Jonathan Herron

Man Series Reflex, Week Three (the Trilogy is Complete)

 

• We wrapped up Get Your Man Card Punched with our largest crowd for this series yet!
• About A Mile were our guest worship band - blown away by these guys!  They brilliantly covered Weezer's Beverly Hills ahead of the message.
• Hands-down favorite moment came during 11am worship.  Amber and I grabbed seats with friends in the 3rd row, stage left.  I met a guy who told me his kids made him speed to church to arrive early so that his teens and their pals could secure front row seats!  As the worship set progressed, more and more people arrived trying to cram into the front rows - - we had to get up and move toward the middle to open up what few seats were left.  Love it!
• A man manages his money well.
• Money is the #1 spiritual indicator of where people are at.
• The #1 competitor for our hearts is money.
• Jesus: "If you love money, you will hate God."
• When God's reality is not our reality, then our reality is not reality.
• Reality: God owns everything.
• Our church doesn't need your money.  Don't believe me?  Tithe to another church in town!  We don't want something from you; we want something for you!
• I got to share some recent behind-the-scenes stories of how our church's generosity has directly met confidential crisis-needs in the Caro community.
• Acts 4:36-37 literally happened this past month.  Holy Wow.  Only God.
• Halloween is a great time to teach your kids about tithing.  Gather all their candy and explain, "I am the father and I expect 10%..."
• We challenged people to get on a budget using these free tools and to connect with a Financial Coach.  Praying for many, many families to become completely debt-free in the coming years!
• And remember, Christmas is NOT an emergency!  It comes EVERY year!  If you don't budget months ahead of time, do not go into debt for it.  Amber and I have spent many Christmases choosing not to buy presents... and its the best decision over spending money you do not have for an "emergency" that does not exist!
• Next week we begin an in-depth series on the Book of Jonah.  Trust me, its not what you think.  Bring a Bible with you for this special series of messages!
• And finally, Amber, Josiah and I were not expecting the special presentation during the 11am worship experience.  Blown away.  

Phriday is for Photos

More Herron Family photography from the awesome Beth Eggert archived here.

My photos at Flickr.com/FollowJon.

Random shots (plus Miami Heat trash talk) at Twitter.com/FollowJon.

Revenge of the Man Card Revoked or Man Series Reflex, Week Two

• Week Two of Get Your Man Card Punched was a BLAST!
• Inspiration for the 11am special?  Pomplamoose.
• Jesus never says, "Try harder."  Jesus says, "Follow Me."
• Proximity to Christ = Growth as a Man!
• 1 Corinthians 11:3 tells us everyone is responsible to someone:
  the Father sends the Son,
  a godly husband takes responsibility for his wife and family,
  and Christ is every man's Role Model.
• Single guys - stop worrying about your Facebook profile and focus on the Kingdom first!
• Single guys - ZIP IT! 
• "But we're in love."  How long have you been in your relationship?  Two weeks?!  That's not a relationship; that's an antibiotic cycle!!
• How far is "too far?"  Look at 1 Timothy 5:2.  If you wouldn't do it with your Momma or Sister, stop doing it with your Girlfriend!
• "Should we move in together?"  We've got a verse for that question too!
• God is not a cosmic-killjoy.  He lovingly provides boundaries that lead toward a better relationship!
• Put a ring on it!  Or else stop playing with that girl's heart because she is another man's wife.
• We're wrapping up our Man Series this coming Sunday with special guest band About A Mile leading 11am worship.  Looking forward to it!

Ban the Ban

Sunday's message tapped into something in our community.
Seriously, I have never experienced this much feedback on a message series.

Not only is it all positive feedback;
it's "I-needed-this-swift-kick-in-the-rear" feedback.

Not just from wives and girlfriends.
From men.
Hungry for a spiritual challenge.

We unpacked a term coined by Darrin Patrick - the Ban. 
Think of Will Ferrell: prolonging adolescence as a hybrid boy-man... a Ban.   

Bans are created by a North American church culture that fails to point to a BIG Jesus who demands awe, reverance, and worship from men created in His image.

Jesus sets the bar and guards the bar by defining biblical masculinity. 

Our handout included this rich quote from Arnold Dallimore:

"And what manner of man will they be?  Men mighty in the Scriptures,
their lives dominated by a sense of the greatness, the majesty of God,
and their minds and hearts aglow with the great truths of the
doctrines of grace.  They will be men who have learned what it is to
die to self, to human aims and personal ambitions;
men who are willing to be 'fools for Christ's sake,'
who will bear reproach and falsehood, who will labour and suffer,
and whose supreme desire will be, not to gain earth's accolades,
but to win the Master's approbation when they appear before
His awesome judgement seat."

The message in its entirety is available for free via iTunes.

Invite some buddies this weekend as we unpack relationships with women.
Let's raise the bar.

Trust Us, This Is All Made Up

Over the weekend I caught the film Trust Us, This Is All Made Up on the Documentary Channel.  Following Chicago improvisers David Pasquesi and T.J. Jagodowski, the film unpacks the partnership "mind-meld" that occurs between two men creating live comedy on the fly.

(Full disclosure: I worked with Jagodowski years ago at Second City, but happened upon this film completely by chance).

Any leadership team - particularly pioneering tribes constantly creating new material (pastors!) - would benefit from not only the improvised performance in the film, but also the behind-the-scenes moments at the very beginning. 

David and T.J. perform via absolute trust in one another - a hallmark of improvised comedy.  You have to trust your partner when there is no script. 

Trust is a constant dance between two supporting partners, inviting the mind to revert to preschool playtime as adults.  That is where great comedy naturally flows from.

The two continually work at getting into each other's minds, trying to understand how each other thinks so as to anticipate and develop deeper trust when on stage. 

For example, they take a day to observe NYC, spontaneously verbalizing whatever flows through their mind at that moment.  This helps the other partner better understand his train of thought, which translates to greater trust and creative anticipation later on stage.  Fascinating.

Highly recommend this film for creative teams. 
Plus it reinforces my theory that Introverts Make Great Communicators.

 

Man Series Reflex, wk 1

• Today was an absolute AVALANCHE of ENERGY!  The authentic passion during BOTH services was off the chain.  Seriously, I saw 70-somethings during the 9:30 singing their guts out and lifting their hands in worship.  Unbelievable. 
• Dan Thorp smoothly slid into worship-leading mode this morning.  His heart for God was genuinely felt.
• Loved the 9:30 saxophones!
• Amazing stage design from Craig Hodges.  Yes, those are real pine trees on the stage!
• I kept waiting for Home Improvement's "Wilson" to pop up from behind the on-stage fence.
• Yes, I used a BBQ as my pulpit.
• Men-of-the-Week was a hit.  We're giving away the two highly-prized football chairs on October 31st - be there!
• Yes, I yelled a lot today.  Men respond to yelling because men respond to being challenged.  
• EIGHT TEN people prayed to receive Christ during the 11:00! 
• There were 81 children having a BLAST during the 11:00!
• I loved seeing the new electronic kids check-in in use today.  We are continuing to learn and work out the kinks.  What a great layer of added security for parents as we head toward the busy holiday season.
• When it comes to being a godly man, we set the bar and guard the bar based on the Warrior-King, Jesus.
• Biblical masculinity always points to Creation, not Culture! (see 1 Corinthians 15).
• Next week we're tackling the topic of the opposite sex.  The buddies you invite to church next weekend will not believe the Top 40 song the Band will be covering for week two of the Man Series!
• About a Mile will be here October 31st leading worship at 11am and headlining concerts Sunday night (sr high) and Monday night (middle schoolers) in the Student Ministry Center.  Can't wait!

NewSpring Coaching Network, part two

 
[ Read part one here ]

Ten of our staff and spouses journeyed to NewSpring for a day of coaching and leadership development.  And Holy Wow.  So much to process.

I am always blown away by the level of care by NewSpring Volunteers.  During lunch I quietly timed it out in my head: a volunteer would pass by and check on us every 15 seconds.  And these were church volunteers!  The love and passion they have for their church's vision is inspiring.

Inspiring too was Perry's morning session - - he basically let us sit-in on a Come-to-Jesus NewSpring Staff Meeting.  My biggest take-away was this nugget:

"A church on cruise-control = Israel in Hebrews 3:16-19."

I really appreciated the insights from Creative Arts Pastor Shane Duffey, who led a Senior Pastors Only coaching breakout in the afternoon.  Although I didn't have the chance to get to know Shane deeply during my time at NewSpring years ago, I've always appreciated from afar his calm, collected steadiness as a leader and his genuine love of the Scriptures.

What spoke most to me was Shane's focus on Psalm 78:70-72.  Lead Pastors must shepherd the souls of their staff team.  Like David, our aim is to lead them with integrity of heart and skill of hand.  You lead people and shepherd gifts.

How often am I quick to ask WHAT my staff is doing instead of asking HOW my staff is doing?  Shane's encouragement was to invest in their souls more than their duties.  The overflow of soul-investment creates healthy sheep.

Shane pivoted to visioneering by comparing your leadership with the basics of driving:

1.  Aim High in Steering.
Look far down the road to keep yourself going where you need to go (vision).  "Any sudden movement can get you out of your lane."

2.  Keep Your Eyes Moving. 
Be aware and pay attention to your church's ministries.

3.  Leave Yourself an Out.
Driving on a three-lane highway?  Take the middle lane in case you need an out.  If it ain't working, let it go.

4.  Make Sure They SEE You.
Blindspots are dangerous.  Just like driving around truckers, people need to SEE you leading visibly.  People do NOT do what you inspect; people do what they SEE YOU DO.  "Modeling, not manipulation, motivates."

5.  Back Up Only When Necessary.
"Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.  Fool me a THIRD time, I should lose my job!"  It is negligent to have repetitive mistakes.

6.  Do NOT Swerve for Animals.
Critics are the squirrels that dart out in front of your car at the worst possible moment.  You can slow down and invite them to join, but do not swerve.  Shane was adament: "Do NOT make decisions based on criticism."