Robert grew up as an only child in the small town of Beckley, West Virginia. Though his father never had much money, he had a tremendous work ethic and taught Robert the value of hard work. This said, his dad had no interest in the things of God, while his mom possessed a simple faith in Christ and took her son to a local country church. Entering his teens, Robert professed faith and was baptized at age 14. Yet, deep down, he had no change of heart. 

Joining the Air Force at 18, Robert served four years as an intelligence analyst. During this stint, he and a good friend began discussing various religions, and Robert shared what he knew of the Bible with him. In God’s providence, his friend became a true believer, and God used his friend’s testimony to later bring Robert to true faith, as he was confronted with what sin is and his need for real repentance. Impassioned to share the gospel, Robert met his wife through street preaching. Married to Andrea since 2012, he is currently pursuing a MA in Theological Studies at Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary.

Welcome to the Church and Family Life podcast. We have with us Robert Bosley. He's going to tell us his life story. He's going to be preaching at our upcoming national conference. I hope you can catch his session, but Check out his testimony, his life story.

And it's just a blessing to have Robert Bosley with us. Okay, Jason, don't you love it? We get to talk to somebody else about their story of their life. Another life story, I can't wait. Yeah, the power of the gospel, God reaching in to wherever.

What a blessing it is. And we have Robert Bosley with us. Robert Bosley. Robert Bosley and I go to church together. It's a joy.

And so Robert, tell us your life story. Where were you born? So I was born in Roanoke, Virginia. I don't really claim Virginia as my home state, because my parents moved to West Virginia when I was about one. So I don't know anything about Virginia.

You've been trying to hide that. Ignore that. I'm from the better Virginia. But yeah, so my parents moved to West Virginia. I lived basically in the same town from the time I was about five until I left when I was 18.

Okay. Yeah. So Beckley, West Virginia, a little, little tiny place. So what was it like, childhood? What was childhood like?

So I was an only child, so very different. So that explains it. Now, oh, I didn't know this. Explains so many things, man, more sense now. It's all falling into place.

Exactly. No, so pretty drastically different from the state that my kids are being raised in. No kidding. Yeah. So only child, not a ton of money, pretty tight budget and everything what's your dad do so a couple different things at one point he managed an electronic store or and small appliance store then later on after he dealt with cancer and everything, he retired, but he still worked on the side, mainly with the delivering newspapers and something with our local newspaper stuff.

Christians? Christian parents? So not while I was growing up, really. My dad never professed faith. He never had an interest in it.

He would go to church once in a while. My mother professes faith, And as far as I can tell, it seems to be genuine if a simple faith. She grew up in a very country church in West Virginia. But my dad, he passed away about nine years ago. And he, like I said, never professed faith until about a year before he died.

So I had shared the gospel with him and the pastor of the church that we had gone to often on as a kid had come and shared the gospel with him as his cancer came back as lung cancer. It was too far gone before they found it. But he seemed to have a genuine conversion, about a year before he died. And I remember what gives me great hope for that is his greatest desire. He said I want to read cover to cover.

I want to read my Bible before I die and so and he had his eyesight was failing and there were all sorts of medical Issues, so I bought him the largest print Bible I could pot. I mean I actually own that one Super giant print if you're interested It's like size 35. I mean it's ridiculous and It was it was an NLT And it was the biggest print Bible I could find. I didn't even care about the version, honestly. And I gave it to him and he got about halfway through Genesis before he couldn't read anymore.

But so he had a great desire to know the Word of God. Yeah. So now did you grow up like from age five until in the same house? Yes. You did.

Yeah. So we moved to West Virginia near my grandmother when I was really little, about five, we moved to pretty much the town that I lived in the whole rest of my life. We only moved once. And so I was in the same house for a month. I was about seven till I was 18.

Yeah. Nice. What was it like? In what way? Just being a child growing up.

Yeah, I was for the most part a pretty good kid. Didn't get into a whole lot of trouble a few rounds here and there in trouble at school, public school. I was really into video games inside most of the time. I wasn't an outdoor kid really at all. So, but yeah, family life was very different from what we do now.

I love my parents and the Lord is sovereign in these things, but it's looking back, it's mostly what do I not want to do. That's kind of how I think about it. So 18 out of high school, then are you born again at this point or no? No. Okay.

So like I said, we would go to church occasionally, and I had made a profession when I was say 12 and was baptized around 14. But looking back and with my life through into high school and things like that, I don't believe there's any real regeneration, no change of heart there. So, graduate high school. Hey, hey, hey, let's go back. Let's go back.

Big memories of childhood. Big memories of childhood. Going to Disney World was fun. I remember that was fun. This is not a commercial.

I wouldn't recommend it. I wouldn't recommend it now, no. One thing that I really appreciate was my dad had a tremendous work ethic. And he taught me to work hard. And he was always doing something.

Unless it was like the end of the day and You know it's dinner time then he's on the couch and it's pretty much that's pretty much the end of the day, but During during daylight. It's it's you need to work. You need to do things. So I'm deeply appreciative of that. That's great.

That's really great. Okay, Jason, what are you talking about? Oh, yeah. Yeah, post high school. Yeah, so, 18, joined the military, joined the Air Force.

That was kind of a family tradition. My dad was in the Air Force. And one grandfather was in the Airborne in World War II. And the other grandfather was Army Air Corps before it became the Air Force. So kind of a family tradition.

Join that There was no way we could have afforded college or university or anything like that. So joined the Air Force, went to basic training and my technical school in Texas. First time I'd been there. It's very, very flat compared to West Virginia. But put on there my dream lists of possible places I wanted to go to.

You can list out your dream sheet of bases you want to be assigned to to do your job. And I put down, you know, Hawaii, England, Germany, Japan, they sent me to Maryland. So which I would already we had family in there. So I already like I've seen Maryland and it worked out. That's where I met my wife.

Sometimes Uncle Sam has a different dream. Very, very different. Oh, sometimes. But yeah, so joined the Air Force, served for four years, and Like I said, they sent me to Maryland. Okay, so you got out, then what?

So yeah, I got out in mid-2010, and just... I was ready to get out on the one hand, but at the other, at the same time, just things that weren't great. And I didn't want to go back to West Virginia, so I lived with some friends that were actually still in the military for a little while. And in the middle of that, through some people that I knew that were in the military, a friend of mine that I met in the military, he was converted. And I started rooming with him.

And in that timeframe at the end, about six months after I got out, was when I believe I was genuinely converted through several different influences. Did you just start going to Bible studies with your roommate or what? There was obviously some exposure to the gospel. Yeah. So it's funny, while I was in the Air Force, this guy and I were talking, we became really good friends, and he was trying to seek the Lord.

He didn't know it, but he was trying to understand different world religions. He knew there was something. And looking back, I don't believe I was converted at this point, but I'm trying to disciple him with what I know from my fundy dispensational background that a lot of which I wouldn't agree with today, but trying to disciple him in different things and teach him what I know of the Bible. He gets genuinely converted. And then I start rooming with him after I get out of the military and through him and guys like Ray Comfort, he found Ray Comfort and exposure to that.

Really understanding what sin is, really understanding what repentance is, I came to realize I had never understood the gospel. It's remarkable how often unbelievers unwittingly evangelize people who then get actually converted. Yeah, yeah. And that's... I believe that's what happened.

But yeah, I was... I believe I was genuinely converted about six months after I got out of the military. And immediately had a desire to know the Scriptures. Immediately had a desire to share the gospel. So, started going and doing street evangelism, open air preaching, stuff like that, with a couple groups of people that I had run into in Maryland.

And actually, through them, is how I met my wife. So, yeah. Scott, we have an open-air preacher on our hands here, huh? There you go, he is one, yeah. Not as much anymore.

I've got a few other duties getting most of my attention these days, but I try and make it to the abortion clinic, if nothing else. So you mentioned your fundamentalist background. Tell us about that. Yeah. So like I said, we rarely went to church, But if we did, it was usually this small Baptist church.

I think technically it's part of the SBC, but it was very fundamentalist, King James only, that kind of Armenian dispensational fundamentalism. Right. Yeah. So you're now street preaching, you're out on the street, you're not in the military anymore. Right.

And what are you doing? For work. Yeah, so For a while I was Cleaning carpets and stocking a grocery store Both so I would get up, you know something like three in the morning go stock this This grocery store and then go clean carpets for for the rest of the day So did that for a while? Your dad's work ethic. Yeah, it served served me.

Well, I got through While at the same time, I'm trying to get back into government service as a civilian. Okay, and of course it's a exactly the wrong time to do this. It's during the whole draw down from Iraq and people are getting out of government service like they have a glut of people. And so it was exactly the wrong time for me to get in. So for almost a year, I did other things, mostly stocking a grocery store and cleaning carpets.

You said you met your wife. How did that happen? So I was out. I Got into a habit of going with this group of doing street preaching and it was Good Friday 2011 and I wanted to go and preach But it was raining and so they they called off the the street preaching that night Well, I'm thinking well, it's Good Friday I need to do I need to do something So I got some tracks and just went by myself to the mall nearby and started handing out tracks and talking to people. And while I'm talking, I hear this girl talking to another girl and she says, do you think you're a good person?

And I immediately, I'm like, okay, that's great comfort. So I just sit on the bench and I just listen. I just completely eavesdrop on their conversation for a good 10 minutes and they finished their conversation and I Go over there introduce myself to them and it turns out it's that there's a group of like 30 people mostly teenagers doing this at this mall and In in the midst of that meet this one guy who for whatever reason we just hit it off really well, just immediate connection. And he and I go out and go street preaching the following night in Annapolis. And a few weeks later, he introduces me to his sisters, one of which about two weeks after that I start our Relationship with and four months later.

We're engaged. Oh my yeah whirlwind. Yeah, it was it was great Engagement was like nine months. So I was like, okay, I can't I can't start a family while I'm stocking a grocery store and cleaning carpet That's not enough money So we kept pushing it off a little bit and then finally we said We just need to trust the Lord and just set a date. This is taking forever.

We don't want to draw this out any longer. Let's just set a date. And the Lord answered prayer about a month before, if I'm remembering the timeline correctly, about a month before the date I got a job back with working with the government as a civilian. So drastic increase in pay and able to comfortably have a start a family. Sweet.

Yeah. So preaching has been very, very good for you. You found your wife that way. Exactly. Isn't that wild?

Yeah. So you got me. Oh, and how many kids do you have now? We just had our sixth born in December. Yeah.

When I first met you, you just had one child. We had one. Number two was weeks away. Eminent. Yeah, that's right.

Yeah, here's this guy coming into our church. He's just kind of off the boat. And now you have six children. Amazing. It's So great.

It's so great to have your kids in church and yeah, they're a joy. They really are. Well, good. We, we love it. It's funny because while we were in Maryland, we had found, of course the NCFIC at the time.

My wife's brother knew of you and of the ministry. He was like, you need guys need to listen to this. And so we actually became convinced of family integration while we were still in Maryland. And we were at an SBC church and I was actually teaching the, the teen Sunday school class while saying this shouldn't actually exist. And with my, my, my toddler in there, we get in there with my toddler in the teen Sunday school class.

And we were the only, only family in the, in the church that, that had our, our, our kid with us during the regular service, which made me really popular, let me tell you. But we were thinking, how does this actually work for a whole church to do this? We had not seen it. And then we moved down here and my wife's brother was like, hey, you remember Scott Brown is down in that area. I'm like, I didn't, but that's great.

I'll go check it out. And so that was our first Sunday. And I don't know if you remember that first Sunday, that was the last time I was clean-shaven. I shaved that morning and that was the last time I've shaved my beard. Really?

Isn't that remarkable? What a factoid. I'll have to remember that. For what reason, I don't know. No, just general trivia.

Did our church do that to you? Because I probably didn't have anything. No, I had only had like a goatee at that point or something, and it just caught me on a whim. Oh, are you saying that goatee's not facial hair? I didn't say that.

I'm just saying it wasn't this. Well, that's what we heard. I'm outnumbered, so I'm just going to shut up. Beard pride. So I have a question.

I have a question. You went from free will, fundamental, dispensational. Now you're confessional, reformed Baptist, post-millennial, all the scary things. How do you get from there to here? It started with the beard, I think.

I did have our pastor at the fundamental church that my wife and I were attending in Maryland, when I started growing out, He's like, you're going to become a Calvinist. You need a shave. Really did. He really is like, you're going to become a guy. And I'm like, no, not.

Whoops. Maybe it was more right than I thought. You know, your beard kind of followed your embracing of the 16, 8 and 9 Confession as well. It's true. It's sort of fuller.

It's true. Well, it's just, it's migrating. That's my perspective. So, yeah, so The really simple answer is I actually started studying the Bible on my own, like actually studying it. And I say, on my own, I don't mean just me and my Bible in a closet.

I mean like actually diving in, not just listening to and accepting the preaching that I was hearing or the notes, because I always had a study Bible. Because when I was growing up, I'm like, I don't know if this makes any sense. Partly because translation, we're King James only. And also just when you're, you're not regenerated you can't understand God's word ultimately. Let me guess Ryrie no it was man.

It will feel it wasn't that it was some generic thomas nelson I think which which is funny looking back because you know, that's that's go feel Bible is I mean, it's the it's it's Almost the fourth person of the Trinity and some of these yeah. So yeah, I wanted one but couldn't afford it. Oh Maybe that's why I didn't have one But yeah, so so Studying it on my own coming to these things like I what is this election? I've never heard of this. What is repentance?

So the doctrine of repentance is what really did it. Interesting. So I was listening to guys like Ray Comfort, started listening to Paul Washer, even John Piper and guys like that, some of the some of the new Calvinist guys to David Platt and whatnot, and hearing them talk about repentance. And I don't think I had ever heard the word repentance growing up. And so I really wanted to understand that because there was such a tremendous difference from what I'm hearing guys like Paul Washer and John Piper say in their appeals to the lost, totally different from the door knocking, pray this prayer type of evangelism that I was taught in the fundamentalist church.

And so it was a lot of study trying to figure out what does this word mean? Yeah. And that was kind of the first domino to fall, leading to eventually a rejection of dispensationalism. And once we moved here, we weren't even a confession when we moved here, but after sitting under preaching at Hope through you and Mike and Paul, eventually just embracing the second London Confession. Okay, so tell us about some of the big, most helpful influences.

Preachers, books. Yeah. What do you think? We'll go in reverse. So books, probably most influential.

One of my favorite books, Booker's Progress. Fantastic book. I'm planning on reading that again this year. Read it to my family multiple times. It's a tremendously great book showing the Christian life.

That and Knowing God by Packer. Also read that multiple times. Fantastic book. Every time I read it, I'm like, this is brilliant. Yeah, me too.

I wish I could remember more of it. But tremendously helpful book. Through the... I don't know if this counts as a book that's influential, but I'm loving more and more, especially the sermon series I'm doing at Hope in the afternoons, the confession itself, the Second Line of Confession is just, I mean, it's just stellar. It's so rich.

And its depth and its clarity, it's just an astonishingly good document. Not that the Westminster and the Savoy aren't, but I'm a Baptist, so. So here's an interesting point on that. We've taught through the confession a couple of times in Malawi. Oh, really?

And they actually, the church that we work with and have for 15 years over there actually uses it devotionally. Most people would think, what? Use the confession devotionally? I thought this was just, you know, drawing out the theological lines that were supposed to stay within. It's actually a very devotional document.

Yeah, no, it's tremendously helpful. Influences as far as preachers, I already mentioned, you know, Paul Washer was tremendously influential. At one point, I'm pretty sure I listened to almost every one of his sermons on Sermon Audio. And John Piper, David Platt, 10 years ago, Not so much now, unfortunately. Obviously, you being my pastor and the other man I'd hope.

Praise the Lord. Well, Robert, I'm so glad you're going to come preach at our conference. Yeah, I'm very much looking forward to it. And I hope people hear your life story and come and hear you hold forth. I just love your teaching.

Oh, thank you. It's a blessing and I'm really grateful that the people out there at that conference are going to hear it. I'm excited. I'm very much looking forward to it. Good deal.

Okay. Well, thank you, Robert. And thank you for joining us on the Church and Family Life podcast. Hope you can join us next time. Church and Family Life is proclaiming the sufficiency of scripture by helping build strong families and strong churches.

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