When we were planning the conference and we first invited Mike Bullmore to come I thought to myself 'A lot of people probably won't know who Mike Bullmore is. So how can we fix that?'

One step we took was to ask a few friends for recommendations and endorsements of Mike. We asked last year's conference speaker, Mark Dever, along with pastor Joshua Harris and professor, speaker, and leader of the Gospel Coalition, Don Carson. Here's what each of them had to say about we should listen carefully to Mike Bullmore:

Don Carson said: "Mike Bullmore is not as well known as some because he has written relatively little -- but he is one of the most engaging, penetrating, insightful preachers I know. Moreover, the quality of his mentoring of young men in the church he serves is simply stellar."

Joshua Harris wrote: "Mike Bullmore is one of the best kept secrets in the larger body of Christ today. He is a masterful, passionate, precise teacher of God’s word. I’ve described him as a cross between John Piper and CJ Mahaney. And I can’t think of a higher compliment to pay a preacher."

Mark Dever told us: "Mike Bullmore is a pastor who has both been instrumental in beginning a new congregation, and has faithfully pastored a congregation for years. He's not only taught preaching in the classroom, but he's mentored young preachers and pastors for years. I'm excited that pastors in Toronto will get the opportunity to enjoy Mike's humble wisdom and his careful, encouraging preaching."

To all that I simply say, that is why I can't wait to learn from Mike Bullmore! Make sure you register now if you haven't yet!

Post from: Julian Freeman

Why I Can’t Wait to Learn from Mike Bullmore

Related posts:

1. Mike Bullmore: Why the Lord’s Supper? Mike Bullmore is the keynote speaker at this year's Toronto...
2. Mike Bullmore Interviewed for TPC 2010 The Toronto Pastors Conference is fast approaching (June 14-16)! Have...
3. Mike Bullmore: Can I be Saved without Knowing Jesus? Mike Bullmore is the keynote speaker at this year's Toronto...

... And just when I thought everyone had forgotten about Canada...

Post from: Julian Freeman

The Gospel Coalition in Ontario — D.A. Carson and Mike Bullmore

Related posts:

1. Why I Can’t Wait to Learn from Mike Bullmore The Toronto Pastors Conference is only days away... if you're...
2. Mike Bullmore: Why the Lord’s Supper? Mike Bullmore is the keynote speaker at this year's Toronto...
3. Mike Bullmore: Can I be Saved without Knowing Jesus? Mike Bullmore is the keynote speaker at this year's Toronto...

Before teaching on the primacy of expository preaching, DAC taught for a while on the importance that the Bible (especially the New Testament) places on preaching. Sometimes I think that people think of preaching as something that we can take or leave. We treat it like it's a product of modernity and may well have seen it's last days of usefulness.

The New Testament has another view, however. DAC roots the priority of the spoken word in the nature of God--the fact that he is a God who speaks, and that is his nature. But then he listed a whole list of texts worth looking up and meditating on (in their respective contexts) which clearly show the New Testament's emphasis on preaching.

Since I wanted to do the work of looking the texts up anyway, I thought that I may as well make the list available to you as well. You can view all the texts by simply clicking here. Here is a great reminder that the priority we give to preaching is not cultural but biblical. It is good to be reminded of even the basics from time-to-time.

It's easy to see why reading and meditating on such a list would be important for a preacher or a pastor like myself. My question, though, is this: What does the average church member stand to gain from thinking about the biblical priority of preaching? How would it / could it affect you and your mindset as you go to church or serve in your church?

Post from: Julian Freeman

The Primacy of Preaching

Related posts:

1. TPF Preview: Preaching is More Than Lecturing One of the best things about serving with the Toronto...
2. Preaching vs Lecturing I've been thinking about preaching a fair bit over the...
3. Preaching the Word and People’s Needs This semester I was able to take Homiletics 2 at...

There are great messages to download from

• D.A. Carson
• Michael Haykin
• Tom Schreiner
• Stephen Wellum
• Paul Martin
• Tim Kerr
• David Sitton
• Charles Woodrow
• Brad Powers
• Stephen Kring
• Alex Montoya
• And many others!

In particular, I would like to highlight two messages that I think are particularly worth listening to, both preach by Pastor Carl Muller of Trinity Baptist Church in Burlington.

First is a message he preached at the 2007 Pastors Conference on the topic of 'Balance in Ministry.' This is an excellent admonition to pastors to maintain a close watch on their life and doctrine, and to keep a large perspective on all of life and ministry.

The second is the message he just preached at the past meeting of the Toronto Pastors Fellowship. It is called, 'Pastor, Serve the Weak: Minister to the sick, elderly, and dying.' It is a phenomenal reminder to pastors that this part of our job is not a burden, but a blessing; it is an essential element of shepherding, and one that must not be neglected.

If you are a pastor, want to be a pastor, or know a pastor, these are great messages for you to hear. I recommend them all!

Post from: Julian Freeman

Free Resources for Download

Related posts:

1. TPF 2008-2009: Free Download of All the Sermons for Pastors The Toronto Pastors Fellowship has come to a close for...
2. Free Sermons for Download As promised, the audio recordings from the messages at this...
3. More Free Sermons for Download I just noticed today that the messages delivered at the...

Dr Goligher has two messages posted: (1) 'The Emergent Church: Reinventing Liberalism', and, (2) 'Preaching the Cross Today.'

Click here to see the list of messages.

Post from: Julian Freeman

Free Sermons to Download

Related posts:

1. More Free Sermons for Download I just noticed today that the messages delivered at the...
2. Free Sermons for Download As promised, the audio recordings from the messages at this...
3. TPF 2008-2009: Free Download of All the Sermons for Pastors The Toronto Pastors Fellowship has come to a close for...

Here is a listing of all the free online D.A. Carson sermons that these guys have found. They're broken up under categories, such as 'The New Perspective on Paul', 'The Emerging Church', 'Eschatology', 'The Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament', etc. There is even this message here, in which D.A. Carson declares what Toronto needs the most.

Thanks to the twins for this head's up!

Post from: Julian Freeman

Free Online Don Carson Sermons

Related posts:

1. Free Sermons to Download Check out the website of Toronto Baptist Seminary for some...
2. Listing of Tom Schreiner’s Sermons Online While several have made admirable attempts to catalogue all the...
3. Free Sermons I love good preaching and I’m cheap. If you’re like...