A Father's Day Prayer
“Righteousness guards the man of integrity.” (Proverbs 13:6, NIV)
“Righteousness is like a shield of protection, guarding those who keep their integrity.” (Proverbs 13:6, TPT)
My greatest prayer for my children — beyond them discovering a saving knowledge and true faith in Jesus Christ — is that they would grow to become men and women brimming with honor and integrity.
The pathway to integrity begins at home and extends through the local church. This past year, the Lord has graciously allowed Amber Herron and I opportunities to suffer well in front of our children and model taking the high road (1 Peter 1:2).
What can feel like an extended season of burdens and curses to Amber and I is in reality a God-ordained blessing for the sanctification of our children, primarily our older three.
Jesus taught us to bless those who curse you and love your enemies.
Not *like* your enemies; *love* your enemies.
While turning the other cheek doesn’t feel good in my flesh, it honors God and inspires people to be walking in the Spirit.
That’s my heart for my children this Father’s Day: that God’s grace would continue to be poured out upon Team Herron, enabling us to continue taking the harder and nobler path of integrity and honor.
Jesus never fought back. Christ didn’t curse those who hurt Him or withdraw from those who misunderstood Him; Jesus literally *prayed for* His accusers.
Integrity teaches us that your greatest display of strength is in holding your tongue and not fighting back.
By God’s enduring grace, I pray I can be that kind of man for my family.
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BE BRAVE ENOUGH TO SUCK AT SOMETHING NEW
‘Wisdom comes to the heart that is hungry for God.’ (A.W. Tozer)
Whenever I feel discouraged and want to quit something, I remember the words of my then 3-year-old after she puked carrots all over the living room floor: “I’m gonna need more carrots.”
‘As a leader, you will have to make decisions that those whom you lead and even spectators won’t understand for years.’ (Dr. Eric Mason)
Leaders are targets for the Enemy. If you’re leading out front, then of course you’re going to be on the receiving end of fiery darts. Expect it.
Misunderstandings and miscommunications will happen.
You cannot control other people’s perceptions. You can only control your own actions and reactions.
Be careful with what you hear about someone. You might be hearing it from the problem.
As soon as we step into condemnation instead of conversation, we can no longer see that person clearly.
/ / /
‘A perverse man sows strife and a whisperer separates the best of friends.’ (Proverbs 16:28)
People don’t own you when they hurt you. They own you when your entire life is defined by that hurt.
If you’ve been burned, heal. If someone has an issue with you and they’re telling everyone except you, they don’t have a real issue with you. They just enjoy the attention they get from talking about you.
/ / /
‘Love God and He will enable you to love others even when they disappoint you.’ (Francine Rivers)
The only way to handle ‘prodigals’ is to let them go, give them to God, and pray for their return with tears. And when you see them on the horizon with their head hung low, wrap your arms around them and welcome them home.
We are all rough drafts of the person we are becoming.
Don’t be afraid to start over. It’s a chance to build something better this time!
Sure, the winds feel strong and your team is small. Stand firm. If you set your anchor, you won’t drift.
WE SAW PEOPLE LEAVE OUR CHURCH
"This past year affected our church in a really significant way.
We saw people leave because they were frustrated that we weren’t meeting soon enough.
We saw people leave because they thought we were trying to meet again too soon.
We saw people leave as we taught the Bible in a way that didn’t align exactly with their political party of choice.
We saw people leave because they thought we didn’t take a strong enough stance on social issues.
We saw people leave because they thought we took too strong of a stance on social issues.
We saw people leave because they thought that the Enneagram was satanic.
We saw people leave because they thought we weren’t doing enough.
We saw people leave because they were relocating for a new job, they wanted to move to a more affordable area, or they were moving to be closer to family and countless other reasons.
But the bottom line is this: We saw a lot of people leave."
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This video was heartbreaking when Amber and I came across it last week.
We could relate.
We've experienced all these things + more in the past 12 months too.
This pandemic took a tremendous toll on our family and ministry.
Nearly every day I felt like a pinata full of bees.
But you know what?
I've discovered there is something beautiful that emerges in the pain.
We can choose to run to the church instead of away from the church.
We are all rough drafts of the person we are becoming.
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If you found yourself in a place far from your church home, may I gently encourage you to go back to your church home and try again?
Perhaps confession and forgiveness is your next step.
Be the bigger person. Apologize. Reach out.
See what God can do through you.
If you found yourself nodding throughout the video as a fellow church leader, may I encourage you?
Don't give up.
Not now.
You have too much potential and too many lives to change.
Every loss is a lesson.
Get better and get moving.
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Don't Give Up!
In Christ, your best days are NOT behind you.
There is another chapter God wants to write through you.
In Christ, the BEST is YET to come!
AWKWARD PHONE CALLS & GOD'S LOVE
‘And God has made all things new, and reconciled us to Himself...'
(2 Corinthians 5:18-20)
I love people.
I believe every person matters.
That's why I do what I do.
And I wish I was a perfect pastor and leader.
But I'm not.
I continually fail.
Expectations sometimes aren't met.
I drop the ball.
Miscommunications happen.
And I always feel horrible when I screw up.
If I had a time machine, there are so many do-overs I'd love to change.
Rewinding my mistakes haunts me sometimes.
Yet the past is the past -- I can't change it.
All I can do is move forward and make changes.
One change I'm trying to grow in is apologizing when I mess up.
I made this change 8 months ago.
It's not fun.
Never easy.
And yet forgiveness releases pain and opens the door to reconciliation.
So last Fall I started doing something new.
Anytime I hear of someone from the past who posts online about maybe feeling a little hurt or experiencing a twinge of pain caused by me... I pick up the phone and call them.
If they won’t answer, I try texting and emailing them.
It's awkward, I won't lie.
Asking for forgiveness is extremely humbling and I feel like I'm fumbling forward through these phone conversations and voice mails.
But here's what I'm learning: grace is messy.
Love requires action.
And not long ago, I got to have an AMAZING conversation with someone from the past... and see how God is restoring things for a new future!
Paul writes that 'God has entrusted to us the ministry of opening the door of reconciliation.'
So that's what I'm trying to do in my own life and leadership.
I may not always be successful and the conversations may feel awkward, but they are always honest and sincere.
Opening doors.
That's what I'm gonna keep trying to do.
And maybe, in the days ahead, we can all experience a little bit more of God's love.
Integrity Matters
C.H. Spurgeon on Cancel Culture
As ministers we are very far from being perfect, but many of us are doing our best, and we are grieved that the minds of our people should be more directed to our personal imperfections than to our divine message.Judge the preacher if you like, but do remember that there is something better to be done than that, namely, to get all the good you can out of him, and pray his Master to put more good into him.”
AWKWARD PHONE CALLS & GOD'S LOVE
'And God has made all things new, and reconciled us to Himself...'
(2 Corinthians 5:18-20)
I love people.
I believe every person matters.
That's why I do what I do.
And I wish I was a perfect pastor and leader.
But I'm not.
I continually fail.
Expectations sometimes aren't met.
I drop the ball.
Miscommunications happen.
And I always feel horrible when I screw up.
If I had a time machine, there are so many do-overs I'd love to change.
Rewinding my mistakes haunts me sometimes.
Yet the past is the past -- I can't change it.
All I can do is move forward and make changes.
One change I'm trying to grow in is apologizing when I mess up.
It's not fun.
Never easy.
And yet forgiveness releases pain and opens the door to reconciliation.
So today I started doing something new.
Anytime I hear of someone from the past who posts online about maybe feeling a little hurt or experiencing a twinge of pain caused by me... I pick up the phone and call them.
It's awkward, I won't lie.
Asking for forgiveness is extremely humbling and I feel like I'm fumbling forward through these phone conversations and voice mails.
But here's what I'm learning: grace is messy.
Love requires action.
And today, I got to have an AMAZING conversation with someone from the past... and see how God is restoring things for a new future!
Paul writes that 'God has entrusted to us the ministry of opening the door of reconciliation.'
So that's what I'm going to try and do.
I may not always be successful and the conversations may feel awkward, but they are always honest and sincere.
Opening doors.
That's what I'm gonna keep trying to do.
And maybe, in the days ahead, we can all experience a little bit more of God's love.
Love One Another in a Cancel Culture
Today everything is hyper-politicized.
Anyone can 'Block' on social media or treat relationships as disposable...
...which makes me thankful that Jesus did not 'Block' or cancel me!
- If anyone had the right to throw the first stone, it was Jesus (see John 8!).
- If anyone was in a position to judge me or condemn me, it was Jesus (see John 3:17!).
Instead, Jesus taught us not to treat people as disposable:
- Jesus always walked TOWARD people, not AWAY.
- Jesus created a safe place ('church') to share our heartaches, hang-ups, and hiccups.
But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. (Acts 19:9)
'Sometimes the best wisdom is to not speak much at all. There are situations such that nearly any words will make conditions worse.'
'I give you now a new commandment: Love each other just as much as I have loved you. For when you demonstrate the same love I have for you by loving one another, everyone will know that you’re my true followers.' (Jesus in John 13:34-35, TPT)
If Your Church is Drifting and Stuck, Should You Try to Change From Within?
What do you do if you’re a frustrated support staff member of a visionless church? Do you try to change things from within?
THE QUESTION:
Hi Jonathan,
I was at the Youth Workers Retreat that you spoke at last weekend, and I had a follow up question for you. First of all, thanks so much for your honest words and practical advice. I had a lot of great takeaways from the retreat and really appreciate your perspective!
My husband is the youth director at a 100+ year old church, and I am his most faithful volunteer leader (whether by choice or not :). We’re also on the worship team and a part of an effort to grow the young adult population in our church (we’re both in our mid-twenties).
As many very established churches are, ours is an “insider” church full of church politics and stagnancy.
The building itself is in a rich mission-field, directly across the street from a very high-poverty inner-city high school, but most of our members don’t live in the community and are primarily middle- to upper-middle class, white, grew-up-in-the-church Christians (not much diversity).
We felt a strong call to become members of the church and for my husband to take the role of youth director a couple years ago. Probably the largest factor in that decision (and our decision to stay at the church since then) is our intention to try to make a change within the church.
We often feel like all of our energy spent in relation to our church is pushing and pulling the congregation to think and act less self-centeredly and more missionally.
My husband has been pushed in his job as youth director to focus more on making other church members happy than to focus on outreach.
It’s frustrating to say the least, and we consider leaving the church just about every week, to be quite honest!
After hearing everything you had to say about deciding who you’re willing to lose (Christians or non-Christians) and how in most circumstances, the only people that get mad about things in the church are other Christians, our feelings of “what are we doing here!?” are especially strong.
In your opinion, do you see any value in having a personal mission of trying to open the eyes of the insider, self-centered culture of an old church like ours…or are we just wasting our time?
MY ANSWER:
Hey there!
Thank you for your email — I completely understand what you’re saying because my wife and I have been in your exact shoes!
Let me cut to the chase: In church-world, you can either resurrect the dead or birth a new baby.
Birthing a new baby is easier (that’s why my family sacrificed everything to start Life Church Michigan from scratch).
Any meaningful change within a church HAS to be birthed out of the heart of the senior pastor.
If the senior pastor is not the one leading the change, the change will not happen. Period.
Your job is to support the leadership of the lead guy. Hebrews 13:17 says,
Be responsive to your pastoral leaders. Listen to their counsel. They are alert to the condition of your lives and work under the strict supervision of God. Contribute to the joy of their leadership, not its drudgery. Why would you want to make things harder for them?
My advice? If you cannot 110% support and champion the vision of the senior pastor, quit.
Today.
Flip burgers for six months until God brings you to a church where you can completely champion the vision, love the senior pastor and have his back, and use your gifts to further the Kingdom through the local church.
Your job is NOT to create change from within. God did not appoint you as senior pastor.
I’ll take it a step further: even if your senior pastor were a Disney Villain, it is not your job to challenge him and try to hijack the church.
David was given the opportunity to kill King Saul and stage a coup d’etat, yet he didn’t:
For I said, ‘I will never harm the king— he is the Lord’s anointed one.’
God will always honor leaders that can submit to authority and be in harmony with the church’s vision.
If you can’t do this at your current church, leave quickly and quietly. Don’t stick around for a paycheck (wrong heart motivation!). God does not bless sin, but He does bless humility and patience.
He will direct your steps and it is ok to work at the local video store or pizza delivery for a season. (I have literally done both in the past 15 years!).
At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself, “How big is my God?”
Hope this advice helps!
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ABOUT JONATHAN HERRON: I am the founding pastor of Life Church, the fastest-growing church in Michigan and 11th fastest-growing in America. I am focused on strategic leadership and engaging teaching, all fueled by a gnawing passion for engaging people far from God. My unique ministry approach has been featured online in Time Magazine, USA Today, and The Washington Times. Married twenty-one years to my high school sweetheart, I have five children plus a wiener dog with a nervous bladder.
