Acts 29 North America Conference 2015 | Building Healthy Leaders
Pastor Doug Logan
All of the 2015 North America Main Session Videos are available now for viewing.
I have loved every Acts 29 event I've had the privilege to attend. Posts from the 2014 New Jersey Regional, the 2014 New England Regional, the 2014 Northeast Regional, the 2014 North America conference, the 2015 New Jersey Regional, and the 2015 Northeast Worship conference can be found on this website. And here is the previous post from the 2015 Acts 29 North America Conference:
I also love Pastor Doug Logan and Epiphany Camden for how they continue to serve Jesus' Church at large, particularly those of us in the Northeastern region of the U.S. Pastor Doug has spoken at the 2014 Acts 29 Northeast and the 2015 Acts New Jersey Regionals, and Epiphany Camden led the liturgy during the 2015 Acts 29 Northeast Worship conference.
My father, Doug Logan, Sr., called Jesus "The Master." My mother had Psalm 23 preached at her funeral, so he also wanted me to preach it at his. He told me this before he died and then had me preach the sermon to him while he was in the hospital. With a strong, sharp tone, he said, "You preach just like that and don't hold back! There will be people who need to hear about the Master at my funeral and you tell them like it is."
These were serious words. And Paul's were similar to Timothy in his last letter to his spiritual son. They were words of a final, paternal instruction.
(1) Charge Forward (vv. 1-3)
When you preach the Gospel, do it as if Jesus is in the very room (i.e. in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus). And preaching isn't just behind a pulpit – this is life and death for every hearer. Whoever God has sent you to, give them the Gospel.
This is about having robust proclamation and practice, theology and missiology. You will need to endure and work even when the forecast is pain. Paul shifted the tone in his voice because he knew the situation and he had the relational capital with Timothy as a disciple and a spiritual son.
Can you take a punch? Paul knew what Timothy would endure because he had already been beat up. But his chin was solid with the Holy Ghost. Where is your strength in rejection? Is it in the glory of the Father or in your own comfort?
We need more Kimbo Slice Christians, less Sugar Ray Leonards. Sugar Ray always won with technical points because he was always so careful. Sometimes this works, but we also need some Kimbo Slices who go looking for the hard places and the dark hearts ready for a fight, bloodied, but willing to be in the battle whenever, wherever.
(2) Challenge the Culture (vv. 3-4)
Paul knows the anti-God context Timothy is in. He's been there. He knew there would be conflict internally in the Church and externally by surrounding people. The same will occur with us.
You don't get off the hook because of the hostility of the culture and the context. There will be deceivers and impostors. The Word is able to handle it all and it's been given to you. It's profitable not just in the safe places, but in the most dangerous spots. Opt in to preach the Word and don't opt out.
For example, on a forty-two degree day in December, we were kicked out of the church we were renting from on Saturday because I didn't have the right polo to wear. Our service on Sunday was less than 24 hours away. So we went to Home Depot, bought some fire pits, and held a service on the sidewalk for eighty-two people the next day. A woman who was there that day three years later became a Christian. There isn't always going to be an immediately happily ever after. Do it because you've been charged to do it.
"Do you want to be a popular leader or an unpopular prophet?" – Oswald Chambers
(3) Countercultural Commission (vv. 5)
We need to get sober. You will not be able to endure suffering until you see opposition as opportunity. People are running towards hell in your city. Everything you do is life or death. Be in sharp contrast to the world. Own the lostness of your city and carry your cross. How? Remember Jesus. Don't rust out from letting worldly sorrows leak in, but wear out with all the strength God provides.
A missionary in Haiti told me about a village that was once called the Village of Darkness when people went to share the Gospel there. Now it's called the Good Shepherd Village because of all the people who follow Jesus and who are now helping surrounding villages.
(1) Be sober.
(2) Endure suffering.
(3) Do the work of an evangelist.
(4) Fulfill all of the above again and again.
Next post: 2015 Acts 29 North America Conference | Building Healthy Leaders by Being an Immersed Leader and Finding Your Voice as a Preacher
I have loved every Acts 29 event I've had the privilege to attend. Posts from the 2014 New Jersey Regional, the 2014 New England Regional, the 2014 Northeast Regional, the 2014 North America conference, the 2015 New Jersey Regional, and the 2015 Northeast Worship conference can be found on this website. And here is the previous post from the 2015 Acts 29 North America Conference:
2015 Acts 29 North America Conference | Worship Sets Songs and Lyrics
I also love Pastor Doug Logan and Epiphany Camden for how they continue to serve Jesus' Church at large, particularly those of us in the Northeastern region of the U.S. Pastor Doug has spoken at the 2014 Acts 29 Northeast and the 2015 Acts New Jersey Regionals, and Epiphany Camden led the liturgy during the 2015 Acts 29 Northeast Worship conference.
2015 Acts 29 North America Conference | Main Session 1: Being an Engaged Leader with Pastor Doug Logan Video and Audio
My father, Doug Logan, Sr., called Jesus "The Master." My mother had Psalm 23 preached at her funeral, so he also wanted me to preach it at his. He told me this before he died and then had me preach the sermon to him while he was in the hospital. With a strong, sharp tone, he said, "You preach just like that and don't hold back! There will be people who need to hear about the Master at my funeral and you tell them like it is."
These were serious words. And Paul's were similar to Timothy in his last letter to his spiritual son. They were words of a final, paternal instruction.
(1) Charge Forward (vv. 1-3)
When you preach the Gospel, do it as if Jesus is in the very room (i.e. in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus). And preaching isn't just behind a pulpit – this is life and death for every hearer. Whoever God has sent you to, give them the Gospel.
This is about having robust proclamation and practice, theology and missiology. You will need to endure and work even when the forecast is pain. Paul shifted the tone in his voice because he knew the situation and he had the relational capital with Timothy as a disciple and a spiritual son.
Can you take a punch? Paul knew what Timothy would endure because he had already been beat up. But his chin was solid with the Holy Ghost. Where is your strength in rejection? Is it in the glory of the Father or in your own comfort?
We need more Kimbo Slice Christians, less Sugar Ray Leonards. Sugar Ray always won with technical points because he was always so careful. Sometimes this works, but we also need some Kimbo Slices who go looking for the hard places and the dark hearts ready for a fight, bloodied, but willing to be in the battle whenever, wherever.
(2) Challenge the Culture (vv. 3-4)
Paul knows the anti-God context Timothy is in. He's been there. He knew there would be conflict internally in the Church and externally by surrounding people. The same will occur with us.
You don't get off the hook because of the hostility of the culture and the context. There will be deceivers and impostors. The Word is able to handle it all and it's been given to you. It's profitable not just in the safe places, but in the most dangerous spots. Opt in to preach the Word and don't opt out.
For example, on a forty-two degree day in December, we were kicked out of the church we were renting from on Saturday because I didn't have the right polo to wear. Our service on Sunday was less than 24 hours away. So we went to Home Depot, bought some fire pits, and held a service on the sidewalk for eighty-two people the next day. A woman who was there that day three years later became a Christian. There isn't always going to be an immediately happily ever after. Do it because you've been charged to do it.
"Do you want to be a popular leader or an unpopular prophet?" – Oswald Chambers
(3) Countercultural Commission (vv. 5)
We need to get sober. You will not be able to endure suffering until you see opposition as opportunity. People are running towards hell in your city. Everything you do is life or death. Be in sharp contrast to the world. Own the lostness of your city and carry your cross. How? Remember Jesus. Don't rust out from letting worldly sorrows leak in, but wear out with all the strength God provides.
A missionary in Haiti told me about a village that was once called the Village of Darkness when people went to share the Gospel there. Now it's called the Good Shepherd Village because of all the people who follow Jesus and who are now helping surrounding villages.
(1) Be sober.
(2) Endure suffering.
(3) Do the work of an evangelist.
(4) Fulfill all of the above again and again.
Breakout Session: Cultivating a Culture of Rest and Renewal
with Pastor Doug Logan
Jesus has given us the invitation to come to Him anytime.
The onus is on us to come to Him.
The onus is on us to come to Him.
(1) Come (vs. 28a)
Our rest is Christ-centered, not "go on sabbatical"-centered. You have His affection. We need to remember that He has accomplished it all. He makes all things new. Come now in the heat of the battle! There is an immediacy to His invitation. Hear His call. In listening to Him, we can discern the other voices of idleness, laziness, fear, comfort, etc.
(2) Assess (vs. 28b)
We need to be laboring in order to assess our need of rest.
"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy" (MLK).
"Contentment comes not by finding conditions suitable to us but by God's fashioning our spirits to our conditions. There is nothing sinful about desiring and praying for difficult circumstances to change. But we need to seek how we can serve Christ where we are. Contentment comes by turning our afflictions into mercies, recognizing God in our hardship. Contentment reveals the grace of God in our hearts; murmuring reveals trouble in our soul. Without contentment, we cannot experience the peace of God." (William Barkley, "The Secret of Contentment").
As we come to the Lord and take assessment of our labor, the Lord will give us rest. Serve hard in the city with Christ, and you'll discover rest in Christ. Work hard. Rest hard. God will provide the balance.
Don't calibrate for the glory. Know the story of the Son and step into it. "Into Your hands I commit My Spirit." Even in the deep pain of the cross, Jesus was resting in God His Father. His life was preparation for this moment. Preparation time is not lost time.
(3) Experience (vs. 29)
Be in the habit (i.e. learn) of being lowly (readily being willing to defer to Jesus and serve others). Jesus demeaned Himself (Incarnation) in order to carry our load. The yoke is easy because He's already carried your load of death and sin. Experience the blessing again and again of His carrying your load for you.
Practical steps:
(1) Enjoy a healthy diet of reading and praying the Psalms.
(2) Make time away with your wife and family.
(3) Keep your Sabbath.
(4) Have friends outside of your church.
Next post: 2015 Acts 29 North America Conference | Building Healthy Leaders by Being an Immersed Leader and Finding Your Voice as a Preacher
– Sully
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