Jonathan Herron

4 Great New Year's Resolutions

For what its worth, Jesus' Greatest Commandment is
a great jumping off point for New Year's resolutions:

4.  "Love the Lord your God with all your... HEART." 
Jesus never did anything half-hearted... He was ALL IN! 
He didn't just walk up the heaving trail to Golgotha and then peter out...
He went all the way to the Cross!
Are you passionately pursuing God with ALL your HEART?  Resolve in the New Year to double-down in following Jesus and throw your full weight into His Rescue Organization - the local church. 

HEART BONUS: You can measure your progress by looking at your checkbook.  How are you budgeting and spending God's money?  After all, Jesus said that your heart is where your treasure is.

3.  "Love the Lord your God with all your... SOUL."
Its easy to focus on the material and neglect the immaterial. 
Resolve in the New Year to focus your spirit on the Spirit. 
Of course I'm going to suggest nourishing your soul with regular rhythms of prayer, feasting on the ancient scriptures, etc.  But if you're a guy who struggles to maintain a regular daily rhythm, allow me to suggest grabbing C.H. Spurgeon's Morning and Evening.  90 seconds in the AM and PM will help you jumpstart facetime with God.

2.  "Love the Lord your God with all your... MIND."
What captures your imagination?  What stirs your passions? 
Who takes up most of your thinking?  If your answer is not God, resolve in the New Year to wage war with your thought life!  Instead of meditating on stress and worries, meditate on God's truths. 
Print out key scriptures every week and paste them everywhere as reminders: on your bathroom mirror, fridge door, in your car, in your locker, etc.  The more you see God's Word in your life, the more God's Word will direct your thought life!

1.  "Love the Lord your God with all your STRENGTH." 
Detroit was just named the FATTEST CITY in America! 
Here's a resolution - resolve to become the Biggest Loser. 
Your body is a TEMPLE of the living God.  Don't atrophy your temple.  Exercise it.
Start small - - walk more.  Skip the elevator and take the stairs. 
Develop self-discipline and get up 30 minutes earlier (by going to bed 30 minutes earlier!) to stretch and work up a sweat.
C'mon - this is a stewardship issue.  Don't let God's temple become a trainwreck dump; take responsibility and exercise in the New Year!

BY THE WAY: You can always tell who is going to get control of their budget - - its the same people who are also taking care of their health. 
Why? 
Both involve self-discipline.  

You can do it!    Seize the psychology of a New Year fresh-start!
Passionately embrace the Greatest Commandment as your jumping-off point for a great year!

Merry Christmas

My blog readership is diverse - from personal friends to church leaders around the country to aspiring church planters and youth pastors. 

For all my blog readers and Twitter followers, may you experience a deeply satisfying Christmas from the only One who can deeply satisfy:

"Had He remained upon His throne of glory, and had we continued in the ruins of the fall without receiving His salvation, communion would have been impossible on both sides.

Our position by the fall, apart from the covenant of grace, made it as impossible for fallen man to communicate with God as it is for Belial to be in concord with Christ.

Jesus must clothe His people in His own garments, or He cannot admit them into His palace of glory; and He must wash them in His own blood, or else they will be too defiled for the embrace of His fellowship.


O believer, herein is love! For your sake the Lord Jesus "became poor" that He might lift you up into communion with Himself." - C.H. Spurgeon

Top 10 of 2010

Honorable Mentions:

Revenge of the Man Card Revoked

Top 10 Christian Author Team-Ups We'd Like to See in 2011

10.  Improv*ing Leadership: YES AND

9.  NewSpring Coaching Network

8.  I Feel Sad for Church-World Critics

7.  Easter 2010 Reflex

6.  What If We Crashed?

5.  Jack Bauer School of Pragmatic Evangelism

4.  Something I Underlined in ReChurch...

3.  Introverts Make Great Communicators

2.  Choose a Bus

1.  MAGGOTS in My Garage

 

Planting a Church in 2011

I love church planters, partly because it's the drumbeat of the New Testament, and partly because I'm part of the tribe.

In 2010, I'm proud that Colwood supported Acts 29 planter Jason Martin of The Journey in Austell, GA.  Jason is knocking it out of the park and I'm thrilled with what God is doing in and through him.

In 2011, we want to go a step further.
We want church planting infused with Colwood's DNA.  We plan to partner with [RE]new, a church community starting from scratch near Cleveland, Ohio.

Imagine if we spent one full year investing in a fresh new church...

Our Christmas Offering was the springboard.
Supporting Andy Sikora is part of our 2011 Budget.
And sending multiple, boots-on-the-ground mission teams is in the works.
Pray with us as we journey forward...

 

* I drink Squirt *

My tall, crisp glass of Squirt this fine winter evening inspired me to dream up and tweet out new tag-lines for the makers of Squirt. 

I've been told my Squirt Tweets (yes, I am going to copyright that term) are blog-worthy.  Enjoy:

SQUIRT: Bringing you under-rated soda since 1938

SQUIRT: Because lemonade was meant to be carbonated

SQUIRT: Sounds like a short-lived 1980's Saturday-morning cartoon show and tastes like really old Mountain Dew mixed with melted ice

SQUIRT: the Detroit Lions of softdrinks

SQUIRT: Caffeine-free because caffeine doesn't do Squirt

SQUIRT: the runty, always-picked-last-in-gym-class,
distant cousin of 7UP

SQUIRT: Like a little piece of heaven.  No, scratch that. 
It's more like a sip from purgatory.

SQUIRT: No, not a Wal-Mart soda knock-off.  We're really Squirt.

SQUIRT: The elf Santa avoids.

This Quote puts the 'Boom' in Boom Sauce

Top 10 Christian Author Team-Ups We'd Like to See in 2011

10.  Joel Osteen + Shane Claiborne: Your Best Life... oh, wait.

9.  Rob Bell + Mark Driscoll: Love Wins Even When I Punch You in the Throat

8.  John Piper + Louie Giglio: Let the Telescopes and Microscopes Rejoice

8.  Perry Noble + Steven Furtick: 
     Stand Still Sons.  Seriously, Let Us All Catch Up!

7.  Carlos Whittaker + Anne Jackson:
     How to Blog About Taking a Break from Blogging

6.  Rick Warren + Perry Noble: Purpose Driven Jockey Lots

5.  Joel Osteen + Matt Chandler: Your Best Silly Toys and Trinkets Now

4.  Ben Arment: The War on Twitter
     (Forward by Ed Stetzer: Missional Cracker Barrel)

3.  Tony Morgan + T.D. Jakes: Giant Inflatable Blue Monkey, Thou Art Loosed!

2.  Erwin McManus + Francis Chan:  Where the Heck Are We?

1.  Rick Warren + Mark Driscoll: Purpose Driven Throat Punching

Honorable Mentions:
Andy Stanley + Erwin Lutzer audiobook:
Pretty Sure This Is What God's Voice Sounds Like

Reggie Joiner + Seth Godin: Orange Cow

Do You Hear? wk2

In the midst of a Winter Storm Warning, we soldiered on with week 2 of Do You Hear?

With the whipping winds, just a tad heavier snowfall would have meant Blizzard conditions.

Yes, attendance was down.  But boy did we worship the King today!
Somebody snapped this pic of Amber and me pausing before the 11am:


Amber's (early) Christmas/Birthday present was a Canon Digital Rebel EOS.  And so here's some photos she snapped...

Spurgeon on Open Hearts

Observe the words (about Lydia in Acts 16:14):

"Whose heart the Lord opened."

She did not open her own heart.  Her prayers did not do it; Paul did not do it. 

In order for us to receive the things that bring about our peace with God, the Lord Himself must open our hearts.  He alone can put the key into the hold of the door, open it, and gain admittance for Himself.  He is the heart's Master as He is the heart's Maker.

The first outward evidence of the opened heart was obedience.  As soon as Lydia had believed in Jesus, she was baptized.  It is a sweet sign of a humble and broken heart when a child of God is willing to obey a command that is not essential to his salvation, that he does not feel forced to comply with out of a selfish fear of condemnation, but that is a simple act of obedience and communion with his Master.

The next evidence was love, manifesting itself in acts of grateful kindness to the apostles.  Love for the saints has always been a mark of the true convert.  Those who do nothing for Christ or His church give but sorry evidence of an "opened" heart.  Lord, give me an opened heart forever. - C.H. Spurgeon

Calcium in the Backbone

Whether you lead a team of paid staff
or high-impact volunteers,
you're the leader.

Together, your team can make what could be and should be actually become.
But you carry the vision banner forward.

Stay tuned into your team for the following:

• Vision leaks
• Communication sabotage from the Enemy
• Misunderstandings that sabotage hope
• Grumbling that looks backward

When these pop up on your leader, the sky is not falling.
Its just part of the cycle of leading a team.

Your team is the backbone of your organization.
When things feel brittle, the leader is the calcium in the backbone.

Refocus your team on Jesus.
Big, thundering Jesus.
His white-hot vision for your team will resolidify a sturdy backbone.

The late Dr. Martin de Maat used to always say to me,

"No one will ever follow you down the street
 if you're carrying a banner that says,
'Onward toward mediocrity.'"

Let the fire in YOUR bones contagiously reignite THEIRS.
Leader, you are the calcium in your organization's backbone!