JonathanHerron.com

2 options when someone hurts you:

 

1. Give them back what they gave you.

2. Give them back what God gave you.

 

Lin-sanity: The Story Behind the Story of the New York Knicks' Jeremy Lin

NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week.
136 points in his first 5 starts - the most by any NBA player since 1976.
A 3-point, game-winning clutch shot.

Jeremy Lin is the story right now.  But there's a story behind the story:

• As a high school senior, he led his team to a 32-1 record and state championship.  However, he was passed-over by college basketball recruiters.  Not once.  Not twice.  Three rejections (including Stanford, which was practically across the street from him!).
• Lin landed at Harvard, which known for producing presidents, not basketball pro's.
• Lin was under-valued and not selected in the NBA Draft.  Again, the feeling of not being good enough.

He finally made it into the NBA, only to experience deeper rejections during this current season:

• He was cut by the Golden State Warriors.  Cut is another word for fired.
• He was cut by the Houston Rockets.
• He played on four NBA developmental teams.
• He then found himself at the end of the Knicks bench.  He did not even get in the game for 13 of his first 22 games.
• Hours before the Super Bowl, Lin was thisclose to being cut a third time.  By the Knicks.

And then opportunity crossed paths with Lin's readiness.  Unleashing Lin-sanity.

You see, there's always a story behind the story of emerging greatness. 
Maybe someone rejected you.  Painfully.  Perhaps you've told you're not good enough. 

Jeremy Lin's story tells us that failure doesn't have to be the end. 
Other people don't get to define you.  Your story is yours to write. 

God is in the redemption business.  He loves developing second acts.

So take a risk.  Jump.  Fail harder.

 

Introverts Make Great Communicators

I learned this studying in the 1990's under Tina Fey in Chicago. 
Smart and polite. 
Sharp as a tack.
And an introvert. 
Tina wasn't the after-party girl at Second City.
Instead she labored through and internalized ideas during her off-hours
until they came out on stage as comedic genius.

 

John Piper shared at a 2004 conference that introverts preach. 
God's grace eclipses their weakness. 
He thanks God to this day for his awkward teenage years. 
They were the fertile genesis of digging deep toward a pastoral soul.

 

The first time I shared a meal with Mark Driscoll, I was struck by how quiet he was. 
But give him a microphone on a bare stage and - WHAMO - God puts His super on Driscoll's natural.

Remembering the late Martin de Maat

This time of year my thoughts always return to Martin, one of my theater professors at Columbia, who passed away eleven years ago.  While he easily could have indulged self-importance as the Artistic Director of The Second City, Martin instead oozed with humility and wild acceptance, personally welcoming me with open arms (literally) in the Fall of 1996, introducing me to my eventual improv-comedy teachers: Mick Napier, Norm Holly, Anne Libera, Jim Zulevic, and Tina Fey.

Martin was a close friend and mentor who bought this poor college kid lunch, drove me to the hospital when I was sick with the flu, and stood beside me as a groomsman at our wedding. 

He once surprised Amber and I on a wintry Windy City evening with ice cream at a hole-in-the-wall diner, mixing his improv-philosophies with silly humor and engaging stories of Chicago-lore.  "You know," he whispered to us with a twinkle in his eye, "This booth we're sitting in right now is where The Beatles used to hang out after their shows!"

The effect Martin had in shaping my work as a communicator and leader is immeasurable.  Here are some of his leadership quotes that continue to shape my thinking and approach to ministry:

"You can get the biggest laugh in a scene simply by saying 'ahem' - it's all about context."

"You are pure potential!"

"The Hokey Pokey.  Think about it.  At the end of the song, what do we learn?
What is it all about?  You put your whole self in!"

"You know what intimacy is? It's into-me-you-see."

"Always in life surround yourself with people who make you happy. Life is short and you will be surprised how much better your life is if you just stop hanging out with the jerks we are all drawn towards."

"The fun is always on the other side of a yes."

"Do you have the right to call yourself an artist? The moment you manifested enough courage to enroll in your class you jumped off that cliff. You have no choice but to keep your wings flapping."

"You have the right to follow your dreams.
I'm giving you permission to follow your dreams."

20 Seconds Toward Helping Families Adopt

I'm usually the last guy to sign a petition.

But I believe in this one for two reasons:

• As a follower of Jesus, I am FOR helping orphans
• I'm also an adoptive parent and hoping to adopt again in 2012.

Most of you know that expanding your family through adoption can be a huge expense.  Over the last several years, the federal government has attempted to ease that burden with an adoption tax credit (made fully refundable for 2010-2011).   Personally I can say that this credit (from adopting our son) played a significant role in providing us funds for our current adoption process. 

This credit is set to expire after 2012.  But you can help save it! 

Please take 20 seconds to sign this petition to not only extend the credit, but to continue making it refundable for families hoping to adopt!  Thanks!

 

The Role of Testosterone in Church Planting (part 2 of 2)

Paul the Apostle was a church planter.  His writings in the New Testament are a chronicle of starting new churches from scratch. 
History also tells us that Paul was bald.  Both are symptoms of a guy with extra testosterone!

When God gives a man extra testosterone (T+), it enables him to take bigger risks for the Kingdom (starting new churches from scratch). 
The Spirit brings together biology and calling for God's work!

The lead-up to a new church builds tension.  The public launch releases a burst of excitement.  And the inevitable holy hangover is tension-free.  This powerful cycle of energy is both spiritually-driven and biologically-hardwired into men.  T+ guys will regularly experience cycles of a short buildup of tension followed by a gratifying and decisive release. 

Think about it: when a guy is faced with a challenge, stress, or threat, his body is put on major alert.  Will he fight or take flight?  Will he seize the moment or seize the escape?  This tension-release loop is part of manhood and explains the competitive nature of guys.  When a guy has T+, he will feel a higher compulsion toward the cycle of tension-release.  Whether its bar fights, debates, sex, or sports, its all tied to testosterone.

If a guy finds no creative (and legal) way to complete the tension-release cycle, he will go underground to angrily lash out later in destructive acts.  Or it will grow within him into depression, torturing self-criticism, or painful feelings of hopelessness.

This is why calling and purpose are so important:
if you're a guy with a truck-load of testosterone, you need Jesus to not just guide you spiritually, but also biologically! 

T+ is a recipe for either chaos or creativity; the intersection is God's calling.

When we look at science through the lens of scripture, we realize that God gives T+ to certain men to accomplish certain tasks.  Whether its Samson or Saul, we see mighty men wired naturally for supernatural tasks. 

The tension-release cycle helps us understand not only the launching of new churches, but also the launching of new message series and programs.  The build-up is both spiritually and biologically driven in a man as it builds tension.  The kick-off is the release and the resulting holy hangover is the result of chemical depletion in the body.

God uses testosterone for His glory and Kingdom expansion. 
Understanding the biology of T+ guys is simply another element toward predicting church planting success.

The Role of Testosterone in Church Planting (part 1 of 2)

Yes, calling is important.  God specifically grabs the heart of specific men and points them toward starting new churches.  Paul is a great example:

That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him,
"Come over to Macedonia and help us!"  So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that
God was calling us to preach the Good News there.   (Acts 16:9-10, NLT)

There is a spiritual pull to start a church from scratch.

But I want to point out a second factor: the biological pull.  God wires all men with a drug-like hormone that is one of the strongest drivers of behavior the world has ever known.  A minute drop of this potent substance, adminstered over a brief period of time, empowers the smallest and weakest male monkeys to become more aggressive in a group.  Testosterone is what fuels boys to become men in a transformation mirroring Bruce Banner becoming the Hulk.

The release of testosterone contributes to the intoxicating feeling a man feels of power and invincibility.  Its why teenage guys do stupid things: the rush of chemicals in the bloodstream inspire them to win at all costs.

According to new studies by Frank Farley, Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin, some men have higher levels of this hormone than others.  Men with "testosterone plus" (T+) score high creatively, typically break new ground, challenge authority, and love to make the rules.  Sounds like today's church planters, doesn't it?

This is where I think science and faith collide: God gives a larger dose of testosterone to some men.  And time and again, I've seen the Lord use a biological pull in concert with a spiritual push to start a new church.  This isn't random chance but divine providence.  God plans and creates:

For you created my inmost being;
   you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
   I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
   your works are wonderful,
   I know that full well.
    My frame was not hidden from you
   when I was made in the secret place,
   when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. (Psalm 139:13-15, NIV)

God gives some men more testosterone than others.  For example, I am a T+ guy.  God made me this way.  He saw fit to make me very driven to start new things from scratch.  T+ is the biological factor of a spiritual pioneer.  When you combine God's calling with God's wiring, you get Kingdom expansion.  It's just how God has wired many in our generation.   

And it helps explain the DNA of a church planter: there's a scientific factor in assessing potential church planters.

Tomorrow we'll talk about the role of testosterone in the Holy Hangover.

A few moments ago, Grandpa met Jesus face-to-Face.

And was reunited with his wife.

Love him.

Bootleg of our Big Announcement

At the 2nd Informational Meeting for our new church start-up, we shared some exciting news with the 50+ who had gathered to hear our vision and plans.

Somebody whipped out their iPhone 4 and caught some of the action.

Enjoy.

Grab more info at LifeChurchMichigan.com.

I love the Book of Acts!

Its God's constant reminder that following Jesus is not about erecting a monument, it's about building a movement!

These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also! - Acts 17:6

Reaching the Lost at Any Cost is the mission of the Church!

Not turf wars.

Not insider churchy politics.

Not mere information transfer and lectures.

Its all about life transformation!

Jesus is intent on building a movement of changed lives.

The Church exists for the benefit of its non-members.

We are tasked with turning the world upside down!

John Calvin summarized the story of the first Christians this way:

Through men of no importance and endowed with no skill, He (Jesus) brought the whole world into submission to Himself so easily by the sound of the Gospel, despite the fact that Satan rose up in opposition with so many hindrances.

In it (Acts) we also see the incredible power of the Gospel, because, in the face of the resistance of the whole world, not only did it win through, but with the greatest honor brought all that seemed invincible into obedience to Christ.

Therefore more was achieved by these few contemptible little men against all the stormiest of commotions of the world, with the humble sound of the human voice, than if God had thundered openly from heaven!