The Baldy Bishops: Recent Episodes
Baldy Bishops
A baldy American pastor and a baldy Irish pastor walk into a church building...no this isn't the opening line of a joke. This is every week at Blurton Baptist, Stoke on Trent. Matt and Alan get together to discuss how the gospel impacts every part of life.
Matt and Alan finish up the deacons series by looking at some practical areas. How does a church select deacons, and what do deacons do in a 21st Century church? A booklet on all of this material is available on the Baldy Bishops website.
There are some rewards and warnings in general for those who serve God. Matt and Alan talk about how they apply to the office of a Deacon. There are also some specific rewards for those who serve well as Deacons.
Matt and Alan take a look at the lives of two of the men chosen to Serve Tables in Acts 6.
What happens when a church gets Spirit-filled deacons? Matt and Alan look again at Acts 6 to answer that question.
Matt and Alan dig into 1 Timothy 3 and consider what it has to say about the character of a deacon.
Matt and Alan look at Acts 6 again and discuss what the church was called to look out for in the men they chose to do this essential work.
Matt and Alan take a look at Acts 6 to see how the principle of two complimentary ministries there can be seen in the local church today.
Matt and Alan take a look at how Jesus' teachings about greatness flips everything and how that applies to the office of a Deacon.
Matt and Alan continue the series on Deacons. It's so important to focus on the character of a person, rather than skill, talent or big personality. We talk about how following Jesus means serving others like he does.
Matt and Alan begin a new series on Deacons. Blurton Baptist recently installed new Deacons. Before we did, we took the church through a 10 part series on the office of a Deacon. Here, we share what we've learned and taught.
Matt and Alan finish up the series on Vulnerability as they explore two final ways we can listen poorly; Changing the Conversation and Silence.
Matt and Alan continue chatting about how poor listening can hinder a culture of vulnerability. Today they talk about distractions and interruptions.
Matt and Alan take a look at 5. Minimising and 6. Gossip as ways that can destroy a culture of vulnerability with one another.
Matt and Alan continue talking about the barriers in the way of vulnerability. This time they talk about responding to someone with 3. Judgement and 4. Story Matching.
Matt and Alan look at the first two common ways we can hinder a culture of vulnerability in the church; lecturing and rebuking.
Matt and Alan begin a new series as they explore a healthy culture of vulnerability within a gospel community.
Vulnerability is a must. But so too is how we respond to the vulnerability of others. Vulnerability involves risk. It’s a privilege when someone entrusts their sin and suffering to us. If we don’t listen well, or if we respond carelessly, we make vulnerability harder for each other.
When people talk to you about what’s hard, when they open up about hurts, we should treat it with great care. And the truth is, this doesn’t come naturally to many of us. We’re not naturally great listeners. We don’t naturally treat the vulnerability of others with care.
Our hope is that this series will show us how our poor listening can discourage vulnerability, and how growing in love through listening can create a culture where it is safe to be known.
Matt and Alan finish up the series on why we gather
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It Proclaims Christ
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It Points Forward
Matt and Alan continue the series on why the church gathers.
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It Allows Pastors to Shepherd
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It Encourages Pastors
Matt and Alan continue the short series covering why the church gathers together. This time they cover reasons 4-6.
- It's the Early Church Model
- It's What We Need
- It Blesses Our Church Family
In a world of livestreamed services, podcasts, and endless digital connection, it’s easy to wonder: Does gathering with God’s people still matter?
Join us as we explore why the church gathers, and why it’s still as life-giving, beautiful, and essential as ever.
Over three episodes, we’ll unpack ten biblical reasons for gathering: who we are, what Christ died for, what God commands, and how coming together blesses, shapes, and prepares us for eternity.
Whether you’re new to church or have been faithfully attending for years, this series will help you see Sunday not as a duty, but as a joyful gift.
Let’s rediscover together why gathering truly matters.
As Matt and Alan finish up the series on praying for one another, they take a look at the beginning and end of many of the New Testament letters. These little greetings and benedictions are beautiful couple second long prayers for the audiences of these letters. The gospel changes how we greet each other!
Matt and Alan take a look at Paul's prayer in the short letter to Philemon. Philemon's refreshing life was an overflow of his love for Jesus. Paul prays that would keep growing!
Matt and Alan continue their series on praying for one another. They finish up 2 Thessalonians as they explore two short prayers in chapter 3.
Matt and Alan continue in 2 Thessalonians. This time, at the end of chapter 2, Paul prays for their comfort and strength.
One day we will shine like the sun! Paul prays, in 2 Thessalonians 1v11-12, that we will live like that's true now!
Finishing up in 1 Thessalonians, Matt and Alan take a look at Paul's short prayer at the end of the letter. God is graciously at work in the sanctification and preservation of his people!
Matt and Alan look at Paul's prayer in 1 Thessalonians 3v9-13. Here, Paul prays that the love of the Thessalonians would increase and overflow.
Matt and Alan take a look at Paul's prayer for the Colossians. Paul prays that, being filled with knowledge, wisdom and spiritual understanding, would lead to them being able to joyfully endure their hardships.
Matt and Alan talk through the prayer of Paul at the beginning of his letter to the Philippians. As we are filled with love for God and the knowledge of his character and his will, then we will make the best decision in every situation, and so live Christ honouring, God glorifying lives until we see him.
Matt and Alan continue in Ephesians as they look at the rich prayer in Ephesians 3. Paul prays that God would help the Ephesian believers grow more and more in their understanding of just how much God loves them.
Matt and Alan take a look at Paul's prayer in Ephesians 1. Paul knew that the believers in Ephesus would struggle to embrace the rich spiritual realities of the first part of Ephesians 1. And so he prays that God would open their hearts to it all.
Matt and Alan spend some time in Romans 15 again, this time Paul's prayer in verse 13. Paul prays that the God of hope would fill the believers in Rome with a joy and peace that leads to hope.
Matt and Alan take a look at Paul's prayer in Romans 15v5-6. Paul prays that the God of patient endurance and encouraging comfort would help the believers in Rome to live in Christlike unity with one another in such a way that would bring God glory.
Matt and Alan introduce a new series that we've been digging into on Wednesday night at home groups.
The prayers of the New Testament epistles are Spirit inspired prayers. That's important. It means these prayers are the will of God for his people; they are prayers God wants to answer as his children pray them.
We finish in Revelation as we look at some of the passages that explore where gospel community is heading. One day all of creation will be united in Christ and will gladly declare one theme; his glory.
We dip into Revelation. The church at Ephesus had been known for their faith in Christ and their love for all the saints. That love seemed to have been neglected and the church was becoming a centre of lifeless orthodoxy. Jesus calls them to get back to love being the foundation of all they do.
We take a look at the letter from Jude and explore what it looks like to be a new kind of community, driven by the Spirit and not by the flesh.
Matt and Alan spend some time in 3 John as they continue the gospel community series. In this letter we look at four different historical characters and see how 3 of them were beautifully living out the gospel community principles of loving, serving, praying and welcoming, while 1 tragically lived an anti-gospel community life, right in the heart of a church family.
Matt and Alan spend some time in 2 John as they continue the gospel community series. In this letter we see just how intertwined gospel truth and gospel love really is. Walking in the truth looks like believing Jesus is the Son of God and loving one another.
Matt and Alan continue in 1 John as they explore the gospel community principles of the New Testament letters. This time they are in chapter 5.
What does it look like to live in the life of the eternal one?
What does it look like to live a life that is fused to the overcomer of the world?
What does it look like to live a life of loving God?
John says it looks like loving one another.
Matt and Alan continue in 1 John as they unpack the gospel community principles in chapter 4. The unseen God becomes a felt reality as we love one another as Christ loves us.
Matt and Alan get back into the Gospel Community series as they work their way through 1 John. In this episode they look at 1 John 3 where we see the call to be like God the Father, the Son and the Spirit.
Matt and Alan get into 1 John and work through Chapters 1 and 2. God calls us to walk in the joy of intimate fellowship with him, which leads to the joys of intimate fellowship with one another.
Matt and Alan work through the first part of 2 Peter, discussing how we have everything we need, in Christ, to live the life he is calling us to - a fruitful and honourable life; which has a lot to do with gospel community.
Matt and Alan finish up 1 Peter. What does it look like to live free lives in Christ? What does it look like to live like it's true that Jesus is returning? Peter says above all it looks like open hearts, open homes and open hands for one another.
Matt and Alan get into 1 Peter to see what Peter has to say about Gospel Community. Believe it or not, every chapter has something to say about how believers treat one another.
Matt and Alan finish up the letter from James as they look at how we think and speak about each other, and how we forgive and restore each other.
Matt and Alan continue in the letter of James. They take a look at James 3 and James 4 where James writes about the two wisdoms; the wisdom from above and the wisdom from below, and the two wars; the external war and the internal war.
The Baldy Bishops continue in the letter from James and take a look at how the heart of Christ for sinners and sufferers impacts our daily relationships with one another and the world.
Matt and Alan begin the letter of James and point out the gospel community principles of this New Testament letter on wisdom.
The Baldy Bishops take a look at the final chapters in Hebrews. The author tells us, in light of the fact that we are heirs of the kingdom, to serve God with reverence and godly fear.
What does it look like to serve God with a filial, affectionate fear? Hebrews 13 tells us that it looks a lot like Gospel Community.
We get into the letter of Hebrews and consider the gospel community implications there.
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Daily Exhort One Another
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Loving Service for One Another
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Purposeful Gathering with One Another
The Baldy Bishops take a look at the beautiful little letter of Philemon. It might be small, but it packs a big gospel punch.
In it we see:
- The Foundation for Gospel Community is the Grace and Peace God has given us
- The Motive for Gospel Community is love for God and love for others
- The Result of Gospel Community is refreshment for believers, and a beautiful witness to the lost.
Matt and Alan work through the letter to Titus and talk about how the gospel community is called to a family who spend more than just an hour on Sunday together.
The Baldy Bishops work through 2 Timothy to pull out 5 gospel community applications:
- Faithfully Invest
- Courageously Suffer
- Zealously Refresh
- Humbly Correct
- Mercifully Forgive
Matt and Alan get back into the Gospel Community series as they explore the theme of the household of God in 1 Timothy.
The Family of God is a family of:
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love (5v1-2)
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care (5v3-16)
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esteem (5v17-20)
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equals (6v1-2)
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generosity (6v17-19)
Matt and Alan talk about a difficult one another as they finish 2 Thessalonians. Admonish one another. What does it look like to be motivated by love and patience with the goal of peace and restoration as we gently warn our brothers and sisters in Christ in a gospel community?
Matt and Alan dip into 2 Thessalonians for the Gospel Community series.
Here we see the link between increasing faith in God and abounding love for one another
We finish up in 1 Thessalonians as we look at the final one another commands in the letter:
Comfort and edify one another
Highly esteem the pastor/elders
Be at peace with one another, with patience and zero vengeance
Greet one another with warmth and affection
Continuing the Gospel Community series, Matt and Alan get into 1 Thessalonians.
Paul tells the believers there that he knows they are already doing certain things, but prays and calls them to grow and abound in those areas even more.
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Grow in gentle, warm, tender love for one another
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Grow in honouring one another
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Grow in familial affection for one another
Matt and Alan continue the gospel community series in Colossians. What does it look like to live a life complete in Christ? Surprisingly, it isn't individualistic, but life in community with others who are filled in Christ too.
Matt and Alan continue the Gospel Community series as the look into the letter to the Colossians. Paul's prayer in chapter 2 shows us that the only way to truly grow in Christ is together with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Matt and Alan continue and finish up Philippians.
What does it look like to work out your salvation?
What does it look like to seek the things of Christ?
What does it look like to live like Christ is near?
What does it look like to offer a well pleasing sacrifice to God?
Matt and Alan continue the Gospel Community series and dig into the first half of the letter to the Philippians.
What does it look like to walk worthy of the gospel?
What did it look like to rejoice the heart of the apostle?
What does it look like to have the mind of Christ?
Matt and Alan continue the Gospel Community series as they open up the letter to the Ephesians.
Our rich, secure identity in Jesus, because of his gentle, humble kindness towards us, propels us toward Spirit-filled love and unity in our relationships with one another.
Matt and Alan continue the Gospel Community series.
This time we take a look at Galatians 6:1-10 and see some of the practical ways Paul lays out for how to walk in the Spirit and fulfil the law of Christ.
Matt and Alan continue the Gospel Community series as they open up the letter to the Galatians and consider how the truths of our freedom propel us towards serving one another.
Matt and Alan take a look at 2 Corinthians.
The God of Comfort, comforts us and enables us to comfort others as we live in familial, affectionate, compassionate love for one another.
Matt and Alan get together to discuss the "third leg of the stool" when it comes to our Christian life. We put a lot of emphasis on the corporate gathering and our individual walk with God, which are essential. However, scripture shows a third aspect to the Christian life; interpersonal relationships.
Matt and Alan get together to discuss 1 Corinthians 12-14 and how the churches in Corinth were divided over gifts and worship.
Matt and Alan continue the Gospel Community series. This time they are in 1 Corinthians 11 looking at the commands to wait/tarry for one another.
The Corinthian believers were living contrary to the unity Jesus had died to bring them into. And this was serious to God.
Matt and Alan get together for a bonus episode of the Gospel Community series as they chat through the purpose of our Sunday evening Growth Groups.
“A Gospel Community is a group of needy people who have stopped leaning on their own strength and wisdom and stopped bragging about their own abilities and achievements, but instead are desperately dependant on Jesus, point each other to Jesus, and give Jesus glory for what he is doing in their lives."
"If we don’t have the eyes to see how God is at work in us, through and over us, then we won’t have a mind full of experiences of his goodness, which means we won’t have a heart full of praise and thanks towards him, which means we won’t have the desire to give him glory for what he’s done and doing in our lives."
Continuing the Gospel Community series. Matt and Alan continue in 1 Corinthians as they look at how the churches at Corinth were divided over liberty issues in chapter 8-10. Paul encourages them in the gospel and then challenges them to go above the knowledge of their freedom and mature into true gospel love for one another.
Matt and Alan continuing the Gospel Community series as they begin to open up 1 Corinthians and explore how the gospel transforms divisive, prideful, selfish people into mature, godly people who live in unity with one another.
Part of the Gospel Community series.
Matt and Alan finish up the letter to the Romans, discussing Romans 15-16 and the one another commands there.
Continuing the Gospel Community series.
Matt and Alan talk through Romans 14 which considers how Christians can live in peace and building each other up, even in our differences when it comes to liberty issues.
Continuing the Gospel Community series. Matt and Alan work through the rest of Romans 12, discussing what it looks like to live out the mercies of God in our one-anothering of one another.
Matt and Alan begin the Gospel Community series as they discuss how the Gospel Lens and the Bearing Fruit series plays out in the relationships of brothers and sisters in Christ called to do life together, not in isolation.
Starting a now and then series on the podcast: Proclaim!
Alan and Matt get together with Trevy to discuss how the Gospel Identity in our Sin and Suffering and the Suffering and Fruit themes meet at the street level of someone's life.
Finishing up the Bearing Fruit series.
Matt and Alan consider the link between our suffering and our fruit bearing.
Part of the Bearing Fruit Series
Matt and Alan talk through some practical ways to root our faith and hope to Christ.
- Scripture
- Prayer
- Fellowship
- Gathering
Part of the Bearing Fruit series. Matt and Alan get to the second part of the Soil Work.
God does everything he does for his glory. His glory is the "weight" of his character and attributes being put on display through his presence and works.
Our deep motivation for doing all that we do as believers is as a response to the glory of God.
Part of the Bearing Fruit Series
Matt and Alan turn from our work to God's work. God's grace is the deep well of motivation and strength to serve him and others with joy.
We take a look at:
- General Grace
- Saving Grace
- Sanctifying Grace
- Serving Grace
- Sustaining Grace
Part of the Bearing Fruit Series.
Last time we looked at the root work of hope. But how can we grow in our hope? The scriptures tell us that we grow in our hope as we grow in our faith.
Matt and Alan get together to discuss this second part of the root work of the believer.
Part of the Gospel Lens Series.
Matt and Alan get together to take a look at 2 Corinthians 5 and the account of Balaam. They urge Christians to be about the gospel movement above any other movements.
Part of the Bearing Fruit Series.
Matt and Alan begin to discuss the Root Work of the Christian life as they explore biblical hope. It's only as we root ourselves into the rich soil of Jesus Christ's person and work that we will have the strength and desire to bear the fruit he wants to produce in us.
Part of the Gospel Lens series.
Matt and Alan get together to discuss what it looks like to live out our gospel identity in the nitty gritty of everyday life.
Continuing the Bearing Fruit series.
Matt and Alan look at John 15 and other passages to show that Jesus is the only God pleasing fruitful human that has ever lived and the only one who can produce fruit in us as we abide in him.
Matt and Alan start the Bearing Fruit series and discuss the 5 different fruits mentioned in the New Testament.
1. The Fruit of Character
2. The Fruit of Good Works
3. The Fruit of Praise
4. The Fruit of Generosity
5. The Fruit of Conversion