Christian ministry lecture challenges students to examine their hearts
Christian ministry lecture challenges students to examine their hearts
Riverside, Calf. (Oct. 24, 2019) – Dr. Mike Bullmore, senior pastor at Crossway Community Church in Wisconsin, challenged a California Baptist University audience to “know their hearts.”
Quoting from Proverbs 4:23, Bullmore said, “‘Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life’—and we could add one’s preaching.”
“The facts of these [heart] challenges and the persistence of these challenges are going to call for the gospel to do its work in our lives,” Bullmore said. “One of the most important things I’m trying to do here is to get these challenges named. What is needed is clarity to really know what is going on in our hearts.”
Bullmore, prior to becoming a pastor, served for 15 years as a professor of homiletics and pastoral theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. On Oct. 24, Bullmore spoke as part of the School of Christian Ministries’ Life Together Lecture Series.
The Life Together Lecture Series was endowed in 2017 by SoCal Baptist Ministries and CBU matching funds. The lecture series enables students, alumni, faculty members, pastors and guests to learn from leading evangelical scholars who use their academic expertise to serve the church.
In his lecture, Bullmore identified five areas in a pastor’s life that need to be guarded and how to remedy each one. Laziness needs to be replaced with a hard-working mind-set focused on eternal truths. Self-pity needs to be replaced with joy. The temptation to manipulate Scripture for self-serving ways needs to be replaced with integrity. Furthermore, pride needs to give way to praise and unbelief with faith.
“I appeal to you to be organized with your time, be disciplined, be tenacious, block out sermon preparation time and use it,” Bullmore said. “Protect your heart. You are not going to be perfect every time and God is very kind but don’t presume on God because He has asked you to devote yourself to study and preparation.”
Life Together upcoming speakers
November 7, 2019
Dr. Ronald L. Ellis
President, California Baptist University
March 3, 2020
Dr. Al Mohler
President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
February 25, 2020
Dr. Daniel Strange
College director and lecturer at Oak Hill College in London, England
March 11, 2020
Dr. David Platt
Pastor of McLean Bible Church in Washington, D.C.