Jonathan Herron

How Mark Cuban Makes Things Happen

Everyone tells you how they are going to be "special,"
but few do the work to get there.
Do the work.
-Mark Cuban

 

10 Leadership Quotes That Will Get You Fired Up

 

Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear
and no concept of the odds against them. - Robert Jarvik

I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been. – Wayne Gretzky

The greatest failure is not to try. - Debbi Fields

You will be misjudged, underestimated and unfairly rejected.
The alternative, of course, is much safer. To be ignored. - Seth Godin

Failure means we dared to give it a shot. - Matthew Barnett

You don't drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there. - Edwin Louis Cole

Courage is almost a contradiction in terms.
It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.  - G.K. Chesterton

Never look back unless you are planning to go that way. - Henry David Thoreau

A true test of a servant is how you respond when you are treated like one. - Wayne Cordiero

I'd rather fail at something really difficult than succeed at something that comes easily! - Katharine Hepburn

 

 

Move Fast and Break Things

I love these 5 guiding values of Facebook:

1. Focus on Impact: Facebook employees do not waste time and concentrate on solving the most important problems that make the biggest difference.
2. Move Fast: Facebook employees are to “Move fast and break things.” 
3. Be Bold: A mantra at Facebook is, “The riskiest thing is to take no risks.”
4. Be Open: Give people as much information as possible so people can make better decisions. 
5. Build Social Value: Facebook exists not to build their own company, but to make the world more open and connected.

Where I'm Speaking

Swing by and say 'hey' if you're in the area:

• August 11-12, 2012  |  Sterling Heights, Michigan  |   Heritage Church
  Topic: Mixed Blessings: Blending Your Family (adoption, kids, family life)

• August 19, 2012  |  Petoskey, Michigan  |  Genesis Church
  Topic: How to Move Forward When Mapquest Isn't Working

• September 16, 2012  |  Saginaw, Michigan  |  Life Church Michigan

• October 14, 2012  |  Saginaw, Michigan  |  Life Church Michigan

• November 11, 2012  |  Saginaw, Michigan  |  Life Church Michigan

• December 9, 2012  |  Saginaw, Michigan  |  Life Church Michigan

• February 15-18, 2013  |  Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania  |   Church of the Lutheran Brethren
  Topic: We are UN1TED

I'd love to speak at your place.  Here's how we can work together to create a winning event!

 

Why Yes, We Have an App for that!

Five fast updates:

• Sorry for the lack of blog posts.  On top of starting a new church from scratch, a crazy, unexpected-yet-God-sized project fell into my lap that has a tight deadline...  Thus the lack of blogging and tweets from me for a short bit.  I'm hoping to finally be able to let the cat out of the bag on this new project by week's end...

• Speaking of our church start-up, we have a new app!  Be one of the cool kids by downloading our free app for your iPhone or Android device.

• Jimmy Savage is putting together an amazing line-up in his band for our first monthly worship service on Sep 16th.  In fact, The Movement will be leading worship at Life Church through the end of 2012!  I spent three hours swapping war stories with him late last week and - wow - Jimmy is the real deal: passionate about God, crazy-talented, and sold-out to supporting church planters' ambitions.  Go grab his single on iTunes.

• Thank you to everyone praying up, volunteering for, and financially supporting Life Church.  We are super-pumped about all the amazing behind-the-scenes pieces falling into place by God's grace.  

• And finally, a special shout-out to Meadowland Church in Illinois - - they heard about our church start-up online and started financially supporting us on their own initiative.  Talk about being proactively Kingdom-minded - -  Holy Wow!

 

I Love Our Church Start-Up!

God is so good. Let them know that this is your hand; you, O Lord, have done it! - Psalm 109:27 We have so much to be thankful for as a start-up: Monthly Worship Services Begin September 16th Jimmy Savage and The Movement Band are leading worship for us this Fall! We're holding monthly worship services at The Dow Event Center in Saginaw, Michigan Our fundraising goal of $50k in 50 Days?  We received $45k in pledges and donations!  There's still time to donate!! Converge is excited about partnering with Life by providing a Matching Grant - - every dollar you donate is being generously DOUBLED by Converge!! A number of churches are exploring how they might partner with our start-up in 2013! God's work done in God's way is NEVER lacking for supplies - Hudson Taylor God uses TEAMS to launch new movements! Join us as we launch a new church... it'll be FUN + we'll make new memories together!! Here's when our Launch Team is meeting over the summer: -- THIS Friday, July 13th, 7pm - - Mullet Meeting! (business in the front, party in the back) & Smore's around the fire at Herrons' home.  Get the scoop on the band, The Dow, etc. Contact Us for directions. **Bring lawnchairs! -- Sunday, July 22nd, 11am - - Training for kids ministry    (Pirates are coming to Life Kids this Fall -- Arrrrrrgh!!), 1st impressions -- Sunday, August 12th, 11am - - Creating a Positive Presence throughout our Region -- Sunday, September 9th, 11am - - Final Prep before our 1st worship service! -- Friday, September 14th, All Day - - set up at The Dow Event Center during the day    (can you spare an hour to help us set up signange, chairs, equipment??) -- Sunday, September 16th - - 1st monthly worship service!! Thank you for your continued prayers, encouragement, and support! One last thing  I have some big, fun, out-of-the-blue-and-only-God news to share with you... and it isn't about Life, but it is the realization of another God-sized dream!  You won't want to miss out on this fun announcement - - Details later this week right here on the blog!

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Phriday is for... Birth Announcements!

Ok, ok, so we might be a few months late with this, but hey,
we didn't have 9 months to get ready, just a quick 9 days heads up!

Always more photography and nonsense on my twitter, my instagram,
my vimeo, and some new start-up called facebook.

 

The 3 Big Factors in Choosing a Worship Location for Your Church Plant

A long-time supporter of our ministry
caught up with me last week. 

In her mid-70's, she has a tremendous heart for impacting the next generation:

"So, have you found a place yet for Life Church?"

"Oh yeah," I replied, "We're having services at The Dow!"

Her jaw dropped as low as her eyes went wide with disbelief.

"Really?  You got The Dow?"

 

DON'T STICK YOUR TOE INTO THE WATER...  CANNONBALL!

In just 72 days, we're kicking off monthly worship services at The Dow Event Center.

I spent eight months talking to people throughout our region while researching and touring tons of facilities before reaching the conclusion that The Dow would be PERFECT for Life Church's monthly worship services.

 

Here are the 3 factors that tipped the scales for our church start-up:

1. LOCATION.  Rather than just reach a town, it's more fun to reach a region.  Drawing unchurched folks from diverse locations stretching from Midland to Frankenmuth to Caro meant strategically locking-in a central location.
   
   The Dow is perfect.  Situated smack-dab in the center of Mid-Michigan at the intersection of I-675 and M-81, thousands of people will be literally MINUTES away from Life Church.



2. GO BIG.  When we do something in the name of Christ for the fame of Christ, our church will always aim to do it RIGHT and do it BIG! 
   
   We believe that undistracting excellence honors God and inspires people.
   We unapologetically place a disproportionate value on creating a worship experience that boldly celebrates Jesus Christ and attracts people far from God (Jesus attracted huge crowds!).



3. A WOW EXPERIENCE.  Remember the sweet little old lady I mentioned earlier?  She understands the strong reputation of The Dow for creating Wow Experiences with world-class facilities. 
   
   As a start-up, we gain instant credibility from The Dow's long-standing reputation.  This is huge in defining our start-up early and creating a positive presence in our region.
   
   Mediocrity inspires no one.  You don't have to do anything to become mediocre - - it just happens.
   

BEFORE SOMEONE BECOMES THEOLOGICALLY-AWARE,
THEY FIRST MUST BECOME ENVIRONMENTALLY-SECURE.

            It's already hard enough to invite someone to a new church.  Rather than reinforce old church building stereotypes of creeky pews and Awesome-in-the-70's shag carpeting, we are choosing to lower hurdles for our Guests.   

The Dow's state-of-the-art facilities offer that special WOW we want our Guests to enjoy.  Credibility in the lobby helps build credibility for the message. 

 

IS THIS A PERMANENT MOVE?

Nope!  In fact, I'd call this the Bonus Factor of meeting at The Dow: Flexibility.  Working with The Dow gives us space for growth and creativity in our kids areas and main worship services.  If we learn along the way that we need to switch toward a new venue, our relationship with The Dow allows for that kind of flexibility (and in a church start-up, flexibility is king).

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We'd love to have you join us for our first monthly worship service!

Get Fresh Updates from Life Church Michigan

BONUS READING: It All Begins Sep 16th

Top Ten Most Popular Posts // January - June 2012

In case you missed them, here are the posts that generated the most traffic so far this year:

It All Begins Sep 16th

Top 5 Leadership Lessons I Learned While On-Staff at NewSpring

Two Unlikely Leadership Lessons from Conan O'Brien

Warning: Boring Preachers Can Actually KILL You!!

Adoption and the Gospel: God Wants You Around

"Soooo, Why Did You Resign from Your Church Last Summer?"

Pink Cigars for Everybody!!!!

The Role of Testosterone in Church Planting

Little Plastic Batman in Arizona

Assumptions about the Pillsbury Doughboy