Jonathan Herron

EntreLeadership for Church Planters: Unity + Loyalty

Dave Ramsey will not tolerate gossip at this company.
They have a No-Gossip Policy; it's actually one of their Core Values!

Proverbs says, "Whoever guards his mouth and tongue keeps his soul from troubles."   EntreLeaders of Church Plants need to make unity and loyalty a big issue before it becomes a big issue!

People don't naturally unify; they must be led to do so.

Long-term unity and loyalty in church plants are so rare, which is why when we see it, we are attracted to it.  Unity is intentionally created when we give up personal gain and glory for the good of each other.

Think Band of Brothers.
Intentional loyalty is contagious.
When someone has your back, you can't help but have theirs.

Preaching, teaching, and modeling unity and motivation over your people is key.  As Zig Ziglar once said, "People say motivation doesn't last, well neither does bathing, that is why we recommend both daily!"

Ramsey sees gossip as disloyalty:

If one of my leaders or I catch a team member gossiping we will warn them once, then we will fire them.  Gossip is evil, insidious, and contagious.

Problems or gripes are fine, but they must be handed up to leadership.  Problems or gripes that are handed down ot laterally are by definition gossip and run the team member the risk of being fired.

Hand your negatives up and your positives down.

Yes!  This is TRUTH!

In my experience, gossip is the #1 weapon of the Enemy in tearing churches apart.  Jesus said that He would build His church; gossip never builds up, it tears down.  When gossip is tolerated, the church community is put in harm's way. 

Small minds talk about people, mediocre minds talk about events, and great minds talk about ideas.

Protect unity and loyalty in your church plant at all costs - stamp out gossip!

And grab Dave Ramsey's new book, EntreLeadership, for more insights!

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WHAT'S NEXT FOR JON

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EntreLeadership for Church Planters: No Magic, No Mystery

Why do some church plants seem to take off like a space shuttle
while others flop?

Two books offer answers: Ben Arment's
Church in the Making: What Makes or Breaks a New Church Before it Starts
and Dave Ramsey's EntreLeadership: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches. 

Let's delve into a bit from the latter:

Overnight Success is an illusion.

"If I just had..." needs to be struck from every church planter's thinking.

There is no magic, no mystery.  Only the Momentum Theorem. 

Momentum is not a random lightning strike, it is actually created:

Focused Intensity over Time multiplied by God = Momentum!

Focus keeps you, well, focused.  Fear and greed distract you.

Intensity is about caring deeply about something. 
In this case, your church plant's vision.

Focused intensity over time is what you have control over in your life:

One of my beliefs is that you should study, interview, and when possible hang out with people who are better than you in an area you want to win in.  If you want to get in shape don't spend a bunch of time with couch potatoes.

Focus and intensity are finite.  God is limitless. 
When He enters the equation, unstoppable momentum occurs!

Passion sells.  "There is no energy in logic, only in emotions."
You will only sacrifice when you passionately believe in the outcome.

There are no overnight successes.  Only the Momentum Theorem in action!
More on this from Dave Ramsey here.

 

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WHAT'S NEXT FOR JON

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Risking Themselves Totally

Matthew 28:18-20 is the famous conclusion to the 1st Gospel:
The Great Commission.

It's the William Wallace charge for church leaders!

Jesus tells His followers to go and take His message global.

But the verse that sets up Jesus' final command is eye-opening. 

Look at how the Bible describes the disciple's hearts:

And when they saw Him, they fell down and worshiped Him;
but some doubted. (AMP)

Whenever I read this verse, I pull a Gary Coleman:
"Whatcha talkin' about, Willis?"

These church leaders are standing in the very presence of God the Son, as He's ascending into heaven... and some doubted?

The Message is more blatant:

The moment they saw him they worshiped him. Some, though, held back, not sure about worship, about risking themselves totally. (MSG)

Risking Themselves Totally.

That's the key concept for church leaders.

Are we willing to risk ourselves totally for Jesus' Great Commission...
or do we doubt?

Do we believe that God has given us a perhaps or His Promise?

Does the ascendant Jesus make us yawn or inspire holy fear?

Because what happens in our Verse 17 impacts how we live out Verses 18-20.

 

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WHAT'S NEXT FOR JON

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EntreLeadership for Church Planters: Get A Spine!

Continuing our look at EntreLeadership through the lens of church planters...

Church Planters are faced with tons of decisions.
You have to make a move or you won't move.
Your church plant and core team will be paralyzed when you are.

In EntreLeadership, Dave Ramsey points out that there is an easier way to make hard decisions:

You put all you dream about in jeopardy when you are indecisive.
Nothing gets killed by your gun when all you say is,
"Ready, aim, aim, aim..."

Decision paralysis drives your team crazy and chokes up momentum.  The Bible says that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways - - EntreLeaders must make up their minds and resist "squirrel theology" (indecision caused by fear will get you killed like a squirrel darting back-and-forth in front of a car!).

Ramsey offers simple solutions for getting a spine:

- You can't be afraid of criticism.  It comes with the territory if you're doing anything of scale that matters.

- Never make a decision when you're angry.

- Set a self-imposed deadline.  It creates action.

- The more money involved the more you should slow down.

- Have lots of options.  "Options are power and therefore options remove fear."

- No good options?  Create options!  Search for more!

- Information is King.  Titus said, "We fear things in proportion to our ignorance of them."

- Decisions set you free: "There is tremendous energy and peace that decision-making brings."

Church planters are notorious for kicking the ball slowly down the field but never scoring the easy touchdown.  The church leader with steel in his spine not only creates forward movement for the organization, but also inspires hope in his people.  And when you're creating something out of nothing, hope is valuable!

EntreLeadership covers many more ways to overcome decision paralysis, but you get the picture.    Want more?  Watch Dave Ramsey explain the Two Marathons.

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WHAT'S NEXT FOR JON

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EntreLeadership for Church Planters: Passion

It sounds obvious, but if you're not absolutely oozing with irresistable passion for your church plant's vision, you can't expect anybody else to be passionate either! 

You're the leader.  You set the bar and guard the bar.

Dave Ramsey defines an EntreLeader's passion this way:

Passion causes things to move,
and passion creates a force multiplier.
Passion actually covers a multitude of sins.
EntreLeaders care deeply, and that is basically what passion is.

Bingo!  If God has birthed a dream in your heart, bursting with authentic enthusiasm for that vision is what causes people to join your team, entrust their money, and follow the leader. 

I am convinced that Christ-followers are absolutely dog-hungry for EntreLeaders who will paint a compelling vision of what the local church could be and should be in their community.

Clarity sharpens focus.  Laser-focused, passionate, Spirit-empowered witnesses turn the world upside-down!

Ramsey goes on to say:

As a leader, if I know you care deeply (passion!), then when you screw up, I will be quick to give you a second or third chance.

When you're church planting, you're going to make mistakes. 
Passion covers a multitude of sins!
When your team knows your heart, they will believe the best.

It is the EntreLeader's job to insert passion and passionate people into the organization's processes and outcomes.  

If you are lacking pure motivation and do not care deeply about your church plant's vision, how do you expect everyone else to?  Fuel your passion. 

Besides EntreLeadership, another way to refuel your passion is through an event my friend Perry Noble is opening up to pastors: ReAwaken.  Check it out.

Bottom-line: Do whatever it takes to get passionate about God's mission and set yourself on fire! 

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WHAT'S NEXT FOR JON

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EntreLeadership for Church Planters

When you combine leadership
(someone who guides and inspires others)
with entrepreneurship
(someone who organizes and assumes risk for a venture),
you end up with, EntreLeadership
(the process of leading, causing growth and prosperity).

Rather than write up a standard review of Dave Ramsey's fantastic new book, EntreLeadership: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches, I thought this week I'd unpack principles from Dave's book for church planters.

Creating something out of nothing is the job description for two types of professionals: improv-comedians and church planters.  The latter are the kamikaze-warriors of the church world, chasing a dream birthed in their heart by God to reach people who never darken a church door.

While church plants are the best way to evangelize lost people, the risks and failure rates are high due to the Law of the Lid.  As Dave explains:

"There is a lid on my organization and on my future, and that lid is me.  I am the problem with my company and you are the problem with your company...  You want to know what is holding back your dreams from becoming a reality? 
Go look in your mirror."

That is TRUTH!  Anybody can blame others and make excuses when things fall apart; it's the EntreLeader Church Planter who can courageously take responsibility, ruthlessly self-evaluate, and grow past the lid they allowed to contain the dream. 

Please don't tell me the sad story of how all the odds were stacked against you and the people just didn't understand - - the Bible says that the anointing drops from the beard!  As goes the king (church planter), so goes the people (church plant).

As Dave says, "You're the one person you can change the easiest. 
You can decide to grow."

Want more?  Here's the 1st chapter of EntreLeadership FREE.

Also, get the EntreLeadership podcast and follow them on Twitter!

More insights for church planters throughout the week. 

 

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WHAT'S NEXT FOR JON

For the latest updates on what's next for me,
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What's Next

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Lincoln's Leadership Critics

Leaders are generally encouraged after they've led courageously,
but not always in the moment.

Take Abraham Lincoln for example.

He had loud critics everywhere:

One of his army commanders, George McClellan, described Lincoln (his boss) as "no more than a well-meaning baboon."

In 1863, the Chicago Times described one of Lincoln's speeches as "an offensive exhibition of boorishness and vulgarity," adding,
"By the side of it, mediocrity is superb."

The name of that speech? 

The Gettysburg Address.

My point?

There are no statues of George McClellan or the Chicago Times overlooking the National Mall in Washington.

79% Certain

Leaders are sometimes  rarely never 100% certain about new initiatives.

80% certain is any leader's best hope; the last 20% is faith in God.

 

Then there's being 79% certain about something.

It's the sliver that separates dream from action.

 

Erwin McManus once said,

"You cannot be a people of conquest if you're unwilling to enter the battle."

79% certain is where the battle is triggered.

A personal letter to my son on his 5th birthday

Josiah Nathan,

Your first name means fire of the LORD.

Your middle name means God has given. 

So that makes you a little guy on fire from God, for God.

You were born on a rainy Monday evening. 
Delivery Rooms are always a glorious mess of sweat, blood, life, stress, and profound excitement.  I was thrilled/floored when God surprised us with the nurse's unexpected pronouncement: "It's a BOY!" 

Fast-forward five years and here we are. 
This year you became:
less Cars and more Dinosaurs,
less Pugs and more Wiener Dogs,
less of a Consumer and more of a Creator,
less little boy and more Mister Independent.

Speaking of which, you are now a (loudly) self-proclaimed Animal Rescuer. 
We might as well print up the business cards!

You've already mastered Pre-Kindergarten.  Fearless, you assured Mommy since Day One that you don't need a parental escort up the bustling sidewalk to the front doors.  Mister Independent, indeed.

That fiery spunk also simmers with divine compassion for people far from God.  On a recent Sunday morning in the van, you observed out the window the number of people mowing lawns or lazily watering flowers... but not going to church.  "They need someone to tell them about Jesus," was your observation.  Amazing insight for any man, let alone a little one.

And you've rolled with the punches.  Our family has entered God's fluid, misty path of faith amidst an unclear destination.  When Mommy and Daddy shared what would be difficult news for your little world that Jesus was moving us out of the only church community you've ever really known, your immediate response was classic.  God had already prepared your heart and used your roll-with-it attitude to minister to us.

You delight our daily lives with your extroverted personality, silly jokes, and sweet dance moves.  Hearing you recount Bible stories with gusto and passion makes us proud. 

You are five.  This is cause for celebration, because God is a God of life. 
Your grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins are all traveling great distances to surprise you and envelope you with love this weekend.  Friends you haven't met yet are generously preparing something extraordinary for you. 
God is good.  Truly your Father is delighting in you, as are we.

Josiah, you are loved. 
And we can't wait to see what this next year of life holds.