Jonathan Herron

How the Earliest Christians Experienced the Aftermath of the Resurrection

I’ve always been fascinated by the lives of the earliest Christians who lived two thousand years ago.  Under the crush of Roman occupation, a new movement was birthed: men and women who worshiped the risen Messiah.  This wave of radical acceptance and grace-filled lives swept the world and changed human history.

In 1947, J.B. Phillips wrote this description of the Christian movement: 

“The great difference between present-day Christianity and that of which we read in these letters is that to us it is primarily a performance, to them it was a real experience. 

We are apt to reduce the Christian religion to a code, or at best a rule of heart and life.  To these men it is quite plainly the invasion of their lives by a new quality of life altogether. 
They do not hesitate to describe this as Christ ʻliving inʼ them. 

These early Christians were on fire with the conviction that they had become, through Christ, literally sons of God; they were pioneers of a new humanity, founders of a new Kingdom. They still speak to us across the centuries.  Perhaps if we believed what they believed, we might achieve what they achieved.”

The earliest followers experienced the powerful aftermath of Jesus’ empty tomb: thousands of people turning to Jesus as their Master and Forgiver, radical life-change, and rumblings throughout society about this God-man who now lives. 

In addition to keeping the Jewish Sabbath, these first followers of Christ added the observance of the first day of the week - the day that Jesus rose from death to life.  This is why most Christians worship on Sunday mornings. 

According to premiere Christian historian Justo Gonzalez, the earliest communion services did not center on Christ’s passion - they were not quiet, introspective, reflective services.  Instead, Christians worshiped weekly in loud celebration, understanding that the tomb was empty, death could not hold Jesus, and He was ushering in a new age of victory.  Yes, every Sunday was a party for One!  It was much later - centuries later - before the focus of Christian worship shifted towards the death of Jesus.  In the earliest Christian community, the breaking of bread took place “with glad and generous hearts” (Acts 2:46).

And so this year as our hearts turn toward the resurrection, may we embrace this same infectious enthusiasm first demonstrated by the earliest Christ followers.  May we worship Jesus Christ with great passion, may we love others with scandalous grace, and may we be outward-focused in our church communities. 

An empty tomb provokes nothing less.

Life Church Michigan - Coming this Fall

5 things I want you to know:

1. Here's the news you have been waiting for:
   Weekly Sunday morning gatherings begin Sunday, May 6th at 11am in the banquet facility of Arrowhead Golf Club!  The plan is to meet every week through the summer for engaging teaching and planning for our official launch this Fall.  If you know people who like to laugh but absolutely dread going to church, bring them with you.  And yes, we will have fun stuff for your kiddo's too! 
   
   
2. We need your help in pointing your Facebook friends to our new page!  Whoever gets the most people to LIKE our Facebook page wins (drumroll, please) our new limited edition Life Church tee! 
   
   Post and re-post to your Facebook status... and help us bring life to our region!
   
   And as you can see from the pic, we splurged on a high-end model.
   
   
   
3. Even though we haven't officially launched yet (coming this Fall!), Life Church loves this community and is passionate about making a difference in people's lives!!
   
   One local organization we enthusiastically stand behind and support is the annual Miles for Mary. 
   
   I had the privilege of knowing Mary and officiated her memorial service last year.  In her memory, we want to help fund cancer research and aid area families dealing with medical bills due to cancer.   Go check them out and get involved!
   
   
   
   
4. Big prayer request: We're meeting with the owner of the building we are hoping to buy next week in downtown Chicago.  Please pray - - if God wants us to redeem the property for Kingdom purposes, pray for a big green light.  If God has something better for Life Church, pray for a big red light.  Either way, God wins!
   
   
   
5. The hardest part about starting something from nothing is EVERYTHING! 
   
   Jesus teaches us that with God, all things are possible.  Not some; all!  We are excited to be following His lead in launching a new church for people who don't like going to church.
   
   It's going to take massive financial support to reach the hundreds thousands of people in our region who do not darken a church door.  It's time for us to humbly begin thinking and praying about how each of us will financially support Life Church Michigan.
   
   It's natural to think that the more we give, the less we'll have.  Not true.
   God can do more with 90% than we can do with 100%!
   
   Here's what I learned this past weekend about the world-record Mega Millions jackpot:
   
        Chances of winning lotto = 1 in 174,000,000.
   
        Chances God will fulfill Malachi 3:10 = 1 in 1!
   
   Online giving to Life Church is available here or you can mail your tax-deductible support checks here. 
   
   And keep your eyes peeled for our big 50 in 50 Initiative coming this May and June!

Thanks for staying in the loop with our church start-up.  I love you guys and passionately believe in the vision God has given us.  Now let's rev things up and make a difference for time and eternity!

 

Soooooo, about that "resignation" last summer...

This question came in recently; it's one I've been asked over and over again over the past year:

"Sooooo, why did you resign from your church last summer?
It looked like you were hitting it out of the park." 

I've been waiting to respond, asking God to give me the exact right words that would honor Him, His Church, and bring closure that inspires forward-movement of the Gospel.

Before I answer this honest question, let me share why I'm opening up now. 

 

Why Now?

Amber and I have tried to go above and beyond in not causing confusion or creating disruption within our previous church home.  This is why we haven't blogged or tweeted or messenger pigeoned anyone about these events in our lives.  What we've learned through this experience is that when the truth is suppressed, that is what actually causes confusion.

Two weeks ago I was in Phoenix for a national gathering of church leaders.  God spoke to me in a very real way - - He released me to share my heart.   1 John 4 tells us that God is love and that His adoration is fully expressed in Jesus Christ.  When the Father sees me, He sees His Son.  I haven't done anything to earn this love; I can only receive it as a gift.

Listen, I have a Master's degree from cemetary seminary.  I'm in my thirteenth year of full-time ministry.  I understand the Gospel in my mind.  But everytime life throws me a curve-ball, I get to understand the Gospel in my soul.  As Chuck Swindoll once said, "When God has an impossible task, He takes an impossible man and crushes him."  Crushing is always for our spiritual growth.  And I can say that this brutally crushing experience has deepened my faith to a greater depth than if I had not experienced it in the first place.

Our family grew in March.  When we brought our newborn home recently, I held her delicately in my arms, looked into her searching baby eyes, and knew at a vulnerable level that I loved her.  Deeply.  Tenderly.  In that moment, this father looked at his daughter and said, "I will always love you.  I will keep you safe.  You have nothing to fear in this life."

Bam.

This is how God the Father sees me in Christ: I am in His arms where His voice speaks to my soul: "I will always love you.  I will keep you safe.  You have nothing to fear in this life."  After reading that God is love in 1 John 4, we read this two verses later:

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.

God is love and He casts out all fear.  When I live my life with anxiety, my root issue is unbelief.  When I trust the Lord in all things, I am growing as a follower of Jesus. 

The irony is that in what was to become my final message last July at our previous church home, I preached about becoming Fear-less.  Funny how God gave me that opportunity immediately thereafter!  Applying the Gospel to this area of my life is releasing me to share openly about our family's experience.  I've been re-writing these words over and over in my mind for many months, trying to share the honest-to-goodness truth, but showering my thoughts in a spirit of tremendous grace.  Please consider this my best shot.

 

Soooooo, why did you resign from your church last summer? 

I didn't. 

Well, I guess technically I did, but it wasn't my choice.

I know, crazy, huh?  Allow me to give some backstory: our family moved to Michigan a few years ago and we love this community and region.  As I have said throughout many sermons over the years, God called our family here to plant deep roots and to radically reach this region for Christ. 

During our time at our previous church home, we saw just that kind of fruit: 328 people received Christ, 135 public baptisms, and 168 went deeper in discipleship through church membership.  A year ago right now we were regularly hitting 700 in weekly attendance across three worship services.  Every number has a name, every name has a story, and every story matters to God!  Our entire family was happy, excited, and we even bought a new house here three months before this all went down.

So, what changed?  When a church experiences rapid growth, growing pains set in.  New believers who might look different on the outside and who are young in the faith on the inside require next-steps discipleship, which in turn requires changes in priorities as a church family. 

Unfortunately, we experienced a situation similar to what happened to Tullian Tchividjian when he took the helm of an older, traditional church, only our story ended differently.  The Reader's Digest version is this: Last summer I had two back surgeries.  During my absence, a decision was made by the board and just-hired executive pastor.  While I was excited that I had recovered enough to return back to work, their news came suddenly and without warning.  I was told that the board wanted us to separate and I was given a 15 minute deadline to agree (I only share this last detail to help clear up any lingering confusion - Amber and I don't want anyone thinking I had planned this out or that the Herrons just decided to just up and walk away abruptly from our church family).   As to the reason for the separation, the senior-most member of that board later wrote to us that they had decided that my philosophy of ministry was not the right fit.  The board wanted to take the church's vision in a completely different direction.  

How did receiving this abrupt news make us feel?  We're human.  Our entire family was hurt.  Deeply. 

We have tried connecting with the five who made this decision to seek gospel-centered understanding and closure; curiously we have only experienced silence.    

As time has gone by, anyone can observe that they have indeed taken the church's flavor and ministry philosophy in a completely different direction.  And that's ok. 

I agree that I would not have been a good fit for the philosophy and direction of things as they are now.  So our family is at peace with the board's decision. 

 

Silly Chatter

All this being said, we believe that how the decision was communicated could have been done differently to better reflect the Gospel.  With no goodbyes or closure for anyone, it created an information and relational vaccuum for everyone.  Proverbs 29:18 is true - in the absence of clarity, things fall apart.  When there's secrecy wrapped in abruptness, people try to fill in the gaps with rumors.

Now I've heard many rumors in my lifetime, the biggest being that Elvis faked his death, became a trucker, and retired to Kalamazoo.  Interesting rumor to entertain at parties, but no matter how many times it's been repeated over the years, that doesn't make the rumor true.

A pastor has to have tough skin and a soft heart.  Our family chose to ignore all the silly chatter but to always be willing to sit down and talk honestly with anyone who contacted us in a sincere spirit of grace and truth.  All of the gossip was false, and anyone who has taken the time to develop a personal relationship with our family saw through it immediately. 

We know that we will always be misunderstood by gossips, but that's the price of doing something truly significant - - in the Bible, reaching people far from God gets you in trouble with religious folk.  I'm more concerned about reaching the lost in my community than I am about being misunderstood by the religious folks.  

My commitment going forward is to speak about those who oppose my ministry in a forgiving manner, in a Christ-like manner.  I will, by God's grace, do my best to take the high road, to not disparage anybody, to operate in a posture of understanding.  

After all, we only have two options when someone hurts you:

1. Give them back what they gave you.
   
   
2. Give them back what God gave you.

 

 Moving Forward

As I've consistently preached from Day One, we are for every church and pastor (in fact, I did a whole message series about this in January of 2011 called UN1TED)! 

You will not hear us speak ill of other church leaders, nor will we engage with silly church-world critics.  Jesus is about building up His church; only the enemy seeks to tear people down.  

We deeply love our previous church home and are actively praying for God to bless them! 

The Gospel compels us to take the high road even when it hurts.    Taking the high road isn't always the easiest route. Yet it is the route where God receives the most glory.  Proverbs 19:11 says, "A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense." 

We are excited about moving forward toward seeing even more people experience new life in Christ.  We understand that it will take all different flavors of churches to reach all different flavors of people, and so we are excited to be able to offer one of those flavors that will be completely different from anything else in this region.  As I always say, we are not here to compete with other churches but to complete the Body of Christ!

Thank you for being part of our journey.  Our family appreciates your prayers and encouragement as we continue to make much of the Gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Peace be with you.