It's Time to Go Offense

Stop playing defense; offense is so much more fun.

There's for sure different seasons of your life. Sometimes we play offense... sometimes, we have to play defense. But if you played for too long… you're just letting life happen to you. You're not pursuing.

Are you making things happen or letting things happen? It’s time to become Fully Alive in 2025!

Here’s 5 simple ways to switch to offense:

1. Wake up ready

-How you wake up will set the tone of your whole day.

-If you lay in bed and hit snooze you'll be doing that all day.

-Get up with urgency and excitement!! You've got stuff to do!

2. Use the HALT method

-You're not playing offense if you're: Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired (HALT)

-Sometimes you're playing defense because you're just trying to catch up.

Stay on top of your meals, take a sec to cool off if you need, get in community, and get good rest. Otherwise you don't have a shot.

3. Perfect your to-do list

-Your to-do list doesn't have to be perfect... but perfect your method!

-Is it best on your notes app? Written in a journal? Morning of? Night before?

Find out what works for you to be most productive, and stay on it! there's nothing better than checking things off...

4. Know your weaknesses

-We all have stuff that sets us back.

-Make a plan to attack those things, and try to predict when they'll come for you.

Maybe you need to set a reminder on your phone, tell a friend to let you know when you're acting some type of way, or set boundaries. just don't ignore it!

5. Stay focused on the present

-The past is just the past and the future isn't here yet,

-What's most important is what's right in front of you.

When you worry about tomorrow or overthink about yesterday, you're wasting the most valuable thing you have... the present!

Fight for Real Friendships

Something I’ve learned over the past five years:

Friends are revealed when you’re at your worst, not your best—when you're at the bottom, not the top.

When you have nothing to offer but liability to anyone who comes close, that’s when you take notice of who is still with you.

For pastors, it is very, very hard to experience true friendships.

Many times, it turns out that they weren’t really your friend to begin with.

Carey Niuwhof writes: “They were using you, or rather, using your power as a leader.

Beyond the power to hire and fire, you also hold the power to determine the mission and direction of the organization. Your words weigh more, and you have the clout that simply accompanies the position you hold, whether you feel like you do or not.

As a result—and here’s the dynamic—people build relationships with you for reasons other than just pure friendship.

Sometimes they’ve built a relationship with you because they want to be close to their leader or they want some influence over the organization’s future direction. Other times, they’re just drawn to the leader’s charisma.” (See: Why They’re Not Really Your Friends)

But here’s the thing: pastors need friends — real friends — they can depend on.

And so you have to fight for them. You have to double-down, grit-it-out fight for real friendships as a leader. And you have to learn to trust again after you’ve been burned.

If you’re like me, you’ve experienced friends leaving your life. For whatever reason.

If you have a grudge or a hurt or a misunderstanding that needs attending to, pick up the phone and make the first move.

Contrary to our instincts, hard conversations usually don't kill relationships.

They save them.

It's choosing the short, life-saving pain of surgery over the long-term, fatal pain of cancer.

You've Gotta FAIL If You Want to SUCCEED

Did you know that the average small business owner fails 2.7 times before finally reaching success? That means they have to publicly fall flat on their faces and lose everything over two times before they learn all the secrets necessary for full-time success! The term “Overnight Success” is an oxymoron.

I believe the same is true in ministry: you’ve gotta FAIL if you want to SUCCEED!

In failure:

• You learn how not to treat the people you lead

• Discoveries are made in scheduling and planning for major events

• Emotional IQ is enhanced and increased

• Persistence is stirred up for later reliance

• WHO you can trust and count on during tough times is revealed

• Humility is accepted as the pathway to greatness.

Every crisis is an opportunity.

Dream Again.  Dream Bigger.  Dream Better.

The Dream is the Distance: Everything looks different from a distance.

Even though you see empty seats, there is an opportunity for growth.

Genesis 41 tells us the following:

• The dark room is where he develops the negatives.

• The more God uses you, the more He humbles you.

• Purpose Over Position -- Believe this and you will never get offended!

• No Mess, No Ministry

• No Drama, No Dream

God did not say this would be easy; He said He would be with you.

If you are currently experiencing or feeling failure, GREAT! It’s a necessary prerequisite to achieving greater ground for Kingdom expansion! Keep your chin up, your head low, and your posture as a servant-leader. In Christ, the best is yet to come!

4 Hacks for Easier Leadership

Leadership and responsibility can get overwhelming... i know. No one is saying that it's easy! It takes effort and dedication, but i think it's simpler than you're making it. Here are 4 tips that have helped me through overwhelming times:

4 hacks for easier leadership

1. Stay honest
- honesty isn't a standalone character trait... it's linked to your overall integrity!
-if you don't feel bad about a small lie, chances are you won't feel bad about a big lie.
-whatever you can't talk about OWNS you... stay open and stay free.

2. Do the right thing
-you always have choices in every situation.
-when it gets hard to make decisions, ask yourself and ask God, what's the right thing to do here?
-every decision might not be easy or even preferable, but you'll never regret doing the right thing.

3. Invite accountability
-accountability doesn't mean someone checks in on you, it means you check in on yourself to someone.
-people won't enforce it if you don't invite it.
-get accountability from people who you want your life to look like!

4. Stick to the golden rule
-how can anyone respect you as a a leader if you treat people badly?
-treating someone the way you'd want to be treated means not always taking the easy route.
-this simple value will not only get you in the door, but will keep you in the room. 

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I love inspiring and pouring into church leaders!

That's why I formed the Fearless Leadership Network.

Discover how you can go further, faster in 2025.

Rob Little on Comedy, Dealing with Rejection, and Creating New Material

Rob Little is today's guest!  Having established himself as one of the funniest, most progressive, comedians in the country, it’s easy to understand why The Detroit Free Press selected him as the “Best up and Coming Comedian,” and he was selected as a feature performer at the Chicago and Boston Comedy Festivals.  Rob was excited to be named Budweiser's “Real Man of Comedy."  Last Comic Standing on NBC named him, “The Happiest Comic in America”. Campus Activities Magazine named him “College Comic of the Year” and Maxim Magazine named him "Comedian of the Year".  

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Discover a fresh new podcast for leaders full of raw encouragement plus insanely-practical tips and interviews.

Subscribe now to The Fearless Leadership Podcast and grab more free leadership resources at JonathanHerron.com and on all social media platforms @HighFiveJon!

How to Deal w/Chronic Critics Online and in Your Church

This was a Facebook livecast of a Staff Meeting from 7 years ago. The content is still great so I thought I’d share it here!

Top 5 Leadership Lessons from When I Served On-Staff at NewSpring Church

I love Perry Noble.  God has used him in my life as a friend, a coach, a cheerleader, and once as a boss.

You see, a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I was on the Senior Management Team at NewSpring Church. 

I loved that team, I continue to have a strong loyalty toward Perry, and I learned a TON while serving on staff under him.

Recently I was reflecting on my time in Anderson, South Carolina and came up with the Top 5 lessons that stretched and shaped me as a leader:

5.  Work Hard Together, Play Hard Together - Church-work is passionate business - - we're a rescue organization with eternity on the line!  That's why it's important for team members to enjoy each other.  It's not about a job; it's about doing life together.  My fondest memories at NewSpring were the random silly moments in hallways and hanging out together at someone's house watching LOST.  

4.  Loyalty is Everything - Relationships are built on trust which is expressed through loyalty.  One thing I loved about that season at NewSpring was their strong sense of loyalty to one another.  Loyalty means I have your back no matter what - - if I see a truck coming your way, I give you a big heads up.  Loyalty produces staff confidence which in turn fuels bigger steps of faith together.  If loyalty is broken on a staff, I guarantee you that the team will whither and disband.

Case in point: the 1998 Chicago Bulls team.  They were championship-caliber with back-to-back threepeats in the NBA.  Sadly, upper-management (the two Jerry's) said some dumb things in the press and made some amateur moves.  This quickly broke the Bulls' (and public's) trust.  Within a year, their all-star team of players like Jordan, Pippen, Rodman had all disbanded.  Disloyalty hijacked the vision and broke the team apart.  It took Chicago over twelve years to recover from that fiasco.

3.  Boring Inspires No One - Life-change is stunted in a church if everyone's drowsy.  It's OK to be creative in presenting biblical truths (just like Jesus!).  God is creative, we are made in His image, so when we are creative, it's an act of worship!  It's hard to create momentum with boring.  As I've said before, Boring Preachers Can Actually KILL You!

2. Open-Handed with Other Leaders - Perry always encouraged us to be completely open-handed with other church leaders.  I love that!  There is NO competition/jealousy/insecurity between churches (and if there is in your church, its a reflection of your leadership's hearts, not God's heart!).  If we all love Jesus and serve the same King, can't we learn to like each other and share what the Spirit gives?  Whether it's sharing techniques or leadership tips or ideas, I still strive to do ministry transparently and in a posture of humility.

1.  Family First - Most important of all, Perry has always ingrained in me that I can always get another church, but I can never get another wife and kids!  When it comes to my schedule, my family will always win.  If they call my cell, wherever I am, even if it's a big meeting, I answer the phone.  My wife and kids need to know that they always, always come first. 

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I love inspiring and pouring into church leaders!

That's why I formed the Fearless Leadership Network.

Discover how you can go further, faster in 2025.

You Are Not a Failure

Everybody wants to experience a miracle in their lives, yet we run from the impossible situations that precede miracles.

If your back is up against the wall, good; you are well positioned to experience a miracle!

God found Gideon in a hole.

He found Joseph in a prison.

He found Daniel in a lion's den.

God has a curious habit of showing up in the midst of trouble, not the absence.

Where the world sees failure, God sees future.

Embrace tough situations and see what God can do through you!

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You Can Do This, I Can Help

God's heart is to see you lead your church to growth.

You can do this.   I can help you GROW!

Let me personally coach you toward quickly reaching more people far from God.

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