Jonathan Herron

The Role of Testosterone in Church Planting (part 1 of 2)

Yes, calling is important.  God specifically grabs the heart of specific men and points them toward starting new churches.  Paul is a great example:

That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him,
"Come over to Macedonia and help us!"  So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that
God was calling us to preach the Good News there.   (Acts 16:9-10, NLT)

There is a spiritual pull to start a church from scratch.

But I want to point out a second factor: the biological pull.  God wires all men with a drug-like hormone that is one of the strongest drivers of behavior the world has ever known.  A minute drop of this potent substance, adminstered over a brief period of time, empowers the smallest and weakest male monkeys to become more aggressive in a group.  Testosterone is what fuels boys to become men in a transformation mirroring Bruce Banner becoming the Hulk.

The release of testosterone contributes to the intoxicating feeling a man feels of power and invincibility.  Its why teenage guys do stupid things: the rush of chemicals in the bloodstream inspire them to win at all costs.

According to new studies by Frank Farley, Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin, some men have higher levels of this hormone than others.  Men with "testosterone plus" (T+) score high creatively, typically break new ground, challenge authority, and love to make the rules.  Sounds like today's church planters, doesn't it?

This is where I think science and faith collide: God gives a larger dose of testosterone to some men.  And time and again, I've seen the Lord use a biological pull in concert with a spiritual push to start a new church.  This isn't random chance but divine providence.  God plans and creates:

For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
   I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.
    My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place,
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. (Psalm 139:13-15, NIV)

God gives some men more testosterone than others.  For example, I am a T+ guy.  God made me this way.  He saw fit to make me very driven to start new things from scratch.  T+ is the biological factor of a spiritual pioneer.  When you combine God's calling with God's wiring, you get Kingdom expansion.  It's just how God has wired many in our generation.   

And it helps explain the DNA of a church planter: there's a scientific factor in assessing potential church planters.

Tomorrow we'll talk about the role of testosterone in the Holy Hangover.

A few moments ago, Grandpa met Jesus face-to-Face.

And was reunited with his wife.

Love him.

Bootleg of our Big Announcement

At the 2nd Informational Meeting for our new church start-up, we shared some exciting news with the 50+ who had gathered to hear our vision and plans.

Somebody whipped out their iPhone 4 and caught some of the action.

Enjoy.

Grab more info at LifeChurchMichigan.com.

I love the Book of Acts!

Its God's constant reminder that following Jesus is not about erecting a monument, it's about building a movement!

These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also! - Acts 17:6

Reaching the Lost at Any Cost is the mission of the Church!

Not turf wars.

Not insider churchy politics.

Not mere information transfer and lectures.

Its all about life transformation!

Jesus is intent on building a movement of changed lives.

The Church exists for the benefit of its non-members.

We are tasked with turning the world upside down!

John Calvin summarized the story of the first Christians this way:

Through men of no importance and endowed with no skill, He (Jesus) brought the whole world into submission to Himself so easily by the sound of the Gospel, despite the fact that Satan rose up in opposition with so many hindrances.

In it (Acts) we also see the incredible power of the Gospel, because, in the face of the resistance of the whole world, not only did it win through, but with the greatest honor brought all that seemed invincible into obedience to Christ.

Therefore more was achieved by these few contemptible little men against all the stormiest of commotions of the world, with the humble sound of the human voice, than if God had thundered openly from heaven!

Life Church Michigan: On Location

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Little Plastic Batman in Arizona

Just returned from speaking for the
Arizona Southern Baptist Convention.

I love talking about Jesus,
but hate being away from the fam.

So I stole this idea from my buddy Ken Wilson:
my 5-yr-old picks out his favorite toy to send with me on my adventures. 

I in turn text pictures of said toy throughout my time away. 

Makes him feel connected and gets my wife laughing.

This weekend's toy: Little Plastic Batman.  Click any pic for larger version.

• Amber and I were both excited and humbled by the turnout and response to our first informational meeting for our church start-up.

• It was amazing to watch an empty room organically fill-up. 
  There's something special about starting with zero and ending the night with nearly 30 people.  All night we were joking about how we had experienced 3,000% growth - - now that's a fast-growing church!  :)

• Late last night, Am & I were reflecting on our first church planting adventure in Ohio.  It took us 9 months to get to 31 people on our original launch team (only 10 showed up for the first informational meeting in Ohio).  And last night God brought together nearly that many for the very first info meeting.  Blessed.

• Honored to dedicate Shaun & Jessie Dunham's infant daughter, Madison.  Such a delight.  Life Church began with a celebration of life!

• Unpacked Luke 5 and our heartbeat as a church start-up. 
  Jesus (who attracted "pressing crowds") has gotten into our boat and is telling us cast out into the deep.  God's Agenda = Bursting Nets + Broken Boats!

• Lots of conversations about our Code - - I've discovered over the years that people love and respond to clear direction and unapologetic leadership!

• Saw lots of eyes light up when I shared a bit about our designs for kids ministry in this area. 

• Biggest question of the night: location!  God is orchestrating some AMAZING (not hype, just TRUTH!) details on this in the background, but we're not ready to announce things publicly just yet.  All I can do is echo Amber's words: God is being true to His word, doing more than we could ever ask for or even imagine!

• Our next Informational Meeting will be in two weeks - Sunday, January 22nd at 5:30pm.  We'll have more vision-casting, another Q&A time, and we'll be dedicating another infant: Angel Czykyski's little one, Ahna!  So many baby dedications - - love it!!  Register here!

• I'm flying out to Phoenix this week.  I was invited by the Arizona Southern Baptist Convention to speak to a couple hundred teens over the weekend.  Phoenix in January?  Why yes, I can make that happen!

• Besides unpacking what discipleship looks like in the 21st Century, I'll also be doing a late night improv-comedy set.  Looking forward to that!!

• I'll be back in Phoenix in March for the Ignite 2012 church planting conference. 

• The Lighthouse in Caro has also invited me to speak soon to a couple hundred of their employees about biblical stewardship and financial planning.  Excited to equip the team!

• For what its worth, I understand the challenge of finding the right speaker for conferences and retreats.  What I've discovered is that a quality speaker shapes the success of an event.  I want to be your guy.

• Alright, that's enough for now - time to go.  So many giants to slay, so little time.  Thankful that Goliath is always within range of a good slingshot!

 

A prayer on the eve of our 1st Info Mtg

Every person the Father gives Me eventually comes running to Me.

And once that person is with Me, I hold on and don't let go.

I came down from heaven not to follow my own whim

but to accomplish the will of the One who sent Me.  - Jesus in John 6

 

 

I am excited out of my mind to begin this new journey Sunday night.

Imagining the stories of life-change that will ripple through this region,

stories of kids and teens and singles and drunks and couples,

coming face-to-Face with Christ Jesus...

Experiencing life to the fullest?  Goosebumps.

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And it's so freeing to simply be following the Father's calling.

I have nothing to prove.

No agenda.  Not following any of my whims.

Just making Jesus famous.

Reaching the Lost at Any Cost.

And He is making amazing pieces fall into place.

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Father,

Thank you for this tremendous opportunity.

Search the hearts of all who come to our Info Meeting. 

Clear us of agendas, whims, and pride.

Hold us and don't let go.

Make Jesus famous and draw all men to Yourself.

Amen.  Amen.

Ford CEO: "Keep It Simple"

"If you roll the clock back two years ago...
one of the things we realized is we just had too much complexity.

The more that you can have a point of view about the future and clarify what you are about... the more it just unleashes all that creativity."

- Alan Mulally, Ford President & CEO

Thomas Edison and Fresh Starts in a New Year

Editor's Note: Number 1, I'm not an Editor.  I just thought it would be fun to write that.

Number 2, I write a weekly local column called Caffeinated Journey.  I've shared some of these thoughts before here on the blog, but for what it's worth, here is today's column.

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One December evening the cry of ‘Fire!’ echoed through Thomas Edison’s plant.  Spontaneous combustion had broken out in the film room and within moments all the packing compounds, film and other flammable goods had gone up with a whoosh. When the family couldn’t find Edison, they became concerned. Was he safe? With all his assets going up in smoke, would his spirit be broken? He was 67, no age to begin anew.

Then they saw him in the plant yard, running toward the family.
‘Where’s Mom?’ he shouted. ‘Go get her! Tell her to get her friends!
They’ll never see a fire like this again!’

At 5:30 the next morning, when the fire was barely under control, Thomas Edison called his employees together and announced: ‘We’re rebuilding!’ One man was told to lease all the machine shops in the area. Another, to obtain a wrecking crane from the Erie Railroad Company. Then, almost as an afterthought he added, ‘Oh, by the way.  Anybody know where we can get some money?”

Later on he explained, ‘You can always make capital out of disaster. We’ve just cleared out a bunch of old rubbish! We’ll build bigger and better on these ruins.’

Whatever happened last year is now in the past.  If you had a great 2011, great!  But if you had a rough 2011, it’s over and done. And if there’s anything we can learn from Edison in this New Year, it is that you do not have time to maintain past regrets.

This year, start fresh. Dream big. Stand back up and stretch your faith further. That’s the beauty of following Christ: your vision is never too big for God. He forgives, He authors second acts, and He releases you from your past (see Romans 8:1).

Now be careful; don’t waste this fresh page. Don’t be obligated to ordinary.  No one will ever follow you down the street if you’re carrying a banner that says, “Onward toward mediocrity.”

Instead, take risks. Paint a big picture of what could be and should be.
And then do it.

Every time the Wright Brothers would attempt to fly their plane, they would bring enough extra materials for multiple crashes. Which means that every time they went out, they knew they would fail. They would crash and rebuild. And crash and rebuild. And that's why they took off.

If you dream big and work hard, you can do anything in this world.

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Jonathan Herron is the pastor of a new church start-up holding its first Informational Meeting this coming Sunday, January 8th, 5:30pm at The Lighthouse on M-81 in Caro.
More information is online at LifeChurchMichigan.com.