, if that's one of the destinations that you, you're interested in, the better. And then finally, Thursday is our final in person event. We have a Friday event that I'll get to, but Thursday is our final in person event. And this is specifically for msu. This is called Lunch with the Spartans. And this gives you an opportunity to meet the Envision Green representatives in person to build those connections and to network with those people that are in charge of Envision Green and partially MSU admissions. So that day is really great. It does require pre registration. So again, that link that I shared, you can go there and register ahead of time. Space is a little limited because we're hosting a bigger lunch type event that day. The other big piece I wanted to talk about for Thursday that I think is really valuable, MSU has what's called a Transfer Student Advisory Board. And this is a board of students that transferred to MSU recently. They're either a junior senior at MSU and they either transfer from another community college or from lcc. Last year, over half the board was LCC students that had transferred. So why does that matter to students that may be listening right now? Because what better source could you ask for to talk to people that have just done it? You know, what did they see? What tips and tricks and advice would they have? So every year that we, that we have the TSOB there, the Transfer Student Advisory Board from msu, we hear great questions and it's a very open discussion. There'll be a small presentation first, then the TSAB will take questions, and then there'll be a little bit more information at the end. You can drop in early, you can come in the middle, you can drop in late. Just please, if you want to join, please register in advance. And then finally, Friday is our social media day. Friday is a virtual event. We found that Fridays work really well for this. If you have an idea of what you want to do after lcc, whether it's transferring or pursuing another college or university, whatever program may be. If you find us on social media, that's Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. If you comment on what your plans are after LCC, you'll be entered to win a prize bag and 10 students will be selected. So you'll have an opportunity. And they're fun. Prize bags, sunglasses, T shirts, some notebooks, some swag. And you can come pick that up at the transfer center main office. So that's the whole week in a 60 second or maybe two minute format. How does all that sound to you, Patti?

Sounds great. I'm wondering, are we asking students to register for some of these things?

Absolutely. So the most important register registration would be for the lunch with the Spartans. However, we encourage everyone to sign up in advance because that gives us a better count in how many people are interested in beverages and refreshments and food. But it also will enter you into to win a pair of Apple AirPods. So if you register in advance, you'll have a chance to win a set of AirPods. You can also scan your star card in person. But Thursday, if you want to join the lunch with the Spartans, please sign up early. But regardless, sign up so that we, you know, we want to see it. We want students to come and enjoy the event and to ask questions and to learn about the transfer opportunities.

Awesome. So what is the overall goal of this event?

Right. I think the overall goal is to help students understand that we are here to support them on their journey, no matter what their journey looks like or what stage that they're in in their academic journey, that there are resources. The big gap we talked about at the very beginning of this podcast was just the student support and helping students understand what their options are. Because a lot of students will come to an event like this and we'll get feedback that says, I didn't even know I could do XYZ or option A, B, C because they have some preconceived ideas and sometimes they limit themselves. Not every student. Every student's different. But I think the goal is that everyone will get something out of this event, no matter what day you go to. And I forgot to mention, you can come to all four events. You're not limited to just one. If you want to join Monday through Thursday and participate in the social media stuff on Friday, you're welcome to do that. So the overall goal is educate students on their opportunities, help them take the next step so that they can reach their goals, and understand that we will support them along the way.

So aside from the event, if I'm a student that wants to explore transferring my LCC credits, what's the first thing I should do?

It's a great question. The first thing I tell students typically is to try to identify two or three institutions that you want to transfer to. But also keep in mind that the program that you're pursuing is sometimes more important because not every university or college will offer that program. So step one is identify what you want to study after lcc. How does it align with your major at lcc? Even if it doesn't align, we will still help strategize and set a plan up that works for you. So identify what you're trying to study, what you're passionate about, where you want to go, what university do you want to move to that campus? Are you looking for a hybrid experience? Are you looking for an online experience? Just kind of identify what you're looking for. And once you get to that step, you can always fill out a transfer success form on our website. And that really gets you into our system. It gets the process going, and that's how you get help directly with us.

Perfect. So what you're saying is for students, you're going to do a little homework first, kind of do some soul searching, and then fill out that transfer success form so that we'll get back to you and get an appointment and get you on your way?

Absolutely. I think a lot of students, they might have a good idea of what they want to study, maybe what major they're interested in, but they might not know what school they want to go to. So to your point, that's a great example. That's a little bit of homework on the student to say, okay, I know what I want to study. Now I got to decide what schools offer. And we'll still offer help. I mean, we're not going to turn people away if they don't know what schools they want to go to. So we'll always help with that. But it enables us to help you more if you identify those two things and then seek us out for some additional help and some additional planning to set up that transfer plan.

And that transfer success form is located on our webpage, so it's very easy to find. And if you can come into the office, too, we have a, I don't know, little kiosk that you can come in and fill one out and get help then if you need it. So, yeah, it's really easy, and it's really just to lay the groundwork so that we can hit the ground running when we do have you come in. So now, having said that, what will happen at the meeting with the transfer specialist at the transfer center?

Sure. So once you complete the transfer success form on our website, the transfer specialist will review it carefully. There's opportunities for you to put in all sorts of additional information in there, talk about what your goals are. So the specialist will review that transfer success form and they will reach out to you to schedule a meeting. We offer meetings that are 30 minutes or one hour in length. We offer them over webex or in person or over the phone, so you can schedule those at your convenience on a day and time that works for you. And then once you meet with the specialist, you'll go through that together and identify those things that are most important to you. I think one other goal that I didn't touch on yet that I really wanted to is we really want to help you maximize your time at lcc. We understand that time is valuable and credits are expensive. Tuition is expensive. So our job is to find out what your goal is and then to maximize your transferability to that destination. So I say all that to also remind students out there that the sooner you begin planning for this, the better, because we want to make sure you maximize your time here. And if you wait too long to get help, you may face some credit loss. But that's one of the things that we're trying to help with specifically.

Great. Do you have any closing comments for students or just about transfer in general? I think it's kind of neat. I will point this out. Both Graham and I are LCC graduates and transfer students, so we know what we're talking about. So I guess that's a good thing.

Absolutely. That's a great point, Patty. I think I look back on when I was looking at some of the transfer opportunities, and if I could tell new students now that are looking to transfer, there's so many more resources and so much more help to get you started. If you think getting started is this big, daunting task, it's not. It's just about taking that first step and then take another step and then take another one, and we'll be there to help. So to that end, I'm excited for the transfer week. I hope a lot of students register at LCC Edu transferweek, and we hope to see you there. And if you haven't seen our current space, the construction's going on on the second floor of the Gannon Building. Our temporary space right now is right next to it. So if you want to stop by on that Tuesday with that FAQ day, which is kind of like an open house, you'll see exactly where we are. So if you haven't came to our area of campus, please stop by. And there's something for everyone on each one of these days. So definitely check out that registration page and get registered today.

Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Graham, for being here on the show and for pointing out all of the benefits of this upcoming event. I'm excited and I know I'll be there. So thank you, everyone, and I hope you have a great day. Thanks for joining us here on the Star Zone. For more information on this episode, visit lccconnect.org you can also find a complete list of Lansing Community College events by visiting lcc. Edu Calendar. Until next time. Thanks for getting into the zone.

This is LCC Connect, Voices, Vibes, Vision.

Massage therapy can be an effective method.

To combat stress and anxiety.

It can also be helpful for injury treatment and prevention.

The Lansing Community College Massage Therapy Clinic is open to the public and provides.

The opportunity for students to learn.

Visit LCC Eduardo for more information.

Michigan residents age 25 or older may qualify for Michigan Reconnect, a program providing free or reduced tuition to students who have not earned a prior college degree. Reconnect students are responsible for books and fees. Visit LCC.edu Reconnect for more information.

LCC Connect voices, vibes Vision welcome to.

Front Row Backstage, the show that takes you behind the velvet ropes of the media world. I'm LCC student Greg Trimmer, and each week we'll explore the stars you see on screen, stage and radio, and the tech and talent making the magic happen behind it. From unsung heroes to spotlight sensations, we've got the stories you, you won't hear anywhere else. So grab your popcorn and let's dive in. Welcome to Front Row Backstage. We have two very important guests today. Jonathan Crutcher and his wife, Blair Crutcher are here to talk a little bit about Jonathan's gospel career, independent gospel artist career, and about some ministry stuff that he's doing with God's Creation Ministries, a non profit that he founded. So go ahead and introduce yourself, guys.

Hey, my name is Jonathan Kretcher. As he said, I'm the director of God's Creation Ministries and the founder of Festival of Praise and Independent Gospel Artists. This is my lovely wife.

Hello, y'.

All.

What's going on?

Her name is Blair Crutcher. As you see, she has a very bubbly personality and so, yeah, excited to be here today and chop it up with my boy Greg.

Yeah. So just to get a little bit started, a couple little icebreaker questions. What inspired you to start singing gospel music at the age of six, no less.

Honestly, it was my grandma, I think. I started singing gospel music without an understanding. And then over time, I began to understand because I, you know, I had to go to church, grew up in a prototypical home. Grandma would show up, get up, let's go to church. Then found out I can sing and I was singing. So I started singing at the edge of six without fully knowing what I was singing. But over time, I began to embody and understand what the songs meant. And it Became a big point of my walk with God in faith. And so, yeah, I've been singing since I was 6, thanks to my grandma.

What would you say some of your biggest influences in gospel music are?

Oh, man, that's. That's a really hard question. I would probably say Fred Hammond. Fred Hammond is just an amazing artist with his creativity and the things that he does, and so big impact on what I listen to. And then lately, as an artist, my friends Adrian Bass and David Read are people that have inspired me just as an artist and with their music and their creativity as well. And just to throw out another name that people will know. Kirk Franklin, obviously, like, I love people who are creative but also are themselves when they do music.

Yeah. So those of you that don't know Adrian Bass and D. Reed are also local artists and producers in the Detroit area. Adrian More so Pontiac area.

You better get that right. He'll come find you.

I got to meet several of those guys through him over the years, including Sean Preston, who's also in the Pontiac area. Just amazing men of God.

Yeah.

Been pretty lucky.

Is there a specific album from anybody that, like, when you were first starting that just, like, was like, wow, I can't. Can't even, like, I need to aspire to this.

There's a Fred Hammond album. It's got a song on there that I used to. I've played out. It had a song on there called I Press. I think it's on his Purpose By Design album. Yeah, Purpose by Design. He has a song on there called I Press. Huge. Played it over and over again. And strangely enough, an album that I played a lot, too, was actually a CCM album by a guy named Mark Schultz. He had an album where he did stories and songs, and he told stories and sang songs. So those are the two albums that growing up, I probably, like, wore out, listened to all the time.

Okay, so moving on, we're gonna talk a little bit about your first ever song that you released to the public, written by. You recorded. You were. The main singer was called Pour Out. I know some of it kind of was influenced by your mother's passing, which I know was a very, very hard time in that moment. Tell us what that process was like, what happened? What kind of heartbreak went into that? I know it's a bit of a touchy subject, but.

All right, well, this is, like you said, this is tough to talk about, so unfortunately, I have to start. I spent two weeks in the hospital, unfortunately, watching my mom pass away, but knowing from day one she wasn't gonna make it. And so Pour out was kind of inspired out of this idea of understanding I needed more of God and not really being able to put it in words and not really being able to express how I felt and then getting to this place where. But I am amazed by the things that you do. I do trust in your plan. I. I know that you're gonna work it out. And so it really was two weeks of just God pouring into me, pouring more of his love, more of his grace, more of his spirit. And then I was able to write it down and put it in words and make it into a song. But it's incredibly difficult because the process was very heartbreaking because as God has given me more of this song, as he's pouring more into me, my mom, day by day, is just losing more functions, and she's deteriorating before my eyes. And I'm just trying to hold on to the faith that I've been singing about since I was 6, and I'm 26 at this point. And it just. It was hard. So I think really what went behind it was me allowing God to really do what the song says, which is to pour out more of his spirit, more of his love, more of his grace over me for those two weeks. And then once I was out of that, I was able to write it down and put it in song. And then it wasn't for just me anymore. I knew there were other people who would be in situations where they needed God to pour out, where they needed more of his love, where they needed more of his grace, where they needed to proclaim all the things that the songs talks about to help them get through the most difficult situations.

Yeah. So piggybacking off of that, that's like a perfect segue. Just saying, like, yes, you know, in the moment, this writing the song was probably a lot of therapy for you. But what. What do you hope now that this is out and shared with the world and anybody can listen to it? What do you hope now that listeners take away from this song?

I just hope they know that no matter what situation they find themselves in, God can and will pour out. That God is still in the midst, and he's still moving and he's still in control and he's still good. It's so easy when life gets hard and when things are happening that we don't like to feel like maybe God is not moving, how much does he care? But the reality of it is God wants to pour out. He wants to move. He does care. But we sit back and just. You don't care. God. And so then God's. You're not asking, you're not praying. You're not looking for him. He wants to pour out. And so I hope they understand that they can go to God and he will pour out and he will be with them and comfort them.

What are some of the things or people do you think that helped you stay strong during such a tough time, as you were writing that song and you were watching your mother fade away?

Well, honestly, three people come to mind immediately. My uncle Eric, he showed up at the hospital literally every night. He dropped me off every morning and showed up every night. A mentor of mine. His name, he's a police officer. Actually, his name is Errol Franklin or Pastor Franklin. When my mom did pass away, he came and sat in the house with me. And he lost his mom around the same age. And before we started our conversation, he started it. He looked at me and he said, don't kill yourself. And I said, how do you know? He said, don't lie to me. Don't tell me you haven't thought about it. You are only child. Your mom just passed away. I. I sat in this situation, too, and someone sat across from me and said the same thing. So I know what you're going through and how you feel. And I think the third person that would come to mind would probably be Wally Lohman. Wally said something that in the moment, I was so upset with Wally, he told me when I walked in the hospital, he asked me had I ever raised the debt. And I said, well, no. And he says, so don't be mad if God is ready to call your mom home. And I'm like, that is so insensitive. But when I thought about it, what he was saying is that you haven't raised the dead, and maybe one day you will, but you haven't yet. So you can't be mad at God for not doing something he's never done in your life or through your life. Yet instead, you have to. The same way when you pray for people, and unfortunately, they passed away, you have to trust in. In God the same way. Oh, one more person. Arnita Ferguson. She drove all the way from Lansing, spent the night with me at the hospital, and just was a big help. And then Adrian, too. Adrian sang at the funeral and did a lot of stuff and told dumb jokes and was Adrian, and. And that helped. So, yeah, those are the five people that come to mind.

What advice do you think you would give someone going through similar challenges that thinks that they are finding a song or some sort of artistry coming out of that moment. What advice would you give them in that time?

That is a loaded question. Honestly, I think in that time, I spent a lot of time quoting Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not upon your own understanding, acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will make your path straight. I think the advice I would give is trust in God, that it doesn't fail, it doesn't waver, it doesn't make sense, but it does not have to. I think we forget the part of that verse that says, lean not upon your own understanding. And so I would just say, trust God even though it doesn't make sense, and allow God to do what God wants to do. Because if you would have told me out of my mom's death, anything that has happened since, I would have laughed. Like, I didn't see the other side of God's plan. But now that I'm sitting here living the other side of God's plan, I can say that trusting in him and watching what he did was better than what I would have did in that moment. It was way better than what my solution was. It was more fulfilling. And so I would say, trust and read the word man, pray and be honest with God. I. I was very honest. Like, God, this is not fair. It don't make sense. What are we doing? Like, I didn't lie. I think sometimes we sugarcoat things. Like, oh, God, I. I don't know. Knob's like, God, this is not fair. Like, why is my mom dying? Like, I'm 26 years old, I'm not married yet. She's not going to see all these things. And God was like, all right. And. And it didn't always come out that nice, but God is able to handle that. And we've got to stop with this facade that we only can say to God, oh, God, I need your help. And then God's like, what do you need help with? I'm just struggling. Struggling with what? Well, I'm not going to be honest with you. No, be honest. He cares. He knows. We see that in the Bible with so many people in the Old Testament.

Awesome. Awesome. What started your early years? What inspired you? Who inspired you kind of in your early years as you were developing as a worship leader and a youth pastor?

Honestly, what probably inspired me in my early years, there was a group that used to be a statewide called one five zero. They had a song out like, jesus, you're my superhero, SWOOP down and rescue me. But he was at statewide and he would always, we would talk, he'd always tell me like I had a worshiper's heart and to keep pursuing worship and to never stop pursuing worship. And then my youth pastor Trent and helped me as a youth pastor just teaching me things. And Trent was very blunt. And so as a youth pastor I was very much like Trent. Here's how it is. And I'm not just going to give you the answers you need to learn and grow for yourself yourself and figure that out as a worship leader. As I said, 150. But also Charles Ren at All Nations. I can't lie, I've got to mention him was a big help as he kind of showed me the ropes of worship leading. And then Ryan Apple at Great Lakes Christian College when I helped them with the praise team that we came alongside and started at Great Lakes was a huge help. And understanding the importance of matching up songs with scripture and making sure you have a flow and not just doing stuff. And then just like my friends, Jalen Bell, I mean Agn Bass, just so many great worship leaders that I've got to have conversations. Nate Glassford, Glenda Williams, I mean the list could go on and on. Javante Patton, I think out of Minnesota, Stella award winning gospel artist was huge just in understanding how to interact with. When you meet people that are singing gospel music, like don't be like oh my goodness, you no, just hey, how you doing? Because he's a regular person that's serving God and I think that's the biggest thing, the biggest thing that I've learned as a worship leader is that we are just leading people to worship the king of kings. And in reality I'm worshiping with you. You're. My job is not for you to watch me. My job is to lead you to the throne of God as I go to the throne of God. Not for you to sit there and be like he sounds so good and stand there and do nothing.

Yeah, that's so cool. And piggybacking off the thing that you mentioned of like treating some of these more famous worship leaders, just treating them like anybody else, I totally get that. Like they're just another person. And just because God has put them on a pedestal because of how they followed him, doesn't mean that they're any different than the rest of us. You know, I got the pleasure of going to Passion Conference for a few times and one of the times I was there I actually got to for very like split 30 second moment. Got to meet Brandon Lake and just being myself and talking to him and then just telling him what his song Too Good to Not Believe meant to me. Like, that was like, just calm decorum and like, they're gonna. They're just like anybody else. I think you're gonna get a much better, genuine reaction out of them when you act like that. For sure.

Yeah, for sure.

Kind of on the worship leading thing, because obviously, like, there's still a sense of performance in worship leading, because you. You don't want to just, like, go in blind with no preparation. You don't want to just do flow 100%. Like, you have to have some sort of plan. You don't want to just go up there and with a screeching voice and not try to do your best. Right. Like, how do you balance the hey, I'm doing this for God, and I want to be sensitive to his spirit. And the hey, this is, to an extent, is a performance as well.

So I'm going to answer this question, but I'm going to let my wife answer this first. This is something that we talk about.

Yeah, we talk about this a lot.

Because we go to so many churches, and people be up there singing. They butts off.

Yeah.

But the spirit of God, we be like, where you at? Where you at?

That's very true. Like, I. I think it's important to have both. I think it's very important to put your best foot forward when it comes to that preparation and knowing what you're gonna sing and then also just knowing what you as a person are capable of. You know, like, knowing, okay, I need to practice this song and know the ins and out of the song, but also knowing what that song means to you. Like, there's so much preparation that goes into worship leading. And even I had to learn that because I went to school for music performance. And so there was a lot of training in terms of, you know, singing a song by the book. Like, it had to be as written. And so with that, there was a discipline that you have to learn to accomplish. But it's different when it comes to gospel music, because, yes, there's a discipline, but you also have to leave room for the Holy Spirit to move. And I think that's why they go hand in hand. Because, yes, you need a game plan. Yes, you need that discipline, and you need to know what you're gonna sing and what you're gonna do and what you are capable of so that God can use that and also, you know, take that message that you are trying to put together. Like, it's like God will give you the message, and then it's your job as the worship leader to portray God's message to his people, but, like, doing it in a way where they can receive his spirit.

Yeah, you definitely is three. Like, I'm sitting here and I'm downloading. The Holy Spirit said three P's. Prayer, practice, preparation. The first thing you do, you are praying. Because every environment is different. Like, too often, I feel like worship leaders walk into the environment. They're gonna sing the same songs.

Yeah.

Do the same set, hit the same riffs, the same runs. They. They flow. And there's no sensitivity to the atmosphere. Then that's where that preparation piece comes in. Because if we're guest worship leading somewhere, we're going to be like, okay, what's your congregation like? Yeah, we're not gonna get up there and sing long. Cause I got King Jesus. When they're used to singing, oh, come to the altar. They're gonna be like.

Like, oh, that was cool.

That was nice. Nobody gonna worship, because that's not what they do.

Yeah.

And that's okay. And so that's the preparation piece and then the practice piece. Maybe you don't know, maybe you are do need to sing gospel and, you know, two gospel songs. You're gonna get up there on Sunday morning and fake it till you make it. We've talked about this, too. God can bless it. But here's the thing. That is the grace of God. When you don't practice, when you don't pray, when you don't prepare, if God still moves, that's his grace. And it has nothing to do with you. Worship leader really has very little to do with us anyway. But we should be putting our best foot forward with that prayer, with that preparation, with that practice. And when we don't and things still go well, it's because God is gracious, he's kind, and he's better than we deserve.

Yeah, that's really good. Because, like, doesn't matter how talented I am, or it doesn't matter how many riffs I can sing or, you know, something that I had to learn. It was like a hard truth for me. God don't care that I went to school for music. You know, Like, God, he don't care because he can use somebody else. What's important is, okay, yes, you have that gift and that talent and that skill. But, like, are you gonna let me use it the way that I need to? Because that's what's important, you know? Because at the end of the day, God will qualify you for whatever he needs you or whatever he needs to get done. Like whatever the assignment is, you know, it just.

Yeah. And music is unfortunately very competition driven. We want the best sounding person, all these things. And so that bleeds into gospel music. And we've had this talk where bleeds this competition aspect and God up in heaven looking at us like, I don't care. Oh, you sing better than him. Cool. Guess what? He sing too.

Right?

You sing too. What I care about is what does your heart say? And we've seen people. I know people flat footed sing ain't no nothing because their heart ain't in the right place. They know how to perform.

Yeah, it kind of warms my heart a little bit to hear your mentality on that. Because for those of you that don't know, I have known this man, Jonathan Crutcher for.

Too long, moving on.

It's 20, 25, 11 years.

I said too long, moving on, made a little watch.

But when I first met him, like I. I would go to Detroit with him and stuff on times that he was booked for gigs and he would hear somebody that's better than him and he would be like, all right, I'm quitting. I can't do this no more. I can't sing compared to them.

And I still struggle with that. But I've learned that I may not be able to sing as well as you, but I know what God does in my ministry now. I understand the anointing and things that I care. My wife sings better than me. Listen, if you have a chance, if we have a concert on the same day, go to her concert. Don't come to my. Why? Because she's a beast. I am Jonathan. I'm okay with that. I'm gonna do some and I'm gonna sing a little bit and lead you into the presence of God. But if you want somebody who gonna flat footed hit ribs, hit runs, I ain't your guy. But I'll lead you to God and I'll take you where you need to go, depending on what you got going on in your life. Okay.

We don't have a lot of time left, but I just want you to to expound a little bit on God's creation ministries. We mentioned that at the beginning. It's the nonprofit you founded. One of the major things I know that you guys do is you guys have the festival of praise every year. But what is on the horizon for that ministry? What are you hoping to have on the horizon for that Ministry and what made you start it?

All right, so not sure how much time I got left, but I'll have my wife chime in with this. So God's creation ministry was founded, really. It started back when I was like 12. God gave me this idea of God's creation ministries, of uniting people and being a blessing. So I started it on that premise, did Festival of Praise for seven years and then we brought in a lot of money using the church as a fiduciary. And it got to the point where it was time to figure out what was next. And God was like, you already have the ministry. So we started it to unite Lansing. But I think my wife would say it a little bit deeper than I would say just unite Lansing. The goal of it is more so.

To bring the people of Lansing together, I think also showcasing the gems that are in Lansing because, you know, I'm not from Lansing. But when I think of Lansing I don't think of a lot of like, oh people, please don't hate me. But I just don't think of a lot of like singers, to be honest. Like I think a lot of singers come from Detroit. But here in Lansing we have great singers. You know, they're just hidden. But I think GCM and Festival of Praise really gives the people of Lansing that, that opportunity to show like who they are, what they do, what they're capable of and just the love that people do bring to Lansing. Like it's not just something he does because he wants to be seen or anything like that.

So yeah, we exist to unite regardless of your denomination, regardless of if you go to church, don't go to church. GCM exists to bridge that gap. Festival of Praise going into year nine this year. I'm really excited. I can give you the date. I guess this is an exclusive, as they say. No, this year's Festival of Praise will be on October 18th at 5:30. I don't have a location yet. Still praying about that. We're also hoping to do the Speak Life conference this year which is a back to school youth conference with the hopes of equipping students to go back to school in a way where they feel ready. Because a lot of times we are both working in schools and we see a lot of students who are struggling with their identity, struggling with all these things. And so we want to do something to equip them to be able to deal with that and then hopefully continue Secret Santa. And so that's God's creation ministries in a nutshell. And stay tuned. I got new music coming out this year. I'm a single. Great. I am. And I love for you to check it out. And I hope you enjoyed this interview with me and my wife. The EP will be out. I'm married now. You know, I took a pause because I met her. So now we're gonna get the music out. So for those of you who've been asking, I met her, y'.

All.

My lovely wife Blair over there. And that's why the music been on pause. You got anything else you want to say before we go?

I'm just really proud of you. Like, you've come a long way and you just continue to show the love of God that you have. Like, it's just so inspiring and people just get to see God work through you. And that's so amazing.

Trying, yo. I'm trying. But I hope you enjoyed it and may God bless you. And yeah, if you want to reach out God's creation. Men. Gmail.com G O D S C R E A T I O n m I nmail.com Peace.

Awesome. Thank you guys for joining and thank you guys for tuning in to hear about Jonathan Crutcher's journey and what his wife has done in that and what the long, long journey he's made to where he's at with God's Creation Ministries and with him as a worship leader and just gospel or independent gospel artists.

Yeah, y' all got a lot to thank her for. Let's be real. I mean, so y' all want to know where I'm at? Y' all can. Y' all can thank God that I met that woman right there.

All right, thank you guys for tuning in. And as usual, you can find Front Row backstage on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and listen on LCC Connect's website or wherever you listen to podcasts. Have a wonderful day, guys. Thanks for tuning in to Front Row Backstage. We hope you enjoyed this week behind the curtains of the the media world. Don't forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram for more information and join us next week for more stories from the front lines of entertainment. Until then, stay tuned because whether it's on stage, behind the scenes, or over the airwaves, the real action is everywhere.

This has been a presentation of LCC Connect, a weekly program that features the voices, vibes and vision of Lansing Community College. All shows featured on LCC Connect are recorded at the WLNZ studio located on LCC's downtown campus. Each program is podcast based and can be heard anytime@lccconnect.org if you or or someone you know would like to be a guest on one of our shows, connect with us by emailing LCC ConnectCC.

Eduard.