It is pretty easy to walk around the NGU campus and spot a few students having a jam session with their guitars. But one place you may never look for someone proficient at playing the instrument is White Hall, home of the office of Jeff Rankin.
North Greenville University professor Jeff RankinBesides being a respected Christian studies professor, Rankin has also been playing the guitar for 33 years.
“Ever since my earliest memories of childhood – probably around two or three years old – I always wanted to be a guitar player,” Rankin said. “Something about the sound of the guitar inspired me.”
At the age of eight, Rankin began taking lessons from a local guitar teacher in his hometown of Pascagoula, Miss., but stopped after six months for a number of reasons – one being Rankin did not feel he was receiving instruction in the style he wished to learn. A couple of years later, he picked the instrument back up after the passing of Elvis Presley.
“His death inspired me to purchase an album of his early gold records, and I realized quickly that I could figure out the chord progressions of his songs by listening to the recordings,” Rankin said. “Soon after, I started writing songs, and eventually joined a band as a lead singer in high school, where I learned to play guitar solos by watching the lead guitarist in the group.”
Rankin says his favorite guitar is his 1979 Les Paul Custom, which he bought at a pawn shop for $700 in 1983 and used to learn the lead guitar style.
Rankin eventually entered the music program at the University of Southern Mississippi (majoring in classical guitar) and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music education in 1991. He then taught music in an elementary school from 1992 to 1996.
Some students admitted to being surprised when Rankin approached the stage to lead worship in chapel recently.
“I was really shocked as soon as he started playing,” Camrie Schwartz, a freshman from Bennettsville, said.
Other students such as Kevin McCreary, a senior from Campobello, respect what Rankin does and the way he sets an example for the other professors at the university.
“It’s good to see teachers stand up in front of the school and do something besides teach,” McCreary said. “I would love to see the hidden talents of some of the other teachers.”
While playing the guitar is a passion for Rankin, he admits that there was a time when the instrument became an idol in his life. During college, he practiced for three to four hours daily, and soon realized that it had taken precedence over his walk with Christ.
“At that time, I chose to give my playing to him for his service and, much to my surprise, discovered that God’s calling for me was not as a professional player but as a teacher of his word,” Rankin said.
As a result, Rankin feels the Lord has blessed his talent, and the students enjoy hearing him play.
“I think he has an amazing talent and it really does make chapel fun and exciting to hear him play, but the best part about it is he uses his gift for the glory of the Lord,” Autumn McAbee, a junior from Boiling Springs, said.
“I think that Dr. Rankin showed a powerful form of worship through one of the talents God has gifted him with,” Jamie Koenig, a sophomore from Sumter, said.