Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Mike Bullmore

Mike Bullmore on How Christians Should Think about the Next Presidential Election

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I highlighted this four years ago, and I encountered it again last week when re-listening to Mike Bullmore’s sermons on 1 Corinthians 12–14. It’s so good it’s worth highlighting again.

On October 26, 2008, Mike Bullmore prefaced his sermon with an outstanding 135-second pastoral exhortation in light of the upcoming election on November 4, 2008. I think he’d say the same thing re the upcoming election on November 6, 2012 (two weeks from today).

An excerpt:

There’s something more important than your voting next Tuesday . . . and that is where your confidence is, where your security is. . . . Let there be no loss of confidence in the goodness of God. Let there be no loss of security, whoever is in office. . . . There’s no cause no matter what happens—ever—for those who belong to God to worry or complain or whine.

Listen to the whole thing (2:15 min.).

Two Ways to Read the Bible

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Mike Bullmore, The Gospel and Scripture: How to Read the Bible  (The Gospel Coalition Booklets; Wheaton: Crossway, 2011), 16–17 (formatting added):

The Bible is endlessly interesting because it is God’s story, and God by nature is himself endlessly interesting. . . .

There are actually many methods of reading the Bible, and because the Bible is inexhaustible, many methods can prove fruitful. However, we are not so much concerned here with what might be called “methods” as we are with what we can call “approaches.” Two main approaches to the Bible usefully unlock its treasure, which is the gospel.

  1. Reading the Bible as Continuous Narrative (or History) . . . .
  2. Reading the Bible as a Compendium of God-Inspired Perspectives (or Theology) . . . .

Whichever of these two ways the Bible is read, its message is the same. [Read more…] about Two Ways to Read the Bible

Mike Bullmore on the Gospel and Pastoral Ministry

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My pastor, Mike Bullmore, began his sermon last Sunday with a brief update regarding a conference he ministered at the previous week in Toronto. The conference MP3s are available for free, and here’s what Mike contributed:

  1. The Functional Centrality of the Gospel
  2. Panel with Q&A: Bullmore, Martin and guests
  3. The Gospel and Pastoral Character
  4. Panel with Q&A: Bullmore, Symons, Boot, Martin, and guests
  5. The Gospel and Pastoral Labor
  6. Panel with Q&A: Bullmore, Martin and guests
  7. The Gospel and Pastoral Hope
  8. Panel with Q&A: Bullmore, Martin, Symons, and guests

CrossWay Milwaukee

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Yesterday my family visited CrossWay Community Church in Milwaukee for second time since our church planted it a little over a year ago. If you or people you know live near the high school building where they’re meeting, I’d commend this gospel-centered assembly to you.

The preaching pastor, Jason Dahlman, is a good friend. (The picture below is old; he and his wife now have three children!) Jason and I first met in Dr. Carson’s Advanced Greek Grammar class in spring 2007, and Jason is now finishing his PhD dissertation under Doug Sweeney at TEDS on Puritan preaching. Jason is unusually humble and gifted—a dynamic combination. He’s probably the finest young preacher I’ve ever heard. (Sermons are available here.)

They are still a young, small church (if I remember correctly, their assembly started off around 40 people, and about one year later they are running about 90-120). More information about them is available here, including a 4.5-minute video that they prepared last year.

What We Should Do with Our Money

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This morning my pastor, Mike Bullmore, finished his sermon series on 1 Corinthians with a sermon on 1 Corinthians 16 entitled “What We Should Do with Our Money” (37:48 long). Mike hit a home run with this one. It’s an excellent example of how to preach on giving. He approaches it with just the right tone and spirit, and he avoids the errors of both legalism (e.g., “Christians must give exactly 10% of their gross income or else they are robbing God!”) and libertinism (e.g., “Christians are not required to tithe” with the implication that giving is optional).

Here’s a brief overview/paraphrase of the sermon: [Read more…] about What We Should Do with Our Money