The Pastor's Heart with Dominic Steele: Recent Episodes

Dominic Steele

Aussie Christian leaders join Dominic Steele for a deep end conversation about our hearts and different aspects of Christian ministry each Tuesday at 2pm. We share personally, pastorally and professionally about how we can best fulfill Jesus' mission to save the lost and serve the saints. The discussion is broadcast live on Facebook then available in audio and video on our website http://www.thepastorsheart.net, on podcast and on our youtube channel (http://www.bit.ly/thepastorsyoutube).

For evangelical Christians in the Church of England, the question of whether to stay, resist, or leave is a live crisis.

If you’re deciding whether to head into C of E ministry or carve out a path in independence, or if you’re a pastor navigating a "mixed denomination," how do you maintain gospel integrity when institutional leadership turns away from historic orthodoxy?

Church historian Dr. Andrew Atherstone (Wycliffe Hall, Oxford) to look back at six decades of evangelical oral history—and what it teaches us about our current crossroads.

We cover:

The 1960s Crisis: Why ministers like Herbert Carson, Eric Lane, and Moshe Radcliff reached the breaking point and the intense personal cost of separation.
Lloyd-Jones vs. Stott (1966) & Keele (1967): The iconic confrontation that defined the "in it to win it" strategy for a generation.
The David Jenkins Stress Test: How a controversial bishop radicalized evangelicals to plant across parish lines and rethink financial support.

Dr Atherstone has been presenting on this at Sydney’s Moore College Lectures.

To watch or listen to Bible Teaching from Dominic Steele at Village Church Annandale Sydney goto this link.

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We often speak about the pressures and heartbreaks of pastoral ministry. But we speak far less about its joys, privileges and eternal rewards.

Matt Fuller, Senior Minister of Christ Church Mayfair, joins us to discuss his new book, The Joyful Pastor (Despite Everything).

We talk about difficult sheep, false accusations, losing joy, practising thankfulness, avoiding burnout and returning daily to Christ.

And we explore something pastors rarely discuss: the reward promised by the Chief Shepherd.

“When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” — 1 Peter 5:4

An honest and encouraging conversation for weary pastors.

To watch or listen to Bible Teaching from Dominic Steele at Village Church Annandale Sydney goto this link.

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Answering "Anglican", "Catholic", or "Baptist" on the Census isn't a test of church attendance

Before filling out your form, hear researcher Mark McCrindle, and Bishop Michael Stead discuss

What the Bureau of Statistics is actually measuring.
Why writing your specific denomination helps community planning more than generic labels.
How census data impacts real-world support—like hospital, prison, and military chaplaincy.Don't let a secular misinformation campaign fill in your form for you. Get the facts and answer honestly!

The Bureau of Statistics definition of religious affiliation is simple: it’s the faith group you associate with, even if that differs from your active practice or participation.

To watch or listen to Bible Teaching from Dominic Steele at Village Church Annandale Sydney goto this link.

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In this special ‘pop up’ episode of The Pastor’s Heart we talk with New Testament Professor Darrell Bock about how best might Christians might engage culturally to reach Australians for Jesus.

Plus his love of Sydney, Sydney Swans Australian football team and why he would move here if he didn’t have grandchildren. Bock is known for getting up at 2am in Dallas to watch the Swans play live on TV. He will see three Swans games during his current visit to Australia.

Darrell Bock is executive director of Cultural Engagement at The Hendricks Center and Senior Research Professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary.

To watch or listen to Bible Teaching from Dominic Steele at Village Church Annandale Sydney goto this link.

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Leading New Testament scholar Darrell Bock gives a rapid fire exploration of Luke and Acts.

Bock, who is Senior Research Professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, outlines what first drew him to Luke and answers questions including:

Is Luke writing before or after Matthew and Mark?
What—what kind of historian is Luke?
How do you explain the difference between Luke’s genealogy and Matthew’s genealogy?
How do we reconcile the birth narratives in Luke and Matthew?
What is Luke’s theology of atonement?
What is the kingdom of God in Luke?
How does Luke use the Old Testament in ways that are different to the other Gospel writers?”
Why is the Sermon on the Plain from Luke 6 different to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 to 7?”

Plus Luke’s distinctive emphasis on the world wide expansion of the gospel, the kingdom of God, the Holy Spirit, care for the poor and the creation of one new family from Jews and Gentiles.

To watch or listen to Bible Teaching from Dominic Steele at Village Church Annandale Sydney goto this link.

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Do our sermons actually land in the lives of the people in front of us?

Do they help anxious believers, tired parents, proud leaders, compromised Christians or sceptical guests to hear, trust and obey the living Word of God?

Richard Coekin says application is part of faithful preaching itself.

But application has dangers, it might come not really from the text, or could be overly directive. Or we could give accurate lectures that fail to shepherd the church.

Richard Coekin leads Reach UK. Richard has just written ‘Apply the Word: A Practical Guide to Preaching with Application.’

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New global research associated with Harvard University suggests that people who regularly attend church tend to do better in life than people who do not.

The Global Flourishing Study is following more than 200,000 people across 22 countries and tracking not only happiness, but meaning and purpose, relationships, character, mental and physical health, life satisfaction and material stability.

But if churches are helping people flourish, what is happening to the pastors who lead them? Senior pastors carry grief, crises, expectations and organisational responsibility that most people never see. A church may appear to be growing and successful while its pastor is quietly being depleted.

And how do we know whether a church itself is healthy?

Valerie Ling joins us from the Center for Effective Serving to explore richer ways of recognising flourishing in pastors, churches and the communities they serve.

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On the surface, some are drawn by beauty, history, liturgy, mystery, masculinity, discipline and Orthodoxy’s claim to be the original church.

But John Diacos says beneath many of the surface attractions lies something much more spiritually dangerous.

John was converted from Orthodoxy to a clear faith in Jesus Christ 50 years ago, has served Jesus for decades in Melbourne and is the author of Certainty for Life: An Invitation for Those in Eastern Orthodoxy.

We ask: Why are evangelicals leaving for Orthodoxy? What is Orthodoxy offering that some evangelical churches seem not to offer? Where is Orthodoxy right in its critique of us? Where is it wrong? And what should pastors do when someone in our church starts drifting?

John's new book! https://certaintyforlife.com/

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For a generation of Sydney evangelicals, the Katoomba Christian Conventions weren’t just events in the calendar - they shaped church programs across the city.

In the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, thousands gathered under the circus tent and then later in packed auditoriums to hear the Bible taught, sing with conviction and be raised up for ministry.

But how did Katoomba become such an influence in Sydney evangelicalism? What decisions shaped its extraordinary impact? And what lessons are there for today.

We start a new occasional oral history series on the Pastor’s Heart, with former Katoomba Chairs Philip Jensen, David Cook and Al Stewart, reflecting on Katoomba’s phenomenal influence, the priority of expository preaching, the importance of guarding the platform and why “we teach the Bible” became a defining conviction.

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New research suggests that around 70% of those who attended church regularly at age 11 are no longer attending by their late twenties, with the most vulnerable years stretching from around age 10 through to 25.

Dean of Students at Youthworks College Ruth Lukabyo explores why young people disengage, how inherited faith becomes owned faith and what churches can do to better navigate the critical transitions from childhood to adulthood.

We discuss the practical changes pastors, parents and churches can make to help more young people keep following Jesus for the long haul.

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Tony Payne provocatively argues that while evangelicalism has successfully recovered expository preaching and every-member ministry, we have not adequately recovered every-member word ministry.

Tony argues that the Reformation remains unfinished, that we haven’t fully thought through the implications of the priesthood of all believers, and that passages like Ephesians 4, Hebrews and especially 1 Corinthians 11-14 may need to be read rather differently than many of us have assumed.

Tony asks, have we trained people to serve on teams, but not trained them to speak God’s word to one another?

It’s a challenge that reaches into some of our most fundamental assumptions about Christian ministry.

We discuss prophecy, the ministry of women, the role of the pastor-teacher, preaching and discipleship, and what it would actually look like for the word of Christ to reverberate through a congregation rather than stopping at the pulpit.

To purchase: matthiasmedia.com.au/products/let-the-word-dwell-richly

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What’s going on? Is this a reaction against thin, seeker-friendly evangelicalism? Spiritual nostalgia?

Across the Western church, some younger Christians seem to be searching for deeper roots: tradition, transcendence, beauty, liturgy, sacraments and a stronger sense of connection with the historic church.

Some evangelicals have become Roman Catholic or even Orthodox. Even a church formerly affiliated with the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) in the UK has become Orthodox.

Orlando Saer, senior pastor of Christ Church Southampton, describes himself as something of a “spiritual mongrel”, shaped by Roman Catholic, high Anglican, low Anglican, independent Baptist and FIEC influences.

On sabbatical in Australia, Orlando has been thinking deeply about why Christians are longing for rootedness, transcendence and tradition, and how evangelical leaders should respond.

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The loneliest person in church may be the one standing at the pulpit.

Pastors spend their lives surrounded by people, but ministry can make real friendship strangely difficult.

Confidentiality, responsibility, expectations, perceived favouritism and the pressure to “have answers but not needs” can leave church leaders profoundly alone.

Sheridan Voysey says pastors don’t just need supervision, systems or resilience strategies. They need real friends: people they can talk to, depend on, grow with and enjoy. People who know the weight they are carrying. People they can call at 2am when everything has gone wrong.

Sheridan helps us think pastorally and practically about the lonely pastor, the friendship Jesus modelled and how churches can give leaders permission to be human.

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The Reach Australia movement has matured into something broader: from a corrective voice into one of the most significant culture-shaping forces in Australian evangelicalism.

Reach Australia has often been heard as a corrective: a push for clearer pathways, better systems, output thinking and more intentional leadership in local churches.

Richard Coekin says that, as an outsider, last week’s conference felt less like the corrective it may have seemed in the past and more like a mature, holistic vision for church leadership: with preaching, spiritual transformation, gospel culture, prayerful dependence and pastoral warmth much more clearly front and centre, while still committed to principled pragmatism and organising churches to reach the lost.

Richard Coekin, former senior pastor of Dundonald Church in London and now leader of Reach UK, reflects on his fortnight at both the Reach UK conference in London and the Reach Australia conference, attended by 1450 leaders on the NSW Central Coast.

We discuss the maturing of Reach Australia and what UK evangelical churches might learn from Australia at this moment.

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Richard Leadbeater is the senior pastor of the influential Dundonald Church in London. He came to Australia for the Reach Australia Conference — 1450 pastors and leaders from across Australia, the UK, the US, South Africa and New Zealand — and left deeply moved.

Richard says he found himself in tears four times during the week.

In a The Pastor’s Heart Friday special, Dominic Steele presses into Richard’s pastor’s heart, exploring each of those moments.

We also talk about the joy and privileges of ministry — and why Richard is concerned that we can talk so much about how hard ministry is that we forget to commend the deep joy of being spent in the service of Christ.

ReachAustralia

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We preach Christ’s victory as pastors. But we battle discouragement, criticism, exhaustion, disappointment and sin.

What does the victory of Christ actually mean for pastors whose ministries feel painfully ordinary? What does it mean for leaders carrying the slow weight of imperfect churches, spiritual warfare, unanswered prayers and years of costly ministry?

We speak with Phil Colgan and Adam Ch’ng how suffering shapes faithful ministry, and why Christ’s victory does not remove weakness — but gives hope, endurance and courage.

We explore sanctification, spiritual battle, pastoral perseverance and the future glory.

Phil Colgan is senior minister of St George North Anglican on the Central Coast; Adam Ch’ng is senior minister of Cross and Crown Melbourne.

They are speaking to around 1300 pastors and leaders at the Reach Australia National Conference on the Central Coast of New South Wales.

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Church music is one of the most formative and contested parts of local church life.

People join churches because of music. People leave churches because of music. But music is not a filler between the sermon and the prayers. The songs we sing put theology into people’s mouths and memories.

So how should we choose the songs we sing in church?

Mal York, the dean of students at Sydney’s Moore Theological College, joins us to talk about principles and pragmatics in choosing songs for church.

We discuss theological depth, singability, musical excellence, doctrinal drift, performance culture and what to do with songs from movements like Hillsong, Bethel and Elevation.

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Dominic Steele says 'There are no rocks being thrown from this corner.'

Dominic Steele's Pastor's Heart for Sam Allberry.

I, like many Pastor’s Heart viewers, read online in the middle of the day on Monday that Sam Allberry had engaged in inappropriate relationship with a man in 2022 and that, as the statement said, while the relationship did not go as far as it could have, it was a serious breach of trust, and that Sam is currently disqualified from gospel ministry.

I immediately stopped and prayed for Sam and then wrote to him to say that I care for him, love him, have stopped to pray for him and that there are no rocks being thrown from this corner.

Full Statement from Immanuel Church Nashville

thepastorsheart #samallberry

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In the UK there are serious signs of a narrowing pipeline into ministry recruitment and training. Fewer people are coming forward through some of the traditional routes. Traineeships are under pressure. Residential theological education is changing.

And churches are asking: where will the next generation of pastors, evangelists, church planters and ministry leaders come from?

In Australia, it is not the same story, but there is a similar question. Geoff Folland has argued that the old model of the young, full-time, residential theological student is no longer the dominant reality. Colleges face rising compliance costs, changing student profiles and tighter finances. And, churches, apprenticeships, parachurch organisations and mission agencies are now doing more of the early work of formation.

So is this a Bible college problem? A local church problem? A recruitment problem? A funding problem? Or an ecosystem problem?

Orlando Saer is Senior Pastor of Christ Church Southampton, Chair of Trustees of 9:38 and part of the team behind the Yarnton Gospel Workers Trust launched last week — a new UK initiative seeking to remove blockages and multiply gospel workers for the harvest.

Yarnton Gospel Workers Trust Link

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How should Christians respond when voluntary assisted dying is publicly framed as dignified, compassionate and courageous?

James Valentine has been rightly honoured as a much-loved broadcaster in the wake of his death last week. But alongside the tributes there’s been significant reflection on his choice to use voluntary assisted dying in the language of control, dignity, generosity and dying “his way”.

How do we honour and grieve a much-loved public figure, while still asking serious ethical and pastoral questions about voluntary assisted dying? Has the public conversation shifted from VAD as a last resort to VAD as a normal end-of-life choice?

As we think carefully about death, autonomy, compassion, medicine, conscience and Christian hope we are joined by:

Dr Megan Best, senior researcher and professor of bioethics at the Institute of Ethics & Society at the University of Notre Dame Australia & Director of Ethicenter and
Emeritus Professor Michael Quinlan of the University of Notre Dame. Michael is also on the board of Freedom for Faith and Ethical End of Life Care.

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Not every funeral is great. Sometimes they go too long, sometimes the gospel is not clear, sometimes the content overlaps.

How do you create a funeral service that God would be pleased with, connects well with people, honours the deceased and serves the bereaved?

David Cook is former Principal of Sydney Missionary and Bible College,
Sandy Grant is dean of St Andrew’s Cathedral Sydney,
and Gary Coleman is former chaplain to the Motor Racing Industry.

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How should Christians think about war? How does the Biblical Framework of Just War help us understand how we should react to what is happening in the Ukraine, Iran, Israel and south Lebanon.

We go back to first principles drawing on the work of Augustine of Hippo Thomas Aquinas - asking when is it right to go to war — and how must war be conducted? And how do those principles evaluate what’s happening in today’s conflicts?

Joining us are:

John McClean, Vice Principal of Christ College Sydney,
Rob Smith, theologian and ethicist and
Grant Dibden, Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force.

Together we explore how Just War thinking has shaped Western military ethics and whether it is quietly being sidelined.

Plus we examine what the Just War doctrine says about individuals conduct in war, in light of the controversy surrounding Australian Soldier Ben Roberts-Smith?

And how should Christians respond when the emotional weight of real-world conflict hits close

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Tinkering or transformation?

How do you change a church, like really change, not just tweak a program or update a roster, but challenge the whole model?

Kodak missed the shift to digital photography. We’ve seen huge changes in industries impacting newspapers, landline telephones, taxis, bank branches, travel agents, street directories, encyclopedias. For each the world moved on.

But have churches missed a revolution too, and if so, what is it?

Archie Poulos from Moore College’s Centre for Ministry Development says we’ve been tinkering around the edges, changing tactics without changing the operating model, especially when our structures were built for a village world while many relationships today are affinity based.

Kirsty Bucknell outlines a change framework to help us bring people with us.

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‘Authority’ and ‘care’- the two big words New Testament lecturer Peter Orr says belong together at the heart of real shepherding.

Lecturer at Sydney’s Moore Theological College, Peter Orr, has told the Nexus Conference, that one of the great confusions of our moment is confusion about the role of the pastor.

He asks whether in circles like ours, with a strong and right emphasis on every-member ministry, we accidentally downplayed the distinctiveness of the pastor?

What does it mean to say that a pastor has real authority, but that it is derived, limited and for care? How to avoid harshness, being too soft and lazy.

See also

‘Fight for your pastor’ by Peter Orr
The War Zone of The Pastor’s Heart with Peter Orr

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We tackle one of the most sensitive issues facing the global church — sexuality.

Vaughan Roberts, senior minister of St Ebbe’s Oxford, speaks as both pastor and theologian. In this interview he reflects on deeply personal pastoral encounters — Christians struggling with pornography, same-sex attraction, gender incongruence, and the pain of confusing messages from churches.

In Abuaja, Nigeria, Vaughan Roberts, distributed his new book Full of Grace and Truth: The Gospel and Sexuality in the Global Church to more than 470 bishops, clergy and lay leaders of the Global Anglican Communion.

At the heart of Roberts’ argument is the argument: God is for sex. Sex is for marriage. Marriage is for life. And ultimately life is for Christ.

Roberts’ challenge cuts in two directions. He cautions revisionist Christians not to abandon biblical truth, while also urging conservatives to move beyond moralism to the transforming beauty of the gospel.

Order online

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What does the reordering of the Anglican Communion actually mean for Christians in the Australian Church?

Archbishop of Sydney Kanishka Raffel on what it means for Anglican churches, clergy and church members in Australia.

We explore what ‘principled disengagement’ from the Canterbury Instruments will mean for Australian leaders and other Global Anglican Communion leaders.

Plus an update on implementing the Sydney Diocean goal of seeing five percent saved through conversion growth each year.

And Archbishop Raffel responds to criticism over his comments on Pauline Hanson, ‘We must reject hateful words and threats of violence.’

Gafcon Communique:https://gafcon.org/communique-updates/the-abuja-affirmation/

A short clip to show in church where Archbishop Raffel outlines the significance of the reordering for members of Australian Anglican Churches:https://vimeo.com/1174575894?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

Archbishop Raffel news release on Pauline Hanson: ‘We must reject hateful words and threats of violence’:https://sydneyanglicans.net/mediareleases/we-must-reject-hateful-words-and-threats-of-violence

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A refugee boy who walked barefoot from Rwanda to Burundi now leads the Global Anglican Communion.

In this special episode of The Pastor’s Heart, Dominic Steele speaks with Archbishop Laurent Mbanda of Rwanda, newly appointed chair of the council guiding newly inaugurated the Global Anglican Communion.

Speaking from Abuja, Nigeria, just days after the historic gathering that launched the new communion,

Archbishop Mbanda reflects on the extraordinary journey that brought him from displacement and poverty to global church leadership.

He shares the emotion and conviction behind the moment — why many Anglicans believe a new structure was necessary, why unity must be theological rather than geographical, and why the authority of Scripture remains central.

Archbishop Mbanda also responds to narratives circulating in the media — that the new movement is about women bishops or opposition to LGBT people — arguing instead that the central issue is the authority of Scripture and faithfulness to biblical teaching.

Along the way, Mbanda warmly commends Vaughan Roberts’ Lausanne Conference address and new book Full of Grace and Truth, urging churches to hold together biblical conviction and Christ-like grace in their response to questions of sexuality.

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The announcement of the new Global Anglican Communion has triggered an extraordinary wave of reaction from evangelical Anglican leaders gathered in Abuja this week. For many delegates, the moment was deeply emotional. One leader described it as “the privilege of crossing the river and entering the promised land,” capturing the sense that years of theological tension and debate have now led to a decisive new chapter for Anglicans committed to the authority of Scripture.

Inside the conference hall the mood was striking. African bishops began dancing in praise on the platform and in the aisles — a spontaneous expression of joy and thanksgiving to God.

The atmosphere was markedly different from the gathering three years ago in Kigali, where the tone was sombre and reflective as leaders lamented the direction of parts of the Anglican world. In Abuja the feeling was relief, gratitude and renewed confidence about the future.

In this special episode of The Pastor’s Heart, we bring together reactions from senior Anglican leaders across the global church following the release of the Abuja statement and the establishment of the new Global Anglican Council. The conversation explores why many leaders believe communion must be defined confessionally around the Jerusalem Declaration, and why there is now a call for principled disengagement from the historic Canterbury structures.

You’ll hear reflections from Miguel Uchoa, Michael Stead, Julian Dobbs, Alfred Olwa, Emmanuel Egbunu, Vaughan Roberts, John Dunnett, Glenn Davies, Darryl Parker and Richard Condie as they respond to what this moment means for their provinces and for the global Anglican movement. The discussion was recorded for Advent Cable Network Nigeria, where host Promise Njoko-Adebe invited Dominic to co-host the panel.

This episode is brought to you by Anglican Aid.

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In his first interview after being elected chair of the new Global Anglican Council, Archbishop of Rwanda Laurent Mbanda has outlined how leadership will work in the emerging Global Anglican Communion

The GAFCON Primates have dissolved the GAFCON Primates Council — the body that has guided the movement since 2008 — and in its place established a new Global Anglican Council to help lead what is the emerging Global Anglican Communion.

The Primates have chosen to broaden authority. The new council will include primates alongside bishops, clergy, and lay leaders, all with full voting privileges.

The structure signals a shift toward a more conciliar model of leadership, reflecting the conviction that the existing Instruments of Communion no longer adequately serve the majority of Anglicans worldwide.

Rwandan Primate, Archbishop Laurent Mbunda has been elected to chair the Council, until the Athens Conference in 2028.

In this Pastor’s Heart special from Abuja, Dominic Steele speaks with:

The newly elected chairman of the Global Anglican Council, Rwanda’s Archbishop Laurent Mbanda,
Archbishop of Sydney Kanishka Raffel,
Former Archbishop of North America and Former Chair of Gafcon, Bishop Foley Beach,
John Dunnett from the Church of England Evangelical Council.

Mbunda, Raffel and Beach discuss the reasoning behind the new structures, what they mean for Anglican leadership globally, and how this moment emerged from nearly two decades of GAFCON’s development.

We expore why the Primates have chosen to share authority more widely, how the new council will function, and what the leaders involved hope it will mean for the future of Anglican mission, doctrine, and fellowship across the world.

Plus The launch of the New Global Anglican Communion Fund with Anglican AID CEO Tim Swan.

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The future shape of the Anglican Communion is being debated this week in Abuja, Nigeria.

At the GAFCON conference, more than 400 bishops and global leaders are working through the logic of the proposal that could lead to a new Global Anglican Communion — a fellowship grounded in the authority of Scripture and historic Anglican doctrine.

On Day 2 of the conference, Dominic Steele speaks with key leaders including Vaughan Roberts (Oxford), Julian Dobbs (ACNA), and Richard Condie (Tasmania), along with presenters from Uganda, Brazil and Nigeria.

They discuss:
• The implications of the Church of England’s current trajectory
• The logic behind a reordered global communion
• The mission opportunity for global Anglicans
• What this could mean for churches in the UK, North America and Australia

This episode is part of The Pastor’s Heart special coverage of GAFCON 2026 in Abuja.

Sponsored by Anglican Aid https://anglicanaid.org

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The atmosphere was electric in the cathedral in Abuja, Nigeria as the the Word of God from 2 Corinthians rang out with unmistakable clarity: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers… Come out from them and be separate… Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates.”

The preacher was the Archbishop of Nigeria, Henry Ndukuba, and his message landed with force. Many of the Primates, Archbishops, Bishops, Clergy and Laity from across the Anglican world would have preached on that passage in the past, but the Holy Spirit pressed it home in a remarkable way.

In this episode of The Pastor’s Heart, Dominic Steele speaks with Glenn Davies — former Archbishop of Sydney and now Bishop of the GAFCON Authorised Diocese of the Southern Cross.

Together they reflect on the emotional and spiritual tone of the conference as it begins, the shift since the sober mood of GAFCON 2023 in Kigali, and the key questions now facing global Anglican leaders — including the future structure of the communion, the role of the Global South, and the difficult realities for churches seeking faithfulness while still legally tied to Canterbury.

Plus

Bishop of South Sydney Michael Stead outlines the way the conference statement will be formed from the ground up.
Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Network in Europe Andy Lines speaks on how the Church of England has failed to repent, despite the clarion call of the Gafcon23 conference.
Mwita Akiri is former Bishop of Tarmi in Tanzania and co-ordinator of Gafcon for Tanzania.

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Dominic Steele reports from Abuja, Nigeria, as nearly 500 Anglican leaders gather for GAFCON 2026 in what many believe could prove a decisive moment in the reshaping of the Anglican Communion.
Delegates have arrived from across Africa, the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australasia, despite significant travel disruption caused by the US–Iran conflict and Middle Eastern airspace closures. For many Australians, flights were cancelled only hours before departure.

This preview episode of The Pastor’s Heart sets out what is expected in the coming days: proposals for the structure and operation of a new Global Anglican Communion, distinct from Canterbury.
The story stretches back through the Jerusalem Declaration of 2008 and the strong Kigali statement of 2023, in which leaders representing the majority of the Communion expressed no confidence in the existing Instruments of Communion. This week, foundations for a renewed and confessionally orthodox global fellowship are anticipated to be agreed.

Steele outlines the program for the week, including plenary sessions, presentations and votes on doctrine, fellowship and leadership structures. Particular attention will be given to the biblical basis of communion, the failures of current Canterbury-centred mechanisms and how future alignment will be defined. Questions around governance, canonical relationships and financial partnerships are also expected to be addressed.

Over the next five days, The Pastor’s Heart will release daily 30-minute reports with interviews from primates and key leaders, alongside full-length conversations on YouTube. Coverage is brought in partnership with Anglican Aid. This episode provides essential background to what may become a defining chapter in modern Anglican history.

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For many of us, Easter is the highest attention moment of the year. But how do we turn that attention into genuine Gospel impact? How do we help people attend in the first place, how do we move from visitor to believer, and how do we run follow up that actually happens?

How to engage the neighbourhood, welcome deliberately, lead hearts to love Jesus in the gathering and preaching, and leading well into followup courses.

We cover what to prioritise, what not to do, whether evening events are worth it, how to serve families well, and simple next steps that help guests come back.

Featuring three Sydney mission pastors: Brayden Lucas (Christ Church Gladesville), Peter Blake (St Stephen’s Normanhurst) and Pip Witheridge (St Paul’s Carlingford).

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Well, we give it a serious go in 30 minutes.

What is the “righteousness of God”?
Is it faith in Christ or the faithfulness of Christ?
Who is the “I” in Romans 7?
What exactly is Paul saying about Israel and the Law?
How does Romans use the Old Testament?
And is the gospel mainly about individual salvation or shaping a new community?

Ridley College’s Brian Rosner has just released a major theological overview of Romans ‘Strengthened by the Gospel’ — and along the way he thoughtfully engages nearly every major scholarly controversy.

If you’ve ever taught Romans, struggled with Romans, or simply wanted to understand Romans more deeply you will enjoy this fast moving discussion through the controversies of Romans.

To purchase Strengthened by the gospel: https://reformers.com.au/products/9781433572555-strengthened-by-the-gospel-a-theology-of-romans-brian-rosner

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We’re just three weeks away from what may prove to be one of the most significant gatherings of Anglican leaders in a generation — as bishops, clergy and lay representatives from across the world meet in Abuja to chart the future of global Anglicanism.

We preview the conference being led by Global Anglican Futures Conference (GAFCON), and explore how its proposed “reordering” of the Anglican Communion compares with the approach of the Global South Fellowship of Anglicans.

With the centre of Anglican Christianity now firmly in the majority world, the conference in Abjua, Nigeria brings together a broad representative cross-section of the global church.

Our guests are Paul Donison, General Secretary of the GAFCON movement, and Gafcon Operations Manager Jodie McNeill, who is helping coordinate the gathering.

The Pastor’s Heart coverage of the Global Anglians Abuja conference is brought to you by Anglican Aid.

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For many pastors, the AGM is something to be survived — not led.

A governance headache. A compliance exercise.

And for some, the meeting where old tensions resurface and trust quietly erodes.

But what if we’ve misunderstood the AGM?

What if, instead of just doing compliance, we aimed to build confidence?

What if the AGM could be a leadership moment — one that strengthens, not damages, your church?

Jo Gibbs (Reach Australia) and Dave Moore (Hunter Bible Church) on how to plan and lead an excellent church AGM.

Why good AGM preparation is actually pastoral care
How to move from enduring the AGM to envisioning it
Why “no surprises” is kindness, not bureaucracy
What faithful impact and financial reporting really look like
And what a genuinely Jesus-honouring AGM would feel like

Further reading: https://reachaustralia.com.au/its-agm-time-again/

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/rethinking-the-annual-general-meeting

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Wisdom for pastors seeking to preach and lead well in a post-Christian age.

So much of our culture judges events in isolation — a single moment, a single failure, a single decision — detached from what led to it and what flows from it. But history doesn’t work like that. Events emerge from long trajectories, and they reshape the future in ways no one fully controls or intends.

We’re joined by Archie Poulos, Head of the Ministry Department at Moore Theological College, to reflect on Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West by Andrew Wilson.

Wilson’s argument isn’t that everything changed overnight in 1776, but that the events clustered around that year give us a window into the forces that have shaped the WEIRDER world we now inhabit — Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic, Ex-Christian and Romantic.

We explore why reading history as an ecosystem rather than isolated episodes matters, why Romanticism isn’t just a past movement but our present operating system, and how Christian faith — offers a deeper, more hopeful way to understand our moment.

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A roller-coaster week for religious freedom in Australia.

In just days, sweeping Australian national legislation moved from deeply alarming to not great, but not terrible — after intense pressure from faith leaders across the country.

In this special bonus episode of The Pastor’s Heart, we speak with Michael Stead, Bishop of South Sydney and director of Freedom for Faith, who had a front-row seat as the law was debated, amended, and finally passed late at night in Parliament.

What was originally proposed? Why did faith leaders unite in an extraordinary last-minute letter to the Prime Minister? Which parts of the bill remain concerning — and which dangers were narrowly avoided?

We walk through how the law was actually made — and what it now means for preaching, Bible teaching, protest, and free speech in Australia.

Read the Faith Leaders letter. https://bit.ly/faith-leaders-letter

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How should Christians react to news one of our heroes has engaged in an eight year sinful affair with a married woman?

How should churches respond when leaders fall?
Why do accountability structures fail?
How do we speak of grace without minimising harm?
What does faithfulness look like for pastors, churches and ordinary believers in moments like this?

Philip Yancey’s confession of an eight-year adulterous affair has shocked the evangelical world. His writing shaped a generation. His failure has caused deep harm.

We begin by hearing from a woman (name withheld) who has walked a similar path — the former wife of a senior ministry leader — as she reflects on betrayal, theology under trauma and the long fallout for families.

Keith Condie, is from Anglican Deaconess Ministries’ Mental Health and Pastoral Care Institute. Veronica Hoyt is Director of the Priscilla and Aquila Centre at Sydney’s Moore Theological College. Chris Edwards is the Anglican, Bishop of North Sydney.

Link: Keith and Sarah Condie's marriage course.

Correction: It was mistakenly said in this episode that Yancey has Alzheimers. This was a mistake and should have been Parkinsons. Apologies.

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So much pastoral energy is lost when teams don’t function well.
Anxiety rises, trust erodes and the mission of the church suffers. But when teams are healthy, aligned and generous with one another, churches flourish.

In this ‘Best of’ episode of The Pastor’s Heart, over the Australian Summer, we’re joined by Peter Blanch (Reach Australia), Michael Davies (Lighthouse Church, Gorokan) and Megan Stevens (Vine Church, Surry Hills) to talk about leading up — how assistant ministers, associates and key volunteers can help teams work better, support senior leaders and care for the whole church ecosystem.

We talk identity in Christ, trust, feedback, confidentiality, handling complaints and the often-unspoken dynamics of second-chair leadership — including the role of spouses.

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Godly Complementarianism - with Paul Grimmond

Living Godly Lives Together - as men and women, young and old, husbands and wives?

All Christians are called to live like Christ. But in Titus 2, the apostle Paul speaks about godliness in strikingly specific ways — addressing older and younger, men and women. Why does he do that? Are age and sex merely cultural categories, or gifts from God that shape the challenges we face in following Jesus?

In this ‘best of episode’ of The Pastor’s Heart, over the Australian Summer break, we are joined by Paul Grimmond, Senior Lecturer at Moore Theological College.

We dig into Titus 2, the most contested passages of the New Testament, and ask how truth and godliness belong together, how Scripture should be read in its own terms, and what this means for discipleship, marriage, ministry and pastoral care today.

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How to preach Christmas that engages and connects. -

We've pulled in three experts to help us prepare for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We share talk structures, attention hooks, and illustrations that connect with guests who didn’t come for a sermon but need a Saviour.

Sam Chan talks about tailoring length, tone, and imagery for each.

Andrew Barry frames Christmas with a pastoral lens: some in the room are celebrating their first Christmas in Christ, others their last -- and how this shapes content and cadence, putting joy and gravity side by side.

Adrian Russell talks about speaking into tragedy at Christmas, by preaching peace that is more than a feeling—reconciliation with God that makes real.

For Christmas morning, we share passages and closes that put God’s face turned toward us and the cross in view, with invitations that are personal and memorable.

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Archbishop Kanishka on the terror attack at Bondi - Kanishka Raffel, Martin Morgan and Ben Pakula

Sydney’s Anglican Archbishop Kanishka Raffel calls on Sydney to embrace our Jewish neighbours in love, friendship and support and to reject antisemitism, violence and hatred.

Archbishop Raffel says this is the way of Jesus.

Minister of Bondi Anglican Martin Morgan says they sheltered people in the church last night, who were terrified, running for their lives.

In a The Pastor’s Heart special, Archbishop Raffel is joined by minister of Bondi Anglican Church Martin Morgan and Messianic Jew Ben Pakula (also an Anglican Minister) in praying for those family and friends and the Bondi community, impacted by the gunman opening fire - leaving 16 dead including a 10 year old girl.

http://thepastorsheart.net/podcast/love-in-the-face-of-terror-raffel-morgan-pakula

Suggested Prayers :-

Prayers prepared by St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney for those affected by the shooting at Bondi Beach, 14/12/25

For the bereaved and injured
Heavenly Father, God of all comfort, deal graciously with those who grieve in this time of deep sadness. We pray especially for family and friends of those who have been shot. Grant them strength and peace in the days ahead. We pray with a spirit of compassion and grace for the Jewish and broader Bondi community, as they come to terms with their grief and shock. We ask you, Gracious Lord, to heal and restore all those who are still recovering in hospital. Be with them and their families as they travel the road to recovery. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

For the first responders
Heavenly Father, whose blessed Son was acquainted with grief and carried our sorrows: Thank you for those who, courageously following in his steps, willingly entered into the trauma of recent events on our behalf – civilians responders, the police, ambulance officers and other emergency medical personnel. We pray also for the police responsible for investigating the circumstances around these crimes. In your tender mercy, grant diligence and protection in their tasks, and rest to their bodies, healing to their minds, and peace to their hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

For the community around Bondi Beach
Our dear Heavenly Father, hear our prayers for the men, women and children, who live and work in or near Bondi Beach and the surrounding areas. We present the needs of residents, shopkeepers, restaurateurs, staff, customers, and visitors to the area. You know them. You know every hair on their heads. We call on you to protect and heal. Allow a healthy process as people respond to these harrowing acts of violence. Thank you, Lord, for the courage and kindness of the people who helped each other on Sunday. May that spirit of kindness continue through your empowering, Lord. As people face anxiety, trauma, and grief, provide comfort, resilience, peace, and safety. Grant wisdom to community leaders and help us know you are a good, gracious God. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

For the wider community of Sydney Anglicans
God most high, we ask you to strengthen the efforts of leaders of different religions in our city as they reject violence and hatred and seek to encourage respect and tolerance for others. We ask your mercy on the Jewish community in this dark time. As sadness shrouds their celebration of Hanukkah, we ask that they will find light in the promises of their prophets – and ours.
And at this time, grant the Spirit’s help for all who claim the name of Christ, who prayed for those who persecuted him and taught us to do the same. Help us work for peace, love our enemies, do
good to any who hate us, bless those who curse us, and pray for those who ill-treat us; for the love of your Son, Jes

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Tears, Questions and Hope - When a senior pastor takes their own life? Keith Condie & Trinette Stanley

In the last few months two senior evangelical leaders have taken their own lives.

The Archbishop’s letter said ‘It is with deep sadness that I write to inform you of the death of a colleague and friend … who took his own life on Tuesday and our hearts are heavy at this time as we come before God with our tears, questions and … hope in the promise of resurrection.’

We react with a range of questions: Should I have known? Could I have done more? What do I say to the church? What do I say to the world, but most importantly where is God?

Keith Condie, from Anglican Deaconess Ministry’s Mental Health and Pastoral Care Institute and Trinette Stanley, Mental Health Educator with Anglicare are our guests.

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What are the dangers when pastors let AI assist… or sometimes author?

How do we think well about plagiarism, spiritual formation and the loss of our pastoral voice?

And are there positive, God-honouring ways to use these tools?

Stephen Driscoll works in Campus Ministry in Canberra. He's the author of 'Made in Our Image: God, artificial intelligence and you. '

Stephen argues that writing is thinking, and when we automate the writing we risk automating away the deep thinking and wrestling with God’s word that forms the preacher’s heart.

We talk dangers, temptations, reputation, the Holy Spirit, and the kinds of careful, ethical uses of AI that still require the pastor to be the author.

Stephen helps us preach faithfully and use AI to assist in that in an ethical way in a rapidly changing world.

Also see:

The traumatic implications of artificial intelligence.

What morality to teach artificial intelligence?

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Paul Donison responds to global reaction to Gafcon’s reset of the Anglican Communion and its declaration that Canterbury’s time is over.

The Lord is removing his Spirit from the Canterbury–Lambeth lampstand, and the centre of global Anglicanism is shifting from London to Africa.

The average Anglican today is not English, not Western, not male — she’s a young African woman in her twenties, probably Nigerian. The Anglican Communion is now catching up with that reality.

Since the Gafcon Primates’ announcement on 16 October 2025 — declaring that Canterbury is out and that the Bible will be the foundation document for a reordered Global Anglican Communion — reaction has been electric: claims of schism, conflict in Ireland, tensions in ACNA, questions about women’s orders, realignments in England, silence from some primates, and fresh courage from others.

And what does this mean for a blended province like Australia?

Gafcon General Secretary Paul Donison joins us with an update on plans for the Global Bishops Gathering in Abuja, Nigeria, 3–6 March 2026.

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How to turn around evangelistic stagnation in your church — or how to start pursuing a 5% goal?

Across Australian Evangelicalism there is a bold goal — growing our churches by 5% per year through conversion growth.

But some pastors are asking: “We haven’t seen anyone become a Christian here in years… where do we even start?”

We talk:

• Should we even have an evangelism target?
• What are the theological issues?
• How do you start when conversions have been rare?
• What cultural changes actually make a difference?
• Funnels, programs and “conversion engines.”
• And how to build momentum with stories, prayer and team alignment.

Three pastors who are right at the beginning of the journey, Brett Middleton (St Luke’s Miranda),
Ben Molyneux (St Faith’s Narrabeen) and Dan Au (Cornerstone Kogarah) — We set an evangelism target - Now what?

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Something is happening. In England the data shows a quiet revival. In France a new evangelical church is opening every ten days. But what about here in Australia?

Among young adults we’re hearing stories of renewed interest in Jesus, fresh conversions and surprising openness. Is this a cultural phenomenon or is it something deeper? And how do we ride the wave?

We talk about ground level experiences, the big picture, the influence of politics, and the five percent conversion growth goal for Sydney Anglican churches.

We’re joined by three frontline evangelists:

• Dave Jensen from Sydney Anglican Evangelism and New Churches
• Sam Mahdavi from Wollongong Baptist Church
• Pre Shunmugam from MBM Rooty Hill in multicultural Western Sydney

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What does healthy, joyful, word-shaped congregational singing look like in a culture obsessed with self-expression?

We are shaped more than we realise by the culture around us. And today one of the most powerful cultural forces pressing on our churches is expressive individualism — the idea that the authentic self must be expressed and affirmed.

But what happens when this cultural air we breathe seeps into our church music? When sincerity becomes more important than truth, when the band is excellent yet the congregation is silent, and when singing shifts from “we proclaim Christ together” to “I express what I feel”?

If we do not address this, we risk disengaged congregations, weakened church identity and a missed opportunity for deep spiritual formation that comes as we sing God’s word to one another.

Alanna Glover — longtime church music leader, former member of Garage Hymnal, ten years with Emu Music, songwriter, trainer and theologian — has just completed significant research on expressive individualism and congregational singing in evangelical churches.

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Marcus Loane said no. The King said yes.

For the first time in more than 800 years, an English monarch has prayed publicly with the Pope.

King Charles III — the Supreme Governor of the Church of England — joined Pope Leo XIV in the Sistine Chapel in a highly choreographed moment of unity. But for many Protestants, this was not a moment to celebrate, but to grieve,

The Reformation was born out of deep conviction that Rome had departed from the apostolic gospel — that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Those convictions have not changed. And yet, the sight of a Protestant king kneeling in prayer beside the Pope suggests that they believe these dividing lines no longer matter, that the Reformation is no longer relevant.

Half a century ago, in 1970, when Pope Paul VI visited Australia, Sydney Anglican Archbishop Sir Marcus Loane — refused to pray with the Pope, saying shared prayer implied shared faith, and that the great truths of the Reformation still mattered: salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Loane’s grandson, Dr Stephen Tong, joins Rachel Ciano, Lecturer in Church History at Sydney Missionary and Bible College, and Dominic Steele on The Pastor’s Heart to discuss what's happened in Rome this week - as the leaders of the Roman Catholic and Church of England Churches downplay the Reformation's significance.

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“We are now the Global Anglican Communion,” says Archbishop Laurent Mbanda — the Chair of Gafcon, Primate of Rwanda, and leader of Global Anglicans.

Bible-believing Anglicans around the world are praising God today.

The Anglican Communion is being reordered — reset — with the Bible once again at its foundation.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, the revisionists, and the so-called Canterbury Communion are out — they’ve repeatedly abandoned Cranmerian Anglicanism, and ultimately, Jesus himself.

This reordering seeks to restore the Communion’s original structure — a fellowship of autonomous provinces bound together by the Formularies of the Reformation. There will be no communion with those who have abandoned the authority of Scripture.

A new Council of Primates will be formed, electing a chairman to preside as primus inter pares — first among equals.

Archbishop Mbanda is here in Sydney this week with a group of Primates and the founding fathers of Gafcon. Their informal consultations culminated in a clear and momentous statement — so significant that an online Global Primates Meeting was held at 11 p.m. Sydney time last night to ratify the decisions made.

Many of those leaders are now on planes heading home. But Archbishop Mbanda, joins us in our Pastor’s Heart studio.

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How can we help those trapped in addiction? What about when we ourselves are the ones struggling?

Addiction is often an elephant in the room for pastors — whether it’s alcohol, substances, pornography, or sex addiction. And Antony’s research is asking: “How does the gospel of Jesus Christ bring real hope into the deep brokenness of addiction?”

Antony Dandato is Principal of Harare Theological College in Zimbabwe — a college that’s supported by our friends at Anglican Aid.

Antony did a ministry apprenticeship in Perth, Western Australia, before returning home to Zimbabwe, where he led student ministries and the national Ministry Apprenticeship Program. He’s now heading up Harare Theological College — and somehow, in the midst of all that, he’s also working on a PhD exploring addiction.

Antony brings observations from ministry in Zimbabwe, and how churches everywhere — including ours — can respond with both truth and compassion.

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The Church of England has confirmed that the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, will take on the role of Archbishop of Canterbury — but instead of celebration, the global response has been marked by shock, disappointment, and unprecedented criticism.

Once, the Archbishop of Canterbury was recognised as the spiritual leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion — the “first among equals” for Anglicans everywhere. But that authority has been dramatically eroded in recent years, especially after the GAFCON and Global South movements declared in 2023 that they no longer recognised Canterbury’s leadership, citing the Church of England’s decision to bless same-sex relationships as a betrayal of biblical truth.

As the GAFCON Kigali Commitment put it:

“Public statements by the Archbishop of Canterbury and other leaders of the Church of England in support of same-sex blessings are a betrayal of their ordination and consecration vows to banish error and to uphold and defend the truth taught in Scripture.”

With GAFCON and the Global South together representing as much as 85% of global Anglicans, Sarah Mullally will now lead a communion that is, in practical terms, far smaller and more fractured than it was at the start of Justin Welby’s tenure.

So what does this appointment mean for the future of Anglicanism?

Joining us today are three leading voices (statements from their organisations are linked):

Archbishop Laurent Mbanda, Primate of Rwanda and Chair of the GAFCON movement.
Dr Lee Gatiss, Director of the Church Society in the UK.
And Vaughan Roberts, Rector of St Ebbe’s, Oxford, and a key leader in the evangelical Alliance within the Church of England.

See also George Owers article in The Critic: The Lanyard Class Archbishop.

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Sinclair Ferguson on the Charlie Kirk controversy, John Macarthur, RC Sproul and preaching to the Queen.

Sinclair Ferguson joins us to share wisdom that he wishes he’d been given when he started in pastoral ministry in Glasgow 54 years ago.

Sinclair has served for decades as a pastor, preacher, theologian and author in Scotland and the United States. He’s the author of 50 books.

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How do you understand God’s sovereignty when your dad is murdered, your family is in poverty, you are living in the most awful slum and your extended family won’t help.

Richmond Wandera's father murdered when he was just eight years old, leaving his family destitute in Uganda's Naguru slum. Initially he wanted revenge. But then he came to know Jesus Christ.

We talk theological reflections on suffering, as well as a challenge for Western comfort-seeking Christianity, and a clear critique of the Prosperity Gospel.

Richmond Wandera leads the Pastors Discipleship Network across East Africa, as well as pastoring at the church where he came to Christ and partnering with Compassion in Uganda.

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This week marks the 100th birthday of Dick Lucas, one of the most influential evangelical leaders of the 20th century. For nearly four decades as Rector of St Helen’s Bishopsgate in London, Dick shaped a generation of preachers and transformed a quiet city parish into a global centre of expository Bible ministry. The influence of his clear, fearless, and creative preaching continues to ripple out through pulpits around the world.

We’re joined by Peter Jensen (former Archbishop of Sydney and Principal of Moore College) and Phillip Jensen (founder of Two Ways Ministries, former Dean of Sydney Cathedral, and long-time leader of Campus Bible Study). Both were impacted by Dick’s ministry and friendship.

Dick Lucas was a trainer of preachers. He helped us see what could be done with city pulpits, and founded the Proclamation Trust and Cornhill Course.

Our focus is on learning from Evangelical History from a faithful, eccentric, humble servant of Christ.

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Reaching the 70% of the population who are significantly underrepresented in our churches.

We’re talking about everyday Australians — people who’ve gone straight into the workforce rather than university. That includes hairdressers, plumbers, builders, business owners, factory workers, truck drivers, IT staff, and media creatives — as well as many in marginalised communities.

Within this group, there’s huge diversity:

Some are winners — financially successful builders and entrepreneurs.
Others are respectables — valuing hard work, morals, and family.
Some are survivors — juggling multiple jobs and doing it tough.
And there are those living in hard places — facing struggles with welfare, addiction, and family stress.

Yet while this group represents the majority of Australians, they make up only a small minority in our churches. Why is that? And how can we do better?

Andrew Beddo — principal trainer at the Vocational Bible College, equipping gospel workers for everyday Australians.
Coz Crosscombe — director of The Well Training Program at Mount Druitt, focused on training leaders from marginalised communities.
Simon Gillham — vice principal at Moore Theological College, working on cross-cultural and literacy challenges in ministry.

We discuss why this group is missing from many of our congregations, the cultural and learning barriers they face, and how we can shape ministry, training, and preaching to better reach them with the good news of Jesus.

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After a significant debate over two days, the Sydney Anglican Synod has voted unanimously to embark on a bold new five-year mission focus, praying and working towards five percent growth in church attendance through the conversion of the lost, each year.

The resolution, “in a spirit of humble dependence and pastoral flexibility,” invited every part of the diocesan fellowship to commit to the goal.

Pete Stedman, Senior Minister of Norwest Anglican, spoke of a turning point for his own parish after a review.

“We realised we had drifted from what matters most. We were measuring busyness, not fruit. We were celebrating activity, but not conversion. That day, God convicted us. We repented, and we asked him to change our hearts.”

“This is about humble dependence. It is about acknowledging that we cannot change a single heart. Only God can. But in his kindness, he calls us to pray, to preach, and to persevere.”

Read the full report

This episode (from before the synod debate) will help with your staff team and to stimulate thinking about how you might best get across this issue.

Our guests are Pete Stedman, senior minister at Norwest Anglican Church, and a member of the Archbishop’s subcommittee that proposed the 5% goal, Jon Kwan, lead pastor at St. David's Forestville and Jo Gibbs, senior consultant with Reach Australia.

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The call to ministry is a call to lay down your life for others, but how do we create a well-thought-out roadmap toward pastoral perseverance - when there are external and/or internal difficulties?

How do we approach congregational conflict, criticism, unrealistic expectations or personal health, financial and family stress?

Why is pastoral friendship not optional, but essential?

Today on The Pastor’s Heart, there’s advice for pastors who feel isolated and are feeling like quitting.

Brian Croft leads Practical Shepherding in Louisville Kentucky.

Matthew Spandler Davison also lives in Louisville, serves with Practical Shepherding, and as an executive director of 20 Schemes, Church in Hard Places in Scotland as well as the preaching pastor for Redeemer Fellowship in Bardstown, Kentucky.

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Today our focus on The Pastor’s Heart is on how to preach for transformation for real changes in people’s lives.

Two men with a lifetime’s passion for preaching — Robin Sydserff, Director of the Proclamation Trust and David Cook, former principal of Sydney Missionary and Bible College and a long-time preaching mentor - now with the Expository Preaching Trust.

We start by looking at how Christian leaders the UK and Australia influenced preaching patterns overseas.

We look at preaching that has led to record enrolments at Bible Colleges, the purpose of preaching, the life and relationships of the preacher, training preachers and what patience is needed in preaching growth.

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A training culture for the next generation: Healthy Churches producing new ministers for the next generation.

Across the world, the number of candidates putting themselves forward for gospel ministry is in decline. Many churches are feeling the pinch—struggling to find leaders and often looking elsewhere to fill ministry gaps.

Yet healthy churches don’t just maintain ministry; they reproduce it. They raise up and send out the next generation of gospel workers.

This week in Sydney, a group of evangelical movement leaders from across the globe have gathered to sharpen one another in this task: creating a culture of training that will multiply gospel workers for the decades ahead.

The shift they are calling for is from passively plotting decline to actively asking, What are we going to do?—and then taking decisive steps toward it.

We’re joined this afternoon by three of those symposium participants. From the UK, Robin Sydserff of the Proclamation Trust.

From Santiago, Chile, Matt Pope—pastor and trainer of pastors in five Latin American countries, formerly of St Ebbe’s in Oxford.

And from Cleveland, Ohio, Marty Sweeny—pastor for training at Old North Church and long-time champion of multiplying ministry apprentices.

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In the past month, two of the most respected evangelical training institutions in the world have closed or announced closure of their campuses.

In July, Spurgeon’s College in London—a pillar of Baptist theological education for nearly 170 years—closed, citing financial strain and a dramatic decline in student numbers.

A few weeks earlier, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) in Chicago —long regarded as a flagship seminary of North American evangelicalism— said they would shut down its Illinois campus and relocate to Canada, merging with Trinity Western University in British Columbia.

TEDS student numbers have dropped from 750 to 400 fulltime equivalents.

These are not isolated incidents. Across the UK, Australia, and globally, churches are asking:

Where will the next generation of gospel workers come from?

Orlando Saer—lead pastor of Christ Church Southampton, Chair of the Reach UK South church planting network, and Chair of 9:38, a UK ministry seeking to raise up gospel workers, has helped lead the Yarnton Consultation, the most comprehensive look yet at the state of ministry recruitment in the UK.

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What change would a leader and church need to make for a congregation, denomination or movement to grow by five percent annual conversion growth.

The Gospel Coalition pulled together a mini summit of evangelical movement leaders from across Australia in June.

That gathering set an aspirational goal of doubling the number of evangelicals over twenty years.

They said a key way to do it is by pursuing a target of seeing five percent of the average attendance saved each year.

David Jensen leads the Evangelism part of the Department of Evangelism and New Churches in the Sydney Anglican Church.

Chris Braga is senior pastor of Grace West Church at Glenmore Park in Western Sydney.

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It is an uncomfortable but important question: What place should numbers have in our thinking about ministry success?

We all want to be faithful. But what happens when the numbers are down? Do we need to change something? Or should we just continue in the same trajectory?

And should we be counting at all?

This is the tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. A tension between preaching the word and evaluating what’s actually working.

Phil Colgan has been the long term senior pastor of St George North Anglican in Sydney and presented on a Theology of Numbers at the recent Nexus Conference.

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We evangelicals, says Richard Coekin, have a problem—and it’s a preaching problem.Richard Coekin says we are too often careless—his word—when it comes to application in preaching. We work hard on exegesis, we labour to understand the original context and the author’s intent—but then we stop short. We leave our congregations with sound doctrine, but little direction. Richard has just concluded 29 years as senior pastor at Dundonald Church in London and as the founding leader of the Co-Mission network across the UK capital. He now heads up Reach UK. Richard’s new book, Apply: How to Preach the Bible for Real Life, will be released in the UK Spring —and today he joins us to explore why good application is not an optional extra, but the very purpose of preaching.Correction: Apply will be published by 10 of those not The Good Book Company as was stated in the program.ChurchSuite Taster Days in Australia
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We’re digging into the Bible’s teaching on sex and gender—inside and outside the Garden of Eden - relating to transgender.

We’re asking foundational questions: Was humanity created androgynous? Does Genesis allow for more than two sexes? Is sexual difference a core part of the imago Dei? What does it mean that the man and woman were naked and felt no shame?

Dr Rob Smith lectures at Sydney Missionary and Bible College and serves with Living Faith, a pastoral ministry of the Sydney Anglican Church caring for those navigating same-sex attraction or gender incongruence.

Rob is the author of a new book The Body God Gives.

Rob also spoke to us in February 2025 about the historic and cultural issues relating to the transgender, under the heading 'The Sexed body is the Gendered Self'.

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There are understandings/interpretations of the Bible that conflict with the conclusions of modern, empirical research - where science and the Bible are thought to be giving competing explanations of the same event or concept.

One way of reading the Bible leads to the conclusion that the Earth is 6000 years old while your local science department will tell you it is more like 4.5 billion years old.

Were human beings created in an instant from dust, or over billions of years through a gradual, meandering evolutionary process?

Was there a moment in our historical timeline at the curse of God on the sin of Adam and Eve when the physical nature of our universe changed?

Were there no volcanoes or earthquakes or floods or bushfires before the curse, or has the universe operated on the same physical principles since its creation, as the conclusions of mainstream geology and astronomy suggest?

Dr Lewis Jones is an astrophysicist from North Carolina, who moved to Sydney to do post doctoral research. Lewis is now director of the Simeon Network, the postgraduate and academic arm of the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students.

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In a bold move, a meeting of movement leaders from across Australian Reformed Evangelicalism has resolved to work together to see their numbers double over twenty years, through seeing sinners saved.

Leaders gathered for a mini summit organised by The Gospel Coalition Australia at Sydney’s Moore Theological College last week.

Gospel Coalition Australia Chair Rory Shiner says given the unparalleled theological and missional unity between the different organisations there’s a significant window of opportunity to work productively together for God’s glory.

They agreed to work towards an effective target of growing five percent per year through conversion growth.

The Gospel Coalition’s Rory Shiner and Sarah Kuswadi, Reach Australia’s Andrew Heard and Queensland Theological College Principal Gary Millar came straight from the Summit to our The Pastor’s Heart studio to discuss the outcomes of the day and plans for the future.

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Andrew Heard says ministries cannot be other than outcome-focused in their work - the question is will those outcomes be good or bad? Conscious or unconscious? Specific or vague?

He addresses critics who confuse having Biblical goals with adopting secular business practices.

Andrew Heard leads the Reach Australia movement, and pastors the influential EV Church on the Central Coast.

• All Christians are goal-driven whether consciously or unconsciously

• Critique often conflate goals with the methods used to pursue them (which is a separate question).

• Paul in 1 Corinthians demonstrates strategic thinking while maintaining gospel integrity

• "Wise master builder" suggests skill and thoughtfulness in ministry, not just faithfulness

• Personal, transformational ministry requires organisation.

• Opposition to large churches and attempting to grow churches creates an impossible task for reaching the world. We need to own the fact that we either need much bigger churches or many more churches, or both.

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An apology and correction in regards to our episode of Tuesday 10 June 2025.

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How can we create gatherings that are both warm and deep? How can we avoid gatherings that are superficial or dry.

How do we embed gospel culture in our church gatherings.

How do we emphasize grace, forgiveness and a welcoming atmosphere?

And how to encourage authenticity and emotional intelligence in gathering leaders. Plus how do we evaluate.

A Pastor’s Heart episode to watch with your staff team.

Toby Neal is Senior pastor at Vine Church in Sydney. And Liv Chapman Leggett leads the gatherings aspect of the ministry at Vine Church.

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What happens when churches move beyond "pious passivity" to strategic intentionality in reaching the lost?

Richard Coekin—founding pastor of Dundonald Church in London and pioneer of REACH UK—joins Dominic Steele to unpack the revolutionary approach transforming churches across Australia and the United Kingdom.

Following on from Reach UK and Reach Australia in May, Richard candidly shares his journey from skepticism about "Pentagon language" and structured frameworks to embracing these tools as valuable expressions of pastoral care and evangelistic intentionality.

"If you don't aim at anything, nothing will happen," he explains, challenging the notion that strategic thinking somehow diminishes reliance on God's sovereignty.

We look at the biblical foundations for strategic ministry, with Richard pointing to Acts 6 as a model where the apostles prioritized preaching and prayer, built ministry teams for delegation, and ensured the church's practical needs were met.

Plus we discuss measuring spiritual fruit.

Whether you're skeptical of strategic approaches to ministry or already embracing them, this conversation offers fresh insights on leading churches that are both faithful to Scripture and effective in mission.

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Live from the sidelines at the Reach Australia Conference on the Central Coast of New South Wales, we sit down with Wade Burnett from McLean Bible Church in Washington DC and Derek Hanna, Reach Australia’s church planting and multisite specialist, for a fresh look at the multisite church model.

Multisite was a buzz seven years ago. Today, with thousands of campuses launched in the United States—and many hard lessons learned—the mood is more measured. What’s changed? What’s endured? And what can church leaders here learn today from the American experience?

We explore the personnel, strategic, and pastoral complexities of multisite ministry. From varied governance models to launch strategies, leadership fit to congregational model —

And how to decide whether we should launch a new campus, reassess a current model, or weigh multisite against church planting.

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This week on The Pastor’s Heart, we’re live from the Reach Australia conference at Erina on the Central Coast of New South Wales.

It’s an inspiring gathering, with 1,300 church leaders from across Australia and beyond, including New Zealand, South Africa, America, and the United Kingdom, coming together for encouragement and equipping to better Reach Australia.

Paul Harrington has led the Trinity Network of Churches in Adelaide for 33 years, guiding it from a single congregation of 800 to a thriving network of 13 churches with over 2,600 members.

Sue Harrington is a Reach Australia board member, has been deeply involved in supporting pastors’ wives, families, and women in ministry and runs a consultancy business.

Together, we discuss the lessons learned along the way, the emotional and practical challenges of planting daughter churches, and the role of humility and servant-hearted leadership. We explore the cost and recovery after sending, the evolving nature of church leadership, and the often overlooked but critical support needed for ministry households.

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It is 1700 years since the council of Nicaea and the publication of the Nicene Creed - but what are we to make of it?

It was the twentieth of May in the year 325 that the Council of Nicaea first met.

Pope Francis said ‘The Nicene Creed is a powerful sign of unity among Christians.’

The 17 hundredth anniversary of the Council of Nicaea - is being used - by the Roman Catholic Church to push the idea that ‘All Christians are Nicene Christians.’

However the difficulty is that while we say the same words, Roman Catholics and Protestants mean vastly different things, and any unity is a fake unity at best.

Leonardo de Chirico is pastor of the Church Breccia di Roma and director of the Reformanda Initiative.

Rachel Ciano lectures in Christianity and History at Sydney Missionary and Bible College. She is a faculty member at the Rome scholars and leaders network, hosted by The Reformanda Initiative.

The book ‘The Nicene Creed’ is available from Matthias Media.

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We explore the findings of the Your Story Research Report — a significant national study that listens to the voices of more than 400 young people as they reflect on their spiritual journeys.

We find out who and what has, and is, shaping young people’s faith from their childhood, though to adolescence, to right now.

There are insights into the eight “faith journeys” —from Embracing to Reconstructing to Disengaging— highlighting the importance of relationships, trust, and belonging in shaping faith over time.

Plus advice for churches, families, and schools on how to nurture young people in ways that are both personal and sustainable.

Graham Stanton is Director of the Centre for Children’s and Youth Ministry. He lectures in Practical Theology at Melbourne’s Ridley College.

Download the Your Story Research Project: https://www.convergeoceania.com/yourstory

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For decades, the trend across Western countries seemed one-way: away from faith in Jesus Christ. But could the tide be turning?

Evangelist and author Glen Scrivener outlines signs of a "quiet revival" emerging, particularly among young people in the United Kingdom (and how things are different in Australia).

Drawing on new research from the UK Bible Society and reflecting on wider cultural shifts, Glen discusses why the story of secularisation may not be as inevitable as once thought — and why a surprising number of young adults are returning to church.

We also reflect on influences like Jordan Peterson, the role of community in a hyper-individualistic culture, and the opportunities — and challenges — now facing churches in both the UK and Australia.

Is this the beginning of a new movement towards Christ?

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The death of Pope Francis marks a pivotal moment for Roman Catholics.

What does this transition mean for the future of Catholicism and how should Protestants respond?

From Vatican City, Leonardo Di Chirico offers a firsthand perspective on reactions in Rome, while Rachel Ciano provides historical context from Sydney.

Many Protestant leaders have referred to Francis as a "brother in Christ," but Francis's final public act—granting indulgences during Easter—epitomizes the theological chasm between Catholic and Protestant understandings of salvation.

His distinctive Marian devotion and frequent requests for prayers further highlight fundamental differences in how salvation is understood.

The contrast between Benedict XVI's emphasis on Roman doctrine and Francis's focus on Catholic universality reveals a pendulum swing in Roman Catholicism that will likely now swing back.

Leonardo di Chirico is pastor of the Church Brecca di Roma and director of the Reformanda Initiative.

Rachel Ciano lectures in Christianity and History at sydney missionary and bible college, and is part of the faculty at the Rome scholars and leaders network, hosted by The Reformanda Initiative.

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New South Wales’ Conversion Practices Ban Act has just come into effect — along with guidelines from Anti-Discrimination NSW that many Christian leaders believe overstep the legal boundaries and impact ordinary pastoral ministry.

We are joined by legal expert Associate Professor Neil Foster, South Sydney Bishop Michael Stead, and Summer Hill Anglican Assistant Minister Simon Swadling.

Together, we unpack the implications of the new law for Christian preaching, prayer, counselling, and discipleship — especially in matters of sexuality, marriage, and gender.

We discuss:

The difference between the legislation and the government’s explanatory materials
The implications for pastors, parents, and churches
The tone and posture of faithful gospel ministry in a hostile legal environment
Why some pastors are calling for civil disobedience — and others for restraint

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The new McCrindle report ‘An undercurrent of faith’ says:

Those turning to Christian faith are not who we might expect - it’s especially older people, the recently widowed and recently separated or divorced.
The move is most on away from Christian identity in outer suburbia and regional areas.
Australians are still turning to Christianity in large numbers, despite a decline in Christian affiliation.
While 85,000 15-24 year olds have moved towards Christianity in the last five years, that’s dramatically down on a decade ago

Founder and Principle of McCrindle research, Mark McCrinde, says his report shows a new search for purpose and meaning and asks is “Australia Post Christian or are we now Post Secular?”

Plus we compare the findings of the national McCrindle report with the recent Sydney Anglican report on Church attendance.

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The average 11-year-old spends 4.5 hours daily on non-school screens. By 15, 70% of boys regularly view pornography. This isn't harmless fun—it's rewiring young brains during critical development.

The addictive nature of social media, the mental health impact on teens, distorted identity and comparison, the way the attention economy undermines discipleship.

Parents (and pastors) so often feel out of their depth.

Marshall Ballantine-Jones created the Digihelp school curriculum addressing sexualised media, and the Resist Recovery Program.

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Today we review the 50 year impact of The University of New South Wales’ Campus Bible Study on Christian ministries across Australia and around the world - in raising up gospel workers, sending missionaries, planting churches and in Christian publishing.

Former Anglican Dean of Sydney Phillip Jensen led the ministry for thirty years till 2005. Since then Paul Grimmond and Carl Matthei have been senior chaplains.

Alan Stewart started studying at the University of New South Wales just two years after Phillip Jensen arrived as Anglican Chaplain. Alan was saved by Jesus in 1979 and went on to assist in the ministry, before becoming CEO of Anglican Youthworks, Bishop of Wollonong, head of Church Planting for Sydney Anglicans and then national director of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches.

Tony Payne and Tracey Gowing started as undergraduate a few years after Alan. Tony went on to run the influential Christian publishing house Matthias Media, while Tracey led the Christian ministry at Cumberland College Christian Group before returning to UNSW as a senior staff member at Campus Bible Study.

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Proclamation is for every Christian, one’s Christian faith is always public and a command is not needed to link faith to speech.

'I believed therefore I spoke' - That’s what the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:13. And yet it’s a verse hardly referred to in the last few decades in discussions over who is responsible for evangelism.

Chris Braga of Grace West Anglican Church Sydney told the Nexus Conference in Sydney that 2 Corinthians 4:13 shows that there’s a spiritual reflex that internal faith (in the crucified and resurrected Jesus) will challenge fear and lead to speech.

Not because we’re commanded, but because we can’t help ourselves.

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Pastors facing up to our imposter syndrome - navigating the noise that leads us to make bad decisions.

As Pastors, we feel the pressure to have the right answers to people’s questions.

We want to be able to navigate the complexities of life and church and land everyone safely at the other end.

People share with us and the hardest parts of their lives, they trust us with their most private issues, and time and their money.

And they trust us that we will handle the most complex relationship difficulties with wisdom.

We end up feeling like imposters. Who am I to lead the people of God? And how can I have wisdom here?

Archie Poulos from Sydney’s Moore Theological College has found the secular book Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment helpful as he has addressed these issues.

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A new study shows that training in systematic self reflection will develop resilience among ministry workers, who are at risk of stress related ill health.

Self reflective resilience training is beneficial to those in ministry roles and programs in this area can minimise stress related ill health.

BUT, Not all self reflection is equal.

Organisational Psychologist with Sydney’s Center for Ministry Development Kirsty Bucknell has surveyed and tested a significant number of Australian Protestant Ministry workers to analyse the relationship between self reflection and mental health outcomes.

Kirsty’s just completed her PhD on this subject and says while there is a high sense of purpose and personal satisfaction in ministry work the stressors and strains of the role have been associated with burnout and stress related ill health.

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We are hearing reports from the university campuses, from young adult ministries, and from youth groups - that there is an increasing openness to the gospel of Jesus - and there’s a new openness among young men.

There’s a shift in the culture. There’s something happening that is different among young people - Especially among young men.

There’s a greater biblical ignorance in the rising generation. But significantly more openness.

There’s less hostility when compared to a decade ago. Walk up evangelism is easier and people are more open to discussing their views on Jesus.

And people are being saved. And young men are being saved

Andy Stephenson heads the Youth Ministry support team for Anglican Youthworks.

Dave Jensen works with Evangelism and New Churches encouraging and mobilizing churches in Evangelism and is one of the keynote speakers at the Nexus Ministry Conference on 17 March 2025.

Katie Stringer is involved in high school ministry across Sydney’s secular inner west.

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As pastors we’re expressing leadership in our churches on gender and sexuality. We want to help our people think biblically - and yet with the culture moving so fast - it is an area that we feel ill equipped.

On today’s Pastor’s Heart we benefit from the hard work of Sydney Missionary and Bible College Theology and Ethics lecturer Rob Smith who has just published a reworked version of his PhD under the title ‘The body God gives.’

As transgender visibility reaches new heights, we explore its historical and philosophical roots, noting the pivotal cultural shifts since the "Transgender Tipping Point" in 2013.

We outline the biblical stance on the sex and gender binary while engaging with contemporary philosophical debates.

We dissect the relationship between second-wave feminism and the transgender movement.

Our discussion ventures into the diverse theories surrounding sex and gender, distinguishing between non-trans, soft trans, hard trans, and queer perspectives.

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What happens when a leader operates without a clear vision. And how poetic or concrete should a vision be?

How to organise things so the overall vision cascades down through every area of church life?

What should our pastoral approach be to innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards and the nos.

Biblical vision and Leadership vision: What is the difference? Why do people mangle Proverbs 29:18?

Plus infusing the church with vision, in a significant moment and especially via drip feed.

Craig Hamilton is senior pastor of Pitt Town Anglican Church and author of ‘Wisdom in Leadership.’

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There are claims - and you hear them every so often - that archeology has disproved this story or that in the bible, and claims from this or that scholar of particularly late dating of different bible books.

How do we as evangelical pastors react/respond/answer those claims?

Hans Kristensen is senior pastor of Marsfield Community Church in Sydney and is studying ancient archaeology.

He suggests that there are 10 major archaelogical finds that help us to increase our confidence in the Old Testament:

There’s evidence of a big population jump in Caanan at exactly the time that the bible said that Yahweh was giving Israel the land, called the ‘Hill Country Explosion.’
The Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah boasts of raiding the land of Caanan, saying it was occupied by Israel.
In the city of Hazor, archaeologists have found religious idols destroyed and other items intact, just as expected from Joshua 11-12
The recently discovered altar at Mount Ebal is likely Joshua’s altar (Joshua 8)
In the Tel Dan inscription we now have archeological evidence for King David’s existence.
There’s consistent architectural town planning in the cities built around the time of David and Solomon - pointing towards planning and control under one ruler (eg a King).
There are similarities between what we know of the temple of Solomon and a similar temple built at Ain Dara, about 30 kilometres from Beirut, showing Solomon’s temple fits into the religious and architectural landscape of the time.
The discovery of six massive chambered gates at Hazor, Meggido and Gezer and other architectural discoveries at those sites corresponds with 1Kings 9:15.
A ninth century battle account from King Moab of Mersha mirrors the one in 2 Kings 3.
The Biblical chronology of the listed kings matches almost exactly with archeological evidence.

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How does godliness play out differently if I am a man, a woman, a young man, a young woman, a husband or a wife?

All Christians are called to live like Christ. Why does the Apostle Paul choose to write about what godliness looks like for the older and younger and for us as men and women, rather than more generally for us as people?

Does our age and sex have implications for the challenges we face in living for Jesus?

Are these things just human constructs or elements of divine gift?

And what implications does this have for how we think about discipleship and our lived experience of complementarian ministry?

Paul Grimmond is a senior lecturer at Sydney’s Moore Theological College. Paul gave the keynote address at the Priscilla and Aquila conference.

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Godliness vs Effectiveness - the Both/And Ministry dilemma

Godliness vs Effectiveness
Theology vs Pragmatics
People centered vs Organisationally minded
Leading from the front vs Serving others
Courage to take a stand vs Quick to submit
Others know I am one of them vs I am set apart to lead
I lead patiently vs I lead with a sense of urgency

Most Christians at some point do start to wonder if they are the real deal. What God asks of us is so far reaching, so all encompassing, that when we come up short, we start to ask ourselves “Am I an imposter?” “Should I really be a leader?” and perhaps/Am even a Christian at all?’

Gary Millar is the Principal of Queensland’s Theological College and author of a new book ‘Both/And Ministry.’

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What is the work of the Lord? What is in vain if the resurrection is not true? What truly lasts and what does gospel work looks like in our daily lives?

The debate over eschatology and one’s view of the new heavens and new earth. Will there be a Sydney Harbour Bridge in the new creation?

And in the meantime, what should be our priorities?

William Taylor is the rector of St Helens Church in London, where he is engaged in ministry to city workers.

He has written the book ‘Revolutionary Work’ to address these issues.

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Indigenous Australians and the Christian Gospel - with Michael Duckett

As we approach ‘Aboriginal Sunday’ (19 January) we focus on the progress of the gospel among the indigenous in Australia.

What are the cultural changes and what openness to Jesus Christ among Indigenous Australians?

Where are we seeing growth? What are the roadblocks and opportunities for the growth of the gospel among the indigenous communities? How much has to do with the soil. How much has to do with things that we can change?

Michael Duckett leads the Anglican Indigenous Ministry at Macarthur/Campbelltown in the far south west of Sydney and Chairs the Sydney Anglican Indigenous Ministry Committee.

Aboriginal SundayIn 1938 the aboriginal leader William Cooper called on the churches of Australia to mark what he called ‘Aborigines Sunday’ on the Sunday before Australia Day. He ‘requested sermons be preached on this day dealing with the Aboriginal people and their need of the gospel and response to it and we ask that special prayer be invoked for all missionary and other effort for the uplift of the dark people.’

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We speak to Alistair Begg about pastors, suffering, humility and surviving long term in ministry.

Alistair Begg is in Australia speaking at the Church Missionary Society conference in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.

Alistair has served the people of Cleveland Ohio for 42 years at Parkside Church and has a global impact through the influential Truth for Life Ministry.

We go backstage with Alistair to discuss:

His teaching on 1 Peter, focusing on suffering, perseverance, trials, humility and standing firm in God’s grace.
Reflections on 40+ years of pastoral ministry and lessons learned along the way.
Insights into global mission and the long-term commitment of missionaries.
His upcoming transition after more than four decades of leadership.
The impact of Australia on his ministry in the US, including his close friendship with former Moore College Principal John Woodhouse.
Insights into preparing for life after pastoral leadership as he approaches his final months as senior pastor.

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How should we guide our congregations in thinking ethically about engagement in Bitcoin?

What is Bitcoin?

How do we as Christian leaders assess the morality of bitcoin?

Proponents say that it’s design fosters transparency and fairness and promotes economic justice.

Critics highlight its speculative risks and potential for illegal use.

Jeffri Chiam is on the team at St Mary’s Cathedral in Kuala Lumpur. In 2024 he completed a final year research project into Bitcoin.

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Most of us evangelical pastors, theological colleges, indeed the whole of evangelicalism - we have a blind spot when it comes to Roman Catholicism in our theology, missiology and practice.

Where do we as Evangelicals make mistakes in our engagement with the Roman Catholic world?

What can we change? What should we change?

How do we best see our Roman Catholic friends come to a personal saving relationship with Jesus Christ?

Leonardo De Chirico has been at the forefront of theological education of evangelicals in this space internationally for over a decade.

Leonardo is a church planter, pastor in Rome, and Director of the Reformanda Initiative.

Rachel Ciano is the Dean of Academic Development at Mary Andrew's College, Sydney.

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It is difficult times in the Church of England.

Having previously publicly betrayed his ordination and consecration vows - the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby - has now resigned over his handling of a safeguarding matter, following the release of the Makin report.

The Church of England is tearing itself apart over sexuality.

There are more apostate bishops than faithful bishops in the English House of Bishops.

And there is now a massive group within the Church of England called The Alliance, representing 42% of the denomination’s attendance, basically pleading to the house of bishops to repent.

William Taylor has served since 1998 as the senior pastor of St Helen’s London. Taylor is paralleling the difficult times faced by Evangelicals today to those faced by the Apostle Paul at the time of writing the pastorals.

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Church Leaders have welcomed the report of the trial of cashless gambling which recommends that ‘account based gambling’ be introduced in New South Wales by 2028.

There are bigger problems with gambling in Sydney and New South Wales than pretty much anywhere in the world (outside Las Vegas).

But the Clubs and Hotels industry is running a narrative attempting to discredit the trial, calling it a three million dollar waste of money.

Senior Minister of Sydney’s Wesley Mission Stu Cameron was the church representative on the inquiry panel and says while the outcome is welcome, it’s now up to the government, ‘the devil will be in the details’ and we need to keep the pressure on.

Gamble Aware Helpline (within Australia) 1800 858 858

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Is the church losing its global mission focus?

The number of overseas missionaries being sent out is down on ten years ago.

Church and mission leaders have encouraged Christians to respond to the need for mission locally, especially as church decline accelerates.

Yet there’s a growing concern that global mission involvement is being neglected in many local churches.

Sydney Missionary and Bible College Lecturer Tim Silberman has just completed a study on practices and perspectives on mission among evangelical churches in Australia.

Tim says for mission to prosper, churches need to have strong relationships with overseas mission partners, and this will help the gospel globally and our local mission work.

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How do we encourage our staff teams and members to be more intentional in Jesus’ mission of making disciples?

Disciple making is entering into relationships to help people trust and follow Jesus - the whole journey from conversion through maturing and multiplication.

There’s a formal teaching component. But there’s so much more.

Peter Mayrick, from Partners in Ministry, says he wants us to be more intentional.

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Planning Christmas Preaching.

What we are nervous about? What we want to get right? What has worked best? What hasn’t?

And how do we leverage the cultural moment?

Nigel Fortescue is senior pastor of Christ Church St Ives on Sydney’s North Shore.

Pete Stedman leads the ministry at Norwest Anglican Church in the North West of Sydney.

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How do we proactively serve Jesus in retirement? How might we motivate our older church members to prioritise the work of the gospel?

Mike Raiter said on The Pastor’s Heart a little while back that retirement needs rethinking to avoid the sin of the sluggard.

Mike Raiter said downing tools at 65 and spending 20 or 30 years resting is a 19th century concept and is not Christian.

But what is the alternative?

Ying Yee is lead English Pastor of Chinese Christian Church Milsons Point in Sydney.

Carmel Vincent serves as training and events coordinator at the Ministry Training Strategy.

And Ian Carmichael was CEO of Sydney’s Matthias Media.

Church Suite Taster Days in Sydney and Brisbane
Check out the new church management software ChurchSuite. Gavin and Luke are hosting five taster days in Sydney and Brisbane in November.

Assistant Minister role at Village Church Annandale, Sydney
Village Church is looking for an assistant minister. Perhaps it’s you or you know someone? Could you lead our mission outreach and the ministry aspect. Plus help set vision and in preaching and pastoral care. For more info or to have a coffee email dominic@villagechurch.sydney

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I want to be a big hearted encourager like Barnabas. I want to be a reliable assistant like Timothy. I want to be passionate preacher like Apollos.

When you think about the qualifications for Christian ministry in 1Timothy 3, the significance of personality is pretty much ignored.

What is the relationship between character and personality? Some one is all about structure and someone elose is much more ‘loosy-goosy/flexible.’

When there’s conflict in church or in a ministry teams - it’s often put down to personality difference or sometimes even disorder.

What does the bible say about all this?

Tim Omrod serves with the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES) at Griffith University on the Gold Coast and has just finished a study of the co-workers of Paul.

Church Suite Taster Days in Sydney and Brisbane
Check out the new church management software ChurchSuite. Gavin and Luke are hosting five taster days in Sydney and Brisbane in November.

Assistant Minister role at Village Church Annandale, Sydney
Village Church is looking for an assistant minister. Perhaps it’s you or you know someone? Could you lead our mission outreach and the ministry aspect. Plus help set vision and in preaching and pastoral care. For more info or to have a coffee email dominic@villagechurch.sydney

Financially Support The Pastor's Heart via our new tax deductible fund
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In a significant interview on the Rest is Politics Podcast England’s Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, has denied the teaching of the bible, and the teaching of his church.

It is Archbishop Welby’s most public betrayal of his ordination and consecration vow to ‘banish error and to uphold and defend the truth taught in Scripture.’

Archbishop Welby’s comments came on the eve of an important House of Bishops meeting in the UK, which considered a request from a group called The Alliance, consisting of 2360 clergy whose churches represent 42% of the Church of England’s Sunday attendance, and who hold to the Bible’s teaching on sexuality.

They are asking for a separate orthodox province to be created within the Church of England.

Vaughan Roberts is the senior minister of St. Ebbe’s in Oxford, and is one of the signatories of the request from The Alliance.

Church Suite Taster Days in Sydney and Brisbane
Check out the new church management software ChurchSuite. Gavin and Luke are hosting five taster days in Sydney and Brisbane in November.

Assistant Minister role at Village Church Annandale, Sydney
Village Church is looking for an assistant minister. Perhaps it’s you or you know someone? Could you lead our mission outreach and the ministry aspect. Plus help set vision and in preaching and pastoral care. For more info or to have a coffee email dominic@villagechurch.sydney

Financially Support The Pastor's Heart via our new tax deductible fund
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How to best structure ministry teams in your church? And how to equip your team leaders for joyful service?

Team leaders do the bulk of their ministry in between events not at events.

How can someone become a more fruitful team leader?

Why all conversations with your team fit into four categories - and how most team leaders get this wrong.

David Moore is the executive pastor of Hunter Bible Church in Newcastle, New South Wales.

He has written a new book, The Team Leader’s Handbook, which will be widely read by churches and ministry teams all around.

Church Suite Taster Days in Sydney and Brisbane
Check out the new church management software ChurchSuite. Gavin and Luke are hosting five taster days in Sydney and Brisbane in November.

The Church Co
http://www.thechurchco.com is an excellent website and app platform built specifically for churches.

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5,000 believers gathered from more than 200 nations last month in South Korea.

It is 50 years since Billy Graham and John Stott first launched the Lausanne movement in Switzerland.

Anglican Bishop of North Sydney Chris Edwards has described the congress as like an all you can eat buffet - where some parts tasted amazing / fantastic and I kept wanting more and yet other parts even a mouthful made me feel nauseous.

Principal of Sydney’s Moore Theological College Mark Thompson says there were some great highlights including a presentation by Vaughan Roberts on sexuality but also areas of concern.

Church Suite Taster Days in Sydney and Brisbane
Check out the new church management software ChurchSuite. Gavin and Luke are hosting five taster days in Sydney and Brisbane in November.

The Church Co
http://www.thechurchco.com is an excellent website and app platform built specifically for churches.

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Historical literacy is a critical tool for Christians, deepening faith and enhancing evangelism and discipleship.

Sarah Irving Stonebreaker says we’ve forgotten how to engage well with the past, we don’t know why the past might be relevant to us today, and we have missed out on being part of a larger story.

We need to uncover overlooked histories, bringing historical injustices to light, move beyond culture wars, bring historical injustices to light and recognise the sins of the past (including our own).

Sarah is Associate Professor of History in Western Civilization at the Australian Catholic University.

She says the church can offer a rich narrative that can reconnect those feeling adrift.

Sarah Irving Stonebreaker has a new book "Priests of History: Stewarding the Past in an ahistoric Age." https://bit.ly/4eSfpfJ

Church Suite Taster Days in Sydney and Brisbane
Check out the new church management software ChurchSuite. Gavin and Luke are hosting five taster days in Sydney and Brisbane in November.

The Church Co
http://www.thechurchco.com is an excellent website and app platform built specifically for churches.

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What is Christian parenting? How do we do family Bible time well?

How can we prioritize church, even when it’s hard? Navigating social media with teens?

And how to parent teens who are doubting, drifting or deserting?

Parenting is joyous, magical, tiresome, boring, stressful and complicated.

Harriet Connor is editor of ‘Parenting in God’s family: Biblical wisdom for everyday issues.’ (https://bit.ly/4eJgars). Kat Ashton Israel is a contributing author.

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How to preach to build confidence so members want to invite Islamic friends and workmates to church and better educate our Christians for conversations with Muslim friends.

What topics might we address? How to best engage with the authority and authorship of the Bible vs the Qur’an, plus Jesus and Muhammed, the Trinity, Incarnation, Sin and human nature, Judgement and Salvation.

Sam Green works for the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students and is the author of ‘Where to start with Islam.’ https://bit.ly/3N0wx6Q

Plus Sam Green shares his pastor’s heart ahead of a big debate with Muslim Apologist Abdulla Kunde at the University of Sydney hosted by the Islamic Students Society.

Further resources:
Sam Green debating at Sydney University, 2023 https://bit.ly/3BbmKIy

Sam Green reference page on ‘Sermon Illustrations and Islam’ https://bit.ly/3zsaqDq

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How do you work in a team excellently with those above you in ministry?

How do you as a team member take responsibility for the success of your church?

What can ministry team members do well to help the whole team function better?

What mistakes do team members make? And what about confidentiality on team?

Michael Davies is associate pastor of Lighthouse Church in Gorokan, NSW.

Megan Stevens serves at Vine Church in Surry Hills in Sydney.

Peter Blanch is a ministry consultant with Reach Australia

The Church Co
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How do we help children in Christian families escape and recover from the devastating effects of domestic abuse?

Pastoral consultant Jenni Woodhouse says there is a hidden epidemic of coercive control where a parent with narcissism or borderline personality disorder makes life impossible for their both their spouse and children.

We also explore the impact of domestic abuse on children of all ages, from teenagers to toddlers.

What responsibility does the church have? What should a church leader do?

How can we as church leaders detect and address these issues in the congregation?

Jenni Woodhouse is a pastoral care consultant with the Church Missionary Society.

The Church Co
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What should the church pastor / staff team / church council or bishop do about the big drop in attendance?

A new report (bit.ly/AttendancePatterns) shows Adult Attendance in churches in Sydney is down 7% or 14% against population (over a decade).

Adult attendance declined at approximately two-thirds of Sydney Anglican comparable church centers, and only one-third of church centers recorded an increase in attendance.

The big problem is newcomers. We just are not reaching them. Newcomers are down to 5.4%.

And with fewer new people joining churches, the churches that are growing are primarily growing at the expense of churches that are declining.

A noticeable decline in attendance was recorded in 2018-2019, especially in the most rapidly secularising areas of our region.

The issues are not just external. We have internal issues. There are denominational and congregational factors at play. There are key church health characteristics that show internal health factors are lower in those regions - factors relating to congregational character and leadership.

Geoff Bates pastors Life church in Sydney’s North West and chairs the committee that produced the Attendance Patterns Review report.

Toby Neal pastors Vine Church in inner Sydney, which has seen remarkable growth.

Dave Jensen works at assisting churches to grow in their evangelistic temperature through Evangelism and New Churches.

Host Dominic Steele also served on the committee that produced the report.

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Plus how the Tanzanian Church has been built through the labors and prayers of Australian Christians, and why prosperity gospel preachers are as wicked as witch doctors!

We are joined by Bishop Mwita Akiri from Tarime in rural Tanzania, Judith Calf who served as a missionary in theological education in Tanzania for 20 years, and Tim Swan who leads the Anglican Aid Ministry here in Australia.

To support Anglican Aid projects in Tanzania: https://anglicanaid.org.au/locations/tanzania/

The Church Co
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What impact does growing up in a pastoral family have on ministry kids?

Valerie Ling from the Sydney Centre for Effective Living joins us to unpack the ‘Ministry Kids Wellbeing Survey,’ revealing what Australian ministry children, say about their upbringing.

They tell of heightened responsibilities and an acute awareness of adult realities plus concerns about feeling different from their peers.

We explore the broader impacts of pastoral life on children, and explore displacement, constant mobility, difficulties in forming lasting friendships and achieving a sense of belonging.

Comparisons are made with the experiences of diplomats and defence ministry kids, emphasizing the common struggles and the critical role parents play in providing stability.

Plus we talk the importance of empathy and creating safe spaces for doubts.

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One of the world’s leading New Testament Scholars Thomas Schriener is in Sydney for the Moore College Lectures on ‘The Battle for the truth of the gospel.’

At the center of his attention is NT Wright and the New Perspective on Paul, a debate that questions whether ancient Judaism was legalistic.

Schreiner tells of his roots in Roman Catholicism, a transformative evangelical faith, and the enduring importance of the Reformation perspective of justification by faith alone.

Schreiner, who chairs the Christian Standard Bible translation committee, takes us behind the scenes of the Christian Standard Bible's translation process, revealing the rigorous debates and decisions that shape how we read that translation.

He outlines how denominational diversity influences translation accuracy.

Plus we unpack the profound need to teach biblical gender roles in contemporary culture.

Thomas Schreiner is professor of New Testament at Southern Baptist Theological College in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Religious Freedom leaders are calling on Australia's Government to quickly bring a Religious Discrimination Act to the parliament.

Mark Sneddon says the Religious Discrimination Act is not about granting unlimited freedoms, but about preventing adverse treatment of religious individuals and organizations.

He says there needs to be a fair compromise that the rights of all involved, which should be supported by both sides of politics.

Mark Sneddon from the Institute for Civil Society,
Mark Spencer from Christian Schools Australia,
and Mike Southon from Freedom for Faith bring this update on where the Australian Religious Freedom debate is up to, following this week's Freedom For Faith conference.

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What does Expressive Individualism mean for churches? And what specifically does it mean for church music?

Here is the expressive individualism worldview: ‘Truth comes from inside me. It’s important that I look inside to discover who I truly am’ and ‘I need to express my individuality and personal truth to the world around me to receive validation.’That truth comes from within - is the unspoken assumptions of guests who come to our churches.

And it’s a worldview that has impacts inside the church, including inside our music teams and inside the heads of the songwriters who write the songs that we sing.

Philip Percival and Alanna Glover lead the work of Emu Music, focusing on writing congregational songs and the training of church musicians and leaders.

Alanna is doing a masters research project in Expressive Individualism & music, and Philip’s PhD is in the biblical theology of worship.

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Disillusionment is one of the great threats to the Christian life and to Christian ministry

A wise man said the worst thing in ministry was not a pastor who quits, but a pastor who doesn’t quit, but who keeps going when they’ve given up.

Sydney Missionary and Bible College Karl Deenick shares his own experience of hitting a major wall after seven years of pastoral work.

We unpack how ministry challenges can lead to a sense of disillusionment, especially among millennials, plus a way back.

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What would Dave Keun and Jon Kwan like to tell their younger selves if they could travel back in time before they took on the position of senior minister?

How has their sense of ownership changed?

What has been most difficult about the transition to the role? What mistakes have they made?

Dave Keun has been senior minister of Kellyville Anglican Church in Sydney’s North West since March 2022.

Jon Kwan has been lead pastor of St David’s Forestville (on Sydney’s Northern Beaches) since May 2022.

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Roadmap for a reset communion - with Paul Donison and Glenn Davies

The chair of Gafcon Laurent Mbunda and chair of Global South Justin Badi Arama are to meet to work out a roadmap for the resetting of the Anglican Communion.

Global South Anglicans have endorsed the Former Sydney Archbishop Glenn Davies call for the communion to be reset on biblical foundations. The Global South have called on their Primates to work with the GAFCON Primates Council and other Orthodox leaders to reset the communion on its biblical foundations as a matter of urgency.

In other Anglican news.

The Church of England General Synod is meeting in York. They are considering whether to press go to move towards the next stage of endorsing their bishops’ proposals for same sex blessing. Orthodox Anglicans united under a banner called The Alliance are calling for structural differentiation in England (essentially a new province). The Bishop of Oxford has hit back telling The Alliance to take a running jump.
Orthodox Anglicans from across Australasia gathered in Brisbane last week. New daughter churches are being planted within the fledging diocese of the Southern Cross.
A new Archbishop appointed to lead the Anglican Church of North America. Steve Wood will replace Foley Beach.
A collective meeting of orthodox leaders in Cairo has met for a week on ways that faithful christians might be able to reset the Communion. The Global South Anglicans met in Cairo the week before that and voted to call for the chair of the Global South Justin Badi Arama to work with the chair of Gafcon to reset the communion.

Our guests are new General Secretary of Gafcon Paul Donison and new Bishop of the Diocese of the Southern Cross (and former Archbishop of Sydney) Glenn Davies.

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Roadmap for a reset communion - with Paul Donison and Glenn Davies

The chair of Gafcon Laurent Mbunda and chair of Global South Justin Badi Arama are to meet to work out a roadmap for the resetting of the Anglican Communion.

Global South Anglicans have endorsed the Former Sydney Archbishop Glenn Davies call for the communion to be reset on biblical foundations. The Global South have called on their Primates to work with the GAFCON Primates Council and other Orthodox leaders to reset the communion on its biblical foundations as a matter of urgency.

In other Anglican news.

The Church of England General Synod is meeting in York. They are considering whether to press go to move towards the next stage of endorsing their bishops’ proposals for same sex blessing. Orthodox Anglicans united under a banner called The Alliance are calling for structural differentiation in England (essentially a new province). The Bishop of Oxford has hit back telling The Alliance to take a running jump.
Orthodox Anglicans from across Australasia gathered in Brisbane last week. New daughter churches are being planted within the fledging diocese of the Southern Cross.
A new Archbishop appointed to lead the Anglican Church of North America. Steve Wood will replace Foley Beach.
A collective meeting of orthodox leaders in Cairo has met for a week on ways that faithful christians might be able to reset the Communion. The Global South Anglicans met in Cairo the week before that and voted to call for the chair of the Global South Justin Badi Arama to work with the chair of Gafcon to reset the communion.

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All the time in church there are unexpected things happening. We or someone else makes a decision to change something which then relationally or missionally impacts another area of church life that we didn’t expect.

Sometimes we put too much attention into one area of church - and now other areas are suffering.

Whatever size your church is - the church system is complex, interdependent and interconnected.

Sometimes the presenting problem won’t actually be the real problem, there’s something else causing it which is not immediately obvious.

Greg Lee is senior pastor of Newcastle’s Hunter Bible Church.

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How do you balance the instability and chaos of external ministry with adding a foster child or adopted child to a ministry family?

What are the implications of taking children in crisis into the ministry home?

What motivates ministry families to become foster parents or to adopt?

How do older children and the church respond?

Sarah and Mat Yeo serve at Hurstville Grove Anglican Church in Sydney

Matt Wilcoxen pastors St John’s Darlinghurst in inner Sydney.

To purchase ‘The Forgetful Prince’: https://youthworksmedia.net/products/the-forgetful-prince

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What is it to be #likeaman?

There are not many places in the New Testament where men are spoken to specifically.

Today we are thinking about being a Christian man.

In the ESV and NASB the translation of 1 Corinthians 16:13 has ‘Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong’. (ESV)But what does that mean?Dominic Steele put that question to panelists at the recent Men Meeting the challenge conference:

Adrian Russell, senior minister of Northmead Anglican Church.

Craig Hamilton, senior minister at Pitt town.

Robin Kinstead, senior minister of Figtree Anglican.

And Phillip Jensen who heads up Two Ways Ministries.

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There are three different ways that the adult population of churches can grow:

Adults being saved.
Christians transferring from another congregation within your denomination of switching from another denomination.
Children of members growing up in the church and taking on their parents faith for themselves.

Most evangelical churches - even growing churches - are underperforming in the first and third ways.

In the Sydney Anglican Church parents report that an average of only 65% of their children who grew up in church are currently professing Christ. That number hasn’t changed in ten years - despite a targeted effort to increase it to 70%.

The second way is people switching from another church within your denomination, or transferring from another denomination.

Sydney Anglican Youthworks Consultant Al James says key focuses are deep discipleship, deep connection and authentic discussions at home with parents about faith.

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A new massive ethical question has risen up with the advent of artificial intelligence.

How will people decide what kind of morality to give to their artificial intelligence creations?

There will need to be a morality. But what should it be?

The market is already making different choices.

Elon Musk has said he wants the AI behind X (formerly Twitter) to be morally flexible. He wants his AI to appeal to all people: left and right, authoritarian and democratic, kind and brutal.

Stephen Driscoll is the author of ‘Made in our Image - God, artificial intelligence and you’.

To order online: https://matthiasmedia.com.au/products/made-in-our-image

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How can a senior minister best train junior preachers (student ministers and assistant ministers) in preaching?

There’s a tension we all feel: we want to be a training church raising up the next generation of leaders and yet we also want to make sure that the quality of what happens in our gatherings is high.

We don’t want a Sunday morning ‘plane crash in the pulpit’, where people at church that day think‘I wish I had stayed home today’ or ‘I wish I had gone to St Bloggs down the road.’

Toby Neal is at Vine Church in Surry Hills in Sydney. Toby says there’s been days when he sat at the back of the church, head in hands thinking, “Oh dear - I hope we don’t have anyone new here today!”

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Artificial Intelligence is an oncoming tsunami that will catch all of humanity off guard.

It is a change more like a wheel than a typewriter.

But what will this do to our sense of self?

Stephen Driscoll, in ‘Made in our Image - God, artificial intelligence and you’ says artificial intelligence may do great harm - giving more power to sinful people, governments or companies.

He says artificial intelligence will likely trend towards people pleasing - giving each of us what we want now/a sense of heaven now or it may become more debauched.

It may even become an existential threat to us - because EITHER it lacks a wise moral system OR it righteously opposes our sin.

Artificial intelligence will likely lure us into our own individual heavens and unbundled freedoms, but it won’t fix our souls.

Stephen Driscoll works in ministering to postgrads and academics at the Australian National University in Canberra as part of the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students.

Matthias Media Link to purchase: https://matthiasmedia.com.au/products/made-in-our-image.

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‘God wants all of me to love all of God all the time’ says Senior Pastor of Fellowship Dubai, Ray Galea.

We want our staff and leaders to live and serve in ministry out of an overflow of the love of God for them. Grasping this love properly lifts our service from duty to desire.

As pastors we are so committed and focused on encouraging our congregations to love God with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. But do we stop to consider that our own love for God might be the limiting factor?

The pastor’s love for God will be a limiting factor for the congregation’s love for God. If we do not truly have hearts for God, how could we possibly lead others to the same?

Key Applications:

Pray Ephesians 3 prayers for yourself and your team.
Never assume a potential ministry staff member has accepted the gospel of God. Listen to see if they are personally gripped by grace.
Demonstrate God’s love by meeting with your team consistently.
Watch to see if the demands of ministry have choked the joy of salvation.
Demonstrate God’s loving grace when a team member misses the mark.
Encourage ‘Gospel Grace identity’: Does a team member welcome feedback or are they defensive; are they willing to apologise without qualification.

Ray Galea was the pastor of MBM Rooty Hill in Western Sydney for 33 years until he moved to Dubai in 2022 to lead the Fellowship Dubai church there.

Ray is giving the evening keynote addresses at the Reach Australia Conference to talk about our the Pastor’s heart, feelings, emotions, and faith.

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“It may be that God is destroying the Church of England and who am I to stand in his way?

“The real tragedy would be if, in this traumatic, confusing time, if all of the evangelicals and the broader Orthodox group fall out with each other… if we can bear with each other in our different strategies, then that will be what we need (in whatever the future in England is going to be), whether that's within the Church of England or outside.

Charlie Skrine, the senior minister of All Souls Langham Place London, says his church (and other evangelical churches in the UK) are in a world of pain at the moment over the growing split in the Church of England.

Mr Skrine, who is speaking at the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion Conference in Sydney, says All Souls is united in it’s commitment to biblical teaching on sexual ethics, but divided on what the best response should be.

He says a third of All Souls members are wanting to leave the Church of England now, a third want to stay and fight (never leave), and a further third are confused, and this diversity of opinion is reflected in the staff team.

Former All Souls evangelist Rico Tice has distanced himself from the Church of England, attends a Presbyterian Church, but retains Church of England Permission to Officiate. Rico said on the Gafcon 2018 livestream, of the gospel promoted by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Evangelism Team, “It's a different religion... and it’s around whether scripture is authoritative in terms of human sexuality… I think it’s a great wickedness to tell people who are on the road to destruction that they're not... if we have church leaders who are putting people on that road to destruction it’s a salvation issue.. That's why we have to distance ourselves..." (https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1482677891837392)

Mr Skrine says in Revelation 2 Jesus says that his people must not tolerate sexual immorality.

Mr Skrine says the bishops don’t get it, but there are tiny glimmers of hope of a settlement, with bishops moving slowly reluctantly towards the conclusion that they need to give up authority and come to a settlement.

He says the actions of the Bishop of London have united evangelical leaders within the London Church in a highly significant way with groups like All Souls, St Helens, Holy Trinity Brompton and Soma all standing side by side.

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Australia’s former Prime Minister Scott Morrison releases a new autobiography this week where he speaks explicitly about his Christian faith, and there’s a bible quote on almost every page.

Akos Balogh of Blue Fox Media joins Dominic Steele to review Mr Morrison’s new book where the former Prime Minister writes of wrestling with whether to study at Vancouver’s Regent College, being helped by listening to sermons by Tim Keller and Rick Warren, being rebuked and encouraged by Christian pastors and friends, wrestles with forgiveness, and God’s goodness during a long struggle over infertility.

Plus we discuss how pastors can wisely interact with political leaders.

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It is almost D day in the Anglican Communion.

Today we give the background for two highly significant meetings. One to take place next week in Rome. The second in June in Cairo.

The Rome gathering has been called by the rejected Canterbury leadership. The Cairo gathering has been called by the leadership of the Global South.

As background, The Church of England, the historic mother church of the Anglican Communion, under the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury formally abandoned the historic Christian faith when the English General Synod voted to follow Archbishop Welby and his house of bishops in voting for same sex blessings.

In reaction, the majority theologically orthodox have drawn a line in the sand and parted company with The church of England.

The Global South Churches said in their important Ash Wednesday 23 statement that the Church of England has disqualified herself from leading the Anglican communion.

Gafcon said the Archbishop of Canterbury’s leadership has been irreparably damaged.

We speak with the chair of the Global South Archbishop Justin Badi Arama of South Sudan and the new General Secretary of Gafcon Bishop Paul Donison.

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We are moving into a post - post-modern world But what does that look like and mean for truth - and us as pastors - as we attempt to communicate with our churches?

Our church members have unconsciously adopted some of the presuppositions of our society in the way we process texts and information.

We are living in a fake news world on social media with a parallel loss of confidence in institutions and authorities. Prince Harry says, ‘Whatever the cause, my memory is my memory, it does what it does, gathers and curates as it sees fit, and there’s just as much truth in what I remember and how I remember it as there is in so-called objective facts. Things like chronology and cause-and-effect are often just fables we tell ourselves about the past.

Former US President Barack Obama says “Unfortunately, too much of politics today seems to reject the very concept of objective truth. People just make stuff up. They just make stuff up. … we see the utter loss of shame among political leaders where they’re caught in a lie and they just double down and they lie some more. Politicians have always lied, but it used to be if you caught them lying, they’d be like, “Oh, man”. Now they just keep on lying."

Moore Theological College Lecturer Lionel Windsor joins Dominic Steele to explore what it means to believe the truth, turn to the truth, and adopt habits of truth and faithfulness in a post truth world.

Purchase Lionel Windsor’s Truth be Told https://bit.ly/3VVD34N

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What is permissible and not permissible under new conversion practice laws in New South Wales - with Neil Foster, Matt Aroney and Michael Stead

Sydney Anglican Bishop Michael Stead, who chairs Freedom for Faith, describes the new laws as the least worst that he has seen in Australia.

Associate Professor of Law at Newcastle University and author of the Law and Religion blog Neil Foster says the law is unnecessary, but better than has been implemented in other parts of Australia.

Professor Foster supports moves to ban oppressive or violent practices that are designed to change someone’s sexual attraction or impair gender identity.

However, Professor Foster says the laws (which have a criminal and civil component) can go beyond those bad things to areas where a minister is explaining the teaching of the Bible and wanting to help people to live in accordance with the bible.

Acting Minister of Watsons Bay Matt Aroney says he doesn’t think the new laws will impact his pastoral practice. Matt wants to turn down the anxiety levels. He encourages to choose thoughtfully to respond to the people in front of us with the love and compassion that Jesus has.

Matt applies the principles of his new book ‘Renovated: How God makes us Christlike’ to caring well for those Christians experiencing same sex attraction or gender incongruence.

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The Pastor’s Heart - A word to our heart from Dominic Steele

In a Pastor’s Heart special, Dominic Steele speaks to our hearts today as we engage in the battle of the Christian life. We get a call today to perseverance and resilience.

Dominic addresses, not just pastors, but young and old; healthy and unfit; wealthy and poor; busy and quiet; husbands, singles, divorcees and widowers; fertile and infertile, straight or experiencing same sex attraction; or struggling in addictions.

Calling out to God:
God what are you doing?
Why am I stuck in this?
What is going on?
Why is it so hard?

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We explore the delicate dynamics of faith, family, and identity in the world of church leadership.

As pastors most of all we want our kids to love Jesus. And yet Barnabas Piper says so often pastors kids are messed up.

What are the unique experiences, joys and challenges of being pastors kids? And how can we better parent as pastors?

There are issues of awareness, assumptions and expectations. Plus confusion about identity.

This episode isn't just about the challenges; it's also a treasure trove of wisdom for Pastor's kids themselves. Whether you're feeling the weight of a congregation's gaze or struggling to carve out your own identity.

We discuss the power of parental apologies and the healing they can bring.

James Galea grew up as a pastor’s kid in Western Sydney and now leads the ministry team at Freshwater Anglican Church on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.

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How do we speak to children about sin? How can we help youth understand themselves as sinful and in indeed of forgiveness?

What to make theologically of the sense of entitlement in youth culture?

Plus how do we think theologically about the important issue of vibe in youth and children's ministry and in regards to how kids engage with church.

And what can we learn from Sunday School history that will help with practice today?

The new book ‘Identity, Church Culture and Discipleship in Youth and Children’s Ministry - Australian Evangelical Perspectives on Youth Ministry’ is being launched this week.

Papers in the book were first presented at the HOUSE conference for youth and children’s ministers in Sydney.

Contributors include Ruth Lukabyo, who leads the Sydney Anglican Youthworks Institute, teaches church history at Youthworks College and his responsible for editing the book.

Bill Salier is a former principal at Youthworks College and now heads up the Anglican GAFCON Theological Educators Network.

Tim Beliharz is on the ministry support team at Youthworks.

To purchase: https://bit.ly/3x3P0uU

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The old saying is ‘A rising tide lifts all boats.’ But could the spark of story telling, and celebrating faith increase evangelism in churches and on university campuses everywhere?

National Director of the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students Richard Chin is emphasising the importance of prayer, through what he calls a 'two-for-two' model, and asks churches to join him in consistent branding in a nationwide push to introduce people to Jesus.

We discuss practical steps to integrate evangelism into the church's DNA, champion the role of head, heart, and hand in fostering a consistent culture of outreach.

Rory Shiner is senior pastor of Providence Church, Perth and Chair of the Gospel Coalition Australia.

Baden Stace leads the ministry team at St Stephens Normanhurst in Sydney’s north.

Elliot Temple is missions pastor at Christ Church St Ives also in Sydney’s north.

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“It’s like they got the exegesis spot on, then closed their eyes, fired an arrow randomly into the air, opened their eyes to see where it landed and said, ‘That looks like a good place to do application!’” - Theological College lecturer on student sermon application.

But are those of us who have graduated from theological college much better? For after all the students are just imitating what we have modelled.

Dean of Students at Sydney’s Moore Theological College Paul Grimmond has just completed a doctor of ministry project on improving application in evangelical preaching.

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Andrew Leslie is encouraging us to first take a step back from practical concerns and reflect on the beauty and wisdom of the bible’s teaching about manhood and womanhood.

In much contemporary debate about gender we focus on practical questions about what different people can do.

However the head of Moore Theological College’s Doctrine Department says the picture of gender in the beginning is not an arbitrary divine imposition that comes with its own set of arbitrary rules and instructions. Rather, the man and the woman together – and only together – irreducibly different and yet one inconceivable without the other, created a microcosm of God’s own very being and character and glory, summing up the wisdom and creative word of God.

Andrew Leslie gave the keynote addresses at the Priscilla and Aquila Conference in Sydney. Talk One: https://bit.ly/49ABygt Talk Two: https://bit.ly/3ORxWhI

He wants us as pastors to more fully appreciate the beauty of the bible’s teaching.

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Stephen McAlpine says the real question is “Does the future have a church?”

The statistics are not our friend.

We have been talking on The Pastor’s Heart about dropping church attendance. Stephen McAlpine is writing about the more widespread phenomenon.

He says some countries like the US are coming off a high base and in those places there is fat and cultural cachet to play with, whereas the level of religious commitment in the UK has dropped so dramatically that it is possible to imagine a time when Christianity will be a thing of the past.

In Australia the proportion of people self identifying as Christians has shrunk to 44% in 2021, down from 61% in 2011.

Church attendance across the west is collapsing with the rise of nones and dones.

Ministry Consultant Stephen McAlpine from Perth in Western Australia has a new book FUTUREPROOF.

Order online: https://wanderingbookseller.com.au/products/future-proof

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Social media is changing again. In an increasingly digital age, our collective consciousness is captured by infinite scrolling, short-form videos, and internet personalities. A church's social media presence has gone from an optional nicety to a key lever for engaging newcomers to church.

How can pastors and ministry teams best capture the opportunities that can come with social media? How can a church's resources be best assigned to this new space? What if our gifts and skills don't line up?

Hannah Thiem and Liz Fong discuss best practice and minimum dose for churches and pastors on social media.

They highlight some of the biggest church wins on social media.Hannah Thiem works at leading social media company Hello Social working with major corporates, and on the side does social media for Sydney Anglicans and Dubbo Presbyterian Church.

Liz Fong runs social media for Reach Australia and advises churches on best practice in social media.

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How can male senior pastors have better relationships with the women on their ministry teams, where everyone shares complementarian convictions.

In those contexts - there are stories around that suggesting that relationships between some senior pastors and the women on the teams have been strained and have sometimes broken down completely.

There’s been massive cost to the individual, the team, the churches and to gospel work.

Clare Deeves has just completed her PhD, studying working relationships between women employed in complementarian ministry teams and the senior pastor who they work with.

Clare serves as an Assistant minister at Kallaroo Anglican Church in Perth. And lectures in church history at Trinity Theological College Perth.

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What can we learn from recent secular literature about the practice of Christian pastoral leadership?

Head of Ministry at Sydney’s Moore Theological College Archie Poulos looks at how the 'The Infinite Game' concept, popularized by Simon Sinek, can be applied to ministry.

Sinek explores the consequences of short and long term thinking in business and life. Long term success is more likely when an infinite perspective is taken.

Then we examine Loran Nordgren and David Schonthal’s book ‘The Human Element: Overcoming the resistance that awaits new ideas.'

Archie considers the emotional and psychological hurdles (inertia, effort, emotion, and reactance) that congregations face when change is suggested.

We look back to ‘After the Ball’ by Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen, a 1989 secular play book for effecting LGBTI societal acceptance. Archie suggests there are lessons from aspects of that strategy for Christian mission.

Plus Archie talks about what impressed him about Andrew Heard’s soon to be released book ‘Growth and Change - The danger and necessity of a passion for church growth.

Purchase/download links to the books discussed this week:

Growth and Change - by Andrew Heard - The danger and necessity of a passion for church growth
The Infinite Game - by Simon Sinek - exploring the consequences of short and long term thinking in business and life
The Human Element: Overcoming the resistance that awaits new ideas - by Loran Nordgren and David Schonthal
After the Ball - by Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen
Human Sexuality and the Same-Sex Marriage Debate - by Mark Thompson (Editor)

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The Human Element: Overcoming the Resistance That Awaits New Ideas

The Infinite Game

‘Many of the ways we are running our churches and ministries and many of the ways we are exercising leadership within our churches, has become a significant hindrance to the growth of the church.’

Andrew Heard’s about to be released book Growth and Change will be the ‘must read’ book for pastors for 2024.

In his opening preface Gospel Coalition founder DA Carson - says ‘I am usually loath to proclaim that such and such a book is the best in it’s field … but if there is one book that happily serves as the exception to the rule, Heard’s book is it.Change is painful. Why don’t we want to change?

*We cannot be content to just be faithful, if we mean faithfulness has no regard for the growth of God’s church.

The younger leader is more likely to succumb to the dangers relating to a passion for growth. However for older leaders, ‘As we age, it is possible to get stuck… We have battled for so long under the weight of small things, that our vision has shrunk to become no larger than the day to day needs of the church.’*How do we get unstuck? ‘Leading change requires significant emotional, relational and creative energy. But most church leaders have very little in the tank…'

Pre order ‘Growth and Change’

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/growth-and-change

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Gospel ministry in the Indian Ocean is growing rapidly.

Anglican Primate James Wong leads the ministry in Seychelles, Madagascar and Mauritius and is visiting Sydney, on a speaking tour of the Church Missionary Society Australian Summer Conferences.

Archbishop Wong charts a course for further growth in ministry in his region.

Plus he outlines the detailed back room work taking place to reset the Anglican Communion, following the failure of the Church of England leadership to repent, ahead of the significant Global South meeting in Cairo in June.

Archbishop Wong is an advisor to the Gafcon Primates Council and serves on the leadership group of the Anglican Global South Fellowship.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/growth-archbishop-james-wong

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The massive drop in church attendance is a crisis facing churches across the Western World and there are external pressures and internal weaknesses that need to be addressed at every level of the church.

We highlighted a few months ago the attendance drop in Sydney Anglican Evangelical Churches in the last ten years.

Raj Gupta first called it a plateau problem. But the data released at last September’s Synod shows it’s now much worse. From a high in 2015, attendance in 2019 was down 7.5 percent. And in 2022, attendance was down a further ten percent.

Even allowing for a covid factor even assuming some sort of bounce back these are figures that we should talk about.

Andrew Heard, the senior pastor of EV Church on the Central Coast, has challenged Evangelical Anglican leaders in Sydney to look at their hearts, head and hands, saying there’s a heart problem and a skill deficit.

David Rietveld is senior pastor of Dapto Anglican Church to the South of Sydney, and the author of ‘Being Christian after Christendom' partially agrees with Andrew but gives more weight to the problems in the soil.

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We catch up with Australian Christian musician for one of our funniest ever episodes, but with a serious message.

Colin talks with Dominic Steele about managing life as a public Christian, living with integrity in family, church and while engaging in the secular media.

Colin draws on his experience with Play School to share top tips for kids' ministry and shares his insights on planning public Christian events.

We delve into Colin’s approach to songwriting and how he balances truth and clarity within simple songs, designed for kids.

Plus Colin launches a new and exclusive song "If you have ever made a mess, say yes!”

Colin also confronts controversial questions such as ESV or NIV, Ford or Holden… and answers tough questions about what he would do if Archbishop?

Join us for a wild and fun ride as we explore the heart of this amazing Christian leader.

Check Colin's website:https://colinbuchanan.com.au/

https://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/bestof-colin-buchanan-archbishop

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‘Do not be anxious about anything’ says the Apostle Paul. But Paul Grimmond says saying that to an anxious person is a bit like telling an icecream not to melt in summer.

How do we think biblically about anxiety while taking on board what else is happening with a person’s biology and environment?

How can we see anxiety as a gift? What does the interplay between mind and body look like? How does sin contribute to anxiety? What place for counseling? Self talk?

Paul Grimmond is a lecturer at Sydney’s Moore Theological College. He came into speak to us about his book - ‘When the noise won’t stop: A Christian guide to dealing with anxiety’.

To purchase a copy: https://bit.ly/3y2FULL

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As we head to 2024 most of us are recasting ministry teams for the new year.

But how can we do this without making some of the mistakes that we have made in 2023?

How do we do better with staff teams and all the various volunteer ministry teams across our church?

And even in the best places - there’s an inertia that we will slip back to functioning as rosters… How do we fix that?

Grahame Fuller is a long term senior leader at EV Church on the Central Coast. Jo Gibbs is the Effective Teams consultant for Reach Australia.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/relationships-results-rhythms-ministry-teams

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How can we make our Christmas Services better?

With just a few days to Christmas, and while some of us are well planned, some of us are still scrambling around putting things together.

Whether it’s Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, or a kids gathering, carols or Gingerbread and Wreathmaking...

What are the pitfalls we can fall into? How do we avoid them?

James Galea is senior minister of Freshwater Anglican Church.

Dave Jensen will be working next year with the Sydney Anglican Churches Evangelism and New Churches team to encourage best practice evangelism.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/improving-your-christmas-talk

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Cultural changes and increasing push back against churches are impacting youth ministries. It is getting much harder for Christian Teenagers to be Christian among their secular peers.

Teenagers don’t just walk in the door of a church.

What are latest youth ministry trends and opportunities? How can we do youth ministry on the front foot?

Andy Stevenson is Director of the Sydney Anglican Youthworks’ youth & children’s ministry division and Special Religious Education (Scripture Ministry).

Ruth Lee is Youth worker at Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in Sydney.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/collaboration-in-youth-ministry

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Poverty is fundamentally relational says David Williams

What might a theology of caring for the poor look like?

The bible’s terms for the poor (widow, orphan and alien) are all relational terms which describe someone who has lost relationships and as a result have lost connection with the land.

David and his wife Rachel started serving as missionaries in Nairobi, Kenya in 1999. David now serves as principal of the Australian Church Missionary Society Training College St Andrew’s Hall, where Australian missionaries are trained for six months, before heading out to the field.

David has just given a provocative paper at the Anglican Aid conference at Sydney’s Moore Theological College and has agreed to come in and discuss it.

The issue for David is not just academic, with his first significant engagement with poverty, starting when working in the slums of Nairobi 20-plus years ago.

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The Church of England has abandoned the teaching of Jesus with prayers for same sex blessings potentially to start before Christmas.

‘Tragic’ says Gafcon.

‘Disastrous’ says the Global South.

‘Deeply Troubled’ says the Church of England Evangelical Council

‘First order difference requires first order differentiation’ says Vaughan Roberts

‘It is hard not to dissolve into a flood of tears’ says the Mark Thompson the principal of Sydney’s Moore College.

‘The Archbishop of Canterbury should resign’ - says the Church Society’s Lee Gatiss.

The English General Synod has crossed a line that evangelicals across the world had been praying and hoping would not happen.

The General Synod expressed its support by a tiny majority of just a few votes for the continued implementation of the House of Bishops proposals to change the position and practice of the Church of England with regards to sexual ethics and marriage.

We now expect the English bishops to commend prayers of blessing for same sex couples by mid-December (and provide dedicated services soon after), to prepare guidance which will make it possible for clergy to marry their same sex partners, and that future ordinands will not to be asked to indicate whether their lifestyle and personal relationships are in keeping with the doctrine of the Church of England.

Vaughan Roberts is one of the UK’s leading evangelical ministers within the church of England. Vaughan is senior pastor of St Ebbes in Oxford.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/vaughan-roberts-on-english-synod

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Years and years of putting your feet up is the lifestyle of the sluggard.

To be a sluggard is a so called ‘deadly sin.’

The concept we now know as retirement is a 19th century invention and not a Christian concept.

Former Missionary, Bible College lecturer and principal Mike Raiter says the idea that we should stop work at 65 and enjoy 20 or 30 years of rest is not biblical.

How should we think about the stage of life that starts at 65. What are the ministry opportunities available? What are the sins and temptations that the over 65’s are prone to?

And how can younger pastors speak to those who are older?

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/growing-old-mike-raiter

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It’s going to be an especially bumpy six months for religious freedom issues in New South Wales..

Legalised Euthanasia will be rolled out in just a few weeks. But what about faith based aged care institutions, where organizations and staff are conscientious objectors to euthanasia?

Then there’s the Law Reform Commission inquiry into religious schooling and whether the religious exemptions to anti discrimination law should be removed.

And the debate over conversion therapy will come to a head in the parliament.

Monica Doumit is Director of Public Affairs and Engagement for the Catholic Church in Sydney… and was one of the presenters at the Freedom for Faith Conference in Sydney.

Mike Southon is executive director of Freedom for Faith

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/euthanasia-discrimination-conversion

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A few weeks ago on The Pastor’s Heart we talked with Zac Veron and Raj Gupta about issues confronting Sydney Anglicans.

The National Church Life Survey shows a drop in newcomers from 9% in 2011 to 5.4% in 2021 - a more than ten year trend of fewer people joining church.

Plus there’s been a 7.5% drop in attendance between 2015 and 2019.

But it’s not just the Sydney Anglicans that need a wake up call. It’s most of us in Australian Evangelicalism.

And if you are a senior pastor watching from around the world - it’s highly likely that there will be a massive overlap between your problems and our problems.

Andrew Heard leads the large and influential EV church on the Central Coast of New South Wales. He’s also the key person behind the influential Reach Australia movement. And is a leader in the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churcheshttp://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/problems-of-heart-head-and-hands-andrew-heard

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Rolling out the Global Anglican rescue - with Archbishop Justin Badi Arama

Nicky Gumbel teams up with the Global South in rebuking Archbishop Justin Welby

Slowly, carefully, but quite deliberately, a new locus of leadership is emerging within the global Anglican Communion, a locus that significantly is intentionally focused on Christ and biblical authority and not focused on London, England or the Archbishop of Canterbury.

An important meeting of the Primates of the Global South and other leader of the Anglican Community has just wrapped up in Cairo.

Significantly and surprisingly the 13 orthodox Primates were joined at their meeting by Nicky Gumbel, the pioneer of the Alpha Course and London’s Holy Trinity Brompton’s massive UK church planting network.

Nicky Gumbel has been a friend of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby since high school.

Chair of the Global South Archbishop Justin Badi Arama spells out the plans to reset the Anglican Communion, coming out of the Cairo meeting.

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We traverse the historical landscape of identity, starting from Descartes' cogito ergo sum or "I think, therefore I am," to the current age where identity has become a commodity.

Chris Watkin, the award-winning author of the Biblical Critical Theory, helps us understand possessive individualism, starting with John Locke, expressive individualism, and how both terms help us grapple with modern identity formation.

Plus, we probe into the delicate balance between dignity and humility in the context of human identity.

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Our focus today is on the massive legacy of some of the greatest women of church history. We discuss how different the Jesus’ mother Mary (as portrayed in the New Testament) is to Mary as she’s popularly thought of. We focus on the account of one of the early martyrs, 22 year old mother Perpetua, who was fed to the lions.

We look at England’s nine day queen Lady Jane Grey and her mentoring by the Swiss Protestant reformer Heinrich Bullinger. Then there’s the extraordinary story of Salvation Army co-founder Catherine Booth’s campaign to have the age of consent raised in England from 12 to the eventual age of 16. And Gladys Alward’s 350 kilometer trek across the mountains of China with 100 orphan children.

Click here to purchase Ten dead gals you should know by Rachel Ciano and Ian Maddox

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Whether we are the senior pastor, theological college lecturer, missionary, student worker, Christian publisher, or denominational leader - we all work within an evangelical ecosystem.

And it’s possible for us to make it harder or easier for our ministry peers to play their part in glorifying God.

Mikey Lynch’s new book The Vine Movement, published by Matthias Media (https://bit.ly/vinemovement), explores how churches, missionary organisations, evangelical student ministries, chaplains and denominations can all work together best.

Mikey Lynch is a director of Reach Australia, leads the AFES staff team at the University in Hobart and is the editorial director for Gospel Coalition Australia.

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Now, where and how for Sydney Anglicans - with Raj Gupta and Zac Veron

The future of the Anglican Church in Sydney.

We engage in a ‘Stockdale Paradox’ discussion, confronting the brutal facts about attendance, finances and National Church Life Survey data about mission, newcomers and maturity.

Plus we review the recent Sydney Anglican Synod debate where leader after leader poured out their heart.

The gap is widening between the diocese’s declining attendance and Sydney’s growing population.
While there are COVID factors, the National Church Life Survey trends are clearly observable and are worrying.
There’s a difference between having a heart for evangelism and knowing how to engage effectively.
While gross giving has increased, real giving (adjusted for inflation) seems to be down.
There’s a clear difficulty with strategic planning and implementation.
What to do about the accelerating trend of people moving to larger churches.

We look at the hard facts and attempt to chart a way forward.

Zac Veron is the senior minister of Bayside Anglican Church, Sydney.

Raj Gupta is the senior minister of Carlingford Anglican Church, Sydney.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/sydney-anglicans-now-where-how-raj-zac

References:

Slides used in this discussion.

How to increase your newcomers - 2019 study

Raw data on Attendance (Zac Veron’s questions)

Raw data on Giving (Raj Gupta’s questions)

Raw data on National Church Life Survey (Dominic Steele’s questions)

Sydney Mission 2020 Goals (set in 2014)

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Social Justice is a fiercely contested concept among Christians. Often discussions about caring for the poor have not been grounded in a biblical vision for gospel ministry..

Evangelicals have been criticized for appearing to be weak on social justice.

The charge is that we have been so focused on gospel ministry that the poor and disadvantaged have been neglected. How does caring for the poor fit with the mission of Jesus church?

Tim Swan is the CEO of Sydney’s Anglican Aid, which hosted an important conference last weekend ‘Reframing Social Justice.’

Ed Loane is Warden at St Paul’s College in Sydney and lectures in Church History part time at Moore Theological College.

Berthier Lainirina is Principal of St Patrick’s Theological College Madagascar

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We send out missionaries. But sometimes it doesn’t work out. There’s a forced return home. Dashed hopes. And all sorts of understanding and support - from the mission agency, supporter churches, pastor friends and others.

Stan and Clare Lie were serving with the Church Missionary Society, lecturing in theology in the middle east, and serving with a church in Alexandria, before being called home during COVID.

Jenni Woodhouse is pastoral care consultant with the Church Missionary Society.

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How should Christians respond to customs, traditions, and stories that have associations with false religions, demonic powers, and evil?

Could a church building be covered in cobwebs and used as an invitation to come inside?

Would you run a Halloween event for the kids of your church so they don’t feel like they are missing out? Or would you run something as an outreach to connect to the neighborhood?

Is it about the occult and to be avoided at all costs and denounced or is it kids in funny outfits and junk food?

To talk Halloween, kids and churches our guests are:

Craig Roberts, CEO of Sydney’s Anglican Youthworks and former minister of Neutral Bay Anglican Church.

Kristen Young, Director of student and community care at Sydney Missionary and Bible College.

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Leading Indian Christian Intellectual Vishal Mangalwadi on understanding Modern India, the Hindu and how we might see our Hindu friends saved.

Vishal and Ruth Mangalwadi are arguing that modern India has been created by the Bible, the Protestant Missionary Movement, and that missionary William Carey is the father of Modern India.

Why are concerns about female infanticide and widow burning

There is a big increase in people from the Indian sub continent immigrating to Australia. Why do immigrants from non-western oriented countries want to emigrate to “Christian/Western countries”

Plus why is India so obsessed with the movie Oppenheimer?http://thepastorsheart.net/podcast/modern-india-vishal-mangalwaldi

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We put lots of emphasis and training into becoming better teachers. But how can we improve the clarity, comprehension, conviction and confidence in public reading?

Bad public bible reading is too soft, too fast, with mispronunciations, lack of preparation, bad pausing, emotionless, lacking understanding of the text, monotone and mono speed.

Good public bible reading is faithful to text, without errors, understands context, has good eye contact, articulation, conviction, flow.

Simon Camilleri is called the backyard bard https://www.thebackyardbard.com and is a member of Melbourne’s Bundoora Presbyterian Church. See http://www.PublicBibleReading.com

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What are the issues that senior pastors of smaller churches face - personally and to do with church culture, mission and identity.

What are the joys and tensions? What is ministry success?

What are the common pastoral frustrations?

How is long term ministry fruitfulness helped or hindered by our ecclesiology?

What are the particular issues that come up in the middle years of incumbencies? (years four to nine)

The reality is that most churches are small churches… they are under 175 members.

Stephen Anderson is pastor of Oatley West Anglican Church in the South of Sydney.

Stephen has completed a major project on ‘Encouragement for the small church pastor (http://www.smallchurch.au)

Help us upgrade the cameras and video switching equipment used for The Pastor's Heart.

Make a regular donation via http://www.patreon.com/thepastorsheart or make a one of donation at http://www/thepastorsheart.net

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There have been massive social changes as the western world has shifted from a Christian world view to a post Christian world view.

In his new book ‘Being Christian after Christendom’, the senior pastor of Dapto Anglican Church David Rietveld analyzes the changes that churches, pastors and parents face in this transition.

Six weeks ago on The Pastor’s Heart David gave his explanation of the problem (https://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/being-christian-after-christendom).

David is back today to paint a positive way forward for evangelism and parenting amongst the post Christian world view.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/mission-to-a-post-christian-world-view-david-rietveld

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The Barbie movie has started big conversations around the world and is becoming a significant ‘cultural moment’ - opening up and influencing conversations about death, the gospel, the relationships between men & women and worldview.

We explore particularly the evangelistic opportunities and how Christians might best engage.

Caitlin Orr is an Anglican Deacon on maternity leave.
Sophia Russell is a journalist, mum and member of St Paul’s Carlingford in Sydney’s north west.
Jael Riegl is a member at Dapto Anglican Church, to the south of Sydney, and has recently graduated from a degree in English Literature, Law and Philosophy.

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1 Timothy 2:8-15 might be the most controversial New Testament passage.

There has been an enormous amount of scholarly attention on this section of scripture, especially over the last few decades, and there are practical questions that we can’t ignore in church life.

Lionel Windsor is a New Testament lecturer at Sydney’s Moore Theological College. Lionel teaches the pastoral epistles to third year students. So is abreast of the scholarly debate.

Lionel gave a super helpful seminar a few months ago at the Priscilla and Aquila Conference held by Moore College. We have linked to that seminar and Lionel’s notes here.

What are the elephants in the room - Culturally, Philosophically, in Scholarship.

What are the issues of interpretation? How do we approach the passage?
What issues surround 1 Timothy?

What is the significance of ‘quietness’?, ‘let her learn’?, ‘to teach’?

What is the connection between teaching and authority?

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/1Timothy2-Lionel-Windsor

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How do we connect for Jesus with the largest group of migrants coming into Australia?

In just in the last few years - the group of Hindus migrating from India have overtaken China and the UK to become the largest constituency of migrants.

Evangelizing Hindus is a massive priority

Ben George is chair of the Sydney Anglican South Asian ministry committee known as Satya

Assumpta Vencatachalum is from a Hindu background and is a member here at Village Church in Annandale in Sydney

Clive has just started as an Evangelist reaching Hindus / South Asians with Evangelism and New Churches.

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A heart for the persecuted pastor - with Dan Oli Shani.

One in seven Christians are persecuted globally. That’s 360 million Christians who are denied access to jobs and education, are arrested, attacked, and even killed for following Jesus.

Worst effected according to the Open Doors World Watch List are Christians in North Korea, Somalia, Yemen, Eritrea, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Iran.

All that sounds so distant from the comfort of an armchair in Sydney.

Open Doors International is deeply engaged with ministry to persecuted Christians.

Open Door’s Global CEO is Dan Ole Shani from Kenya. Dan shares his pastor’s heart for the persecuted with Dominic Steele, and suggests ways forward.

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What is meant by each of the terms biological sex, gendered behaviors or expressions, sexual orientation and gendered identity? How do the various terms relate?

We talk to former director of Sydney University’s Graduate Program in Sexual Heath, Dr Patricia Weerakoon, Rob Smith, who is head of doctrine at Sydney Missionary and Bible College and Rev Kamal Weerakoon, who has done masters studies in this area.

Rob, Patricia and Kamal are encouraging us to treat with love and compassion those with gender dysphoria or gender incongruence.

They want to warn against being intimated, silenced and demoralized by pressure from activists and lobby groups who might seek to impose a transgender ideology on everyone.

They have just published ‘The Gender Revolution’ which attempts to chart a biblical, biological and compassionate response. (https://matthiasmedia.com.au/products/the-gender-revolution)

Help us upgrade the cameras and video switching equipment used for The Pastor's Heart.

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We take a pulse check on the health of preaching in Australian Evangelical Churches with one of our leading preachers, from Melbourne’s Centre for Biblical Preaching, Mike Raiter.

Mike has just spent a few weeks surveying twenty different Australian Churches - watching their sermons online - and analysing them on type of sermon, biblical genre, who was being preached to, faithfulness to text, length of sermon, appropriateness of application, and how well the preacher addressed the heart?

Mike listened to ten evangelical Anglican Churches from across the country, and ten evangelical churches from a range of denominations from the Queensland capital Brisbane.

Mike’s detailed review of the sermons is published in the EFAC Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion Magazine, and shares his findings with us here.

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Major cultural change is making a big impact on Christians and the church. Something radical has changed.

Admitting you follow Jesus ‘weirds people out’ in a way it never has before. And doing church the way we did no longer yeilds the same results.

Senior minister of Dapto Anglican David Reitfield says there’s fewer new people and the regulars are coming less frequently.

He has a new book out ‘Being Christian after Christendom’ https://bit.ly/43NPL6I

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What is the relationship between concupiscence and sexual same sex attraction?

One of the most contentious issues facing the Christian Church at this moment is how can Christians think and speak truthfully, clearly and compassionately about desire and temptation in a way that does not condone or encourage sin?

There were years in Christian ministry where I never really thought about the term concupiscence, and many of my peers, when I mention it say. ‘Remind me again what concupiscence is?’

The tenth of the Anglican Church’s 39 Articles says (in part) that: ‘concupiscence and lust hath of itself the nature of sin.’

Over the last few years, the relationship between the doctrine of concupiscence and ministry to those who experience same sex attraction has become a burning issue (and a right understanding of it will massively help many of the debates around ministry to Christians experiencing sexual same sex attraction).

Rob Smith lectures at Sydney Missionary and Bible College, serves on the Sydney Anglican Ministry, the Council of Living Faith, and is a member of the Sydney Anglican Doctrine Commission, which has just produced a report on the relationship between concupiscence and sexual same sex attraction.

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Are our Gentile Pastor’s Hearts out of step with God?

The Apostle Paul says the gospel should be first for the Jew, but Joseph Stienberg, is calling for a rethink, saying often the western church has as it’s priorities: the gospel being ‘last for the Jew.’

Should we think of Jews as ‘another people group’ or given their special place in God’s unfolding plan, should they have a special place in mission priorities?

Joseph Stienberg is Global CEO of International Mission to Jewish People. Mark and Rahel Landrom are Sydney Missionaries with International Mission to Jewish People.

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In almost every personal conversation I’ve had since returning from Africa I’ve been asked about my personal reflections on the almost four weeks that Catherine and I spent there.

How was Gafcon? What was significant? What stood out? How has Africa impacted you?

This episode features conversations with Archbishop Tito Zavala (Chile), Archbishop James Wong (Indian Ocean), Rico Tice (Christianity Explored), Richard Coekin (London), Vaughan Roberts (Oxford), Michael Charles (Anglican Aid http://www.anglicanaid.org.au), Melina Galiboma (Link Officer, Mara Diocese), Bishop Mwita Akiri (Teremi, Tanzania)

Gafcon Kigali was a landmark moment in Global Anglican history and it was a privilege to play a small part in it
Gafcon emphasised faithfulness to Jesus and the priority of mission
There are real issues that theological conservatives need to talk about regarding sexuality
It was good leave the Kigali first class hotel and see real Africa by touring rural Tanzania.
It’s amazing what CMS and Anglican Aid have and are achieving in rural Tanzania
Key to the future is raising theological education standards in Africa
Christians are helping with the darkside of the Serengeti - Female Gentile Mutilation
The Africans’ hospitality and generosity was overwhelming

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Our Pastor’s Hearts are in New York City as we honour New York’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church founder Tim Keller who died yesterday.

All the congregations of Keller’s church Redeemer Presbyterian Church met together overnight, for an evening originally planned to cast the next stage of Redeemer’s Vision, but which became a moment for the church family to grieve and pray after the death of Rev Keller.

Tim Keller had a massive impact on New York City, and globally, as an author, preacher, the co-founder of the Gospel Coalition, and the founder of City to City.

Tony Carnes, who joined Redeemer a year after Keller planted the church, and writes for nycreligion.info, says it was a night of high emotion as they remembered their pastor, grieved, prayed and celebrated together, and looked forward to the future.

Read Tony Carnes obituary for his pastor here.

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Richard Borgonon is the author of Word 1-2-1. He presented at the recent Gafcon Conference in Kigali, Rwanda alongside Christianity Explored’s Rico Tice on how a church might have an integrated evangelistic strategy incorporating both an evangelistic course and a program where members are encouraged to personally evangelise their friends through personal bible reading.

After Rico Tice headed off for a coffee, we sat down to ask Richard how might this work.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/attractional-and-missional-richard-borgonon

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After Queen Elizabeth’s funeral last year, Saturday’s coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla was probably the biggest reaching church service of our lifetimes.

We analyze the service theologically and missionally and compare it with the coronation service of Charles’ Mother Queen Elizabeth II.

Is it in any way better theologically and where is it worse?

Mark Earngey lectures in Church History at Sydney’s Moore Theological College.
Sandy Grant is the Dean of Sydney. And today is leading three Sunday services at St Andrew’s Cathedral marking the coronation.
Brett Murphy is Vicar in the parish of St David’s in Broom Leys in Leicestershire in the UK.

Support the showTo make a one off contribution to support The Pastor's Heart's ministry go to this link, or to become a regular Patreon supporter click here.

Sydney’s Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has responded to Gafcon’s Kigali Commitment which says the Archbishop of Canterbur Justin Welby’s continued leadership of the Anglican Communion is entirely indefensible.

Leaders representing 85% of the Anglican Communion say they have no confidence in the Archbishop of Canterbury or the other instruments of the Anglican Communion.

In his first interview, since the release of Gafcon’s Kigali Communique, Archbishop Raffel sits down with Dominic Steele while on a tour of Anglican Aid projects in rural Tanzania (see http://www.anglicanaid.org.au).

Archbishop Raffel was named new Vice Chair of Gafcon at the meeting in Rwanda in April.

Responding to the criticism of the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the Kigali Commitment, Archbishop Raffel said if 85% of membership rejected my leadership, I’d resign.

gafcon23 #gafcon #anglican #tanzania #anglicanaid #cms

Support the showTo support The Pastor's Heart's Gafcon coverage go to this link, or to become a regular Patreon supporter click here.

The Pastor’s Heart coverage of Gafcon is brought to you by Anglican Aid. Anglican Aid is the aid, development and ministry support agency of Sydney Anglicans in partnership with the global church. We long to see the grace of God overflow to a world in need. www.anglicanaid.org.au #gafcon23 #thepastorsheart #heartofgafcon #globalanglicans

An extraordinary story of God working by his spirit in the life of African Anglcian Primate Laurent Mbunda

As a four year old barefoot refugee Larent (and his parents) fled Rwanda in 1959 for Burundi.

Larent came to a saving trust in Jesus Christ as a child. He later lead the Compassion Relief Effort in the way of the Rwandan Genocide in 1994.

Larent Mbunda is now the Anglican Primate of Rwanda and the Deputy Chair of the Gafcon Movement.

Take a moment to be encouraged by the extraordinary story of God’s grace in his life, and the amazing ways that God has used him.

Larent Mbunda will be the host of the big Gafcon Conference 17-21 April 2023 in Kigali. We will be bringing you all the news from that conference live from the Kigali Foyer.

Support the showTo support The Pastor's Heart's Gafcon coverage go to this link, or to become a regular Patreon supporter click here.

The Pastor’s Heart coverage of Gafcon is brought to you by Anglican Aid. Anglican Aid is the aid, development and ministry support agency of Sydney Anglicans in partnership with the global church. We long to see the grace of God overflow to a world in need. www.anglicanaid.org.au #gafcon23 #thepastorsheart #heartofgafcon #globalanglicans

What is the relationship between clergy leadership behaviors and burnout?

How does destructive leadership behavior relate to burnout?

What about conflict at church? How does a minister being the target of personal violence correlate to thoughts of quitting?

How is it different if you are a solo minister or part of a team?

And what if you are the team leader or a team member? Plus how is it different for women in ministry?

We discuss this past episode

See Valerie’s comments

Valerie Ling leads the Sydney’s Center for Effective Living and Center for Effective Serving

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/behaviour-and-burnout-valerie-ling

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How do we as pastors help people with addictions? Addictions to alcohol, gambling, narcotics, gaming and sex addictions.

How much is sin? How much is addiction?

Penny Wilkinson and her husband Andrew direct the Overcomers Outreach ministry and the Overcomers Place in Sydney.

Penny has just marked 20 years of Sobriety, having had her last drink of alcohol on 18 March 2003.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/overcomers-penny-andrew-wilkinson

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We are not called to be entertainers, but preachers. How might we as individuals and as leaders of God’s people tremble before him? And are we going soft on this?

What is the connection between the text and the preacher? As a preacher, how long since you have been rebuked and repented? How has your world view has been challenged recently?

Paul Grimmond is Dean of Students at Sydney’s Moore Theological College.

Phil Coglan is senior pastor at Sydney’s St George North Anglican Church.

They were both keynote speakers at the ‘Tremble at His word’ Nexus Conference in Sydney last week (http://nexusconference.sydney).

http://thepastorsheart.net/podcast/tremble-at-his-word-phil-colgan-paul-grimmond

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How might our church best relate to other organisations (churches, denominations and parachurches) who are also engaged in the grand cause of reaching the world for Christ?

What is the difference between a church and parachurch and how might they best interact?

Are para-churches really just crypto-churches? And would we be better off calling them what they really are? Or do we need to change our patterns of governance and membership to make room for a broader and more diffuse idea of church?

There are a whole lot of complexities and difficulties wrapped up with how we function togther?

Mikey Lynch is a Director of Reach Australia and is the new editorial director for the Gospel Coalition Australia. Mikey leads the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students staff team doing ministry in Hobart at the University of Tasmania.

Matthias Media have just released his new book ‘The Vine Movement - supporting gospel growth beyond your church.’

https://matthiasmedia.com/products/the-vine-movement

Support The Pastor's Heart 'Heart of Gafcon' coverage by clicking here.

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How do we work together in complementarian ministry as we lead small group bible studies/growth groups/community groups?

Small groups are the heart beats of our churches, where we wrestle together on how God might have us live.

Most groups have a male and female leadership paired together in leadership. But how do those two people work together?

Do we see their roles as identical/mirror images of the other. Or are the roles different?

Kara Hartley is Archdeacon for Women’s ministry in the Sydney Anglican Church.

Tony Payne is chair of Matthias Media, serves on team at Campus Bible Study at Sydney's UNSW, and podcasts with Phillip Jensen at Two Ways News.

As The Pastor’s Heart grows in audience our opportunities and responsibility grow as well. We want to get better and that takes more resources. We are asking listeners to partner with us to help fund our production, editorial, distribution and promotion.

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Just over a decade ago Bishop Robert Forsyth and I were engaged in a church discipline process that eventually ended up before the NSW Supreme Court.

Today we address lessons learned during that difficult season. Robert and I will relive a difficult part of our lives. Associate Professor of Law Neil Foster will bring expert commentary.

Can I urge you to be circumspect in discussing this episode. We have been careful in our words. We want to warn against maverick comments on social media. Nothing in this episode should be taken as legal advice.

Dominic Steele, Minister

Bishop Robert Forsyth is the Former Anglican Bishop of South Sydney.

Associate Professor Neil Foster is on the faculty of the University of Newcastle, and is the author of the popular Law and Religion Australia blog.

Supreme Court Judgement link here

Sydney Anglican report

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The Church of England departs the historic Christian Faith - with Archbishop Justin Badi Arama

12 Primates of the Global South Provinces have issued a statement saying ‘The Church of England has departed from the historic faith, passed down from the Apostles.’

The Primates - who are all national leaders within the denomination - say that the Church of England has disqualified herself from leading the Anglican Communion.

They say the Church of England has chosen to break communion with those provinces who remain faithful to the historic biblical faith.

The Chair of Global South, Archbishop Justin Badi of South Sudan, says they are withdrawing support for Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who has led his House of Bishops to make recommendations that run contrary to the faith & order of the orthodox provinces in the communion.

See the Global South Media Release

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The Church of England has betrayed the Anglican Communion says Former Archbishop Peter Jensen.

In a challenging, not to be missed conversation, Dr. Jensen, the former General Secretary of the Gafcon movement and former Archbishop of Sydney, speaks candidly about his own shock and grief at last week’s General Synod decision, which he says is a crossing of the rubicon and will have far bigger consequences than those who brought it could have imagined.

The Church of England official media release says “The General Synod has welcomed proposals which would enable same-sex couples to come to church after a civil marriage or civil partnership to give thanks, dedicate their relationship to God and receive God’s blessing.”

Dr Jensen says he has a particular heart for the deeply Christian faithful individuals experiencing same sex attraction and other chaste single Christians, who have been let down so badly by the English synod.

Dr Jensen shares a pastoral encouragement to faithful believers within the English Church as they work our their response and notes the GAFCON movement is ready to provide pastoral support and encouragement, through the AMIE network (https://www.anglicanmissioninengland.org).

–
Church of England Media Statement http://bit.ly/3YS1wGtArchbishop of Canterbury speech to the Anglican Consultative Council https://bit.ly/3E5QcOU

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Christian kids musician and entertainer Colin Buchanan joins Dominic Steele on The Pastor's Heart, to answer questions submitted over the last few weeks plus a few questions that Colin wrote himself.

Plus Colin premieres a new song 'If you have ever made a mess, say yes!'

Check Colin's website: https://colinbuchanan.com.au/

As The Pastor’s Heart grows in audience our opportunities and responsibility grow as well. We want to get better and that takes more resources. We are asking listeners to partner with us to help fund our production, editorial, distribution and promotion.

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Archie Poulos has given us a list of books that he’s read in the last 12 months that have stimulated him to think about different ministry areas.

Archie’s recommendations include:

Explore by the Book. 90 days guided Bible reading.

The Coming of the Holy Spirit, Phillip Jensen
The Moon is Always Round, Johnny Gibson
Biblical Critical Theory, Chris Watkin
The Tower and the Square, Niall Ferguson.
Mere Sexuality, Tod Wilson
The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, Carl Trueman
The Congregation in a secular age, Andrew Root
Embracing Complementarianism, Graham Beynon and Jane Tooher
Decisive , Heath Brothers
The Definitive Book of Body Language, Allan and Barbara Pease

Archie Poulos heads the ministry department at Sydney’s Moore Theological College and is just finishing a PhD on how we can work better together in ministry.

Order online from The Wandering Bookseller

http://www.wanderingbookseller.com.au/archiehttp://www.thepastorsheart.com/podcast/archie-poulos-good-books-to-read

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The Bishops of the Church of England have announced that same sex relationships will be able to be blessed in Church of England churches.

In a massive turnaround, the English bishops are saying that what God says is sin, is blessed.

The prophet Isaiah says,

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. - Isaiah 5:20

Despite the u-turn, in a fudge, the Bishops claim that by not authorising same sex weddings, in church there is no change in doctrine.

We talk with General Secretary of the Gafcon Movement, Ben Kwashi and Director of the Church Society UK, Lee Gatiss.
https://www.gafcon.org/news/response-to-cofe-bishops-statement

https://www.churchsociety.org/resource/responding-to-the-bishops-proposals-for-same-sex-blessings/

https://www.churchsociety.org/resource/the-hypocrisy-of-authoritarian-bishops/

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Most of us evangelical pastors, theological colleges, indeed the whole of evangelicalism - we have a blind spot when it comes to Roman Catholicism in our theology, missiology and practice.

Where do we as Evangelicals make mistakes in our engagement with the Roman Catholic world?

What can we change? What should we change?

How do we best see our Roman Catholic friends come to a personal saving relationship with Jesus Christ?

Leonardo De Chirico has been at the forefront of theological education of evangelicals in this space internationally for over a decade.

Leonardo is a church planter, pastor in Rome, and Director of the Reformanda Initiative.

Rachel Ciano, lectures in Church history at Sydney Missionary and Bible College, and has a deep interest in this topic

References:

Reformanda Initiative: https://www.reformandainitiative.org/

Same words, different worlds: https://wanderingbookseller.com.au/products/same-words-different-worlds

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/same-worlds-different-worlds

As The Pastor’s Heart grows in audience our opportunities and responsibility grow as well. We want to get better and that takes more resources. We are asking listeners to partner with us to help fund our production, editorial, distribution and promotion.

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How does the Bible’s unfolding story makes sense of modern life and culture ?

Christopher Watkin, who lectures in Philosophy at Monash University, has a new book out that paints a picture of a Biblical Theological worldview and interacts well along the way with all the major thinkers of the age.

Chris has done us pastors a significant service here.

One of my friends has called it the most helpful book for those of us in pastoral ministry since Don Carson’s late 1990’s contribution, The Gagging of God.

What is the difference between living in a universe where everything personal reduce to the impersonal and living in a universe where everything impersonal is transfigured by its personal origin?

How do the biblical ideas of transcendence and immanence differ from their extrabiblical namesakes?

In what ways does the biblical account of humanity challenge Thomas Hobbes’ understanding of human worth?

What are the main reasons why the Bible’s account of sin is one of the great overlooked resources for cultural engagement?

Why is AUTONOMY such an important dogma for the Enlightenment? What are some of the main points to make in a biblical assessment of the concept of human autonomy?

Why is the biblical asymmetry of good an evil such an important truth for Christian cultural critique?

In what ways does the doctrine of wretchedness of humanity testify to human dignity?

What is meant by viewing the Christian experience of this life as ‘being towards fulfillment’ vs being towards yes’ ?

How does the Biblical idea of covenant diagonalize the different social contract theories of Hobbes and Rousseau?

In what way is our knowledge of ultimate things U-shaped in the Bible? What difference does that make to our view of ourselves and God?

How are the genre, language and content of the gospels politically subversive?

What is the ‘great reversal’ and how has it shaped the outlook and assumptions of the west?

You say ‘late modernity puts the logic of super abundance in the service of the logic of equivalence.’ What did you mean by that? How does the bible challenge this?

How does the church nuance and complexify the simple modern relationship between the individual and the state?

As The Pastor’s Heart grows in audience our opportunities and responsibility grow as well. We want to get better and that takes more resources. We are asking listeners to partner with us to help fund our production, editorial, distribution and promotion.

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As The Pastor’s Heart grows in audience our opportunities and responsibility grow as well. We want to get better and that takes more resources. We are asking listeners to partner with us to help fund our production, editorial, distribution and promotion.

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Today we profile the Christian faith of one of the most significant figures of the early colony of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie, and his evangelical wife Elizabeth (yes the one used to sit in Mrs Macquaries Chair just aros from where the Sydney Opera House is).

In this ‘Best Of’ episode we discuss John Harris’ book ‘Judging the Macquaries’ - with Peter Adam

Harri’s book scrutinises and reassesses the lives of early governor of NSW Lachlan Macquarie and Elizabeth.

John Harris paints a more spiritually positive picture of Governor Lachlan Macquarie than had previously been understood. Mrs Macquarie was a clear evangelical. Lachlan Macquarie’s Christian faith causes him to stand out in significant policy areas from the dominant views of the time: in his attitudes, behaviour and policies relating to both convicts and indigenous persons.

As Harris paints it - The picture of Macquarie is in sharp contrast to his chief antagonist Rev Samuel Marsden. The book caused me to reassess the more positive view of Marsden that I argued in 2015 (http://bit.ly/steele-on-marsden).

Harris’ conclusions are debated by Marsden scholar David Pettett, who says Harris is biased against Marsden (See his comment in the discussion here bit.ly/3G90Btu).

The Former Principal of Ridley Theological College Melbourne Peter Adam is one of the foremost voices in this space in Australian Christianity and he is delighted with Harris’ new work.

Links:

https://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/judging-the-macquaries

To order ‘Judging the Macquaries’ online: http://bit.ly/wondering-macquaries

Dominic Steele’s 2015 address on Samuel Marsden: http://bit.ly/steele-on-marsden

As The Pastor’s Heart grows in audience our opportunities and responsibility grow as well. We want to get better and that takes more resources. We are asking listeners to partner with us to help fund our production, editorial, distribution and promotion.

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The Alpha Course is 'emotionally powerful but theologically confused'.

“Personally, I wouldn’t be game to use something that I know is inadequate” - Christian Author Tony Payne has watched through the latest Alpha materials.

Tony joins Dominic Steele in this BEST OF episode to work through the strengths and weaknesses of the Alpha Course.

This conversation is a high level discussion of Alpha, beginning with the heart of the Christian leader and our obligation to build upon strong gospel foundations.

Tony acknowledges Alpha's high production values, and powerful emotional content, but says Alpha still reflects CH Dodd's influence, 'There was a strong movement in theology to stand against the idea that God is judge of all the world, and that God's primary and only stand towards us is love. And that our problem with God is that sin has natural cause and effect consequence, with no sense that sin is a personal offence to God, and that God is deeply angry with us and our sin.'

'It's a gospel in which sin is the doing of bad stuff that has bad consequences, and that God's attitude to us is only love. And that what happens on the cross is a dealing with sin, a paying the price. But there's no explanation of what that means.'

Tony also challenges us to reflect: are we trusting God to save people, or relying on our own ability to 'reshape' the message of the gospel to seem reasonable and attractive and explains his own reasons behind choosing not to use the course.

Listen to the full conversation - regardless of whether you use the Alpha course or not - it is a good opportunity to reflect on our hearts towards evangelism.

Tony Payne is the founding editor of Matthias Media, and Writer-in-residence at Campus Bible Study in Sydney. He has written (or co-authored) numerous books and ministry resources, including The Trellis and the Vine, and currently publishes an online blog/podcast with Phillip Jensen called Two Ways News.

Disclaimer: Tony Payne is one of the authors of Two Ways to Live. Dominic Steele is author of Introducing God.

As The Pastor’s Heart grows in audience our opportunities and responsibility grow as well. We want to get better and that takes more resources. We are asking listeners to partner with us to help fund our production, editorial, distribution and promotion.

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One of the most respected voices in the Evangelical World, the senior minister of St Ebbes in Oxford, Vaughan Roberts, is calling on his own bishop and many of the leaders of the Church of England to repent and return to the Apostolic Christian Faith or failing that pursue a provincial level split.

He says Church of England Bishops, who spent last week in meetings, have run out of long grass to hide in and says the Church of England is sleep walking towards the same disaster that has happend to the Episcopal Church in America, loosing 100,000 members and seeing hundreds of clergy leaving or deposed.

Bishop of Oxford Steven Croft has recently written that the Church of England should bless same sex partnerships.

Vaughan Roberts, who leads the largest church in Oxford Diocese, has published this book in response, explaining why Bishop Croft is wrong. (https://bit.ly/vaughanresponse)

He says there will need to be a ‘Provincial Level Distinction’ between those who want to be faithful to the bible’s teaching, saying, “my strong preference would be for the creation of a new distinct province for those who wish for a change in the Church’s teaching and practice.”

Vaughan Roberts is in Australia, on sabbatical, speaking at the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students National Conference in December, and the Church Missionary Society NSW conference in early January.

He speaks here about Christ, Sabbath, caring for Christians experincing same sex attraction and the difficult future for the Church of England.

As The Pastor’s Heart grows in audience our opportunities and responsibility grow as well. We want to get better and that takes more resources. We are asking listeners to partner with us to help fund our production, editorial, distribution and promotion.

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It’s World Cup Final week in Qatar and Muslims are using the event in a highly coordinated proselytizing campaign, or what they call Dawah, both in person and online.

Sam Green, is a senior campus pastor with the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students, and his special interest for twenty years has been on reaching Muslims for Jesus Christ (See Sam's website see also his course Engaging with Islam).

Sam first came to prominence in this exchange with Islamic Apologist Ahmed Deedat in 1996 at Sydney Town Hall.

Sam Green says the culture war bumps between the west and the east about alcohol and LGBTI issues are just tip of the iceberg, compared with the coordinated efforts being put in by Muslims backed by the government of Qatar.

As The Pastor’s Heart grows in audience our opportunities and responsibility grow as well. We want to get better and that takes more resources. We are asking listeners to partner with us to help fund our production, editorial, distribution and promotion.

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Peter Orr says there is a crisis among pastors. He says a fight is on for our hearts, ministry and joy.

Pastoral work will only be a joy and sustainable if the congregation self consciously reciprocates the love and encouragement that is extended by the pastor to the congregation.

Peter Orr, who lectures in New Testament at Sydney’s Moore Theological College, is the author of a new book ‘Fight for your Pastor’

Peter says the key words, as the congregation relate to their pastor needs to be Fight (in prayer), Encourage, Listen, Give, Forgive, Submit and Check.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/peter-orr-warzone

As The Pastor’s Heart grows in audience our opportunities and responsibility grow as well. We want to get better and that takes more resources. We are asking listeners to partner with us to help fund our production, editorial, distribution and promotion.

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How is God’s power at work in human weakness? What does it mean to say ‘True health is about being in right relationship with God?’

How do we affirm human worth and recognise the complexity of functioning? What is the connection between our inner and outer life?

How do we distinguish between sickness and sin?

What difference does a Christian community make? And how can God’s compassion and care be expressed in the midst of difficulty?

Plus pastorally:

How do you affirm that the teaching of the word and meeting as God’s people are good for people struggling with mental health issues?

How can we make mental health issues visible in the church context?

How do we offer the consolations of the gospel?

How to talk about suicide?

What boundaries are appropriate? What does it look like to be trauma aware?

What self care or care for the carers is needed?

Sarah and Keith Condie are directors at the Mental Health & Pastoral Care Institute, which is part of Mary Andrew’s College in Sydney. (http://mentalhealthinstitute.org.au)

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/mental-health-and-pastoral-care-keith-and-sarah-condie

As The Pastor’s Heart grows in audience our opportunities and responsibility grow as well. We want to get better and that takes more resources. We are asking listeners to partner with us to help fund our production, editorial, distribution and promotion.

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It’s a reverse Pastor’s Heart today as Craig Hamilton asks Dominic Steele a series of questions at the Hustle Leadership Conference.

How was Dominic, his heart and ministry changed by those ten things that went wrong and mistakes he made in 2010?

What does it look like for him to ‘fill up in his flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions’?

How did The Pastor’s Heart come about? What is his advice to ‘public Christian leaders’?

What has he changed recently that's made a big difference to his ministry? https://www.youtube.com/@dailybibletime

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Ten things that went wrong, the mistakes Dominic Steele made, and the day he almost resigned.

Dominic Steele has just notched up twenty years as senior pastor of Village Church in Annandale, Sydney.

But it hasn’t been consistent plain sailing.

In this address at Craig Hamilton’s HUSTLE leadership conference on 2 Timothy 2, Dominic shares about a season when it all went pear shaped, the things that went wrong and the mistakes he made.

Next week: Craig Hamilton asks Dominic a series of questions about how that season changed his Pastor’s heart.

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How do you turn your church into an evangelistic ecosystem? Is that possible?

83% of Gavin’s church members see personal evangelism as an individual responsibility.

And yet most 60% of them had at maximum of two spiritual conversations with non Christians in the last six months.

Gavin Perkins has been researching what are the blockers to personal evangelism? How might we overcome them? (See https://bit.ly/3zUPIZK)

How could we create a congregational ecosystem where individuals take personal evangelistic initiative?

GAVIN PERKINS, is the senior minister of St Judes at Bowral, to the south of Sydney, and he’s just completed a major project as part of his doctor of ministry project in this area.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/gavin-perkins

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How do you turn your church into an evangelistic ecosystem? Is that possible?

83% of Gavin’s church members see personal evangelism as an individual responsibility.

And yet most 60% of them had at maximum of two spiritual conversations with non Christians in the last six months.

Gavin Perkins has been researching what are the blockers to personal evangelism? How might we overcome them? (See https://bit.ly/3zUPIZK)

How could we create a congregational ecosystem where individuals take personal evangelistic initiative?

GAVIN PERKINS, is the senior minister of St Judes at Bowral, to the south of Sydney, and he’s just completed a major project as part of his doctor of ministry project in this area.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/gavin-perkins

Support the show

How do you turn your church into an evangelistic ecosystem? Is that possible?

83% of Gavin’s church members see personal evangelism as an individual responsibility.

And yet most 60% of them had at maximum of two spiritual conversations with non Christians in the last six months.

Gavin Perkins has been researching what are the blockers to personal evangelism? How might we overcome them? (See https://bit.ly/3zUPIZK)

How could we create a congregational ecosystem where individuals take personal evangelistic initiative?

GAVIN PERKINS, is the senior minister of St Judes at Bowral, to the south of Sydney, and he’s just completed a major project as part of his doctor of ministry project in this area.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/gavin-perkins

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Sunday Church attendance across Australia is down, but decline has slowed.

The Australian National Church Life Survey results are out. Worryingly the key newcomer indicator has dropped to 5.7%.

While evangelism is down, engagement in church based service groups is up. Mid week small groups are up.

We take a hard look under the bonnet of the top level results.

Ruth Powell is National Director for the National Church Life Survey.

Peter Mayrick is with Partners in Ministry and the Center for Ministry Development at Sydney’s Moore Theological College and is a board member of the National Church Life Survey.

http://www.the pastorsheart.net/podcast/national-church-life-survey

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Claims today that the global leader of the Anglican Church is out of step with God.

The Primates of the Global Anglican Fellowship (GAFCON), meeting in Kigali Rwanda, have said that Archbishop Justin Welby has,

‘Departed from the authentic exercise of his office by normalising and praising those who have departed from biblical teaching and practice…and giving equal place to practices contrary to biblical norms, as Anglicans have received them. We urge him to repent.’ (https://bit.ly/3DmPVas)

And the Archbishop of Canterbury’s explanations are described as 'disingenuous if not duplicitous'.

The Gafcon Primates statement comes on top of the statement from the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches, which if anything, is even stronger.

The Global South Fellowship says,

‘Archbishop Welby’s first position is lamentable; his second is repugnant to our understanding of the authority and clarity of Holy Scripture. The notion of ‘pluriform’ truth is contrary to the Anglican Ordinal which binds duly consecrated bishops to be responsible for the guarding, teaching and imparting of divine truth in Holy Scripture.’ (https://bit.ly/3smoqas)

Archbishop Welby’s actions, which have provoked the criticisms, are his appointment of a new Dean of Canterbury (the lead minister of Canterbury Cathedral in the UK) of a man in a civil same sex partnership.

The Global South statement says,

‘It feels as if the present Archbishop of Canterbury has shut the door of the [Canterbury] Cathedral to orthodox bishops, clergy and members of the [Anglican] Communion.’ (https://bit.ly/3smoqas)

We are speaking today with:

Archbishop Foley Beach, from North America, who is the chair of the GAFCON Movement, but who also is aligned with the Global South.
Archbishop James Wong, Primate of Indian Ocean, who is one of the leading figures in the Global South, and who was also at the GAFCON Primates meeting.
UK Bishop Andy Lines, who leads the Anglican Network in Europe, and who was also present at the GAFCON meeting.

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It’s a moment of honesty for Sydney Christians as we talk the ‘elephant in the room.’ Despite rises in giving, clergy numbers and population the number of Christians in Sydney Anglican Churches is in plateau or decline.

Raj Gupta is the senior minister of St Paul’s Anglican Church, Carlingford, a member of the Anglican Growth Corporation.

Raj asked questions at the latest Synod about attendance numbers, the pipeline into ministry and about Rectors leaving mission critical senior leadership roles in their mid fifties. See links here (http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/the-plateau-problem

A decade ago the Sydney Anglican Church endorsed a Mission 2020 strategic plan for mission. For the first time there were specific, measurable and time based goals set. These will be able to be assessed rigorously in the next few weeks when the Australian National Church Life Survey denominational results are made public.

Raj is concerned that the trend in regards to newcomers has not been strong. See the graph below.

He notes that the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expect different results, and so wants a fresh broad conversation among senior leaders about what could be changed.

What hard conversation is needed in your ministry network?

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/the-plateau-problem

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Four leading Victorian Christian leaders on the controversy that has erupted in Australian National Politics - around the chair of the Victorian based City on a Hill church movement Andrew Thorburn, over his appointment as CEO of the Essendon Football Club and then almost immediate resignation.

When faced with an ultimatum to choose between his church and his new position at Essendon, Thorburn chose his church.

Melbourne’s Herald Sun started the controversy by publishing quotes from two ten year old sermons from City on a Hill on abortion and homosexuality.

Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews described City on a Hill’s views as appalling, intolerant, bigoted, hatred and wrong.

Our guests:…

Neil Chambers, Senior Pastor, Bundoora Presbyterian Church
Stephanie Judd, Ministry Director, City on a Hill, Melbourne
Pete Sorrenson, Victorian team leader, Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students
Tim Grant, Pastor, Grace Christian Community Church.

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‘Don’t be selfish. That’s the secret to being a husband’ says Al Stewart.

Marriage is a great opportunity for selfishness. But Al challenges husbands and fathers to use power for the good of others, especially our wives and children.

A month ago we discussed how men can best function as a son, brother and worker.

In regards to sex, Al tells men to be nice, smell good and plan.

Al Stewart is national director of the Australian Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches, and is the author the book Masculinity: The Manual (https://bit.ly/mmmasculinity)

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Australia has the world’s worst rate of gambling losses per capita, being home to less than half a percent of the world’s population but with 20 percent of its pokies,

And Sydney and NSW are worst of all, with about double (or worse) the rate of poker machine losses compared to every other Australian state and territory.

About 40% of all pokies losses come from problem gamblers.

Anglican Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant and Wesley Mission’s Stuart Cameron are asking both sides of politics to come together to address the crisis.

(Episode photo courtesy Sydney Anglican Media)

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What can we learn about funerals today from the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, which was watched by around four billion people across the world yesterday.

What worked and didn’t work with the Queen’s funeral? Is there anything our guests would have done differently?

David Peterson is the former Principal of Oak Hill Theological College in London and is now lecturing as an adjunct faculty member at Sydney’s Moore Theological College.

Rachel Ciano lecturers in Christian History at Sydney Missionary and Bible College.

Chris Braga is Senior Pastor of Grace West Anglican Church at Glenmore Park in Sydney’s West.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/queens-funeral-review

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The new GAFCON Anglican Diocese of the Southern Cross has a second congregation.

The continued move of the Anglican Diocese of South East Queensland away from orthodox Anglican Theology has led to the resignation of another senior minister.

The Australian Anglican Church has been in a perilous position since the majority of the Australian house of bishops failed to affirm orthodox biblical teaching on marriage at the General Synod earlier this year.

At St John’s Wishart in South Brisbane yesterday, Rector Peter Judge Mears, told the congregation he had given Archbishop Phillip Aspinal his resignation.

He invited members to join him in starting the new Southside Anglican Congregation next month.

St Johns Wishart Rector Peter Judge Mears is our guest on The Pastor’s Heart.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/cracks-widen-in-brisbane-peter-judge-mears

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One man dominated gospel advocacy in the latter part of the twentieth century Sydney.

John Chapman was director of Evangelism for the Sydney Anglican Church, and played a significant role in shaping attitudes to preaching, evangelism and a series of controversies.

Baden’s new work showcases the impact of John Chapman, but also gives a window into issues facing evangelicals in Sydney in the later part of the twentieth century, controversies about preaching, the place of evangelism in church life, social justice, and what role each of us plays in the evangelistic process.

Baden Stace is the senior minister of St Stephen’s Normanhurst.

Link to purchase: https://bit.ly/3TFzSe1

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/sydneys-one-special-evangelist-john-chapman

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How can we as church leaders develop and implement plans to care for people affected by disability - so that they can hear the gospel clearly and engage in Christian fellowship.

What are the theological foundations for disability ministry?

How do we in our hearts/attitudes welcome or distance those with disability?

What language should we use?

How do we include people on the autism spectrum? What are the complexities welcoming people with mental health challenges?

Louise Gosbell is Principal of Mary Andrew’s College in Sydney and has worked with the Sydney Anglican Social Issues Committee to produce a set of guidelines to help churches.

Download the Guidelines: https://bit.ly/3R1VgZ8

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Gafcon Australia Chair Richard Condie says the crisis in the Australian Church has been caused by revisionist Bishops who have rejected traditional Biblical and Anglican doctrine.

Gafcon has formed an Anglican lifeboat for faithful Christians, the ‘Diocese of the Southern Cross’ announced at the big GAFCON Australasia Conference, this week in Canberra.

It will be a new ‘safe place for gospel ministry’ for ministers and churches who can’t work under bishops who are false teachers.

Bishop Condie has rejected the Primate of Australia’s statement that the new Southern Cross Diocese is not Anglican.

Bishop Condie says the Anglican Communion and the Anglican Church in Australia is broken.

Bishop Condie has called on the revisionist bishops to return to biblical orthodoxy, and says if they repented, he would be the first to vote for the closing down of the Diocese of the Southern Cross.

At the Australian General Synod in May, only ten of Australia’s Bishops affirmed that marriage in God’s sight is only between a man and a woman.

The Archbishop of Sydney Kanishka Raffel said in response the national church is in a precarious position.

Revisionist Archbishop of Brisbane Phillip Aspinall, further provoked tensions in his Presidential address, with a blistering attack on evangelicals, described by one of his minister’s as hurtful, hypocritical and hateful.

Guests on this week’s The Pastor’s Heart:

Richard Condie, Bishop of Tasmania and Chair of Gafcon Australia
Glenn Davies, Bishop of the new Anglican Southern Cross Diocese and Former Archbishop of Sydney
Foley Beach, Primate of the Anglican Church in North America, and Chair of the Gafcon Primate’s Council
Jennifer Hercott, Member of Gafcon Australia Board and registrar of the Diocese of Central Queensland

Download ‘The Line in the Sand’ https://bit.ly/3pvzssM

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/false-teaching-revisionists-caused-the-Australian-Church-schism

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There are now two expressions of Anglicanism in Australia.

The first congregation of the new Diocese of the Southern Cross started at Beenleigh in Brisbane last Sunday and the Diocese’s first bishop Glenn Davies will be appointed on Thursday.

Other congregations are expected to join in the next few months.

The spilt in the Australian Anglican Church follows the failure of the Bishops of the National Church to support the denomination’s traditional teaching that marriage is between a man and woman.

It follows similar splits in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Brazil.

Peter Palmer was the minister of St George’s Anglican Church in Brisbane until serving under Brisbane Archbishop Phillip Aspinal became untenable.

Peter will pastor the new Southern Cross Anglican Church of Beenleigh and Logan.

Peter had served the Bush Church Aid society for 16 years, having been involved in indigenous ministries in Wyndem WA, church and mining ministry in Coober Pedy, SA and FIFO chaplaincy to mines.

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The Anglican Communion is broken and need to repent.

Provinces of the Anglican Communion are now free to develop their own teaching on sexuality, according to the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

There will be no contending for the faith (cf Jude 1:3) or withdrawing fellowship from the sexually immoral.

Archbishop of Canterbury Archbishop Justin Welby arranged the Lambeth Conference so that delegates didn’t get to vote on the most contentious issue of the day - sexuality.

Rather he wrote to delegates announcing that Lambeth 1:10 still applied, but there would be no consequences for ignoring it.

Gafcon’s letter to the churches: https://bit.ly/3BWUKad

Statement from the Global South: https://bit.ly/3P8Brh2

Media Release from the Global South: https://bit.ly/3JUZoYh

thepastorsheart.net/podcast/peter-jensen-on-lambeth22

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How do you best assist a church member who discloses that they are experiencing gender incongruence?

How do we show compassion and care with people where you disagree with the choices they might be making? How do we lead others in the church to do the same?

What advice do you have about seeking to provide an environment that does not exacerbate a person’s distress.

How do we rid our churches of any bullying, ridicule, mistreatment, and abuse of gender non-conforming people.

How do we differentiate between compassion for the person, including an understanding of the distress of their situation or condition, and agreeing with, celebrating, or validating any treatment protocol for transition.

Sam Allberry is a pastor, apologist and author. His latest book is ‘What God has to say about our bodies.’ (https://bit.ly/3OFp5wF)

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/gender-incongruence-allberry

(Dominic Steele chairs the Sydney Anglican Council of Living Faith, which seeks to minister to Christians experiencing attraction to the same sex or gender incongruence http://www.livingfaith.online).

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How can Christian grandparents be more intentional about their faith and leave a lasting legacy of faith in their grandkids and peers?

How do we as pastors, minister to those older than us encouraging them and How can they minister to their grandkids, whether or not their kids are Christian?

Ian Barnett is the former senior pastor of Figtree Anglican Church in Wollongong, and is the founder of the Australian National Grandparent Conference, which is happening in September. (https://ngmlegacy.com.au/)

Julia Baird on Grandmothers - https://bit.ly/3PVZKQ8

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There is widespread confusion about what it is to be a man.

Across history, there has been and still is a widespread confusion about what it is to be a man and how to be masculine in a non-dominating way.

Masculinity is fundamentally about how men use their power. When it is done in a healthy way, masculinity will serve and bless those it reaches.

Al Stewart says we should value masculinity when it is rightly understood. A truly masculine man makes the people around him feel safe. Things become more stable because he’s around.

Al has a new book out this week, The Manual: Getting Masculinity Right.

To purchase The Manual: https://bit.ly/mmmasculinity

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How do we proclaim Him clearly as we should? What mistakes do we make? How can we improve? How do you best approach different kinds of evangelistic talks? How can you be creative about presenting sin?

Ross Ciano is senior minister of Sydney’s Marrickville Road Anglican Church.

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Sydney Missionary and Bible College Doctrine Lecturer Rob Smith submits his PhD this week on ‘Identity and Embodiment’ asking ‘How significant is our embodiment to our identity? How significant are our bodies to our gender identity?

There’s a new Matt Walsh Daily Wire Documentary ‘What is a woman?’ that is causing a stir across the world.

We ask Rob ‘What is a woman?’ and for his review of the new Matt Walsh documentary.

Plus how do we best care pastorally for the gender incongruent church member.

Dominic Steele chairs the Sydney Anglican pastoral ministry Living Faith. Rob is a member of the Living Faith Council.

Living Faith’s ‘Developing Discipleship in Identity and Gender’ with Sam allberry and Rob Smith is scheduled for Tuesday 2 August 2022. Register at http://www.livingfaith.online

Links:

Rob Smith’s new book How Should We Think About Gender and Identity? (Questions for Restless Minds) https://bit.ly/3NNrR2a

Recommended books:

Joyce, Helen. Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality. London: Oneworld Publications, 2021.
Shrier, Abigail. Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, 2020.
Sprinkle, Preston. Embodied: Transgender Identities, the Church & What the Bible Has to Say. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2021.
Smith, Robert S. How Should We Think about Gender and Identity? Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2022.
Walker, Andrew T. God and the Transgender Debate: What Does the Bible Actually Say About Gender Identity? The Good Book Company, 2022.

Recommended articles:

Sprinkle, Preston and Paul Eddy. “Less Than Affirming: Perspectives Beyond the Gender Affirmative-only Model of Care for Trans and Gender Dysphoric People.” The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender* (24 March, 2021): https://www.centerforfaith.com/blog/less-than-affirming-perspectives-beyond-the-gender-affirmative-only-model-of-care-for-trans-and.
SEGM, “Correction of a Key Study: No Evidence of “Gender-Affirming” Surgeries Improving Mental Health.” SEGM(August 30, 2020). https://www.segm.org/ajp_correction_2020.
“National Academy of Medicine in France Advises Caution in Pediatric Gender Transition,” SEGM (March 3, 2022): https://segm.org/France-cautions-regarding-puberty-blockers-and-cross-sex-hormones-for-youth.
Evans, Susan and Marcus Evans. “First, Do No Harm: A New Model for Treating Trans-Identified Children.” Quillette (February 4, 2021). https://quillette.com/2021/02/04/first-do-no-harm-a-new-model-for-treating-trans-identified-children.

Recommended websites:

SEGM (Society for Evidence Based Gender Medicine): https://segm.org.
Genspect (A voice for parents with gender-questioning kids): https://genspect.org.
Gender Dysphoria Alliance: https://www.genderdysphoriaalliance.com.
4th Wave Now (Parents concerned about the medicalization of gender-atypical youth and rapid-

Register for the Living Faith Developing Discipleship Day on 2 August 2022 either in person in Sydney or online at http://www.livingfaith.online

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Our regular episode is running 24 hours late as Dominic Steele is in COVID isolation.

In place Dominic has a series of hints on how we as pastors can best conduct ourselves on social media.

You are not a private Christian you are a leader. Set an example for the believers in speech, conduct, in love, in faith and in purity 1 Timothy 4:12
Shine like stars in a crooked and depraved medium Philippans 2:15
Be aware that unbelievers and believers are lurking/watching your posts and comments. Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders. Colossians 4:5
Face to face is best. 1 Thessalonians 3:6
Have generally outsider focused material on your website and facebook page. Internal communication and internal Christian debates in Facebook groups.
Beware of the expectations and dangers of the medium you are operating in.
Recognise that while you may be a public Christian other people are not.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/would-jesus-like-me

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‘Do not be anxious about anything’ says the Apostle Paul. But Paul Grimmond says saying that to an anxious person is a bit like telling an ice-cream not to melt in summer. Unproductive and pointless. So, how do we think and speak biblically about anxiety to others while taking on board other factors in a person's life?

How might we see anxiety as a gift? What does the interplay between mind and body look like? How does sin contribute to anxiety? Is there a place for counseling? How does self talk impact one's anxiety?

Paul Grimmond’s new book ‘When the noise won’t stop: A Christian guide to dealing with anxiety’.

To purchase a copy: https://bit.ly/3y2FULL

Register for the Living Faith Developing Discipleship Day on 2 August 2022 either in person in Sydney or online at http://www.livingfaith.online

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‘You be you.’ It’s the catch cry of a generation. But Brian Rosner says it’s also the new definition of sin.

Many people today believe that there’s only one place to look to find yourself and that’s inward.

Personal identity has become a ‘Do it yourself Project’.

This strategy of identity formation is sometimes called Expressive Individualism.

The view that you are who you feel yourself to be on the inside, and that acting in accordance with this identity is living authentically.

The Principal of Melbourne’s Ridley Theological College Brian Rosner has super helpful critique in his new book, ‘How to find yourself: Why looking inwards is not the answer.’

Dr Rosner joins us this week on The Pastor’s Heart.

To purchase: https://bit.ly/3xHOAXu

Register for the Living Faith Developing Discipleship Day on 2 August 2022 either in person in Sydney or online at http://www.livingfaith.online

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How can we work better together with people we don’t fully agree with and take advantage of that?

We need both deep links and shallow links in ministry.

How do we better communicate across theological sub tribes?

Archie Poulos is co-director of the Center for Ministry Development at Sydney’s Moore Theological College.

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How do we start with Jesus in formulating a view of Scripture today?

What is Jesus’ view of scripture?

How do clarity and simplicity relate?

How do we move from the speech of God to the word of God written?

How does the doctrine of the sufficiency of scripture play out in the different stages of biblical revelation?

Can you give us a sixty second answer on canon formation?

And how does speech-act theory impact the issues of the inseparability of Word and Spirit, and the efficacy of Scripture.

Principal of Sydney’s Moore Theological College Mark Thompson has a new book ‘The doctrine of Scripture: An introduction’

To purchase: https://bit.ly/3zllAXW

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How do you find the right key person to join your ministry team? To figure this out, you may ask questions such as:

What is the person’s heart for God and the gospel?
What is the person’s relationship with authority?
How do we recruit to a vision and strategy?
What are the pitfalls of interviews?
What are the first questions to ask referees?
Who else to involve in the process?

St Matthew’s Manly’s Senior Minister Bruce Clarke says there’s Character, Conviction and Competency, but also Chemistry, Culture and Calling.

Norwest Anglican’s Pete Stedman says different churches require different capacities, and different roles within a church require different capacities.

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Ambitions are a good thing! But how can we be ambitious about the right thing and have ones that magnify Jesus, not ourselves? How can we have ambitions driven by humility?

Paul Harrington leads Trinity network of churches in Adelaide, South Australia. Having planted three new churches this year, they have grown to a network of 14 churches!

Paul gave the main evening talks at last week’s Reach Australia Conference, tackling head on the failures of Christian leaders.

Paul asks what we can learn from the mistakes of Mark Driscoll, Brian Houston, Ravi Zacharius, Carl Lentz and Steve Timmis?

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‘A perilous moment.’ - That’s how the Archbishop of Sydney Kanishka Raffel described the situation that the Anglican Church of Australia is in - after an important vote failed to win support of the nation’s bishops at the denomination’s National Synod.

After being delayed twice due to COVID, the leaders of the Australian Anglican Church gathered for the first time since the marriage plebiscite.

There were two statements and three motions to be debated that would have given the church clarity going forward.

But whereas it was clear that there was 60% support for orthodox teaching in the Synod, the critical motion was blocked by the House of Bishops.

The synod voted by houses - laity, clergy and bishops.
In the laity the numbers were 63 to 47 in favour
In the clergy the numbers were 70 to 39 in favour
In the house of bishops it was lost by 10 in support to 12 votes against, with two abstentions.

Today on The Pastor’s Heart we are speaking first to the Archbishop of Sydney Kanishka Raffel and then to the the Gafcon Australia Bishop RIchard Condie of Tasmania and Rev Jennifer Hercott from Queensland.

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How do we prioritise kids ministry? What to look for in appointing a kids minister? How do you support your kids minister to prevent burnout and work towards longevity?

How to create a kids ministry that fits with the overall ministry philosophy and direction of the church?

Advice on dealing with parent complaints and helping parents to value kids ministry and the time put in by kids ministers.

Bruce Linton is the Children’s and Youth Director at the Church Missionary Society NSW.

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Disappointment is a difficult topic to deal with in ministry. As humans, we tend to make mistakes and sometimes, disappointment can come at nobody's fault at all.

So, how do we process the disappointment in ministry then? Personally process as leaders and processing with our people?

What about when the church plant fails? Hans Kristensen planted the Resolved Church in Newtown, and six years later closed it down.

Naturally, failure comes with any attempt at anything! But how do we know when to call time? And what part does ego play in all of this?

Hans Kristensen is now the senior pastor of Marsfield Community Church in Sydney. Before that he was founding pastor of Resolved Newtown in Sydney and is bringing a wise word on dealing with disappointment.

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How to navigate change management in church?

Change within the church is ongoing and unavoidable. This is to strengthen the church and continually make it a better and more spiritually helpful place for its members to worship God and grow in their faith. However, war stories of ‘church change resistance,’ where well meaning ministers have tried to pursue these changes have sadly led to the disruption of relationships.

Speaking on the topic of change and its aftermath is Raj Gupta. He is the senior minister of St Paul’s in Carlingford in Sydney and a director with Moore College’s Center for Ministry Development and has insights for churches based on John Kotter’s Change Management Framework.

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Matt Fuller, the Senior Minister of Christ Church Mayfair in the centre of London, speaks on why weakness is good for us.

He describes standing up in front of his church, telling them he couldn’t cope with being told to take time off by his elders.

Matt describes a conversation with his senior elders when he was in trouble and was confronted by his senior elder about time off and burnt out.

Matt puts it down to overwork, a complex season around his mother’s death and the extra difficulties of managing the church and staff team during COVID.

At the time he was angry and when he stopped working, the depression sunk in and he just wanted to quit.

Matt says his vulnerability has helped the church to be more honest with each other.

Jon Kwan who has been our excellent associate for over nine years is heading to be a senior minister. Village Church Annandale is now looking for a new assistant minister to head up maturity and mission.

For more information go to: http://www.villagechurch.sydney/assistant

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At Village Church Annandale in the inner west of Sydney we are looking for a full time assistant minister to join our team to work in the area of maturity and ministry.

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Mothers Day is a day of both celebration and sorrow for some.

In today's episode, we think theologically, historically and pragmatically with Kate Stace and Phillip Jensenon on how to make Mothers Day excellent at church and how to serve the church family well for maximum mission impact!

Since Mothers Day is emotionally complex for a number of members inside and out of the church, we also talk on how to care personally for these people who struggle through this day.

Kate Stace is part of the team at Vine Church in Surry Hills in Sydney and Phillip Jensen is the former Dean of St Andrew’s Cathedral.

https://phillipjensen.com/resources/the-mothers-of-mothers-day/

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Noticed the influx of memes after the Oscars? You then, no doubt, are probably aware of the fiasco that took place that night.

Actor Will Smith has apologised for his actions at the Oscars and former Hillsong Global Pastor Brian Houston has apologised to his church.

It makes one think then - what makes a good apology, and how can we apologise well?

Bruce Burgess from Peacewise speaks to us today on the seven things that make up a good apology.

In this week’s The Pastor’s Heart we analyse the apologies of Australian Cricket Captain Steve Smith, plus the apologies of Will Smith and Brian Houston in order to consider what is the best practices for our own apologies.

For more information on Peacewise Training, whether in person or online, see https://peacewise.org.au/

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At Village Church Annandale in the inner west of Sydney we are looking for a full time assistant minister to join our team to work in the area of maturity and ministry.

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Power and authority are very dangerous. The recent fall of Brian Houston solidifies this statement and brings significant lessons for Christian leaders everywhere! On the matter, The Chair of the Australian Gospel Coalition Gary Millar brings light to the topic.

Dr Millar notes that Brian Houston’s actions and the poor response of leaders in his theological space, are telling reminders that power, authority and positions of authority carry with them great risks.

Adulation, respect and relentless encouragement are very dangerous things and that leaders need to be accountable to those around us.

Dr Millar stressed that we need to keep coming back to the scriptures, returning to the pastoral epistles and reflect carefully on what God asks of those who are in leadership.

Co-Director/Founder of the Mental Health & Pastoral Care Institute at Mary Andrews College, Keith Condie, says there’s a series of steps that pastors need to take to safeguard actions and protect marriages.

—

Keith and Sarah’s marriage course: http://www.buildingmarriage.com.au

The ‘Press On’ course for our own wellbeing that Keith mentions is here https://www.mentalhealthinstitute.org.au/shop/press-on

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At Village Church Annandale in the inner west of Sydney we are looking for a full time assistant minister to join our team to work in the area of maturity and ministry.

Details are at http://villagechurch.sydney/assistant

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‘Stand for Christ. Stand for the truth. And let the chips fall where they may.’

Senior Pastor of Atlanta’s Church of the Apostles, Dr Michael Youssef, has a prophetic call to share with evangelical pastors today. It is to not give up trust in the scriptures in the face of contemporary challenges on sexuality.

Dr Youssef tells the story of leading his church to depart the US Episcopal Church when the denomination moved against biblical teaching on sexuality, and the way God has blessed them since.

In light of all this, Dr Youssef quotes 1 Samuel saying, ‘Those who honour me I will honour.’

Speaking in terms of the Sydney Anglican Church, Dr Youssef says, ‘I know this diocese, I love this diocese, and I know that God will continue to bless this Diocese even more… when you take a stand.’

Dr Youseff says, ‘Everyone I know who honoured the Lord and took a stand, God blessed that.’

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For 15 years Hugh Isaacs has been at the centre of messy pastoral transitions, as an ‘emergency responder’ to churches going through a transition crisis. Today, he he joins us to give us insight into the process.

After initially helping members deal with their grief, there are five key steps Isaacs tells that need to be worked through for the best outcome. However, Isaacs warns of the land mines that come off at any moment though this process.

(i) After the grief, the church must come to terms with the church's history. How to review the past as a step to the future?

(ii) Examination of the leadership (the lay elected leadership) and the way they and the staff work together.

(iii) Defining denominational connections. How does the church understand and relate to its denomination?

(iv) Clarifying identity and direction. Defining the church’s place in its community and its mission.

(v) Working through commitment to new clergy leadership and the future. Preparing to welcome the new minister.

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Senior leaders long to be effective leaders, but we may not be as good as they hope to be. In the church, the demands on the senior pastor has increasingly become more complex. The expectation to be excellent in leadership, managerial, and administrative on top of preaching, teaching and pastoral care is one of immense pressure!

Under this kind of stress, we might suffer cyclical patterns of burnout, unhealthy coping modes, or psychological patterns we are unaware of. When under this cloud of stress, one may resort to detaching by excessive use of screens, alcohol, drugs, pornography, running to control, micromanaging situations, overwork, reassurance seeking or over-researching. These traps aren’t that hard to fall into.

Valerie Ling and Sarah Hindle, from Sydney’s Center for Effective Serving, say among leaders self awareness an emotional awareness is critical (https://effectiveserving.com.au/)

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Australian Anglican Evangelicals are praying that the Australian national Bishops meeting (in March) and the General Synod (8-16 May) will affirm the Bible’s teaching on marriage, sexuality and chastity.

The General Synod will consider three motions and two propositions affirming the Bible’s teaching on marriage and chastity.

Relations across the church have been further strained by Archbishop of Perth’s decision to deacon a man who is in a civil partnership with another man; and a second man who has been living in a defacto relationship with a woman for a number of years before being married in December 2021.

There were public objections to the ordinations, both before and during the service on Thursday. After a four minute break in the livestream broadcast, Archbishop Kay Goldsworthy overruled the objections and the service proceeded. (Full service here).

This comes on top of the Bishop of Wangaratta’s support for the blessing of the marriage of two men in Albury Anglican Church on 2 January 2022.

David Bennett is a former Sydney gay activist, now a Christian, and a member of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby’s College of Evangelists.

David is completing his PhD on the relationship between desire and same sex attraction at Oxford.

David reviews the proposed motions before General Synod, talks about potential ways forward for the Australian Church and his reaction to the Perth ordinations.

Links:
David’s book: A war of loves
Draft: Motions for General Synod

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Future mission in Sydney and the National Anglican Church in Australia faces a few challenges which Sydney Anglican Archbishop Kanishka Raffel spells out in this episode.

We speak on some of the issues Archbishop Raffel might have brought forward in his first Presidential address, had the 'Synod in the Greenfields' not been postponed due to the Omicron outbreak, as it was scheduled for this Saturday 26 February 2022.

Not only this, Archbishop Raffel speaks frankly about the Greenfields challenge, indigenous issues, multiculturalism, the national church and the current religious freedom debate.

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‘Exvangelicals’. What’s that, you may be asking? It’s a word we hadn’t heard of a few years ago, however, we are increasingly seeing people's self-identity as being part of this loose group or social movement, mostly consisting of Millennials or Gen Z’s.

An ‘Exvangelical’ are people who were once members of evangelical churches but have now been through a process, which they would call ‘deconstruction.’

Jeri Jones Sparks speaks today on the matter. She is the outreach pastor at St James Croydon and has a number of friends who describe themselves as ‘Exvangelicals’.

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Recent studies show nearly one in four people are profoundly lonely. In fact, the loneliest generation of all is the under 25 age group. The most serious problem is not transient loneliness, but that 7 to 8 percent of the population have been really lonely for at least eight years.

In response to these statistics, Professor Patrick Parkinson is heading up the new Christian think tank Publica (http://www.publica.org.au) which launches this Thursday night. Publica has been researching the most socially connected generation in history, who are also the loneliest.

To read more on Publica, see:

https://publica.org.au/loneliness/

https://publica.org.au

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/loneliness-patrick-parkinson

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Religious Freedom will be debated in the Australian Parliament this week.

Two parliamentary reports were released late on Friday afternoon and over the weekend the MP’s and Senators have spent time reading over them.

Thankfully, the reports show the Coalition and Labor Party are broadly in support of introducing improved protections for people of Faith.

The report's recommendations are set to go to the party rooms on Tuesday morning, and the House of Representatives as early as Tuesday afternoon.

Anglican Bishop Michael Stead is the new chair of Freedom for Faith.

To read the Government reports, see the following links:

https://bit.ly/JointReligiousFreedom

https://bit.ly/SenateReligiousFreedom

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How to have the hard conversation with someone about why they shouldn’t go into professional Christian ministry?

It’s fantastic to see Christians enthusiastic and willing to serve in a professional Christian Ministry. But it might not be appropriate for anyone.

How does one decide to raise a red flag with someone who probably isn’t a good fit for this role of ministry? How do you follow through with a conversation? Who should have this conversation? What if you are the one in the wrong?

Today, we discuss how to discern between issues of character, convictions, competency and capacity. We speak frankly about a range of issues such as lack of humility, mental health and pornography that influence the discerning of whether someone should enter professional Christian ministry.

Shedding light on this topic today is Paul Grimmond, Dean of Students at Moore Theological College who previously served in ministry at the University of New South Wales, and Rowan Kemp, who leads the ministry team with the Evangelical Union at Sydney University.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/red-light-conversations

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We address the big HR questions faced by senior pastors in leading our ministry teams?

How can we do performance management best among our varied team members?

What is the difference between conflict and bullying and abuse?

Is it possible for a senior minister to be too conflict averse and not give needed ‘tough love’? Conversely where do senior ministers get this wrong?

What difference does it make if one is an ‘office holder’ vs a ‘fair work employee’?

What does Jesus’ teaching on servant leadership mean for staff management?

Vikki Napier is the Sydney Anglican Human Resources Parish Partner. She advises senior pastors and parish councils on how to manage clergy and other ministry staff.

https://www.sds.asn.au/parish-hr-resources

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/human-resources-napier

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Australian Evangelist Sam Chan, who works with City Bible Forum, joins us to talk about connecting with our complex world through topical preaching.

There are many things to consider when preaching to various people groups that may impact the way we preach. Different cultural groups may think differently on an axis of hierarchy-equality and freedom-control. Sam leads us through how being aware of these factors and having a high cultural, emotional and informational intelligence will impact our preaching for the better.

Plus, Sam responds to Phillip Jensen’s response to his critique of the gospel outline Two Ways to Live. He then explores the differences between topical preaching in the evangelistic context and systematic teaching in the context of educating our church family.

Sam Chan has a new book out, co-authored with Malcom Gill, called ‘Topical Preaching In a Complex World’ you can find through this link if you wish to learn more on this topic.
https://j.mp/3Gz3MJW

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As the new year begins, there are many ministry trainees who are starting new positions!

In this episode, we talk about how we can broaden these new ministry trainees - how to best develop a Christlike character, a deep conviction about God and His word and the ability to teach the word of God, and the ability needed to lead and grow a ministry. We also discuss onboarding trainees as well as what our overall goals are for our ministry trainees.

Charles Gajus, a ministry trainer at Campus Bible Study at the University of New South Wales, and James Warren, the senior pastor at Engadine Anglican Church in Sydney’s south talk us through these topics.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/ministry-trainees

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What should a Christian leader do when their role is to care for people, and they don’t want to interact with people? What impact does depression have on preaching? What kind of friendships should ministry leaders have? What about suffering in the leaders life? What would you say to a leader who is walking through the tough of depression for the first time?

We ask Peter Adam the hard questions about friendship, mental health, avoiding burn-out and investing in senior ministers. Peter will speak openly about his own experience - one which is mirrored by a surprisingly large number of others.

Peter Adam is vicar emeritus at St. Jude’s Carlton, formerly principal of Ridley College Melbourne, and vicar of St. Jude’s.

He mentors 28 young pastors, has written extensively on how God speaks into our lives and is a founding member of the Council of The Gospel Coalition Australia.

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The whole concept of a tolerant society is being spun around.

Sydney Anglican Bishop Michael Stead says there are moves afoot to block Christians from being able to say that ‘Christ is the only way to heaven.’

It’s also being claimed by Equality Australia that to say ‘marriage is between a man and woman’ is an offensive statement.

Bishop Stead says he wants to protect moderately expressed statements of religious belief.

There are two parallel parliamentary inquiries into religious freedom taking place this summer, due to report back in February.

Then the Federal Government is expected to take revised draft Religious Freedom legislation back to the parliament in March, to fulfil a previous election promise.

Sydney Bishop Michael Stead, who chairs the Anglican Church of Sydney’s Religious Freedom Reference Group, has just submitted substantial submission to the inquiry on behalf of that group.

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January is the key time of the year for welcoming newcomers in the southern hemisphere. In the northern hemisphere it’s August/September.

But how do we best follow up new people who are moving into the district and looking to join a church?
Someone visits your church, but what’s next. What sort of ‘visitor pipeline’ should you have?

What kind of system can be devised that is most effective for welcoming the largest numbers of people over a year? - while making sure that everyone doesn’t get exhausted?

Should you visit? phone? email? text? or nothing?

Where is too much effort just that. Too much effort?

How do you grab the ‘low hanging fruit’?

What mistakes can we avoid? Where should we ignore the American advice here as just being too cultural?

Someone has visited our church and we have invested lots of effort in them, and it’s all come to naught. Someone else visits, we do almost nothing, and they end up joining. What’s with that?

Dave Allen is from Hunter Church in Newcastle and Andy Hobbs from Salt Church in Wollongong. Both have great advice for us in this area.

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It’s time to review what’s happened this year and have robust informed conversations about what we will do next year? What won’t we do again? How we will do things differently? And why?

To make realistic decisions, we need to know what’s helpful to measure? And what isn’t?

Not everything that’s measurable matters. And not everything that matters is measurable.

Mike Hastie has been serving on the team at Newtown Erskineville Anglican Church, and is about to become the senior pastor of Toongabbie Anglican Church.

Mike’s the founder of a project called Growing Healthier Churches which is all about helping us pastor better by measuring and tracking.

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South Australian Ryan Williams had been a Christian for five years and campus pastor at Mars Hill Everett for twelve months, when Mars Hill’s founder and senior pastor Mark Driscoll resigned and the church collapsed in 2014.

Christianity Today’s podcast account of the rise and fall of Mars Hill has just concluded.

Ryan is now senior pastor of City on a Hill Albuquerque and shares on how he and the other ex Mars Hill Staff and Members are processing the pain of the past and the issues raised by the podcast

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/marshill

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We’re seeing a shift in approaches to doing church. Traditional denominations are becoming more open to moving their focus from solo campuses to multi-campus ministries in order to increase mission capacity.

The argument is this may increase the effectiveness of church activity and increase our ability to engage local communities.

Church mergers had been seen as a last ditched thing, when one was on the verge of unviability. But there's a new discussion now, that merging a church with momentum, with another that is viable, but with less momentum, might be a more effective way to achieve overall growth.

Antony Barraclough, the senior minister of the newly merged North Light Anglican Church on the North Shore of Sydney, walks us through the effectiveness of this approach, and the missional advantages he has seen.

Sydney Anglican Report on Parish and Regional Restructure: https://j.mp/3cYUSYL

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/effective-multi-campus-churches

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This week, Senior Pastor of Seaforth Anglican Rich Wenden explores his findings on how we as the Gods people can better bring the good news of Jesus to these places.

Rich has been researching missional strategies of churches in reaching coastal areas, and has lots of insights to share with us! We talk liturgy of the surf, liturgy of community, the impact of a missional faithful presence, and more intentional discipleship.

We also discuss the impact of a missional faithful presence, intentional discipleship and community. Rich also challenges us to start thinking about how we can be contributing to this mission field, as well as what the opportunities are for our own context.

Read Rich’s doctor of ministry project here: https://bit.ly/coastalministry

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‘Find life that lasts. It’s closer than you think’

How might Churches in Australia and other countries take advantage of the united evangelism campaign being arranged for the UK and Ireland.

Can the campaign be used to give us a needed evangelistic shot in the arm?

Mission Pastor Elliot Temple and Senior Pastors Jodie McNeill and Tom Melbourne have been reviewing the material and bring their review. Throughout our conversation, we focus on evangelism opportunities within Australia and the potential of this campaign to further communicate the good news of everlasting life with Jesus.

Jodie McNeill is senior pastor of Jamberoo Anglican Church, to the south of Sydney.

Tom Melbourne is senior pastor of Central Villages Anglican, in the Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney.

Elliot Temple is mission pastor of Christ Church St Ives, in Sydney’s North.

See also:

https://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/passion-for-life

https://www.apassionforlife.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/APFL-Life-2022.pdf

https://www.apassionforlife.org.uk/

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How as the collective complementarian church, are we raising women up for ministry - ensuring they are equipped and given the place to exercise their gifts in ministry roles? What should our vision be for raising up women in ministry?

How do you develop a culture in your church that is really positive to women exercising their gifts and hence stepping forward for full-time ministry roles? What can we be doing now?

In this episode, Kara Hartley (Archdeacon for Women in the Sydney Anglican Church) and Jane Tooher (Director of the Priscilla and Aquila Centre at Moore Theological College in Sydney) will bring us some insights into these questions.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/recruiting-women

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/recruiting-women

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We talk, how do we plan for Christmas when we’re just waking up from the COVID lockdown?

Senior Pastor of Lower Blue Mountains Anglican Church Ken Noakes, joins Mission Pastor Andy Bootes from Hope Church Leppington and Missions Pastor Jessica Brouwer.

We talk from first principles, demographics, what activities will work in this context, how COVID changes things, Christmas themes, strategy for events and follow up plans.

Plus what have they done in the past that they are not going to do this year? And what to do about Boxing Day on a Sunday.

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We are joined by the authors of Two Ways to Live, Phillip Jensen and Tony Payne, to talk through the changes they have made to the iconic gospel outline.

We talk through the what and why behind the changes.

Plus how do they respond to recent criticisms of the Two Ways to Live outline?

Phillip Jensen is the former Anglican Dean of Sydney. He now leads Two Ways Ministries. Tony Payne is chair of Matthias Media.

See the related discussion with Sam Chan on his 'Evangelism in a skeptical world'
For more about the new Two Ways to Live go to Matthias Media's page.

https://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/2WTL

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How we can improve our competency leading the church from the books of leadership, business and management?

Archie Poulos teaches at the Center for Ministry Development at Moore Theological College in Sydney.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/innovators-dilemma

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Churches will be free to open for vaccinated and unvaccinated people a week earlier than had been expected in New South Wales.

With 80% of NSW adult population fully vaccinated, a new Public Health Order comes into force from Monday 18 October 2021.

We talk with South Sydney Anglican Bishop Michael Stead about the implications of the new PHO, contradictions between it and the COVID safe plan, and what to do about ventilation.

https://www.nsw.gov.au/form/covid-safety-plan/places-of-worship

https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/business/covid-safe-business/ventilation

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/science-and-research/surface-transmission.html

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/controlguideline/Documents/contact-risk-assessment-business-community-settings.pdf

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What happened to the idea of Christian Australia?, so long and widely held and so quickly abandoned?

How did evangelical leaders respond to the end of Christendom?

How have Australian evangelicals appraised their relations with other national cultures?

How has the end of Christendom led to a reconsideration and reconfiguration of the movement’s own internal culture?

What now is the place of Christianity in Australian civic culture?
We are diving back to the middle of last century today and thinking about how different leaders of the evangelical faith navigated the end of Christendom with historian Hugh Chilton from Scots College, Sydney.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/evangelicals-christendom

Hugh says you can save on the price of his book Evangelicals and the End of Christendom, by purchasing a paperback copy at this website using the discount code “PBC30” at checkout https://www.routledge.com/9781138087781. Offer valid until the 31 October.

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Churches in New South Wales will be permitted to re-open for vaccinated people once the vaccination rate reaches 70%. At 80%, vaccinated and unvaccinated people will be permitted by the government to come to church.

Churches have the chance to pioneer people living together again, vaccinated and unvaccinated side by side.

Lee McMunn says the great commandment is not ‘Live a zero risk life.’

How do you welcome all while keeping the vulnerable safe? But on the other hand how to avoid overfunctioning and blocking people from taking risks they are willing to take?

How to have difficult ‘front door conversations’ that you never expected to have? Plus how do you encourage ‘church workers’ to present vaccination certificates?

A model of what to do when the pastor’s kids catch COVID.

We talk with four senior pastors, from St Ives in Sydney, Nigel Fortescue, from Wollongong, Sandy Grant, from Mentone in Melbourne, Murray Campbell, and from Scarborough in the UK, Lee McMunn.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/caring-covid-cautious

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Australian businessman Tony McLellan describes his pride being broken, feeling wretched and desperately alone, talking openly about things bottled up for years, much of it shameful, in the company of Atlanta pastor Michael Youseff.

Tony goes on to describe turning to Christ, to the mercy and redemption won through the sacrifice of God’s son. And his response, first sobs, ‘then with an enormous flood of tears, entirely involuntary.’

Michael Youseff: ‘You’re in a mess … You need Jesus.’
Tony McLellan: ‘No. I need help. I don’t know what the heck is going on.’
Michael Youseff: ‘Let’s start by praying together.’

Tony McLellan’s life turns on one week early 1988 in Atlanta, when Rae, his wife of 28 years, left him. Tony turned to Christ, followed Rae to Sydney, and won her back.

Tony’s life story, ‘A Glorious Ride’ is released this week.

The first half of the narrative focuses on boardroom deals, corporate power and influence. Then after Tony’s salvation, attention turns to an engaging narrative of influence and leadership for Jesus’ kingdom, through mostly Christian not for profits in Australia and the United States.

Tony was chair of the Australian Christian Lobby for a decade. Before that, in Atlanta, he assisted evangelist Michael Youseff as they led one of the first churches to walk out of the Episcopalian Denomination over theological revisionism.

Order Tony’s biography

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How to preach sermons which are hospitable + have a good reputation with outsiders?

The former principal of Melbourne’s Ridley College Peter Adam says the bible’s call for us to be hospitable should impact how we preach.

How do we exercise thoughtful hospitality? How can we shape our sermons so they serve our people? Hospitable preachers will make people feel warmly welcomed by the sermon.

Plus, how will hospitality look different for pastors who are introverts and extroverts?

And is there a tension or not between being a God pleaser and a man pleaser in Galatians 1:10?

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Childrens’ ministry leaders who have not been vaccinated will be asked to temporarily stand down from their ministry roles in NSW Churches.

South Sydney Anglican Bishop Michael Stead expects a vaccination certificate to be required for kids ministry, in the same way a Working with Children Check is required.

Dr Stead says churches will be required to submit updated COVID safe plans. The plans include questions about ventilation and checks to ensure active steps are being taken to ensure church staff and key volunteer personnel have been vaccinated, especially those involved in ministries to children.

At the 70% double vaccinated point, Dr Stead says kids ministries likely won’t be able to function inside church buildings. They will be permitted to operate outside.

Dr Stead says as a result many churches are planning to delay re-opening until the 80% mark is reached, meaning re-opening on 31 October 2021.

Dr Stead has conceded that it’s inevitable that one of our churches will be the site of a super spreading event, and that it won’t be the fault of the local leadership.

Dr Stead has urged Christians on both sides of the vaccination debate to read Romans 14 twice. The first time he urges substituting ‘eat meat’ with ‘get vaccinated’ and the second time with ‘not get vaccinated.’

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How could we build back better after COVID? Could evangelicals unite together to rebuild the church with a national co-ordinated evangelistic campaign?

COVID has created an unprecedented opportunity for evangelism, but churches and church leaders are feeling fragile and weary.

In Great Britain, churches are getting set for a national campaign leading up to Easter 2022, under the banner ‘Find life that lasts. It’s closer than you think.’

Directors Rico Tice and John MacKinnon join us to talk through the origins and purpose of Passion for Life (https://www.apassionforlife.org.uk/)

Download the pack:

https://www.apassionforlife.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/APFL-Life-2022.pdf

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What will happen in churches after the third wave of COIVD as the freedoms return to Australia over the next two months?

When vaccination rates reach 70% venues, including places of worship are likely to be reopened, and even more when the rates reach 80%.

Governments are planning more freedoms for those who are double vaccinated. But will they impose restrictions on who can attend worship?

Our guests are:

Akos Balogh, Executive Director of the Gospel Coalition Australia

John McClean, Acting Principal of Sydney’s Christ College (Presbyterian)

Phil Colgan, Minister of St George North Anglican Church

Are vaccine Passports a Religious Freedom Issue For Bible Believing Christians or not? And if the government doesn’t make it a requirement, how should local church leadership think through what expectations to put on staff, members and guests?

Plus what’s our panel’s reaction to the Ezekiel Declaration?

Further reading:

https://gsandc.org.au/a-response-to-the-ezekiel-declaration/

https://www.akosbalogh.com/blog/vaccine-passports-and-the-coercing-of-conscience-what-should-christians-think-12

https://murraycampbell.net/2021/09/01/why-we-cant-sign-the-ezekiel-declaration-an-evangelical-response/

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What are the consequences if euthanasia is legalised? And how do we fight the issue?

Legislation is before the Queensland Parliament and is about to come to the parliament in the UK and in New South Wales to allow euthanasia.

And laws permitting euthanasia have already been passed in Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand… there’s a bit of a sense that even if the conservatives succeed in holding out this time… at some stage it feels like it will happen.

Euthanasia is illegal in most of the United States, although significantly it is legal in the more progressive Washington, D.C. and seven states.

Andrew Errington is Senior Minister of Newtown Erskineville Angican Church.

Megan Best is a palliative care doctor and associate professor with the Institute for Ethics and Society at the University of Notre Dame.

Further reading:

https://www.case.edu.au/blogs/case-subscription-library/assisted-dying-laws-is-suffering-still-the-main-problem.

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Australia (or the west) is simultaneously post Christian, Christian and pre Christian according to Greg Sheridan, one of the most respected and influencial analysts of domestic and international politics.

How can Christian writers and artists, or even non Christian writers and artists who think Christianity has something important and worthwhile to say, speak into the confused and hostile culture of today?

Greg started at The Australian newspaper in 1984. And has been it’s foreign editor since 1992.

Greg has just published: ‘Christians: The urgent case for Jesus in our world’, following on from his 2018 book ‘God is good for you: A defence of Christianity in troubled times.’

We talk the media, Christians in the Media, the case for Christ today, and the faith of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/greg-sheridan

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Answering your questions about a daily weekday bible study with a goal of growing your members daily bible reading habits.

http://villagechurch.sydney/dailybibletime

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How can we as pastors lead proactively out of the COVID quagmire and not just be reactive?

What adaptive change issues are open to us? How can we use this moment to go deeper with discipleship? And is this the greatest moment of evangelism?

Post COVID, will there be a sense that small is beautiful? How can we get back to big gatherings? Should we aspire to that?

As we are weary and anxious what can we learn from God? How do you care for your staff team?

What does pastoral leadership on vaccination look like?

Guy Mason is senior pastor of Melbourne’s City on a Hill. They have campuses in Melbourne, Geelong, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Surf Coast and soon in Wollongong.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/covid-proactive-guy-mason

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What are the implications of viewing Christ’s crucifixion, when Jesus experienced being in the wrong flesh, as BODY DYSPHORIA?

What are the implications of our bodies being created, broken and redeemed?

Is my body me?

Sam Allberry says for some the real me is my soul or spirit. The body is a simply a lump of matter I am connected to. It is the blank canvas on which I can paint my identity. For others the body is much more significant. Much of our identity is based on what our body looks like.

But what does God say? And what is the significance of our sex organs?

Sam is a preacher, pastor and apologist. He’s on the staff of Immanuel Church in Nashville in the United States, but joins us on the line from the UK.

To order: What God has to say about our bodies?

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/bodies-allberry

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How and should Christian pastors exercise leadership in the debate over vaccination?

What role should the church leader play in speaking to members about vaccination when there’s a range of different perspectives?

What difference will selfish individualism vs an ethic of other person centredness/ community responsibility make to the vaccination rollout?

What’s the impact of the society’s loss of confidence in government, science and journalism on the current debate?

Plus, How should we feel about suggestions to make vaccination passports for church attendance mandatory (whether imposed by government or denominational or local leadership)?

John McClean is Vice Principal and Ethics Lecturer at Sydney’s Presbyterian Christ College.

Phillip Jensen is former Anglican Dean of Sydney and now leads Two Ways Ministries.

Ray Galea pastors the influential MBM church in the heart of the COVID hotspot area in Western Sydney.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/vaccination

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How do you have a budget that is driven by vision and mission rather than just by taking last years and adding a CPI increase? And what does a pledge and commitment season look like in 2021?

What’s the process for developing a budget that works to grow your vision each year?

And how do you roll it out with your church?

Plus what if the amount pledged is not enough to cover expenses?

Pete Stedman is senior pastor of Norwest Anglican Church in Sydney’s North West and joins us today to talk about how not to have ‘Step off a cliff and cross your fingers church budgeting.’

Links:
Norwest pledging strategy, Norwest 2019 pledge letter, Norwest 2020 pledge letter, Village annual pledge brochure 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021; Village pledge videos,Village 2020 Intergenerational gift brochure, Village 2020 Intergenerational gift videos

Watch the discussion here

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Good leaders multiply disciple making ministry. And yet most of us would admit that our churches struggle with leadership development.

Author of ‘Wisdom in Leadership Development’ Craig Hamilton has lots of wisdom about how the average church can develop a leadership pipeline.

https://matthiasmedia.com.au/collections/latest/products/wisdom-in-leadership-development

Craig serves as senior minister of Pitt Town Anglican Church. His book includes ten commandments for creating a leadership pipeline.

Going from one layer to the next takes intentionality and specific training
The goal isn’t to ‘level up’
Being good at a ministry doesn’t mean you should advance up the pipeline
Being awesome at one layer tells you nothing about whether you’ll be awesome at the next
The behaviours that cause success at one layer will sometimes compromise it at the next
Don’t skip layers
The goal is not toe be optimally proficient in every skill at every layer
The further along the pipeline you are the more things change
The pipeline can get clogged at any level
Life is often not as neat as the pipeline

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/leadership-development

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The resignation of Rev Andrew Pearson as rector of the 11-hundred strong Advent Cathedral in Birmingham, Alabama has come as a shock.

The conventional wisdom had been that Advent could ride the storms of liberalism surrounding it, despite many other evangelicals being gradually forced out of America’s Episcopal Church over the last decade.

However, the Cathedral’s vestry has recently capitulated to the demands of the new Alabama Episcopal bishop.

Andrew says an ultimatum was put to him by two successive bishops, ‘change or leave the denomination.’

Andrew speaks about how he reluctantly came to realise there was no future for him in the Episcopal denomination, and that he needed to leave.

He speaks about joining the Anglican Church in North America, what it’s like now serving under a bishop he can trust in Foley Beach, and his plans for a new church plant in Birmingham.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/andrew-pearson

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Anxiety, social isolation, loneliness, defeat & loss of agency… in this lockdown period. The research shows this is especially a problem for young adults but for all us as well.

Mike Sheedy is the Head of Mental Health and Trinette Stanley is Family & Life Skills Educator with Anglicare. What can we as pastors do to help our staff, members and the broader community?

Mike Sheedy’s paper on Emotional Wellbeing during COVID19 lockdown

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/wellbeing-in-lockdown21

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Update SATURDAY (3.4.21): NSW Health minister overturns his department’s misstep.

THURSDAY (1.7.21):
During Sydney’s lockdown churches have reverted to livestream services.

The current (26.6.2021) Public Health Order under point 14, allows performance singing in NSW, which we have taken to include band leaders in churches (especially those singing in livestream ‘performances’ in a room without congregation present).

But what to do with a Multicultural NSW email sent around yesterday 30.6.2021, which says ‘singing is not permitted in indoor places of public worship? This includes during a livestream and in regional New South Wales.’?

But what authority does that email have? Should we follow the Public Health Order or the more stringent Multicultural NSW email?

Anglican Archbishop Kanishka Raffel says, ‘I think the wisest course is to accept the advice for this coming weekend’. But significantly his letter does not contain an instruction/directive. Rather he offers it as wisdom or advice.

To help us decide what to do? We speak to Associate Professor of Law, Neil Foster, plus Rev David Clarke from Hoxton Park Anglican Church and Adrian Russell from Northmead Anglican.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/can-we-sing-neil-foster-adrian-russell-david-clarke

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Most of us would agree that the purpose of the Church is to make disciples - but as Christian leaders, how do we engage in discipling our flock?

It’s a reflective episode as we discuss what our staff and congregations require from us.

We talk with Peter Mayrick, from Sydney’s Centre for Ministry Development about Church leadership, setting Church culture and discipling individuals.

Peter shares his experience, outlining how to intentionally ensure your people are growing in Jesus.

Peter shares his model for training senior leaders and how to have serious, encouraging congregations. He also shares how to change Church culture and ensure staff and key lay leaders feel supported.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/imitate-christ-peter-mayrick

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Sandy Grant and Kara Hartley, who lead the Sydney Anglican Church’s response to domestic violence, are expressing lament and grief at the findings of new national report into intimate partner violence within church communities.

The new report into Domestic Violence in the Australian Anglican Church indicates the number of people who are at least occasional Anglican church attenders and are victims of intimate partner violence is the same as or higher than in the wider Australian community.

Other key findings include:

Evidence that Perpetrators misuse Christian teachings and positional power,
Clergy reporting their confidence in their personal capacity to respond to IPV as low to moderate,
Our leaders are well informed about the breadth of intimate partner violence and that it is more men than women who commit the violence,
While many Anglican victims did not seek support from Anglican church, those that did were helped/felt supported.

There are three aspects to the report:

A research report on the prevalence of domestic violence,
A survey of key clergy and lay leaders,
The experiences of family violence of those with a connection with Anglican Churches.

Contacts:

1800 RESPECT - A 24 hour national sexual assault, family and domestic counselling line.

Lifeline 131114 - For anyone across Australia who is experiencing a personal crisis or thinking about suicide.

Further discussions:

Caring pastorally for domestic abuse victims - Jenni Woodhouse

Abuse in the marriage of ministry leaders - Jenni Woodhouse

The difference between domestic violence and dysfunctional relationship - Magdalena Liem

Sermon:

Dominic Steele teaching on Domestic Violence

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/domestic-violence

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The Homogeneous Unit Principle suggests that outreach is most effective when carried out in the context of a discrete group defined by similarity in cultural background.

But David Williams says the mission world's view today is that it's bad in practice and theory.

Dr David Williams is the Director of Development and Training for CMS Australia and Principal of the missionary training college St Andrews Hall in Melbourne.

Plus we talk the impact of COVID on the raising up and the sending out of missionaries.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/homogenous-unit-principle

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Religious Freedom is being increasingly marginalised in Australia and across the western world.

There’s freedom for worship, freedom of speech, freedom of association and freedom of conscience.

Australia’s Morrison government was moving to protect religious freedoms. But all this was put on hold by last year’s pandemic.

Freedom for Faith’s Chair Professor Patrick Parkinson talks with Dominic Steele about his hopes for bipartisan legislation.

Plus there’s a call for all Christians to be involved in this weekend’s Religious Freedom Weekend.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/religious-freedom-weekend

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In reconciliation week we turn our attention to Colonial Australia and a new book out from John Harris, ‘Judging the Macquaries’ - with Peter Adam

The Black Lives Matter movement is bringing the characters of powerful people in colonial times into sharp focus, particularly their attitudes and actions towards slavery and indigenous peoples.

Lachlan and Elizabeth Macquarie are among those being scrutinised and reassessed.

John Harris paints a more spiritually positive picture of Governor Lachlan Macquarie than had previously been understood. His wife Elizabeth Macquarie was a clear evangelical. Lachlan Macquarie’s Christian faith causes him to stand out in significant policy areas from the dominant views of the time: in his attitudes, behaviour and policies relating to both convicts and indigenous persons.

The picture of Macquarie is in sharp contrast to his chief antagonist Rev Samuel Marsden. The book caused me to reassess the more positive view of Marsden that I argued in 2015.

The Former Principal of Ridley Theological College Melbourne Peter Adam is one of the foremost voices in this space in Australian Christianity and he is delighted with Harris’ new work

To order ‘Judging the Macquaries’ online

Dominic Steele’s 2015 address on Samuel Marsden

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We speak with Sydney Anglican Archbishop Kanishka Raffel on his second day in the job, even before he is formally installed on Friday night.

Kanishka reflects on the unifying power of the gospel and the challenges facing the Anglican Church. He shares his hopes for reaching the city, building Churches across new suburbs in Sydney, his thoughts on the future of the national Anglican church and the Sydney Anglican Diocese's future involvement in the international Gafcon movement.

Kanishka also emphasises the power of the local Church in being counter cultural and showing the practical difference Jesus’ love makes.
http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/kanishka

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How to reach Australia - with Gary Millar

We’re taking Reaching Australia with Queensland Theological College Principal Gary Millar.

Gary’s giving the keynote addresses from Isaiah 6 and Isaiah 61 on Holiness and Hope at a conference of 800 church leaders networked across all Australian states.

Gary joins us to talk Reaching Australia, the big problems facing Queensland Presbyterians and the College he leads, plus pastoring a church in Brisbane and the future work of the Gospel Coalition Australia.

https://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/going-deeper

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It is crucial strategic moment for the work of the Gospel in Sydney. There is limited time to act as the city of Sydney undergoes massive infrastructural changes.

The phenomenal population changes demand a reimagining and redistribution of Church assets, ministry resources and people. The growth will be tremendous, and so will be the responsibility.

In the next 50 years, the current Western Region alone will have a population two and half times that of the South Sydney Region or the Northern Region.

Today on the Pastor’s Heart we speak to Bishop Peter Lin and Ross Jones, the CEO of the Anglican Church Growth Corporation, about the strategic opportunity and risk of not grasping the moment.

Peter Lin's presidential address can be found here.

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A prophetic word from the most senior evangelical leader in Australia’s Uniting Church, Stu Cameron.

Stu has published two short essays over the last week, the first diagnoses the problems in his denomination, saying: We’ve failed the great commission; Stifled entrepreneurial leadership; and most significantly, Have lost confidence in the gospel.

The second essay suggests a five fold solution: 1. Confess, Repent, Pray; 2. Obsess about Disciple-Making; 3. Release Property Joyfully; 4. Learn Humbly; and 5. Blow it all Up.

Stu Cameron is the new senior pastor of the influential Wesley Central Mission in Sydney, which has an extensive ministry, involving 200 centers and 2000 staff.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/recovering-great-commission-and-gospel

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How can we raise the evangelistic temperature in our church culture plus improve the intentional planning for evangelism in each of our churches?

Dan Paterson heads up the new Aussie evangelistic apologetic ministry ‘Questioning Christianity’, based in Brisbane.

Dan’s the former Australian team leader for Ravi Zacharias ministries.

Dan has prepared an ‘evangelism game plan’ to help churches work on both the strategy and tactics of their evangelism plans. http://bit.ly/QCGameplan

Plus how can we create a meaningful space for people with questions and doubts to exist in the church community.

http://thepastorsheart.net/podcast/evangelism-gameplan

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Ministers have a crucial role as a source of guidance and authority in the church environment - but we also need coaching, guidance and support.

So how do we make sure that as spiritual leaders we are doing effective ministry? What heart issues and skills should we be focussing on to encourage sustainable and innovative service?

This week we’re speaking to an expert on the topic of ministry training, Peter Mayrick. As the co-director of the Centre for Ministry Development at Moore College, his key area of responsibility is supporting pastors and churches. Peter shares his wealth of experience with us as we discuss what’s helpful for coaching those who will shoulder the most responsibility for the health and growth of a church.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/coaching-peter-mayrick

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Unless you define what it means to be part of your Church, people will create their own definition, which will likely look very different to your own. A factor in the growth and retention of people in any organisation is defining what it means to be a part of that organisation.

This week on The Pastor’s Heart, Tim Clemens and Stuart Starr join us to discuss what the optimum length, content, style and ethos of a membership course should be in order to achieve the best results.

Grace City’s Onboard Package: http://bit.ly/gracecityonboard

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/membership-course

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David Jones says there are key pastoral reasons for teaching Deuteronomy

For more than 50 years David Jones has served in pastoral ministry in Wales, London and the Australian states of Tasmania and Queensland.

David has recently retired as the Senior Pastor at Ann Street Presbyterian Church in Brisbane.

Before moving to Brisbane in 2014, David was involved in the Vision 100 network in Hobart, Tasmania that has resulted in the establishment of new congregations in the Presbyterian and Christian Reformed denominations.

David joins Dominic Steele to share his pastor’s heart, and lessons learned over the years, how he’s tackling the major Old Testament book, Deuteronomy.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/heart-of-deuteronomy

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What makes an effective evangelistic campaign? What messages will engage non Christian audiences with the truth of the gospel? This week we speak with three key evangelists about the best way to reach the lost.

We discuss positive evangelism, maximising mission opportunities, integrating online and offline campaigns, and ideas for a large scale campaign.

Dave Jensen is on the team at EV Church on the NSW Central Coast, Karl Faase is the CEO of Olive Tree Media, which produces programs for Christian media and local church use internationally. David Robertson is with the Sydney Anglican Church’s ‘Evangelism and New Churches.’

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There’s a special Sunday at church where we are inviting friends.

Dave Jensen says we should remembering that visitors don’t ‘listen’ so much as ‘feel’, so putting thought into your pre and post church (welcoming, morning tea, vibe) will pay dividends - in addition to using warm welcoming language in service leading, kids spot and sermon. “If you’re visiting this morning, we’re so glad you’re here! We hope you enjoy your time with us this morning” - seems so obvious, yet often we can forget even a basic specific welcome to newcomers. Have your best people on welcome / car park/ and looking out for those after church chats.

I want to see this evangelistic gathering as a first step, or first date with God… and if that’s the case… everything shouldn’t work towards ‘decision moment today’ but rather everything should work towards ‘a second date’, a second opportunity to communicate Christ.

Which is why we advertise a course early in the meeting, we play a video promo for Introducing God, and we make big efforts to interview someone who as an adult has come into relationship with God, through the course.

Then the ‘purchase proposition’ or ‘application point of the meeting or sermon - is to do the course, rather than ‘commit now.’ We as a second less significant choice, say, ‘If you think ‘Yes, I’d like do do that course, but I’d like to make the step tonight to trust Jesus, well you can do that …’. So I don’t try to as the main thing persuade people to make a decision on the first date.

Work against an insider mindset. What I mean by this is that those who speak from the platform should not behave as if everyone knows them and agrees with them - but rather they should introduce themselves… and speak and explain things as if their own non Christian friend is present and listening.

This should happen anyway, in that if you behave as if there are outsiders there, that will communicate to your membership that it is safe to bring outsiders. So have everyone introduce themselves - bible readers, prayers, song leaders etc.
So for example, in the public praying, Pray as if there are unbelievers present and pray prayers that they can agree with. Pray the prayers of the whole community - floods, COVID, bushfires, droughts, good government, rather than the specific prayers of Christians. Don’t pray about the conversion therapy legislation in Victoria.

You also want to think about what happens with the financial collection and communion. We don’t do financial collections anyway so it doesn’t impact us - we do it all electronically - basically for this reason.

And we won’t do communion on days when we are expecting large numbers of guests.

In terms of response cards - we have worked really hard at switching our church to electronic cards. But, I have found that electronic feedback cards don’t work for guests. At our Gingerbread nights last year we asked for feedback cards and the first night we went with QR codes pointing to a web link and got a tiny response. The response on the subsequent nights from physical cards was much much higher. We find that we can train the Christians to use the electronic QR codes for submitting questions or registering for things, but not many of the first time guests.

This is the most important of all. ‘Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should.’ Paul in Colossians asks for prayer that he might proclaim it clearly, but also he teaches them to demand that the preacher proclaim it clearly. So I keep ask

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What does Monica Cook think we as pastors get wrong as we talk to people about sex?

How can we as pastors do a better job at helping people in regards to sex at the start of a marriage relationship? What basic things does Monica want pre-marital couples to know? How do you frame sex in a healthy way?

How do pastors help to normalise that within a healthy marriage there may be moments of sexual dysfunction?

What help and hope is there for those who have been sexually abused as children?

What are specific issues for women navigating the flood of porn in our society?

For further reading Monica recommends:
Ferree, Marnie C, No stones, Women redeemed from Sexual Addiction
Schermer Sellers, Tina, Sex, God and the Conservative Church: Erasing Shame from Sexual Intimacy
Johnston Sue, Created for Connection: The ‘hold me tight’ guide for Christian Couples
Yam, Renee, Sex Awakened: Creating healthy sexual intimacy in marriage

https://www.acsh.com.au/our-practitioners/monica-cook

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/monica-talking-about-sex

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We are talking about different personality traits on staff teams especially as they impact ministry team leaders.

It’s wonderful that we are all different and have our particular personality quirks.

But having some self-awareness about what we are like, and how others can be very different, is very important to help us work and relate to others in helpful and loving ways.

Rory Shiner is senior pastor of Providence Church in Perth and John Forsyth is Vicar of St Judes in inner Melbourne.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/personality-traits

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This week we are taking a deep dive into building sustainable ministries - starting with assessing, equipping and empowering team leaders.

We discuss how to assess if someone is ready to be a team leader, how to develop a leadership pipeline, and how to ensure someone takes a high level of responsibility.

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Will the new Gospel Coalition help or harm the cause of Christ in Australia?

Bill Salier and Akos Balogh from The Gospel Coalition Australia are promoting it.

Dominic Steele thinks it will do more harm than good and urged The Gospel Coalition to go back to the drawing board.

Here's a summary of reservations from Dominic and a Christian social media marketer:

1 Strategy

This campaign focuses on the question of the historicity of Jesus. While this is a typical apologetic question, it is not one that comes up often in conversations when people are weighing up the gospel. Most people accept Jesus as a historical figure, but are asking the question "How is Jesus relevant to me?". This campaign is not speaking to that question at all.

2 Title “Jesus, History’s Biggest Hoax?”

This will either cement or suggest to the majority of viewers that Jesus is a hoax. In general, 1-1.5% of people who see a post on Facebook will click through to the landing page or meaningfully engage. This means if 100 people see the title “Jesus, History’s Biggest Hoax?”, then 98.5% of the audience will just read the headline and move on.

3 The average video watch time on Facebook is 10 seconds.

This means a significant number of people watch less than 10 seconds. The first 10 seconds of the video does nothing to dispel the notion that Jesus is a hoax or a fairytale.

4 The video structure encourages natural drop off

While all of the content in the video is relevant to a historical understanding of Jesus, the structure of the video continues to rely on negative questions, where the voice over suggests reasons Christianity may be wrong and then refutes them.

This fundamentally fails to understand the drop of rate of videos - even if someone makes it to 20 seconds, and hears the first question, “Where the disciples liars?" it is highly likely they won’t stick around for the answer. By using this structure, the immediate result will be that people have the assumption that Jesus is not a verifiable historical figure confirmed.

5 Call to action

The end of this video asks: “Why did hundreds and then thousands come to worship a Jewish criminal?” and then shows a link. There is not a strong reason to click through or even a suggestion as to do next. Even if someone watched the full video, and was convinced that Jesus did die and rise again, there is no reason for them to find out more or explanation of what it means for them personally.

www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/helporharm

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An explosive petition has brought to light a tidal wave of sexual abuse at Australian schools at the hands of young men.

The idea to create the now-viral online petition came after former Kambala School student raised the issue with friends via an Instagram poll.

72 per cent of 300 of her friends said they or someone they are close to had experienced sexual assault from a student from an all-boys school in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

You can view the petition online at: https://www.teachusconsent.com/

The stories in the petition are profoundly confronting and disturbing.

We explore the part played by pornography, a heart of sin, the role of parents, peer group, broader youth culture, compulsivity, messaging to boys and girls and the role faith plays.

Marshall Ballantine Jones has just completed a PhD on Pornography and it’s impact on adolescents, pornography and social media… and the connections to narcissism and sexting.

Natalie Ray used to direct a Christian boarding house for female Sydney University students. She serves on a school council and is in pastoral ministry at Northlight Anglican Church.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/sexual-assault-at-school

For school enquiries about programs and consulting email Dr Marshall Ballantine-Jones at digihelpabout@gmail.com

For parent enquiries about talking with tweens and teens: Patricia Weerakoon’s Talking Sex By The Book & Culture Reframed Parenting Portal (an international secular resource)

For church leaders resistporn.org/leaders

For people struggling with pornography problems resistporn.org/self-help

If this has raised any issues for you, call the support services: Lifeline 13 11 14; beyondblue 1300 224 636; Domestic Violence Line 1800 65 64 63; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732

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There are many different aims when it comes to planning an Easter service. We're focusing on helping our members recognise Jesus' death and resurrection, helping those on the fringe of our Church understand the propitiation of God for possibly the first time, and we also have neighbourhood contacts visiting.

This week on The Pastor's Heart, we're discussing how to get the whole Church on board with engaging the neighbourhood, welcoming and follow up, and what does and doesn't work. We also discuss the goals of Easter gatherings and how to make Easter accessible to a multicultural community.

Paul Webb is the Senior Minister at Chester Hill Anglican Church, Elliot Temple is responsible for Mission at Christ Church St Ives and Andrew Levy is the Director of Mission at Christ Church Gladesville.

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As the report into the sexual misconduct of Ravi Zacharias was released I (Dominic) was deep in preparation for teaching on Mark 12:38-40 where Jesus addresses the hypocritical faith leaders who love the external praise, devour vulnerable women and in the end will receive harsher judgement.

It is now clear that the world famous Christian Apologist Ravi Zacharias
•Engaged in sexual abuse on many occasions, in different places over many years - involving many women
•He used those who worked in massage parlours, importing them from overseas and pursued more than massages.
•It was predatory. He engaged in a repeated pattern of skilful grooming, manipulation and pressure - on his emotionally and financially vulnerable therapists
•He used the Gospel and Christian language to gain the confidence of his victims.
One woman details many incidents over years where the famous Christian leader raped her.
All the while preaching Jesus

This is an excerpt from last Sunday's address at Village Church Annandale, Sydney and the congregational question time that followed.

I hope it helps you as you process the release on the report on Ravi Zacharias report’s sexual misconduct last weekend.

There’s a link to the released report and David Robertson’s summary in the show notes.

RZIM report on Ravi Zacharias’ sexual misconduct

David Robertson has summarised the report and given his reaction here

Full talk is available here:
https://villagechurch.sydney/serieshttps://villagechurch.sydney/series/mark-11-15--jesus-in-jerusalem #ravizacharias #rzim #occa

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The face of Australia is changing. More than half Australia’s migrants come from Asia and that’s a field that is ready for harvest.

Plus, with the changes in China and Hong Kong there’s a new wave of migration expected, and the churches of the west need to be ready.

We are joined by pastors, Ying Yee, from Chinese Christian Church Sydney, Adam Ch’ng, from Cross and Crown in Melbourne and Stephen Oh, from Sydney Living Hope Community Church.

They all serve on the board of the new The Gospel Coalition Australia Asian Network which is being launched this Friday night.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org.au/Asia/

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Harsh new rules have just been approved by the parliament of the Australian state of Victoria, banning conversion practices relating to sexuality.

The parliament has made illegal practices that have been part of Christian religion since the start of the church.

What does the law say a pastor should do if asked for guidance on matters of sexuality? What does God say? Pastors have questions on what the law says in regards to teaching in church, in small home groups and 1:1, and on how evangelical pastors respond in love to people with questions about personal sexuality.

And significantly when and how should Victorian pastors and Christians obey God and disobey their government?

The Australian Presbyterian Moderator General Rev Peter Barnes has written to congregations saying:

"The Apostle [Paul] considered himself innocent of the blood of all because he proclaimed the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:26-27). We are obliged before God to preach all that He has revealed to us, whether law or gospel, and to do so in a spirit of love and truth.

"There is nothing unique in such legislation. When King Darius exceeded his God-given authority, Daniel did ‘as he had done previously’ (Dan.6:10).

"It is our task to keep on keeping on, to proclaim and to live out so far as we can the gospel of Christ which has been entrusted to us. "

Our guests are Neil Foster, the Associate Professor of Law at Newcastle University, Peter Barnes, the moderator general of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, and Heath Easton, pastor of Drouin Presbyterian Church, just to the east of Warrigul in regional Victoria.

See 'Collision of laws: the impact of Commonwealth law on the Victorian CSP law' by Neil Foster
See 'Victoria's Conversion Practices Bill is as bad as they say it is' by Neil Foster

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We’re speaking to Rowan Kemp, from the Christian Evangelical Union at Sydney University, and Rob Copland, from the University of Wollongong about what changes / innovations they are introducing to better reach students in 2021.

We discuss the new ministry opportunities that have been developed, the challenge to not be timid, and things that students might have missed out on.

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Under God, something a little accidental and thrilling has just happened, so I thought I’d share it here.

A year ago I was invited to speak at a conference in the South West of Sydney called SweatCon. It stands for South West Evangelism and Training Conference.

It was so impressive. There were 20 or so churches working together brilliantly with close collaboration and team work. I came home inspired, encouraged and thrilled to bits.

And so when COVID forced the shutdown of the evangelical training conference that we used to send a few of our people up to each year, I said to the other minsters around here, ‘Let’s see if we can pull it off, to set up a local non residential ministry training conference running over four days.’

And so Cultivate Conference was born. The kind people at SweatCon gave us the strand material. The great trainers from Youthworks came and gave us electives. Plus there was an elective on sexuality from the crew at livingfaith.online

We had four New Testament talks from Bill Salier in the morning and Mike Leite on the Old Testament in the evening. All for $130 a head.

We got local restaurants and cafes to cater. On the first day - over an amazing Lebanese feast that we had for lunch - I met one young lady who came to Christ in March, who was having her first meal at her first Christian conference. I had to tell her. ‘Just so your expectations aren’t shattered about Christian Conferences in the future, in terms of food. It’s all down hill from here.’

Let me tell you what was amazing:

From our church - we had at least four times as many people trained - as we have ever been able to get to go away to a residential external conference.
It was the best inter-church co-operation that I’ve seen in our area in twenty years of ministry.

If it can happen in the hard soil of the inner west of Sydney - then in the many other places where the soil is softer - it’s absolutely possible.

And here’s a thing where the Covid disruption could lead to good. Wouldn’t it be awesome if instead of a total of 5-600 people going to the blue mountains to be trained, across the 26 mission areas of Sydney - there were 26 x 100 people each at one of these local training conferences.

There could be thousands more people being trained and equipped in the ministry of Jesus - who would never go to an overnight dormitory conference in the mountains.

How do you get the strand material? Go to sweat.org.au and send the conference organisers a message, be nice and polite, and you never know what might happen. That’s what I did.

See Sydney Anglicans Article: https://sydneyanglicans.net/news/cultivate-conference

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Christianity in Australia is in decline. The narrative is we had a few golden years at the start, where 96% of the population identified as Christian, but that has been on a gradual decline for decades.

But if that’s the case:

Why does Christianity in Australia go up, not down, after Darwin?
In Australia, why does it go up after WWII?
If the Church was so strong in the middle ages, why was church attendance so sketchy then?

This week, Rory Shiner joins us to discuss the ways that modern understanding is wrong about secularism. Rory believes we’ve accepted a narrative that isn’t true, and are making massive pastoral and missional mistakes because of it.

Rory is here to debunk the idea that science beat Christianity in the age of the enlightenment and that the Western World has been gradually becoming less religious since then. Instead, he points us to the vitality in Australian churches, which is completely separate from the percentage of people who identify as Christian in the census.

Rory brings a message of hope - but also of warning about the complex mistakes we are making as we reach out to the lost, who may not be as secularised as we assumed.

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Adam Lowe from St Bart’s Toowoomba has surveyed his church’s online audience. Of those surveyed he’s broken them down into four categories.

62% are dislocated - physically unable to attend in person church

9.5% are missional - online is a safe way to explore a relationship with God

19% are convenience - those who live nearby but find it easier or prefer to attend online

9.5% are incidental - those who join online when they or a family member is sick or travelling out of town

But what are the next steps for each group, and how do we express our mission to make and mature disciples with those who are gathering online.

Download results of Adam's online survey.
Download questions for the survey.

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The unity of the Australian Anglican Church is hanging by a thread.

Bishop of Tasmania Richard Condie, Dean of Sydney, Kanishka Raffel, and Jennifer Hercott from St Lukes Church in Emerald in Queensland all serve on the Board of GAFCON Australia, a group within the Anglican denomination - who are committed to upholding biblical and historic Christian faith, within Anglicanism

In 2019 the Wangaratta Diocese in Victoria voted to go ahead with blessing same sex unions. That decision was followed by a vote in the Diocese of Newcastle in New South Wales.

The issue was expected to come to a head at the Australian General Synod in June 2020. But COVID put everything on hold, delaying the gathering till June this year.

In the meantime different groups have offered opinions. On the one hand, the Australian Anglican Church’s House of Bishops and Board of Assessors have affirmed the historic and biblical teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman.

Whereas what’s called the Appellate Tribunal has given a majority opinion is that blessing same sex unions are acceptable.

Now, Wangaratta has moved forward. Their former bishop John Parkes has officiated at the blessing of a same sex relationship.

This issue that has previously split the Anglican Church in the United States, in Canada and in New Zealand, with whole new denominations being formed.

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This week we are talking the changing face of world mission with John Lovell, CMS General Secretary, and former missionary turned Vice Principal of Sydney's Moore Theological College, Simon Gillham. John and Simon outline how Covid-19 has reshaped the roles and experiences of missionaries this year, particularly the 30% of CMS missionaries who are serving in secure locations.

They discuss new opportunities and long-lasting improvements in technology focusing on how missionaries have been able to invest in their communities and how their mental health has been supported. We discuss 'gospel poverty' and the differing needs across Europe, Africa and South-East Asia.

John and Simon also celebrate how God is continuing to raise up workers for the harvest, and that they continue to see new candidates for mission, despitedrops in candidates in other spheres of Christian leadership.They also give us a peek behind the scenes as to what to expect from future CMS Summer School conferences and the rigorous process for becoming a missionary [Hint - not everyone is automatically accepted].

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MINISTRY TIP: I think the most important thing that I have been taught in the whole area of Communicating Christ, was to know what you are aiming for, and be focused on getting there.

What we are looking for is repentance and faith. To get repentance you preach Jesus is Lord, to get faith you preach Jesus is saviour.

So I am asking 'Did I preach that clearly? Did I make that clear?'

That's the question for the staff meeting as we review the Christmas or Easter service.

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January is the key time of the year for welcoming newcomers to church in the southern hemisphere. In the northern hemisphere it’s August/September.

But how do we best follow up new people who are moving into the district and looking to join a church? Someone visits your church, but what’s next. What sort of ‘visitor pipeline’ should you have?

What kind of system can be devised that is most effective for welcoming the largest numbers of people over a year? - while making sure that everyone doesn’t get exhausted?

Should you visit? phone? email? text? or nothing?

Where is too much effort just that. Too much effort?

How do you grab the ‘low hanging fruit’?

What mistakes can we avoid? Where should we ignore the American advice here as just being too cultural?

Someone has visited our church and we have invested lots of effort in them, and it’s all come to naught. Someone else visits, we do almost nothing, and they end up joining. What’s with that?

Dave Allen is from Hunter Church in Newcastle and Andy Hobbs from Salt Church in Wollongong. Both have great advice for us in this area.

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We speak to Dan Paterson as he processes the growing terrible scandal involving his former mentor and boss, the late International Apologist Ravi Zacharias.

Dan is the former head of Ravi Zacharias ministries for Australia.

Mr Zacharias died in May 2020.

A preliminary report into complaints against Mr Zacharias has found significant, credible evidence that Mr. Zacharias engaged in sexual misconduct over the course of many years.

“Some of that misconduct is consistent with and corroborative of that which is reported in the news recently, and some of the conduct we have uncovered is more serious.” the report stated.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/ravi-zacharias-abuse

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What is a biblical theology of place?

Matthew Sleeman is a lecturer in New Testament at Oak Hill Theological College in London.

Matthew has two PhD's on the place of PLACE.

Matthew says place is more than point on a map. Place contributes to making us who we are. And we contribute to making the place what it is. We are shaped by our places and we paint ourselves onto places.

Places are locations for ministries, discipleship and living for Jesus.

(Recorded prior to COVID travel and social distancing restrictions)

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For many singles, Christmas and January is a very difficult and challenging time of year. A time to be endured rather than a time to be enjoyed.

It’s Christmas. But it’s also January when many of the structured church life things are in recess.

But there are things that as church leaders we can do to be a blessing to our single friends

Dr Dani Treweek has just completed her PhD on Singleness and joins us on The Pastor’s Heart.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/lovingsingles-christmas-january

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Telling the difference between domestic violence and dysfunctional relationship? - with Magdalena Liem

For us as senior pastors one of the things most important to get right is when someone comes to report domestic violence.

We often meet these issues when we are not expecting to. There’s often high emotion and high stakes.

How do we pastor the victim well, and also the person accused of being responsible? And is there any potential way back?

Experienced Counsellor Magdalena Liem from Newroads Counselling is with me.

Magdalena used to work in Christian Pastoral Ministry in church and on campuses, but for twenty years she’s been involved in counselling. And part of what she does is training counsellors in the domestic violence space.

Magdalena is with us for a ‘crash course’ on how to handle these issues.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/domestic-violence-or-dysfunctional-relationship

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The dominant topic in church staff room meetings in New South Wales today is, what to do this Sunday about singing?

Should we sing without masks or not?

The NSW Government is saying, while singing is permitted, masks are recommended for the congregation, whether or not the congregation is inside or outside.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney Antony Fisher has written to Catholics saying they can sing without masks.

Sydney Anglican Archbishop Glenn Davies has been more circumspect. See his letter here: https://j.mp/3gsfHgb

But, Decisions are clearly left to local church leaders to work out how best to apply the guidelines. Different churches are expected to make different decisions.

We workshop the issues with the senior minister of St Michael’s Cathedral Wollongong Sandy Grant and the pastor of Tom Melbourne from the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.

Village Church Annandale's Place of Worship COVID safe planVillage Church Annandale's Restaurant and Cafe COVID safe plan

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It seems virtually overnight Christians and Christian leaders have gone from the ‘good guys’ in the society to the ‘bad guys.’ The speed of change has blindsided us.

The new religion of sexual identity and sexual freedom is on the ascendancy. It’s proclaimed as the locus of deep and lasting meaning, where the truly authentic life is.

But secularism is not neutral. We used to work on the assumption that public square would be a neutral venue where ideas could be discussed freely. We prepared for an open market. We didn’t realise that there would be huge tariffs.

There are two competing narratives in the west, locked in a death grip. And what happens to the ‘Western Ship’ as society loses its moorings from the Christian Gospel and drifts into unchartered waters. What will a post Christian existence look like? Full of fear and empty of human kindness.

Is there any light in this darkness. Stephen McAlpine argues yes, in his book to be released in the new year, ‘Being the bad guys.’

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/being-the-bad-guys

Purchase copies at: https://bit.ly/beingthebadguys

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“Victorian State Government pushes to ban Christian practices with threat of 10 years in prison” - a headline that should have every Christian leader pause. This week on the Pastor’s Heart, we’re discussing upcoming legislation that is being pushed in Victoria. The Change of Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Bill 2020 has consequences of 10 years imprisonment for anyone engaging in “change of suppression practices.” Expert reading of the bill suggest this threatens religious freedom and implicates Bible Studies, Church services and even one-to-one prayer. This week - we talk with key Christian leaders from Victoria: Murray Campbell and Chris Duke along with Law Professor Neil Foster about the ramifications of this bill. We’ll discuss the details of the bill, the implications for Christians in Victoria and wider implications for Churches across Australia and the Western world. We’ll also discuss how Christian leaders can respond and opportunities to clarify and limit the scope of the bill. Advertisment:
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This week on The Pastor’s Heart, Dominic interviews evangelist Sam Chan about his latest book: How To Talk About Jesus (Without Being That Guy). Written for the everyday Christian, How To Talk About Jesus provides practical ways anyone can share Jesus in a way which is relevant to today.

Dominic and Sam will explore the narratives people believe and how Jesus speaks into them, where our society is at in their understanding of Christianity and what it looks like to have a lifestyle of evangelism. Dominic will put to Sam some of the criticisms of his book, including a challenge that the truth of the cross and propitiation is lacking and if he is discounting that some might be specifically called to be evangelists.

They will also discuss how culture has changed and what that means for how Churches and individuals should look to speak the gospel.

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Teens of today are less likely to grow up in a religious family or attend Church, and yet we are still seeing vibrant protestant youth ministries across many cities.

This week, Youthworks College Dean of Women Ruth Lukabyo joins us to discuss a pioneering model of youth ministry including peer groups, ministry collaboration and cultivating ministry leadership for young people.

Ruth’s new book ‘From a ministry for youth to a ministry of youth’ looks at pivotal developments in youth ministry in the 1930’s which have impacted all ministry to young people since then.

She takes us through the potential and importance in youth ministry, the significant achievements of young people in the past and how Churches can creatively develop new methods of ministry today. We'll discuss the difference between viewing Youth as 'trainee Christians' or 'Christians', how important it is not to under estimate young people. We also discuss the way ministry strategy changes to suit the relevant context.
Ruth Lukabyo is a lecturer at Youthworks College and author of From a Ministry for Youth to a Ministry of Youth.

Purchase Ruth’s book, 'From a ministry for you to a ministry of youth.'

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We talk winning our workmates & neighbours to Jesus. Plus leading our homes and and the battle against porn.

At last weekend’s Men Meeting the Challenge Conference, Dominic Steele led a panel discussion of leaders in the Australian men’s ministry space, canvassing how we can win our workmates and neighbours to Jesus.

David Robertson is an Evangelist & Pastor from Scotland and now with Third Space and City Bible Forum; Grant Borg is an Evangelist and Church Planter in south western Sydney; Martyn Iles leads the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) and Tony Payne is a Christian author and publisher with Matthias Media and now back in Student Ministry at UNSW.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/saving-the-souls-of-men

For details and to register for for next March’s Men Meeting the Challenge Conference

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The report has just been released into abuse at The Crowded House, an evangelical church in Sheffield in the UK.

It’s a 98 page report exploring the spiritual abuse allegations that were levelled at the senior pastor Steve Timmis, author of the influential church leadership manual Total Church, and who was at the time the CEO of the global church planting movement Acts 29

The key question the authors attempted to address was to give a ‘comprehensive picture of Steve Timmis’ activities in relationship to the alleged harm caused to individuals, while serving as an elder at The Crowded House?’

A key report finding is that,

‘There is sufficient evidence for the reviewers to conclude that whether intentionally or unintentionally the culture at The Crowded House was one in which some instances of emotional and/or psychological abuse took place as a result of persistent coercive and controlling behaviour in the name of Christian vision and ministry.’

Steve McAlpine was a trainee with The Crowded House in 2007, has written extensively on these matters. He’s a senior pastor, a blogger and evangelist with the City Bible Forum’s Third Space.

Read the response to the report from the The Crowded House elders here.

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Did you watch the Social Dilemma and consider throwing your phone (and the apps installed!) out the window. This week's we are thinking through the pastoral opportunities and dangers of social media. Marshall Ballantine Jones joins Dominic Steele to discuss the impact of social media use on pastor's, particularly with regards to encouraging self promotion and narcissistic tendencies. In the light of the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, Marshall outlines how we can use social media in a God-glorifying way and model this to our congregations too.

Dominic and Marshall also discuss the impact of social media on young people, self-esteem and conscience, outlining relevant dangers and opportunities for growth.

We reflect on key questions regarding our intent, objectives and priorities when it comes to interacting online. Including: How do we get our hearts right? What are we seeking to do? How we can use social media well? What pitfalls are there to avoid?

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Today we explore the journey Tertullian to Thomas Jefferson or how the issues of Religious Liberty and Freedom of Conscience don’t actually spring out of the Enlightenment but from the pages of the New Testament.

Dr Sarah Irving Stonebraker has caused quite a splash this week with her Richard Johnston Lecture on Thursday night.

Sarah is a Senior Lecturer in Modern European History, and teaches in History and Political Thought at the University of Western Sydney.

Link to Sarah's Richard Johnson lecture: the forgotten story of religious liberty
Watch the address by Greg Peisley's son Blake Peisley referred to in this episode.

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We are discussing the logistics of Christmas in COVID, with Pete Steadman and Stuart Crawshaw.

With limitations around singing, gathering and social distancing in place, today we are discussing the most effective way to connect with our communities and share the gospel. Carols, Gingerbread, Wreath Making and even Christmas services typically rely on large groups of people coming together and feeling comfortable within the Church space.

We’ll discuss Christmas and Christmas Eve services, outreach opportunities and even what carolling can look like amidst the current circumstances.

Stu Crawshaw pastors Soul Revival in Sydney’s South. Pete Stedman pastors Norwest Anglican in the north west of Sydney.

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On today’s special episode of the Pastor’s Heart, we’re discussing issues surrounding religious freedom and church gatherings on the way out of COVID.

There’s been an important court ruling on this in Washington DC, where Capitol Hill Baptist Church have won their legal challenge against imposed limits on congregational gatherings.

Here in Australia, the New South Wales Government continue to limit church gatherings to just 100, while commercial activities can have as many as 300 in attendance.

Today we’re hearing from Neil James Foster, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Newcastle and Ray Galea, Senior Pastor of MBM Rooty Hill.

See Neil Foster's blog: https://lawandreligionaustralia.blog/.../capitol-hill.../

Contact the NSW Premier's office: https://www.nsw.gov.au/premier-of-nsw/contact-premier

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As general secretary of GAFCON, Nigeria’s Archbishop of Jos Ben Kwashi is one of the world’s most influential Anglican leaders.

With GAFCON representing two thirds of the world’s Anglicans, Archbishop Kwashi has been described as the most influential person in the Anglican Communion.

Nine days ago rumours started to circulate on social media that he’d been diagnosed with Colon Cancer.

Archbishop Kwashi joins us to give an update on his health, the 74 orphans who live with him and his wife Gloria, plus news on navigating COVID in Africa and the future of the GAFCON.

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Queensland University’s Dean of Law Patrick Parkinson says we are facing a fall of Rome moment in Western Societies. Christendom is over. We need to not put our trust in princes in the way that American evangelicals have disastrously done so.

He says the signs of erosion are clear in the fundamental pillars of society. Freedoms of speech, religion, association and conscience have all impacted.

Professor Parkinson has been speaking at the New College lectures at the University of New South Wales

You can watch the lectures in full here, here and here.

Reference the survey of 10,000 people in 11 countries where Christian women in faith based relationships are 50% more likely to report that they are strongly satisfied with their sexual relationship than their secular counterparts.

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It sounds so simple. And yet it’s clear from the statistics (National Church Life) that people in some congregations are reporting much growth in faith, while people in others are reporting not much at all.

And isn’t it what we all want: For the sheep that God has given us the task of being under shepherds for - to report that they have grown significantly in faith this year?

Tom Harricks and Roger Cunningham are two of the ministers featured in a new report for the Anglican Church in Sydney who have achieved better than average results.

We could have talked to the report authors. But we’ve chosen to interview the report subjects and find out what the key ingredients are… so we can learn from them and steal from their recipes.

To see the images referred to in this broadcast go to: https://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/growthinfaith

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It's a spiritual temperature check as we take the pulse on the relationship between church involvement in local missions and support for overseas missions.

Many Churches are under renewed pressure this year, but Sydney Missionary & Bible College lecturer Tim Silberman says his PhD resesarch indicates turning our eyes outwards to global mission actually helps grow local evanglism as well.

We discuss the factors that contribute to the evangelistic heartbeat of a local Church, how Church size and denomination impacts their mission involvement and what this means for how we lead our Churches.

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Some of the recent discussions about the post COVID church attendance drop has focused on the issues of health. But there are also anxiety issues, spiritual heart problems and an element of spiritual war where the devil whispers ‘it’s not safe to go to the place where the word of God is!’

We take an informal poll of ministers to find out what’s happening with their ‘return to church,’ plus discussion on whether it’s heart, head or health, and how to have conversations when it’s a problem of the heart.

Senior Minister of St Matthews West Pymble and All Saints West Lindfield, Antony Barraclough has researched and published on ‘The Pen is a Few Sheep Short - the patterns and reasons for modern church attendance by committed Christians.’

Plus Stuart Starr urges Christians not to leave the last Tim Tam in the pack for someone else, drawing a really helpful post COVID analogy!

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The average Christian gives only 2.5% But the first step in getting our churches finances right is getting our own hearts and finances right.

In a raw and real conversation Arya Darmaputra and Kevin Hines from Thesauros Consulting talk to Dominic Steele about the heart of the pastor as it relates to money.

How have we been swept along by the currents of the world? How we can take significant steps to getting our own hearts and finances right and then start to lead our churches really well in this area - especially through modelling?

How much do you need to SPEND? How much should you SAVE? How we can best approach GIVING? What is the difference between SAVING and INVESTING? And why you should only invest in instruments that you understand.

Episode page: http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/where-your-money-is

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In a special edition today, we address a key issue :- Should you personally choose to use a COVID-19 vaccine candidate that makes use of a cell line cultured from an electively aborted human fetus?

To put it super bluntly: If I get vaccinated for covid-19 am I complicit in an abortion?

Our guests -

Megan Best is a bioethicist who has promoted a Christian view of medical ethics for over 20 years. Megan is the author of two books on ethics at the beginning of life: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made and A Life Already Started, as well as many articles on ethics and spiritual care at the end of life.
Chase Kuhn is the director for the Centre for Christian Living and lectures on theology and ethics at Moore College in Sydney.

Today's discussion follows the release of a letter jointly signed by the Sydney Archbishops of the Anglican, Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches calling for ethical research on COVID-19 vaccines.

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How do we create a dual audience church? How do we do church live and well simultaneously for both those physically in the room audience and at the same time for those linking in via online stream.

Dominic Steele has argued we shouldn’t be leading for recovery from COVID, but rather for at least medium term endurance. Today Karl Faase, Simon Hunter and Jodie McNeil join Dominic to discuss what’s technically required to produce church for both mediums at the same time.

Jodie McNeil pastors Jamberoo Anglican Church south of Sydney. Karl Faase is a director of Olive Tree Media and the creator of Jesus the Game Changer. Simon Hunter is a writer, producer and director. He is director of Waterloo Studios, Sydney.

Jodie has kindly written up a paper on how to achieve 'better than average streaming results on a minimal budget.'

Episode link: http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/dualaudience

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Across the Western world theological college enrolments are down. Today it’s the third part of a conversation about this problem. Specifically we are focusing on the issues of Sydney.

We’re exploring the joint issues of not enough people putting themselves forward for ministry and the shortage of senior ministers for Sydney’s Anglican Churches.

Moore Theological College Lecturer Mark Earngey and St George North Assistant Minister Mike Leite have been researching for several years the underlying issues that have contributed to the Sydney minister drought.

Mike’s responsible for editing the recently released booklet ‘Sydney Anglican Ministry.’ Mark is behind the latest edition of the Australian Church Record Journal.

Plus we review the important ‘From Sydney to the World’ online conference held on the weekend, which was aimed at putting recruiting for ministry back on the agenda.

Promotion: For information about Liberty’s Lifelong Faithfulness Conference go to www.liberty.sydney

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How to exercise calm present leadership when there’s disappointment, constant change and pressure from every side?

Understanding what’s going on psychologically now with your church, team and you? How to best care for your team? And how to lead now when anxiety levels keep oscillating as the risk from the virus waxes and wanes (and are likely to for the next two years).

Plus navigating how to lead when there are so many different views inside and outside the team about which direction you and your church should take.

Robert Creech is Director of Pastoral Ministries at the George W Truett Theological Seminary Waco in Texas and was senior pastor of University Baptist Church in Houston, Texas for 22 years.

Robert says we should

‘… abandon both optimism and despair and serve with hope. Jurgen Moltmann says the two sins against hope are optimism and despair. Optimism is groundless. Despair is faithless. Jim Collins (Good to Great) gave us the “Stockdale Paradox.” When asked about what POWs did not make it out of their Viet Nam imprisonment, James Stockdale said, “the optimists.” Those who were constantly saying, “We’ll be out of this by Easter, or Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or New Year” were constantly disappointed by reality. They had no grounds for such false hopes. It was the realists, Stockdale said, who survived. This is an important perspective to hold during these days. Depending on who is prognosticating, we may be in this social distancing mode for some time. We should prepare ourselves to do our ministry in this situation for the long-haul. Hope is not optimism. It is, for the Christian, a part of a realistic outlook. The Easter reality is that in whatever future we find ourselves, God is present, God is with us. He is our hope. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 15:13).

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/calmpresentleadership

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Australian church leaders need to make a philosophical shift in every aspect of our ministry, away from leading for recovery and towards planning to lead for endurance.

We need to start using the catchcry, ‘Not Recovery, But endurance, ’ in order to set our people’s expectations right.

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Rob Smith has been a global leader in evangelical music for three decades. He has a new book out ‘Come, Let us Sing!’ just as singing has been restricted in many churches due to COVID-19.

Rob joins us to talk about some of the principles he’s discovered in a lifetime’s work in Evangelical Music, plus how the current pandemic has caused course corrections.

We’re asking how do we engage with God and engage with each other best in normal circumstances and in the current pandemic. What part does music play in praising, praying and preaching together.

What advice is there for musicians and church leaders on navigating current restrictions (like no congregational singing, one song leader, social distancing etc) in regards to song choices, instrumentation, arrangements, number of songs, introduction, arrangement of meeting, use of the screen, pressure on musicians, leading the congregation in song vs performance ?

To buy Rob’s new book go to: https://bit.ly/comeletussing

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After three years of researching the pornography problem and what to do about it, Marshall Ballentine Jones has a message of hope.

The same stats keep recurring – 70% of males and 20% of females struggle with pornography use.

This is true in Christian schools, our churches, and ministry staff. Pornography negatively impacts individuals, their relationships, and society. Males are more likely to initiate sexualised behaviour over social media (called ‘sexting’), while females are more likely to be targets of sexting. If this is news to you - please check out the resistporn.org site, which has the research.

There is a long list of people in our ranks affected by pornography. No one is immune, and the problem remains urgent. Marshall has been on a quest has been to help find effective solutions.

There is no easy fix or silver bullet, but he’s recommending a four pronged tested strategy to as a way forward: 1. Communication, 2 Containment, 3. Co-operation and 4. Clinical support.

More details and to subscribe: http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/pornography

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Thousands of people attended Grace Community Church in Los Angeles today, the evangelical megachurch led by Pastor John MacArthur junior.

And the church elders have put out a statement defending their decision, ‘Christ, not Caesar is the head of the church.’

Moore Theological College’s New Testament lecturer Dr Lionel Windsor and Northmead Anglican Church’s Senior Pastor Adrian Russell join us to discuss the decision.

More online at http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/caesar

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Across the Western World there’s a drop in people stepping up for ordination.

There’s a critical problem here in Sydney, with more than ten percent of churches without a senior minister.

How have we come from ‘oversupply’ just a few years ago to ‘crucial shortage’?

And what can we change?

A fortnight ago we spoke to former Sydney Dean Phillip Jensen and he rolled a 'hand grenade down the aisle.'

Today we talk to two of Sydney’s leading senior ministers Phil Colgan and Simon Flinders about possible ways forward.

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An evangelical lion: JI Packer

Today we remember JI Packer with two of Australian evangelicalism’s most respected leaders Mark Thompson and Peter Jensen.

Dr Packer died yesterday in Vancouver, leaving his wife Kit and children Ruth, Martin and Naomi.

Moore Theological College Principal Mark Thompson says Dr Packer was one of the three great giants of 20th century evangelicalism.

Former Archbishop of Sydney Dr Jensen says Dr Packer gave us a robust confidence in the authority of the word of God, and taught us the crucial importance of evangelism.

Dr Thompson says “Jim’s book Fundamentalism and the Word of God (1958) was life-changing for many. He gave our confidence in the Bible a new depth and resilience. Slightly later, his book Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (1961) demonstrated the way a clear reformed theology, with an emphasis on God’s sovereignty in all things, not least in salvation, went hand in hand with a confident and gracious evangelism.”

To purchase JI Packer’s books click here.

Header image credit: The Gospel Coalition

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How do we plan for next year, when we don’t even know what the next few months will look like? Normally at this time of year, we are working out our vision, plans and budgets for the upcoming year, including staffing, growth, mission plans. How can we do that?

This week, we’re talking about how to plan for 2021, when we don’t know what physical or financial situation our congregations will be in. What is reasonable? What is too ambitious? How can we best prepare our churches for the next 12 months.

Our guests are New Life Oran Park's Stuart Starr and Grace City Church's Tim Clemens

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The minister drought and what to do about it? - with Phillip Jensen

There’s been an across the board drop in people stepping up to serve in full time ministry roles whether as senior pastors, assistant pastors or people putting themselves forward to study at theological college.

We had the Principal of Moore Theological College, Mark Thompson on The Pastor's Heart a few months ago and he said that enrolments are down for theological colleges across the western world.

It’s very different to twenty years ago, when all the talk at Moore College was of continued growth.

Humanly speaking Phillip Jensen was the person in Sydney used by God most significantly to prompt the explosion in gospel workers.

We ask Phillip what are the factors that have contributed to the slump, and what needs to be done?

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We are discussing a Christian response to Indigenous Australians. We talk the character of God, mistakes made in the past and present, and how we can lead our Churches to promote reconciliation.

We’ll be looking at how we can acknowledge our history and better support Indigenous Christian leaders.

Neville Naden is BCA’s first Indigenous Ministry Officer. Together with his wife Kathie, Neville seeks to support those at the coal face who minister to our First Nations people, many of whom live in rural and remote communities.

Kanishka Raffel, Dean of the Sydney Anglican Cathedral and head of the Sydney Anglican Indigenous Ministry Taskforce.

Download: A Theological Framework for Reconciliation, With Special Reference to The Indigenous Peoples of Australia (A Resource Paper for the Sydney Anglican Indigenous Ministry Task Force)

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The Alpha Course is 'emotionally powerful but theologically confused'.

“Personally, I wouldn’t be game to use something that I know is inadequate” - Christian Author Tony Payne has watched through the latest Alpha materials, and joins Dominic Steele to work through the strengths and weaknesses of the course.

This conversation is a high level discussion of the Alpha course, beginning with the heart of the Christian leader and our obligation to build upon strong gospel foundations.

Tony acknowledges Alpha's high production values, and powerful emotional content, but says Alpha still reflects CH Dodd's influence, 'There was a strong movement in theology to stand against the idea that God is judge of all the world, and that God's primary and only stand towards us is love. And that our problem with God is that sin has natural cause and effect consequence, with no sense that sin is a personal offence to God, and that God is deeply angry with us and our sin.'

'It's a gospel in which sin is the doing of bad stuff that has bad consequences, and that God's attitude to us is only love. And that what happens on the cross is a dealing with sin, a paying the price. But there's no explanation of what that means.'

Tony also challenges us to reflect: are we trusting God to save people, or relying on our own ability to 'reshape' the message of the gospel to seem reasonable and attractive and explains his own reasons behind choosing not to use the course.

Listen to the full conversation - regardless of whether you use the Alpha course or not - it is a good opportunity to reflect on our hearts towards evangelism.

Tony Payne is the founding editor of Matthias Media, and Writer-in-residence at Campus Bible Study in Sydney. He has written (or co-authored) numerous books and ministry resources, including The Trellis and the Vine, and currently publishes an online blog/podcast called The Payneful Truth.

Disclaimer: Tony Payne is one of the authors of Two Ways to Live. Dominic Steele is an author of Introducing God.

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On The Pastor’s Heart, Robert Smith joins us to discuss Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling’s critique of the binary understanding of sex and gender and how we as Christian leaders can equip our churches to address these complex and controversial issues.

Rowling’s comments in a series of tweets and an online essay have sparked an intense social media backlash.

"It isn't enough for women to be trans allies. Women must accept and admit that there is no material difference between trans women and themselves." - J.K. Rowling.

She’s spoken of people who have regretted their transition, and an over representation of autistic females in those wanting to transition.

We’ll bring together questions about freedom of speech, supporting and championing women and children, a biblical view of manhood and womanhood.

Plus there’s a wider question here about social media pile-on, cancel-culture and the use of labels like “TERF” and “transphobic” to shut down conversation.

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Check-ins, singing, 4 square meters and the way out of COVID-19.

The Australian Prime Minister says in stage three of the Post Covid-19 reopening, groups will be able to meet with no upper limit on numbers from July, but there will be a blanket rule of 4 square meters per person.

However, all visitors to buildings will be required to checkin and provide contact details. For churches that have had no pastoral monitoring of who is attending, this is likely to be a revolution.

But how to handle the technological upgrade necessary?

We are talking today with Bishop Gary Koo, who heads the Sydney Anglican COVID-19 taskforce, and two Australian IT wizards Melbourne’s Cade Embery, founder of http://www.fluro.io and Sydney’s Nick Utber, from Open Box technology and https://www.adminosaur.com/.

Subscribe at: https://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/check-ins-singing-4-square-meters

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We are talking Kotter's principles of change managment and how they apply to church leadership in this post COVID-19 season where the immediate steps forward may not be clear.

We need to lead to change. But for some of us senior pastors (as things keep changing) it’s not obvious where we want to go! And yet we need to take everyone with us.

As we move to restarting physical meetings post COVID19, for some churches it’s relatively straightforward, for others it’s going to be impossible for quite some time, but for a significant number restarting is possible - but will require a significant rearrangement.

Peter Mayrick is back with us from Sydney’s Center for Ministry Development at Moore Theological College.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/changepostcovid19

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The Australian Government has recommended the reopening process go through a series of stages.

New guidelines have been released for churches in NSW. But they have been changed since the original ones we discussed on The Pastor’s Heart with Bishop Michael Stead a fortnight ago.

In NSW we are at Stage 2 (50 people gatherings) and stage 3 (100 people) is expected in July.

Bishop Michael Stead is back for an extra discussion…. On social distancing and implementing the health department guidelines.

Credit: Contains an excerpt of a video from a Gondwana Choir's Webinar. The research material is produced by Prateek Bahl, Charitha de Silva, Con Doolan and Raina MacIntyre, UNSW.

Michael Stead has produced this extra paper.

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All ministry is vulnerable during the COVID-19 season. But kids and youth ministries especially. How can we reduce that vulnerability?

Kids and youth connections have been difficult online for months now.

Kids are over Zoom after weeks of online school.

As we turn our attention to the restart, How do we regroup, recover and restart the young people ministries?

Plus how do the principles of Adaptive Change apply in the kids and youth space?

Ed Springer is a consultant with Sydney’s Anglican Youthworks.
And Dave Hopper consults for the Youth Network of the Queensland Presbyterian Church.

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In New South Wales, Australia churches are permitted to gather for meetings of 50 from Monday, but are not permitted to have communal singing. Rob Smith, Curtis Smith & Dr Charlotte Hespe discuss.

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant says, "Communal singing and chanting should not occur because of the high risk of transmission of the virus. Instead, measures such as one singer standing at least three metres away from others would be safer.”

In a special edition of The Pastor’s Heart we talk about the future of singing in church with Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Council Member, and Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame, Doctor Charlotte Hespe, Songwriter and author of ‘Come, Let us Sing’ Rob Smith and Music Director of Church by the Bridge and St. Augustine's Anglican Church, Neutral Bay, Curtis Smith.

Some of our questions we consider are:

Why singing matters for personal health / why singing together matters for church health.
What does the science say about singing and the risks of droplet spread?
What if it’s not safe to sing together? – greater good ethical dilemmas
What if we’re prohibited from singing together? – thinking through our response
Is singing with masks on an option?
Reconceiving church in the short to medium term
Singing privately / singing in families
How do we navigate a way forward as churches?

NSW Government health department checklist:
https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/industry-guidelines/places-of-worship

Neil Foster’s helpful blogpost. https://lawandreligionaustralia.blog/2020/05/30/worship-in-coronavirus-time-the-latest-nsw-rules/
Here's the NSW government's official media release:
https://www.nsw.gov.au/media-releases/changes-for-worship-weddings-and-funerals

Here are the NSW health department rules.https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/_emergency/Public%20Health%20(COVID-19%20Restrictions%20on%20Gathering%20and%20Movement)%20Order%20(No%203)%202020.pdf

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We are addressing how we care for and lead our congregations on the way back. We are seeing states quickly move through the different stages of opening up.

How do we handle the fear of change, and navigate the decisions of starting to meet again. How do we help our members flourish in community while keeping a physical distance? How can we come through this stronger? What about the feelings that they and we are experiencing, and how can we support them through the next few months?

The best advice for Australian churches is still to expect a protracted period with congregations limited to 100 people, with one person per four square metres, for many Churches, this necessitates change, with congregations to be divided or planted.

Jenny Brown heads The Family Systems Practice, is an experienced family systems therapist and the author of Growing Yourself Up.

Nigel Fortesque is the senior minister of Christ Church St Ives. Nigel’s survey of congregational attitudes to the reboot is here.

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Brian Tung says leading our churches successfully out of COVID-19 is going to be much more complex than the journey in.

He says don’t squander the God-given opportunity to make ‘real’ change in the COVID-19 rollback.
How do you fix it even when it’s not broken? Note, People don’t hate change. They hate loss. How do you make the most of the productive zone of disequilibrium. Plus how to take small risks smartly with experiments.

Brian Tung is the senior minister of St Georges Hurstville in Sydney’s South and he has a doctorate in ministry leadership.

Watch online at http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/adaptiveleadership

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The road forward . Four scenarios and three questions for every church leadership team.

Churches are starting to plan for a post shutdown world. The Australian Prime Minister has announced a three stage road map, of gatherings of

stage one = 10 people,
stage two = 20 people,
and stage three = 100 people.

But significantly stage three could run for a very long time.

Adam Lowe is senior pastor of St Barts Toowoomba, as well as being a psychologist who has focused on organisations. Gary Koo is the Bishop leading the Sydney Anglican Church’s Covid-19 Diocesan Taskforce.

Adam outlines four key scenarios facing churches and a series of three questions that churches need to address. Link here. See also an article on strategic change by Adam Lowe here.

Gary Koo says there are key lessons we have learned:

We’ve had more people engage with our church services than when we met physically
Online church has provided opportunities for those with chronic health issues to attend more regularly
Online fellowship has been helpful for those who find it difficult to initiate conversation
Older members have adapted better than may have been expected.
It has provided opportunities for inter-generational encouragement
Socially disadvantaged areas have been impacted disproportionately
Smaller churches have been impacted disproportionately
People value church connection possibly more than we realised
There is competition for our people’s time that stops them from engaging
A lot of church life involves doing what isn’t ‘essential’
Churches dependent on rental income have been hit hard.
There is a disparity between the mental resilience of our senior ministers and our assistant ministers. What is the cause of this?
People may not have access to a reliable pathway to access mental health
resources
Multiply redundant communication is necessary for messaging
Pastoral care has been undertaken in a more intentional way than before.
People have valued ministers making personal contact with them

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A three step plan to reopen Australia - with Peter MayrickWe are reacting quickly to the announcement today from Australia’s Prime Minister Morrison of a three step program to re-open Australia by July.Peter Mayrick, from the Moore College Center for Ministry Development joins us to unpack this. Peter Mayrick has recently completed a survey of churches and ministers on how we are negotiating COVID-19. Peter is clear that this is an opportunity for Churches to reflect on every aspect of ministry.

We’ll discuss what this means for the Church landscape in Australia

▪ | How to make this happen with credibility and trust?
▪ | How this impacts smaller and larger Churches differently?
▪ | What will small groups look like socially distanced?
▪ | Our natural response and how to fight against that
▪ | How to communicate with our leaders and congregations
▪ | How to build community

He has very kindly come in to talk to us about his report released today.

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Lots of our churches have been using evangelistic courses as part of our long term strategy. But many leaders and evangelism teams are nervous about how to lead in the new world of online evangelistic courses.

Laura Riley was leading a term one evangelistic course that switched to online halfway through. And she’s now co-ordinating a fully-online course that started on Easter Monday with 13 guests and four hosts.

Laura’s joined by Michael Nguyen, who became a Christian as part of an introducing God course last year and is now helping facilitate.

We’ll discuss the nitty gritty of how to make an online evangelistic course work including:

How do you make the initial connection work?
How and where did we find the members in this group?
How to make guests feel relationally safe?
The difference age makes in how people relate and connect online?
How does the discussion work?
What is the timing on the night?
Who is in the courses? How different is this to who we might normally see?
Any key mistakes to avoid?
Would you keep running a digital evangelistic course post COVID-19?

Visit the Introducing God website.
Download the Introducing God online promo video
Watch the full Introducing God training video online (free)
Watch the full Introducing God course online (free)

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Having focused on the how-to’s of Covid-10, this week we are focusing on us: our personal lives, our teams and our relationship with Jesus during Covid-19. Greg Lee, senior pastor of Hunter Bible Church and Kirsty Bucknell, a researcher who have developed a program for resilience and mental health, join us to help senior leaders support their teams for the long term, big picture. Rather than fumble through, this is a key moment to pause and consider how we can build stronger teams throughout the next few months.

We discuss what our Church and staff teams need from their senior leaders, how to build a robust team culture throughout Covid-19 and how to function as a team not used to working remotely and the best ways to build a culture of fun. We also discuss the multiple different reactions and responses members of our team may have and how we can best pastor them and their families.

We drill down on how to encourage and invest in staff teams whose job descriptions have been thrown out the window and are on a steep (and uncomfortable!) learning curve. Kirsty and Greg emphasise a focus on beginning with our own mental health and suggest strategies to identify stressors, personally and for staff.

Greg and Kirsty bring very different perspectives to the conversation, Greg leads a staff team of 24 at Hunter Bible Church in Newcastle, whereas Kirsty as an organisational psychologist with a clinical perspective on healthy teams.

For more on Kirsty Bucknell’s Resilience in Ministry program: https://tinyurl.com/RiM-Registration

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What should we be aiming for now? What does a win look like?

Most of us have been doing Church online while socially distancing for a month - but aside from getting a video service online at the right time, how do we measure success right now?

Is it likes on Facebook? Online “attendance”? Reach? Number of people engaging in Bible study groups?

This week on The Pastor’s Heart, we speak with Tim Clemens and Dave Miers about what a Church should be aiming for and how they can measure success during Covid-19. All ministries cost a certain amount of resources, so this week we discuss how to track effectiveness, when our traditional measures are much harder to gauge.

We’ll discuss how we can be seeking to grow God’s kingdom, setting goals for where our ministries will be when restrictions are reduced, measuring weekly successes and how to decide which ministries to continue to invest in. We also discuss what to aim for specifically in terms of mission and maturity.

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We talk to TV professionals Evan Batten & Paul Richards about how preachers can best use video to effectively share the gospel.

We discuss the similarities and differences of presenting to a full room of people versus to a camera, how to relax and the difference post production can help make in capturing and keeping attention.

Paul and Evan discuss camera angles, scripts, how to relax, lighting, speech, genre, scripting, what to wear, where to look and how to incorporate other congregation members. They also discuss how to be conversational, make it relatable and add warmth and emotion.

It’s a conversation for every skill level - to help pastor’s talk about the gospel in as effective way as possible.

Paul Richards, who now is media and outreach director for the Australian Academy of Science, has spent 10 years as supervising producer for Seven Network’s Sunrise and Evan Batten is an on air news reporter.

More at: https://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/what-tv-professionals-want

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The zeitgeist has changed profoundly in the last month. Our 2020 vision calendar has been ripped up. We can’t predict what will happen next week, or even tomorrow.

As we prepare online presentations for Good Friday and Easter Sunday in this tumultuous context, two of Australia’s leading Chistian communicators Mike Raiter and Sam Chan join Dominic Steele to talk about how COVID-19 has changed our task.

Mike Raiter is from Melbourne’s Center for Biblical Preaching and Sam Chan is an evangelist with City Bible Forum, Sydney.

We discuss the following questions:

How has being online changed the audience for our sermons?
How do we show the relevance of the gospel to a culture which is reeling?
How should communicating online be different to an in person Church service?
How do we connect with gospel-curious people in an online sphere?
What questions are our covid impacted communities asking about God?
How will these changes we are implementing now impact how we do Church into the future?

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This week on The Pastor's Heart we talk big COVID changes: individualism and community, autonomy and submission, free press & censorship, materialism, wealth and its assumptions and the seriousness of life.

Plus the massive advantages for ministry and evangelism in a society which has much more time on our hands and is much more aware of the reality of death.

Plus we ask Phillip how Christian leaders can honour Jesus, loving the flock and reach the lost in the Corona season.

More at: http://www.thepastorsheart.net

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"Our buildings are shut down, but we can’t shut down our identity of being salt and light and love for the world"

Buildings closed. Hearts open with Sydney Archbishop Glenn Davies

Sydney Anglicans Archbishop Glenn Davies joins Dominic Steele in a live broadcast to answer questions on how we can lead our churches through the COVID-19 crisis.

From midday Monday (23 March) religious gatherings and places of worship have been shut down in Australia, with only a small exception for small weddings and funerals.

The restrictions turn church life on its head.

Archbishop Davies spoke to The Pastor's Heart today, pointing us to God's plan while also warning our Churches to prepare for the current conditions to last up to six months.

We're discussing the implications, challenges and opportunities for the church.

Check out the Sydney Anglican web page on COVID-19 responses here.

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Leading your church in the corona era with Pastor Eugene Hor, Bishop Gary Koo and Dr Irmgard Pascoe

How to give spiritual leadership in a highly anxious season?
How to lead from the word of God?
What does calm leadership look like?
How can we lead when other church leaders around us are making different calls?
Why do different contexts lead to different decisions?
How to see this season as a blessing from God - that might lead to missional benefits?
How to act not in selfishness, but in love and care for our neighbours?
Navigating the finances of the church?

Dr Irmgard Pascoe is a general practitioner with an interest in immunology and public health, Bishop Gary Koo is leading the Sydney Anglican Churches response to COVID-19 and Pastor Eugene Hor leads the English ministry at GracePoint Presbyterian Burwood.

See Dominic Steele's message to his congregation on COVID-19 at http://www.villagechurch.sydney/corona

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It’s a confronting conversation this week - especially for senior pastors - as we discuss the top 15 mistakes senior leaders make, with Craig Hamilton from Glenmore Park Anglican Church.

Craig will challenge us to redefine success, develop and consider a leadership pipeline and assess the ways we use our time. It will be a challenging - potentially painful - discussion, but it’s one every Christian leader should reflect on. Our leadership impacts the lives and salvation of thousands, so it is key we do that to the best of our ability.

Some of the key areas areas we will discuss are:

Attracting and retaining a strong team
Setting a strong and positive Church culture and developing systems and opportunities for development
Training and investing in leaders
Responding to crisis
Delegating and trusting your team

Craig is the author of Wisdom in Leadership. He has a new book coming out later this year and has given us a sneak peek.

I am expecting to find the conversation helpful for reflecting on individual leadership strengths and weaknesses, and hope you will too.

Check it at http://www.thepastorsheart.net

Craig is the author of Wisdom in Leadership from Matthias Media.

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Seven million Australian Non Christians Would Accept an Invite to Good Friday

Easter is a key time in the calendar year where Churches see non-believers visiting. How does Easter fit into your evangelistic pathway? How can you get Easter guests back? How do you create an atmosphere which helps believers celebrate the truth of the resurrection and equally, helps newcomers consider the resurrection for the first time.

This week we will speak with Luther Symons lead pastor of Hope Anglican Church and Matt Varcoe Maturity and Mission Director at Grace City Church about how they approach Easter. They’ll be sharing their approach to Easter including:

They’ll answer questions like: How does Easter fit into your evangelistic pathway? How can you see Easter guests return? How do you create an atmosphere which helps believers celebrate the truth of the resurrection and equally, helps newcomers consider the resurrection for the first time.

Matt and Luther share their approach to Easter including:

Specific issues Churches face, and how to address them
What not to do
Meeting (and breaking!) expectations
How to address different demographics
Who is likely to be in the room
Which services to emphasise
Follow up opportunities and pitfalls
How Easter needs to fit in with a wider, year long evangelistic strategy

However, this conversation is not at all limited to Easter.

Instead, Matt and Luther share how to create “credible, trusted, mission events” that our congregations will feel confident to invite people to, the problem with having one-off evangelistic events and how to create clear and specific next steps which your Church is working together to achieve. They discuss specific strategies like movie nights, carols in the park, “open house” Sundays and using baptisms or videos during the event.

While it is not too late for this to impact how you address Easter, it will also impact your year-wide evangelistic strategy.

For more on the

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Do you put on attractional events, just to keep evangelism on the agenda? Do you preach the importance of sharing the gospel and not see any action? Is our issue with evangelism fueled by a reliance on introductory courses? Or are courses the only approaches bringing any measurable fruit?

This week we speak with leaders in the evangelistic space in Australia: Sam Hilton, Mission Pastor at Hunter Bible Church Newcastle and Tony Wright, the Australian Manager for The Word 1-2-1 at City Bible Forum, whose written a provocative series of articles for the Gospel Coalition about the state of evangelism in our Churches. We come together to discuss the issues he raised and what we can do better.

Sam and Tony rely on different ministry strategies in the contexts they work in. Dominic has also been heavily involved in one-to-one ministry as well as the creation of Introducing God.

Together, they will discuss the pros and cons of 1-2-1 Bible reading and evangelistic courses, including the reach, growth of Christian maturity, visibility, success rate, the time needed and longevity.

We will also discuss the health of a deeper level of spiritual health of our congregations and the importance of training them in evangelism. Our conversation will raise key questions around Church health, growth and developing an evangelical DNA.

Read Tony Wright’s articles for the Gospel Coalition.

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‘Church in Hard places’ co-founders Mez McConnell and Matthew Spandler Davidson are in Sydney to present a key elective on Friday on 'Abuse in the Church' at the Acts29 conference for Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Ahead of the conference they are leading ‘Church in Hardplaces’ bootcamps.

Mez and Matthew talk to Dominic Steele about the transitioning of Steve Timmis out of Acts 29 this week, under a cloud of claims of Spiritual Abuse.

To purchase Mez's new book, Creaking on the stairs, Finding Faith in God through Childhood Abuse. *Update: Read Dominic Steele's report on the opening night of the Acts29 Australian conference here**.

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There are women in all our lives and churches who have had an abortion. Men, women and children who have been touched by abortion - in our workplaces, churches and families.

Senior pastors need to stop turning a blind eye to this subject and talk much much more about abortion in church.

New Testament scholar and former nurse Dr Claire Smith says we are currently not meeting this pastoral and evangelistic need.

Dr Smith has many suggestions on how to regularly teach pastorally and faithfully on abortion, potentially save many lives in your church.

Plus we talk mistakes made in counselling on abortion at seventeen and eighteen weeks and the fallout and pastoral response needed in a post abortion situation.

Watch online or subscribe to The Pastor’s Heart:

http://www.thepastorsheart/podcast/abortion-clairesmith

Pregnancy Support and post-abortion counselling

Real Choices Australia: www.realchoices.org.au
Zoe Support: www.zoesupport.com.au
Embryo Donation Network: www.embryodonation.org.au
Priceless Life Centre (Qld): www.pricelesslifecentre.org.au
Karinya House (ACT): www.karinyahouse.asn.au
Brave Foundation (teen pregnancies and help for carers/schools/health professionals): www.bravefoundation.org.au
Diamond Women’s Support (Sydney): https://diamondwomensupport.com/services/
Hope House (Western Sydney): http://www.hopehouse.com.au
Rachel’s Vineyard retreats (Roman Catholic): https://www.rachelsvineyard.org/weekend/sites.aspx?c=Australia

Resources for pastoral care

Denise Cooper-Clark: http://www.ethos.org.au/online-resources/engage-mail/unspoken-grief-pastoral-care-around-abortion
ERLC on counselling men affected: https://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/how-we-can-speak-to-men-in-the-abortion-conversation
ERLC on speaking to women about abortion: https://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/why-our-hearts-matter-when-talking-about-abortion
Andrew Cameron on abortion ethics (2004): https://sydneyanglicans.net/blogs/indepth/1721a

‘Pro-life’ Resources

Australian Christian Lobby: https://www.acl.org.au
Evangelicals for Life—Peter Barnes http://evangelicalsforlife.com
March for the Babies (Vic): http://marchforthebabies.org
Women’s Forum Australia (secular): http://www.womensfo

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Is it possible for our different churches to be unified, without watering down the Gospel? What is the role of the church in an increasingly individualistic society?

Introducing Julius Kim - the new President of The Gospel Coalition. With over 30 million users on their website in 2019, TGC clearly has a key role in speaking into evangelical spheres and representing Christianity to a wider public.

Julius is just 10 days into his role - but Dominic doesn't hold back! In this interview, Dominic will bring key questions around the role of TGC and the change of culture:

Is it possible for Churches to work together despite differences?
Will this lead to a watering down of the gospel?
Concern about how evangelical leaders interact in political debates (especially in the US)?
Is it right for a church of Jesus Christ to align themselves with one side of politics? How does this impact the ability of the Church to evangelise?

Julius also speaks to the dangers of privatised religion and how individualism is impacting our Churches. Julius will outline what he sees as priorities for evangelical Churches in an increasingly fractured time and what it means to be a ‘’pilgrim” in our own countries. As a Korean American Christian, Julius is uniquely equipped to address the role of the Church in a society which increasingly suggests it is unwelcome.

Watch the full interview at http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/juliuskimgospelcoalition

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Getting money right in the Christian Church

What’s your word to the pastor, when just down the road there is a big prosperity church doing flashy ministry?

The Prosperity Gospel is a different gospel, not good news, saysthe Generosity Monk Gary Hoag.

Seminaries have not done a good job teaching on money. There are big errors:

Prosperity - Taking Old Testament promises out of context,
Slavery - Sending people back to slavery by teaching the tithe,
Culturally - If your message sounds good culturally it’s probably another gospel,

Instead what we need to pursue is the Spirit’s fruit of generosity, and Gary says the fruit will then take care of itself.

Not only should you not care what the humans think. You can’t care. You are playing to an audience of one.

Plus how do we define success? How do we think about outcomes in ministry? How do we not look for the wrong things?

How should we think about budgeting as as church?

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How should a leader respond, when a member of a church community takes their own life? And what can leaders do to prevent such tragedies?

Dr Karen Mason teaches counselling and psychology at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston. Karen will discuss suicide in the church from the perspective of senior pastors on The Pastor's Heart.

Dominic and Karen discuss the right and wrong reactions that pastors and churches make when faced with this situation.

They explore the vital role of the pastor in these situations both as a leader and as someone to care for the family long term, as well as detailing practically how to put the funeral together. They also outline how to approach the theology of suicide. Lastly, they discussed hard hitting issues that come along with suicide such as guilt and what to say when someone is struggling with thoughts of suicide.

Dr Karen Mason will be joining ADM’s School of Theology, Culture & Public Engagement 2020 to conduct two masterclasses on suicide prevention in the church. Dr Mason is the author of Preventing Suicide and has another book coming out later this year.

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Evangelicals standing up to the culture over the treatment of our indigenous peoples.

As Australia Day gets closer, we evaluate the history of Australian Christianity’s interaction with Indigenous people.

From Mary Bennett in the 1930s to William Cooper and more recently Kevin Rudd's apology in 2008, we will discuss the impact of the gospel on interactions between indigenous Australians and Christian mission.

Historians Stuart Piggin and Robert Linder have just released a major new book Attending to the National Soul, Evangelical Christians in Australian history 1914-2014.

Stuart Piggin joins us for a frank discussion on:
Black Armbands vs Whitewashed views of history
Missionary response to the massacres
The Christian roots of NAIDOC Week and Australia Day.
Missionary complacency in removing aboriginal children from their mothers
* The evangelical influence behind Kevin Rudd’s apology

Late in the discussion there is a reference to Dominic Steele's father Jeremy Steele's work on indigenous languages. His website Aboriginal languages of Australia is here.

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Trigger Warning - this post discusses abusive relationships

This week on the Pastor’s Heart, we address the complex issue of domestic abuse within the relationships of ministry leaders.

While all abuse is wrong, there are added complexities in ministry relationships. Often a ministry job is entwined with a ministry families house, income stream, city and community for a ministry family. With that much at stake, wives can feel a pressure not to raise concerns.

The dynamics of these relationships then get worse, leaving friends, family and congregation completely unaware and the victim even more isolated.

Jenni Woodhouse serves as pastoral care coordinator for the Church Missionary Society NSW & ACT, but previously was chaplain for the Sydney Anglican Church’s Professional Standards Unit.

We will ask her how to spot relationships like this, how they come to exist within ministry families and strategies to assist impacted families.

There aredetails of immediate crisis support here.Jenni and Dominic talk further aboutdifficult personalities hereanddomestic violence here.A sermon by Dominic addressing Domestic Violence is here. The Sydney Anglican Church’s Domestic Violence Policy is downloadable here.

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Simon Manchester explains to Dominic Steele how he prepares to teach at a major conference and how to show your congregation the beauty of 1 Timothy 2.

Simon’s been lead pastor of one of Sydney’s larger churches, St Thomas’ North Sydney, for thirty years, before standing down last December.

He shares stories about when the St Thomas’ congregation didn’t want him, being summonsed to the Archbishop’s office, and making major changes

Simon is opening the bible this week for two thousand Christian leaders at the Church Missionary Society Summer School in Katoomba in Sydney’s bushfire impacted blue mountains.

He’s teaching on ‘The God who seeks’ from 1 Timothy.

Check out

Simon Manchester's CMS Summer School talks on 1Timothy 1 Part A, 1Timothy 1 Part B
Dominic Steele's verse by verse talks on 1 Timothy 2 (Unfortunately Simon's are not available free online)

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In this Christmas / New Year week we bring you a reheat from one of our earliest episodes.

It’s the discussion where EV Church’s Rhett Harris initially rocked me by saying ‘Rosters are contrary to the gospel.’

The thesis that Rhett put forward has led me to implement a complete restructuring of the ministry practice at our church.

I hope that you find it as revolutionary and thought provoking as we did.

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How to pastorally approach the death of a little child.

We are having this conversation with three pastors who have had children die, because around the Christian world and in the secular press there has been discussion about the death just over a week ago of two year old Olive Aylne, the daughter of Andrew and Kalley Heiligenthal, who are key figures at the Bethel Church in Reading California.

Immediately after Olive’s death her parents called for people to pray for her to be resurrected. The call has sparked a social media movement #wakeupolive, which has been endorsed by many Pentecostal leaders.

We attempt to serve those who might be grappling with the death of a loved one or just may be thinking #wakeupolivedoesn't seem to be right way of handling a little girl’s death, but aren’t able to properly articulate why.’

Teresa and Dan Lee are on staff at MBM Rooty Hill and Andrew Barry is from Janalli Anglican Church.

Kalley Heiligenthal’s original instagram post said, “Her time here is not done, and it is our time to believe boldly, and with confidence wield what King Jesus paid for. "It’s time for her to come to life."

Kalley later posted, “Day three is a really good day for resurrection.”

On Day seven, Bethel released a statement acknowledging that, ‘we haven’t seen the miracle of Olive being raised,’ and that 'we are moving towards a memorial service and celebration of her life.’

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Moving on from a ministry is a natural part of life - but when done badly it can be debilitating for a ministry. This is a key area for Christian leaders to get right.

Leaving a ministry is never easy, especially when our families, friendships are embedded within it. Tim Hannah is coming to the end of his fourth major ministry role as the CEO of Compassion Australia. He joins us this week to answer

How to decide when it is time to leave?
Who do you speak to about leaving?
How will this impact my family?
How can you send off a team or congregation member well?
What if you are asked to leave?
How do you let go of a ministry you led?

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On the Pastor’s Heart we speak to Greg Powell, clinical psychologist focusing on helping Church and mission organisations work well together. Greg consults on complex leadership breakdown and helps team increase in effectiveness.

As our society and Churches focus on mental health, Greg has a lot to say about how ministry leaders can maintain their own mental health and support their congregations. Greg will share tools for coping with the emotional demands of Church leadership, the emotions involved in saying goodbye to a parish and strategies to support the growing number of young adults with depression.

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A new study of student wellbeing at Sydney University carried out by McCrindle Research highlights the positive impacts that faith groups are having in the lives of students on campus.

Dominic Steele speaks with Rowan Kemp from the Sydney University Evangelical Union and Geoffrey Folland from Power to Change USYD about the impact of the gospel on campus life. McCrindle research has recently found that students who belong to faith groups will rate their experiences in those groups much more highly than their experiences at university generally.

Rowan and Geoff share both the findings of the report and their own experience of helping students find their belonging and identity during a fundamental time of transition.

Students involved in faith groups are 2.3x as likely to feel they can reach out for support in their faith group thanat university generally. They are also nearly twice as likely to feel connected and included in their faith group than at uni generally.

Of the students who turned to their faith groups in tough times, 91% found their support extremely or very helpful. Even with the support of a faith group, 31% of students at Sydney Uni said they did not feel safe expressing their faith on campus.

The statistics present an encouraging view of the impact campus faith groups have for individual student wellbeing. Have you been invested in or encouraged by a campus faith group? Let us know in the Pastor’s Heart discussion group.

See the published report here: http://j.mp/chaplaincywellbeing

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So how do we maximise the mission opportunities that come to us at Christmas?
Every Christmas we stop. The majority of us go on holidays and relax. But for Churches, it’s usually the busiest time of the year. People are relaxed, feeling festive and are much more likely to visit their local Church.

How can we design our Christmas services to have the best missional impact? What can we do in the lead up and aftermath?

This week on The Pastor’s Heart we speak with David Keun from St Paul's Anglican Church, Carlingford, NSW and Stuart Starr from NewLife Anglican : Oran Park to discuss opportunities, strategies and risks when it comes to engaging with your local community this Christmas.

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A new definition of Conversion Therapy proposed to the Victorian Government defines teaching Classical Christianity as harmful

Victorian Baptist pastor Murray Campbell of Mentone Baptist Church, writes on www.murraycampbell.net:

In the future, will Churches and religious organisations in Victoria (your home state) have freedom to preach, teach, and counsel and pray in line with their religious convictions? Without significant revisions to the proposed definition [of the Victorian Government’s attempts to outlaw conversion therapy], the answer is probably no.

Murray Campbell joins us to discuss the Victorian Government’s plans to put sexual freedoms in front of religious freedoms, significantly curtailing churches.

Plus Murray talks about why pastors should attempt to exercise leadership in the public square.

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So many churches are stuck just under the 200 barrier. It seems it's the hardest transition in congregational dynamics to navigate.

Senior Minister of Toongabbie Anglican Church, Raj Gupta joins Dominic Steele, to talk through the challenges, mistakes and strategies in managing this transition.

Raj says a key issue is 'the locus of relational connectedness' or what structures people look for relationships.

He says as leaders, we need to reverse engineer the characteristics of the next level into your church size.

To download Raj's thesis, click here.

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What should a Christian leader do when their role is to care for people, and they don’t want to interact with people? What impact does depression have on preaching? What kind of friendships should ministry leaders have? What about suffering in the leaders life? What would you say to a leader who is walking through the tough of depression for the first time?

We ask Peter Adam the hard questions about friendship, mental health, avoiding burn-out and investing in senior ministers. Peter will speak openly about his own experience - one which is mirrored by a surprisingly large number of others.

Peter Adam is vicar emeritus at St. Jude’s Carlton, formerly principal of Ridley College Melbourne, and vicar of St. Jude’s.

He mentors 28 young pastors, has written extensively on how God speaks into our lives and is a founding member of the Council of The Gospel Coalition Australia.

Download Peter Adam's Pastor's Heart prayer.

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What are the characteristics of effective leaders? How do emotional maturity and anxiety impact leadership?

Robert Creech, Professor of Pastoral Leadership at Baylor University, is in Sydney for the The Family Systems Institute conference and joins us to speak to the complex relationship between ministry teams and their congregation.

Effective pastoral ministry is primarily about relationships, and not primarily about skills and competencies. The preacher is vulnerable in the battle between pastoral affection and prophetic courage. For too many ministers, energy is directed more to what others think and to winning friends as opposed to goal directed activity.

Effective pastors are comfortable not having ‘answers’ to all the questions, solutions to every problem or knowing exactly what others should do.

Plus Robert explores how church staff can over-function and under-function and the impact this has on a church. Any leader and member will find this conversation helpful as we strive to do life together, better.

Robert Creech has been in Sydney as the guest of The Family Systems Institute (who offer clergy training and coaching in applying systems thinking to life and ministry.)

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How to evangelise the post secularist, impacted by the growing rise of paganism?

Dr Peter Jones, Executive Director of truthXchange, is our guest this week. Since 1989, Jones has addressed “the New Age” and New Spirituality.

He’s the author of “Gospel Truth, pagan Lies: Can You Tell the Difference”, “Cracking DaVinci’s Code” and “The God of Sex: How Worldview Determines Sexuality.”

After 18 years serving in France, Peter Jones returned to an America which was “charged with new aged spirituality”. He spent the next several years understanding what the culture was saying about faith and equipping Christians to understand their own faith in light of this.

In today’s conversation with Dominic, Jones outlines the impact of post-secularism, which he defines as a form of “irrational spirituality” with right and wrong becoming merged. He gave an example from his own cab-ride to the Pastor’s Heart on how to bring up the gospel in response to an individual's personal experience.

Dominic will ask Jones about the conflict between Christianity and other cultural movements, as well as the debate on sexuality.

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With Jay Behan set to become the first bishop of the new Anglican Diocese in New Zealand, he sits down with Dominic Steele to spell out how the principles and difficulties behind responding to theological revisionism. Plus the lessons learned in New Zealand and how they might apply in other contexts.

Jay Behan will be consecrated and installed as the first bishop the Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa/New Zealand this Saturday.

Jay says:

The principle is clear but how we respond is cloudy.
Recalibration/realignment means maintaining relationships is crucial (and this is difficult).
Beware of the dangers of selfishness and comfort
Keep Jesus first

We’re delighted to have him as a guest to talk about the cost of standing for the Lord Jesus and the future of the new church in New Zealand.

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In a special edition of The Pastor's Heart, from the Indonesian capital Jakarta, Dominic Steele speaks to graduates of the Compassion Australia child sponsorship program Krisna Bagus Prasetyo and Liberty M.D. Astuti.

We speak aboutgrowing up in extreme poverty, finding a safe community with Compassion and meeting Jesus. These children are from families who are not able to provide three meals each day. Through Compassion, they have been able to attend university. It was particularly exciting speaking with these young adults while meeting hundreds of children who are currently part of Compassion.

Plus Sydney pastors Roger Fitzhardinge (from Fairy Meadow Anglican Church) and James Harricks (from Centennial Park) share about the impact of the visit on their hearts.

More info and to sponsor http://www.compassion.org.au

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There’s a key problem in Sydney’s Anglican churches with a drop in the number of newcomers.

The trend is downwards across the board. It’s massively concerning. In 2013, the Diocesan mission set a goal to raise the number of newcomers to Church to 12% by 2020. However, as of September 2019, it is looking like we will fall well short of this goal.

There’s a new report out this week, featuring interviews with churches that are overall doing better at welcoming first time newcomers and welcoming returnees to church life.

We have a vulnerable/soft underbelly conversation about our weaknesses with Peter Mayrick from Sydney’s Center for Ministry Development and Jessica Brouwer, Mission Pastor at Village Church, Sydney.

You can download the report here - http://www.j.mp/newcomerreport - or contact Peter for implementation advice email Peter.Mayrick@cmd.training

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Randy Pope, lead pastor of Atlanta's Perimeter Church for 42 years, joins us this week, as he transitions out of the senior leadership role.

Perimeter has been responsible for over forty church plants since 1977.

He joins us to talk ministry strategy, his realisation that he needed to focus on spiritual maturity, rather than growth, and a thorn in the flesh for many senior pastors, 'Spiritual Pride.'

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‘I was hoping for another plan, but I’ll take God’s plan. I am comforted by the truth that it’s not out of control, but he’s using it for good,’ says Pitt Town Community Anglican ChurchSenior Minister Greg Peisley.

Greg was preaching on Sunday morning when the church family at Pitt Town realised something wasn’t right, and encouraged him to go straight to hospital at Westmead.

The following Monday night Greg, his wife Sue, his adult daughter, sons and son’s wives got the news that it’s Glioblastoma (GBM), a stage four malignant cancer, wild type.

Greg says his brain cancer is terminal with a medium expected lifespan of 15-18 months. With only five percent getting past two years.

Greg opens up about the journey he, his family and his church family are on…. and the conversations he’s been having with his Heavenly Father.

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Sydney Archbishop Glenn Davies shares openly about

Weeping for the city of Sydney like Jesus wept over Jerusalem.
His surprise to be speaking at public rallies against the extreme changes to the NSW laws surrounding abortion.
How seriously flawed the bill is, and how deceptive and politically expedient the manner of it’s presentation has been.

On the sexuality crisis in the Australian Anglican Church, Dr Davies :-

says the rupture of the Anglican Church in Australia has begun, with a virus in national church, caused by not teaching properly the word of God.
described the actions of the Bishop of Wangaratta as a maverick ‘last harrah’.
labeled the ‘marriage’ of two male priests from Wangaratta as sinful.
says he’s honoured to be attending Bishop elect Jay Behan’s consecration next month in New Zealand.
suggests Jay Behan might give pastoral oversight to confessing Anglicans in Australia who want to break with their revisionist diocese.

Finally Dr Davies reflects on his own time as Archbishop in the lead up to his final Synod. Dr Davies says he’s been inspired by the boldness of Paul, and is so thankful for those many people who have prayed for him.

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The synod of the Australian diocese of Wangaratta, Victoria has decided to walk a path that stands in opposition to the teaching of the bible, defies the theology of the national church and rejects the agreement of the national bishops council.

Kanishka Raffel is Anglican Dean of Sydney and a member of the council of Gafcon Australia.

Dean Raffel has told Dominic Steele on The Pastor’s Heart that the decisions by Bishop Parkes' Wangaratta diocese parallel those made by revisionists in the New Westminster diocese in Canada, which precipitated the formation of parallel Anglican expressions.

Decisions similar to those in Wangaratta have ended up splitting the Anglican Church in Canada, the United States, Scotland and New Zealand.

Dean Raffel says to seek to bless something that God says is not blessed, is not the religion of Christ.

See further:

Statement from Gafcon Australia on Wangaratta, 9 September 2019
Regional synod vote ignores clear words of Scripture - Archbishop Glenn Davies
Wangaratta Defies National Churchby Kanishka Raffel (writing in the Australian Church Record, Spring Journal

Update 11.9.2019: After our discussion was uploaded, the Albury Border Mail reported that the liturgy for blessing parties to a same-sex marriage will not be used this Saturday due to a legal challenge, but quoted Bishop Parkes as saying it was just, ‘a delay, rather than an abandonment.'

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“It’s never been more hostile, but it’s never been more open” - David Robertson

My conversation with Stephen McAlpine and David Robertson was enlightening. They argued that the experience of being Christian today is the experience of Daniel, living in Babylon.

Rather than despair, Steve and David say there is lots which Christian leaders can do to equip teens, uni students and young workers to “stand up in the gale” or “ride the wave”.

They challenge Christian leaders to stop focusing on creating Churches which shelter young Christians, and instead to work at emboldening our congregations to share the confronting truth of Jesus.

They also gave some great strategies for how to do that. Some of their strategies were surprising - like relying on a liturgical framework, or showing the history of the Church - and some were all about building community.

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The Principal of Queensland’s Theological College Gary Millar joins Dominic Steele to talk about transformation in the Christian life, the subject of Sydney’s Moore College’s annual lectures.

What is change? Where do we misunderstand it? How do people claim for too much change, and on the other hand, how do we expect too little? Do people change in the Old Testament? New Testament? What are the many ways in which change happens?

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"Most of all I want a transparently biblical vision of inclusion to be shaping how the church welcomes and accepts me - rather than the ever-changing views of society around me. I don’t want to be included on the basis that cultural attitudes have changed but on the basis of the timeless Gospel that Jesus Christ self-sacrificially brought into this world," - Ed Shaw.

Today, in the lead up to the Liberty Conference, Ed Shaw is our guest as we tackle four key words: orientation, identity, change and origins.

Ed is a pastor at Emmanuel City Bristol UK and is a founder of www.livingout.org. He speaks about his personal journey of faith, what it means to be included because of the Gospel and how we can create biblically faithful inclusive churches.

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Richard Coekin leads the influential network of Co-Mission churches in London. He’s been involved with the launch of many churches and ministries, including the London Men's Convention, London Women's Convention, the 9:38 Ministry Training Strategy, Passion for Life Ministry and most recently Planting Collective.

GraceOne of the key leaders of Evangelicalism in Great Britain Richard Coekin shares a super helpful story about how he was gently corrected about the lack of grace in his preaching, and how his preaching changed as a result.

Distancing his church from a revisionist BishopPlus Richard speaks about how Western Church is following in the tragic trajectory of the Anglican Church of England. It was helpful to hear from someone who is standing for the gospel in increasingly difficult circumstances.

Jonathan FletcherI also asked Richard about the recent abuse allegationssurrounding

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We hear from Jenny Brown with Craig Foster on the issues of Christian ministry, the complicated relationships involved, and how understanding family systems theory can help.

Jenny Brown heads The Family Systems Practice, is an experienced family systems therapist and the author of Growing Yourself Up. Craig is a senior associate minister at Norwest Anglican Church, and works part time was a consultant alongside Jenny.

“I thought the problem was ministry, but it turned out the problem was me!”

Craig spoke honestly about a time when he considered leaving ministry as an assistant minister. He was facing difficulties with family relationships, conflict among his congregation and staff team and wasn’t able to see any growth. His story echoed my own experience, and the statistics indicate it’s something that most of us in ministry will face at some point.

I think this will be useful to both ministry workers, who may be feeling discouraged, and ministry leaders, who are seeking to build functioning teams.

Do work to build your tool-kit of relational strategies before you reach breaking point. Don’t wait until you are in crisis. Please, take a moment to watch or listen to our full conversation or share it with someone who you think could benefit.

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A recent survey found that teenagers believe caring for the environment is more important than caring for the poor. As Generation Z grow up, it is becoming increasingly important for to equip our congregations with a biblical approach to environmentalism.

My conversation with Lionel Windsor, author of Is God Green? tackles these complex issues of greed, politics, exploitation and our accountability to God. Lionel doesn't shy away from challenging us, as Christian leaders, to keep our eyes on Jesus and clearly reminds us of the responsibilities and freedom we have in Christ.
We discuss some of the following questions:

▪ Can you be a Christian and a miner?
▪ Will God hold us accountable for the state of the environment?
▪ Who should we vote for?
▪ What type of causes should we encourage our congregation to financially support?

I hope you take this opportunity to think seriously about how the people in your sphere of influence are approaching the environment.

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The last death throes of cultural Christianity and what’s next with Phillip Jensen

Former Anglican Dean of Sydney Phillip Jensen says to understand the issues fronting Christians today we will best start with understanding the history.

Phillip, who now heads up Two Ways Ministries, takes us on a helicopter journey through fifty years of cultural and Christian history...and considers where to from here?

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Sydney’s Moore Theological College Principal Mark Thompson has just arrived back from a tour of the world’s leading theological colleges, observing best practice and latest trends.

Dr Thompson briefed his faculty on his findings yesterday. Today he joins Dominic Steele to talk trends and changes in raising up and training a generation of harvest workers.

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How can youth ministries act as a 'shock absorber for the church' as we absorb and adopt to changes in culture.

And how should our DNA be orientated? Stu Crawshaw is advocating an atonement based youth ministry.

Soul Revival Church's Stuart Crawshaw answers everything we've wanted to know about youth ministry and the next generation...

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It's not just the word and prayer (the poetry). it's also the systems and organisation that support them that matter (the plumbing).

In one of our most requested topics, David Moore is operations pastor with Hunter Bible Church and Unichurch, Newcastle and joins Dominic Steele this week to talk ministry strategy, systems and hacks: reporting, protocols, communications, finances/investments, tools.

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There’s been ‘a spate’ of resignations of senior ministers where team leaders of churches have surprised many of us by resigning and switching roles to become team members or switch to chaplaincy or other roles.

The task seems like it’s getting harder. What can we do to strengthen our resilience?

There’s a Life In Ministry Conference coming up in August in Sydney dealing with the whole issue of resilience in ministry.

We speak with two of the presenters, Dean of Students at Moore Theological College, Paul Grimmond and Organisational Pyschologist,Kirsty Bucknell.

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Lessons from seven churches, five of which were plants, with David Jones

Presbyterian Church planting enterpreneur David Jones has planted five churches and revitalised two.

David, a former moderator of the Australian Presbyterian Church, has just retired as senior pastor of Anne Street Presbyterian in Brisbane.

David joins Dominic Steele to share lessons learned over forty years.

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There are so many stories of the whole church's ministry going pear shaped by poor staffing decisions, unrealistic expectations and poor leadership.

There's probably more anguish from senior and assistant ministers in this area than basically any other.

And there's an unspoken unrealistic expectation within the church that their paid leadership should be able to work out this area perfectly.

And the collateral damage when there are divisions in the staff team is massive.

The Senior Minister of Sydney's Toongabbie Anglican Church, Raj Gupta, serves as a consultant for the Centre for Ministry Development at Moore Theological College.

Raj will help us on how to recruit, engage, develop, recognise and track staff.

Look back at previous episodes:

Ministry Teams 'Rosters are contrary to the gospel' with Rhett Harris,

'The Leadership Pipeline' with Raj Gupta

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Archbishop Laurent Mbanda joins us to share his wonderful story from being a barefoot refuge in the East African nation of Rwanda to a Burundi refugee camp, where he and his parents were saved.

A long walk to Kenya followed, then he was miraculously accepted into university, after weeks sleeping on the streets.

After university, he was a staff worker for Campus Crusade for Christ, before doing a masters and doctorate in the United States, and eventually lead the Compassion International Aid work following the 1994 Rwandan massacre.

Then there’s amazing work leading the church in Rwanda, explosive growth, with thousands saved, to now starting an East African Christian University.

Archbishop Mbanda is deputy chair of significant movement within Anglicanism, GAFCON, and in 2020 will host the Anglican Bishops conference in the Rwandan capital Kigali.

Check out Laurent Mbanda's biography on Amazon.

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From Barefoot to Bishop: A Rwandan Refugee's Journey

How does mentoring work for senior leaders? And can how having a mentor help, especially through those seasons in ministry when everything goes pear shaped.

How can ministers be cared for spiritually, emotionally, relationally and theologically. And what can be done to help a minister who is having a spiritual crisis?

Presbyterians David and Kathy Thurston have planted two churches, and mentored over 80 young ministers, and now work full time supporting younger ministers through http://church2church.org.au

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National Director of The Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students, Richard Chin, reflects on God’s ‘severe mercy.’ How he learned from God, as he supported his wife Bronwyn, through her death from pancreatic cancer, six years ago.

Richard shares theological, strategic, pragmatic lessons from 25 years of ministry, advice on dating at 50 and a new marriage to Jeanette.

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Minister of St Stephen’s Christchurch Jay Behan tells the heartbreaking story of leading his church away from the traditional Anglican Church in New Zealand and working to form a new Diocese for faithful Anglicans.

Jay Behan tells of his tearful resignation from the New Zealand Anglican Church’s General Synod, just hours after the Synod voted to abandon the teaching of Jesus on sexuality.

He recounts the months of anguish leading up to his and other New Zealand churches decisions to leave the now apostate church and of the support of Gafcon and Australians in forming a new diocese in NZ.

Check out the interview with new GAFCON Chair Foley Beach and General Secretary Ben Kwashi last week on The Pastor's Heart.

UPDATE 17.11.2019: Rev Jay Behan has been elected first bishop of the 'Church of Confessing Anglicans Aotearoa/New Zealand' by the inaugural synod of the church.

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A special edition featuringGAFCON’s new leaders Archbishops Foley Beach and Benjamin Kwashi.

The most significant movement within the Anglican Church globally is GAFCON, representing 50 million of the world’s 70 million Anglicans.

GAFCON aims to remain faithful to Jesus and the scriptures, and not follow the cultural winds.

The GAFCON Primates Council resolved last week in Sydney to hold a global conference of bishops just six weeks before the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lambeth Conference. Read the communique HERE.

The new GAFCON Bishops conference will serve Bishops who won’t participate in Lambeth because of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s decision to invite Provinces which have formally abandoned the teaching of Jesus in the area of sexuality.

The new leaders of GAFCON, Primate’s Council Chair, Archbishop Foley Beach (of the Anglican Church in North America) and General Secretary Benjamin Kwashi (of Jos, Nigeria) sat down with Dominic Steele to talk about their heart as pastors and the future of GAFCON and the Anglican Church.

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Do you sometimes wonder how effective your growth groups are in growing disciples? Want to know how to measure the effectiveness of your growth group ministry?

Peter Mayrick talks to us to gather insight on changing growth group ministry to focus more on outcomes rather than just input. As church leaders how can we be confident with the answer to the question "are people growing in Jesus?"

Subscribe to our Podcast here and take the Pastor's Heart with you! https://www.thepastorsheart.net/footer

ABOUT THIS WEEK'S GUEST, PETER MAYRICK
After a career in Senior Business Management, Peter joined Moore College's Centre for Ministry Development in 2012 to support and coach Pastors as they lead churches in Christ's mission. Read more about CMD at https://cmd.moore.edu.au/

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How can we preach better? How can we work together to do this? It's through collaboration.

Steve Cree leads the ministry team at Queensland’s influential Living Church (formerly known as Creek Road Presbyterian).

Steve’s taken a significantly innovative approach, helping pastors work in collaboration with pastors of other churches to better teach and pastor their flocks.

Steve says, by working together, we can serve our people better.

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Ten so-called Christians from across the theological and denominational spectrum came together for a week in a reality TV program called ‘Christians like Us,’ screened in Australia on SBS.

One of those housemates, Assumpta Venkatachalam shares her story of a week inside the house, where they navigated topics including women in ministry, homosexuality, child sex abuse, speaking to atheists, biblical authority, sex before marriage, abortion, and the future of Christianity.

Assumpta is joined by Russell Powell, CEO of Anglican Media Sydney, who originally suggested her to the program’s producers.

Check out this article by Assumpta.

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Dean of Sydney Kanishka Raffel says it’s now difficult if not impossible for people to be Christian, respectable and successful, and yet so many of our people are used to being all three of these.

Kanishka says church leaders today face significant external and internal pressures today, in the new era post Same Sex Marriage, post George Pell’s conviction and post the Royal Commission into abuse in churches.

Kanishka reminds us this cultural shift is not new for Christians, in parts of Egypt the word for Christian is ‘garbage collector.’ But it’s a massive cultural change for us in the west.

He calls on us to refocus on 2Timothy 3-4 and Preach the word, in and out of season. Reminding us that it never feels like the right time to speak, but we need to summon up our courage do that.

How do we demonstrate our conviction of the sufficiency of God’s word?

How do you prioritise what you do as a church leader?

How do you keep your preaching from being predictable, formulaic or dull?

How do we lead a team, when there are so many team bust ups these days?

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How can we do evangelism better?

What is working? What can we do better? Where do we shoot ourselves in the foot?

In a change to our regular format we feature a live panel discussion from the Nexus Conference, Evangelism lets do better.

In a ‘no holds barred’ discussion, the panelists are Village Church Annandale pastor Dominic Steele, Unichurch UNSW’s Alison Napier and St George North Anglican pastor Phil Colgan.

The discussion is chaired by UNSW Unichurch pastor Carl Matthei.

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Mark Dever says we can do better at evangelism. Mark is the senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington and is visiting Australia to speak at the Nexus19 conference (in partnership with the Gospel Coalition).

Mark says it’s important to
1 Remember that churches exist for supernatural change
2 Understand that persecution is normal
3 Eschew utopianism
4 Make use of our democratic stewardship
5 Trust the Lord, not human circumstances
6 Remember that everything we have is given by God's grace
7 Rest in the certainty of Christ's victory.

Mark joins Dominic Steele to talk about his heart for evangelism.

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A fascinating journey into an important aspect of Australian evangelicalism’s family story with Senior Pastor of Perth’s Providence Church, Rory Shiner.

We look at the amazing legacy of former Sydney Vice Principal of Moore Theological College Donald Robinson, his fresh reading of the Scriptures, fathering of the Australian biblical theological movement, what became known as the ‘Knox-Robinson view of church’ and remarkable new insights into the Jew Gentile relationships in the New Testament.

Plus how Robinson shaped a subsequent generation of significant leaders theologically, including Phillip Jensen and Graham Goldsworthy.

The interview coincides with the release of a further two books in the Donald Robinson collection.

To purchase go to http://bit.ly/donaldrobinson

Link to the landmark talk by Phillip Jensen from 1988 ‘Why Bishops are deacons’ which was referenced in the discussion. https://phillipjensen.com/sermons/1988-why-bishops-are-deacons/

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What are the issues facing church leaders in regards to stress, thriving, surviving and burnout?

Psychologist Valerie Ling, from the Centre For Effective Living, counsels and trains ministry workers on these issues.

There are important issues for those in solo ministry, serving as team members and as team leaders.

Valerie says she sees person after person suffering from burnout, and yet it is so preventable.

How can we move beyond surviving to sustainable leadership, clarity of purpose, intentional living, a sense of self, supportive relationships, and mismatch areas in ministry?

Further reading:

Thriving and burnout https://drive.google.com/a/villagechurch.sydney/file/d/1uHSdK4d5FjbIri9hFVYlplqVcKlIQ5D7/view?usp=sharing

Spiritual Foundations https://drive.google.com/a/villagechurch.sydney/file/d/1uD6GwViQfejhxKEmyAIW4YLEC1iwxppx/view?usp=sharing

Clarity of purpose https://drive.google.com/a/villagechurch.sydney/file/d/1u83cZ2vymdr0V3NACxcxRge9sbrDarBi/view?usp=sharing

Sense of Self https://drive.google.com/a/villagechurch.sydney/file/d/1uAtGIbpCswyXvvj7571oGt3Rfmel1C3S/view?usp=sharing

Integration https://drive.google.com/a/villagechurch.sydney/file/d/1uC2OWR1ltmiw2flQIwPnpJSgNHvBseyn/view?usp=sharing

Supportive relationships https://drive.google.com/a/villagechurch.sydney/file/d/1u1Rg9QOkSnragNYsEXBXTCOtVAkcHcM6/view?usp=sharing

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Keith and Sarah Condie have been working at strengthening marriages for more than two decades.

They started on this journey when Keith was working at Moore Theological College, and there was a year of college graduates, where seven graduate couples of the college suffered marriage breakdowns.

Keith and Sarah have conducted dozens of marriage enrichment courses and seminars at churches across Australia, and have recently produced ‘Building a safe and strong marriage’ which is now available to order.

Keith and Sarah now work as directors of the Pastoral Care and Mental Health Institute at Anglican Deaconess Ministries, Sydney.

They are talking here about how they have been able to help ministry couples relationships that have been in crisis and the launch of their new course.

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Sam Chan, Ross Ciano, Chris Bransdon join Dominic Steele for a thought provoking discussion about the 'event evangelism’ of the Graham tour of Australia.

Their discussion focuses on the last night of the tour. They analyse the audience, music, mosh pit, sermon introduction, body and altar call.

Sam Chan is an evangelist with City Bible Forum and author of Evangelism in a skeptical world.
Ross Ciano is senior pastor of Marrickville Road Anglican Church.
Chris Bransdon teaches scripture in south west Sydney, is a member of Fairfield Anglican Church and works in the CBD.

Particularly they are reviewing the final night of Graham's Australian tour, held at the International Convention Center, Sydney.

Eternity Quote
Dominic Steele says, 'I want to give some context to a quote that appeared in Eternity news last week in relationship to Franklin Graham and Donald Trump, where I was quoted as saying, “Lie down with rats and you get up with fleas” '

'In January I gave a talk in a tough questions series on, ‘Does the bible reflect a patriarchal bias or does God value women and men equally?’ In that context I raised the Handmaid’s tale, #metoo, Donald Trump and evangelical American leaders who have given Trump’s immorality a free pass, including Franklin Graham. The quote is at 4:40.'

'I was very pleased with that talk and I don’t retreat from anything I said in that sermon. But importantly I wasn’t referring specifically to this fortnight’s missioning. Rather I was speaking more generally about Donald Trump and women, and the tragic free pass that Mr Trump has been given by so-called Evangelical leaders in the states (including Mr Graham). '

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How do we preach to the heart? How do we grasp the emotion of the text and then communicate it effectively to those present?

Former Sydney Missionary & Bible College principal David Cook talks about the four great influencers on him as a preacher and the impact each of them had on him.

David particularly wants us to work at ‘lather and shave.’ How do we create preaching clusters to encouraging each other to become better communicators of God’s word.

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Andrew Barry lost his son Nathan to cancer just over two years ago. Here he shares his heart about the journey that God has worked in his marriage and among their remaining five children over the last two years.

We talk through how he has grown in his relationship with God, the cycles of grief, counselling, how different family members reacted, how it’s impacted his teaching and preaching and opportunities for ministry.

Andrew serves alongside his wife Ruth on the ministry team at Janalli Anglican Church in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire.

Links: Andrew’s blog: https://thebibleatoz.com/2019/01/11/s-sorrow-upon-sorrow-of-parents-who-lose-a-child/

Nathan’s website: https://ournathanbarry.wordpress.com

2016 interview: https://ournathanbarry.wordpress.com/radio-interview/

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Graham Beynon is Independent ministry director at Oak hill College London and senior pastor of Grace Church Cambridge.

Graham’s in Australia to speak at the Priscilla and Aquilla Conference at Moore Theological College and also on preaching to the heart.

Graham says there are a variety of patterns impacting our thinking on ministry models. He calls them: separatism, permissions, de-contextualisation and individualism.

Graham says men and women are similar but different. He’s encouraging us to have an honouring of the differences. And at the same time pursue godliness rather than genderness.

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Colin Buchanan joins Dominic Steele to share his story of trusting Christ as a teenager at Hurstville Presbyterian Church, serving in the music team, writing his first song on John 15, discovering country music, writing bible verses for his primary school class, and then carving out a career in acoustic, country, Christian and children’s music.

For 20 years, Colin has been one of Australia’s most influential Christians, primarily though his extensive children’s ministry.

To order any of Colin’s resources go to www.colinbuchanan.com.au

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How do you help your church members own evangelism and outreach / keep track of mission contacts - be thinking missionally and caring personally for non Christians who visit?

We’re joined by Hunter Bible Church and Unichurch, Newcastle’s Missions Pastor Sam Hilton.

How do you train, equip and unleash people for mission and evangelism? a speciality team? every member?

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29-year-old David Bennett, who describes himself as a former anti-Christian gay activist now Christian, says Jesus is good news for same sex attracted Christians. David joins us on The Pastor’s Heart to talk through his story and his two ‘coming outs,’ one as a 14 year old, and then later a second as a Christian believer.

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We launch The Pastor's Heart for 2019 with an 'on the road' edition from the CMS Summer School in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. Dr Gary Millar answers questions on how to preach better so that your sermon lands with real application. Gary is the principal of the Queensland Theological College and is the chair of the Gospel Coalition Australia. He was the main speaker at the 2019 Church Missionary Society Summer School in NSW. During the conference he took time out with Dominic Steele to share the story of when he was put on trial in Ireland to face 27 charges of heresy.

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Raising up and training ministry trainees as harvest workers!Why those of us in local churches should? And how we should?Our guest is Carl Matthei, who leads the ministry team in the Campus Bible Study and Unichurch UNSW at the University of New South Wales.Carl has more ministry trainees than anyone else in evangelical ministry in Australia.Advertisment:
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How Christians can and should wisely engage with our increasingly hostile secular culture. How can we have a posture of grace in a time of outrage?CEO of the Gospel Coalition Australia, Akos Balogh, has a background in Campus Ministry, and is a influential christian writer and blogger.Advertisment:
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We feature an interview conducted in church with a domestic violence survivor. It’s a confronting and personal interview and does deserve a ‘trigger warning.’ Jenni Woodhouse and Dominic watch as the abuse survivor tells her story, then Jenni critiques Dominic’s pastoral handling of the situation.Advertisment:
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There’s been lots of talk recently about ‘The Leadership Pipeline’ but what exactly is it and how can the senior church leader make the most of this new pastoral practice.The leadership pipeline is a super helpful tool to think about leadership development, for yourself as a senior church leader, but also for others.Senior MInister of Toongabbie Anglican Church Raj Guptahas been developing a training program for senior ministers of churches built around the leadership pipeline.Advertisment:
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How do you care for people where a spouse has just left? Or committed adultery?There's pain and hurt. How do we care best for divorcees in the wider non Christian community?And if they are Christian often one at least of the partners ends up leaving the church.Michael Sheedy and Melinda Hunt have been leading Village Church Annandale's divorce care program for the last eight years.They've seen more than 100 divorcees helped and heal through this program.They join Dominic Steele to talk about the things they've learned along the way. Every divorce is different. But there are some common threads.Advertisment:
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How do we go about employing people?
What are the issues we face with with structure, culture, job descriptions?
How do you best 'onboard people' onto your team?
How you function in the first 90 days?
How do you introduce behaviours that you plan to repeat such as, discipleship, positive feedback and trusted corrective feedback?
What about ongoing management, six monthly reviews, delegation and coaching?

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It’s less than two months to Christmas and we are sharpening ourselves on the practice of proclaiming Christ at Christmas.

Whether you are speaking at a carols service, a gingerbread and wreath making event, a Kids service, Scripture Christmas Service or Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, this discussion will be helpful for you.

We’re joined by Luke Tattersall from The Campbell Street Presbyterian Church and Kanishka Raffel, the dean of St Andrew's Cathedral Sydney.

Some of my questions are:
• In your preparation how do you think about a Christmas talk differently to a regular in series talk?
• What else are you aiming to achieve in your Christmas meetings?
• How do you choose your Christmas passages?
• What does preparation look like for these occasions?
• What's the goal of a Christmas talk?
• What makes a boring / interesting Christmas address?
• How much are you looking for guests and how much for regular members?

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Today we are talking, ‘the profession and professionalisation of Christian ministry,’ with Archie Poulos.Archie lectures in ministry at Moore Theological College, and is completing a PhD on building the competency of ministers. In what sense are ministry leaders ‘professionals’?What separates ordinary Christian ministry/ministry leaders from amazing ones? Why is a theological eduction no longer adequate for Christian ministry?How can we do the task of ministry better?This is the heart of Archie’s PhD studies and we are looking forward to hearing from him. Advertisment:
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UK pastor author Tim Chester is pastor of Grace Church, Boroughbridge, and author of more than 30 Christian books.He’s with us to speak about his new book, Enjoying God, but also how you balance a busy pastoral ministry with being such a prolific author. How do you have so many thoughts? How can you write them all down?Advertisment:
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In a special extra edition of the Pastor's Heart, Freedom for Faith director Michael Kellahan joins Dominic Steele to discuss how Christians can best respond to Australia's religious freedom review.Recommendations are here http://bit.ly/religiousfreedomreviewAdvertisment:
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How can your church be more loving to newcomers? How do you do welcoming well? What are the strategies for best connection?Not so much the arrival on the first visit, but what is best practice to see people journey from that first visit to becoming a fully integrated member of your church - so that they are still with you 12 months later?How do you triage people? Then what resources/energy do you spend ministering to different people?How do you work out how not to put too much energy into people who will never come back? Andy Hobbs from Salt Church Wollongong and David Allen from Hunter Bible Church and Unichurch, Newcastle in Newcastle have both thought lots about these questions. Advertisment:
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In this revealing and frank discussion with former Archbishop Peter Jensen discusses the particular responsibilities of senior leaders and the pressures that senior leaders are under.Plus an extended review of the state of the Anglican Communion and the response around the world to #Gafcon2018.Advertisment:
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‘It’s not that we don’t care on purpose … it’s just that we don’t care’ – Generation Z.Jesus has given us a job to do, make disciples of all nations. We want to better engage in our changing community.But it’s going to be an easier task if we understand the people we are reaching out to. Mark McCrindle of McCrindle Research has been looking at this topic for years, and has just presented at the ‘Australian Community and Church Summit 2018’.Mark will be our guest on www.thepastorsheart.net this Tuesday afternoon at 2pm to discuss the Australian Community and how we can best minister to our changing neighbourhoodsThere are issues of demographics, technology, debt, life expectancy, cultural diversity.Advertisment:
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Fresh from the Singleminded Conference, we speak to Conference Chair Dani Treweek about how we can better love and pastor the single members of our church family?What are the particular pastoral issues that singles face? How can we encourage single Christians in their gospel maturity, contentment and service.Advertisment:
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Craig Hamilton, author of Wisdom in Leadership, says getting one’s heart right is the most important think in leadership.So we are speaking today specifically about the heart of the Pastor.Craig says when it comes to leading yourself, the hardest person to lead, there are key issues of pride and fear that need to be addressed.Advertisment:
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On www.thepastorsheart.net we aim to help Christian leaders better fulfil the mission that Christ has given us. Today we are thinking about how to best love and care for the same sex attracted Christians in our churches.We are talking about theology, maturity, history, emphasis, holiness, sin, language and culture. Our guests are Rev Dr Wesley Hill, from Trinity School for Ministry in Pittsburg and Jackson Stace from Liberty Christian Ministries Inc. Sydney (www.liberty.sydney). Wesley is best known for his book Washed and Waiting. His most recent work is Spiritual Friendship.Advertisment:
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Mitch joins Dominic Steele to tell his story of living a ‘double life’ in his early twenties, before things came to a head in Dubbo in country New South Wales. And then his journey working things out with God, and into Evangelical Presbyterian ministry and heterosexual marriage.Advertisment:
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There are health issues, work deadlines, the pressure of family to be together, the overall stress of life, personal mental capacity to face the day, and the crucial assessment of the kind of reception one could expect from church that day: ‘Will I have someone to sit with? Will I have to sit with unpleasant people again? Will the sermon be worth it? What if Rev X is preaching? Will I belong? ... perhaps it would just be easier to get the shopping done.’Advertisment:
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What do you do when there’s conflict in your church? Because there will be at some point. How can you deal with conflict well? What do you do when there’s no conflict to prepare for the times when conflict will come? How to you give your people a framework for understanding and resolving conflict? What do you do when a couple comes to you and the marriage is a warzone? What should you outsource? What should you do yourself? Bruce Burgess is the Australian Director of Peacewise. Subscribe to The Pastor's Heart audio podcast: RSS feed: http://bit.ly/thepastorsrss iTunes feed: https://j.mp/thepastorsheart

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How do you not just work ‘in the ministry’ but ‘on the ministry’?How does a senior pastor lead in vision, finances, staffing and money to promote the gospel of Christ?How do we communicate, execute and celebrate the vision?How to teach on generosity?How do we ask graciously?What are the mistakes to avoid?Rod Irvine was senior minister of Figtree Anglican Church Wollongong and has written ‘Giving generously: resourcing local church ministry.’Subscribe to The Pastor's Heart audio podcast:RSS feed: http://bit.ly/thepastorsrssiTunes feed: https://j.mp/thepastorsheartCatch up on our previous episodes at www.thepastorsheart.netAdvertisment:
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A good friend tells you when you have something stuck between your teeth just before the photograph is taken.Scotland’s David Andrew Robertson was a guest on The Pastor’s Heart a few months ago and is a good friend (http://bit.ly/2vp3MJ4). In an interview with ACR, having spent three months in Sydney, he’s had some significant things to say about the Sydney Anglican Church and asks have we gone off the boil on seeking the lost saved? On Tuesday 7 August at 2pm, Phil Colgan from St George North Anglican Church and Craig Schafer from St Mark's Pennant Hills for a live discussion with Dominic Steele to discuss what we can learn from from David’s critiqueAdvertisment:
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What is poverty? What gospel do poor people need? How have parachurch ministries made the problem worse? What does evangelism look like in poor communities? What role for preaching? What does church membership and discipline look like?How can we see a transformation in desperate poor communities in Scotland or Australia?Mez McConnell is the senior pastor of Niddrie Community Church in Edinburgh, Scotland, and founder of 20 Schemes, a ministry dedicated to building gospel-centered churches for Scotland’s poorest communities. Advertisment:
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As a senior minister what should you do if you have a porn addiction? What if it’s a staff member of senior lay leader? How do you preach to the congregation about these issues?We talk to Marshall Ballantine-Jones who is doing a PhD on this topic, and who says there’s a significant rate of porn consumption in the general community, the church and amongst church leaders.Advertisment:
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Albert Bernstein calls them ‘Emotional Vampires’

How do I (as a senior pastor) express the love of Jesus to those with different personality disorders: the narcissist, histrionic, paranoid personality disorder, OCD (both types), psychopaths, or the person with borderline personality disorder?

There are people in every church who consume much more than their fair share of everyone's time and energy, particularly the senior ministers time.

Jenni Woodhouse is a former chaplain to the Professional Standards Department of the Sydney Anglican Church and now is a chaplain to missionaries with the Church Missionary Society.

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Sacrifice: The tension between living the good life and dying to self.

Have you tried zealously to serve the Lord and hit the wall?
Are you living the sacrificial Christian life and wondering why so few are keeping up?
Do you regularly give spiritual advice to others?
Do you have the sneaking suspicion that you are not a real Christian?

We do some of the worst things in the name of the greatest causes! And we can hurt those closest to us. Should we nobly burn out ourselves, our relationships and our world for the cause of gospel proclamation? Should we feel guilty for any creature comfort?

Mikey Lynch joins us on The Pastor’s Heart from Tasmania. Mikey is the Campus Director of AFES Hobart, he chairs the Vision 100 church planting network there, and is a founding director of Geneva Push.

Mikey is a deep thinker, and has just written a book, The good life in the last days: the tension between living the good life and dying to self.

He’s written it for the strong and sacrificial person, the bruised reed and the pastor/preacher and teacher.

You can order Mikey's book online from Matthias Media.

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We are talking about and with the minister who loses it all, when the diocese moves into apostasy, leaving you and your people as faithful followers of Christ Jesus, but without denominational support, stripped of your ministerial license, church building and house. This week we talk to four men and one woman who have been and are in that situation. - From Canada, David Short. - From the US, Chuck Thebeau (and his daughter Rachel)- From Scotland, David McCarthy.- From NZ, Dave Clancey.Advertisment:
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The Anglican Dean of Sydney Kanishka Raffel and Senior Minister of MBM Rooty Hill Ray Galea join Dominic Steele, by the shores of Lake Galilee in Israel, to discuss last week’s important Anglican Gafcon Conference in Jerusalem.Plus we play out an extended interview with Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, who serves as the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, with it's 25,000,000 million members and as the chairman of the Gafcon Primate’s Council.Advertisment:
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How can you build a church building, so you don’t quit in the 12 months after the project is finished.This is a discussion for pastors. But also for parish council and committees of management.Andrew Robson has taken a lead roll in three major church building projects, two at EV Church, on the Central Coast of NSW, and is currently taking the lead at St Paul's Anglican Carlingford’s major rebuild.When I rang him to line up this interview, he was standing over a pit of previously undiscovered asbestos.We will be asking him about what he’s learned? What he wouldn’t do again?But what are your questions about any aspect of building a new church building Vision and ministry principles relating to building design, Ministry philosophy of church buildings and space, The value of aesthetics, How much to spend on big ticket items like sound/AV, lighting, furniture?* How to resolve differences of opinion and make compromises?Advertisment:
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Multisite is here. There’s the start of a trend in Australia for larger churches to switch strategies from planting daughter churches to becoming a multisite network of a man campus and a series of campuses.Often when we hear the word 'multi-site' we think American mega churches which sound more like mercenary organisations than a loving caring Jesus honouring community.But there are a number of churches in Australia quietly rolling out multi site ministry models, within traditional denominationsAdvertisment:
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There’s a nervousness among reformed evangelical complementarians about tackling any of the New Testament gender passages, but particularly 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, where the issue of head is discussed.More recently there have been claims from some blaming the bible’s teaching on headship for incidents of domestic violence. And of course we want to speak strongly against any form of DV.But, should we avoid teaching on 1 Corinthians, or avoid chapter 11? I don’t think that’s the answer. I’ve asked a couple of friends to come and help me in my sermon preparation.Dr Lionel Windsor is a New Testament lecturer at Moore Theological College in Sydney. (www.moore.edu.au)Dani Treweek is the former former women’s pastor at St Matthias church in Sydney (www.matthias.org.au). She is doing her PhD on Singleness. And is a significant force behind the Singleminded Conference later in the year.Advertisment:
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It’s hard because we go into ministry because we like doing the ministry. But if things are to grow, we need to step back and empower and encourage others in these roles.This is true in kids ministry, but it’s true across the church. I think this is one of the major factors that is hampering the growth of our churches. We are talking this Tuesday with Sandy Galea, from MBM Rooty Hill in Sydney’s West and Kidswise about how to grow ministry teams.Advertisment:
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Andrew Beddoe is asking about evangelical churches: Where are the tradies? Where are the factory workers? Retail workers? Those on social welfare benefits?Advertisment:
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What does it take to have fruitful ministry over the long haul? Advertisment:
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Rolling out vision in an Evangelical Church! ’People don’t give to need, they give to vision.’ But what is vision and how do you come up with the vision, workshop with key stakeholders, communicate the vision, roll it out? We talk to two really impressive young leaders/original thinkers who have lots to teach all of us, from NewLife Anglican : Oran Park, Stuart Starr and from Grace City Church in the inner city of Sydney, Tim ClemensAdvertisment:
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Our guest is Dean of Students at Sydney’s Moore Theological College Paul Grimmond. Paul has battled with anxiety all his adult life, and has been quite open about this. He wrote recently “‘Don’t be anxious about anything,’ Is that all God’s got to say?”Paul says ‘it’s difficult to differentiate between the anxiety that is a result of the fallenness of the world and the unhealthy anxiety that is a part of my sinful response to this broken world. Am I feeling anxious because I have a body that chemically over-reacts to threats, or am I feeling anxious because I have let sin take control? That’s not always an easy question to answer. Paul shares shares his story with Dominic Steele and looks at what the bible has to say. Advertisment:
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David Robertson is minister of St Peters Free Church in Dundee Scotland. http://www.stpeters-dundee.org.uk He is also the associate director of the Solas Centre for Public Christianity http://www.solas-cpc.orgDavid is in Sydney to speak at Katoomba Christian Convention and for a holiday.He does a lot of writing – in newspapers, magazines, on the net and also books. He’s the author of Awakening (the life of Robert Murray McCheyne); The Dawkins Letters, Quench (cafe evangelism) and Magnificent Obsession. His latest book is called Engaging With Atheists.He’s interested in history, politics, theology, music, sport, art etc. David’s a ‘big picture’ person who likes to look at things in a wide context – especially the growth, decline and renewal of the church in the West….His nickname ‘wee flea’ comes from a series of interactions He had on the Richard Dawkins website. Robertson was banned from his site under his own name and Dawkins called him, Alaister McGarth and John Lennox ‘fleas living of a dogs back’.Robertson promptly started reposting under the name ‘the wee flea’, and Dawkins, not being aware of Scottish church history or the nickname of my denomination (the wee frees), let it go by for a few weeks…until he was outed…and banned again!Advertisment:
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The Wollongong region has just seen 60 churches band together in a combined effort to reach their district for Jesus. The initiative was conceived and lead by the senior minister of Wollongong Anglican cathedral, Sandy Grant.Sandy joins Dominic Steele to talk through the wins and lessons from the mission, “Jesus is___”.Advertisment:
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This is a special edition of The Pastor's Heart, linked to this month's national Australian ministry conference, Nexus, on to the topic of 'Every Member Ministry.'We are joined by The Trellis and the Vine author Tony Payne who is currently doing his PhD on Every Member Ministry, and was the keynote speaker at the Nexus Conference.Advertisment:
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Rachel Ciano lectures in church history at Sydney Missionary & Bible College and joins Dominic Stele to discuss the impact of the Reformation on the Roman Church.Advertisment:
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Sam Chan is our guest on 'The Pastor's Heart' this afternoon talking about his new book 'Evangelism in a Skeptical World.'Sam and host Dominic Steele have both been thinking about the same issues for a long time. There's lots of areas of agreement, and some areas where they disagree. Advertisment:
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There's been a lot of talk recently about the impact of 'Guilt and Shame' on our understanding of ourselves and where we stand with God. Dan Wu has been studying these issues in depth and joins us live on 'The Pastor's Heart'Advertisment:
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Some of the questions that we face as we come to Easter include: How do you choose an Easter passage? What does preparation look like? What's the goal of aGood Friday or Easter Sunday talk? How much are you looking for guests and how much for regular members?Advertisment:
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This is a description of MBM kids from Sandy Galea: Two babies died, two mums have breast cancer, One baby was born profoundly deaf, another with down syndrome, we have a child suffering from multiple benign tumours, another in remission from cancer and we have kids suffering from anxiety and depression. How can we help these children better deal with this?What do you do with all this pain and suffering?Advertisment:
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Former Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Dr Peter Jensen, first trusted Christ listening to Billy Graham speak in 1959.On hearing of Dr Graham's death, Peter Jensen relived that afternoon with Dominic Steele on The Pastor's Heart. Advertisment:
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EV Church's 'Rhett Harris was super provocative at a ministry conference a while back. As Rhett was promoting ministry teams, he was arguing that rostering is contrary to the gospel,' says Dominic Steele.'I thought, "I can't let him get away with these statement and maintain credibility," so I pushed back, and we had a big debate in front of the whole seminar group.'Advertisment:
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Pete Tong talks about how God has led him through a difficult time as a close brother walked away from the Lord. Plus what surprised him about the women of Luke’s gospel?

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Evan McFarlane leads the training of around five trainees each year at St Paul's Anglican at Carlingford, Sydney. Excitingly in one of the congregations that Evan pastors, 80% of members are involved in 1:1 discipleship. From this group there has been a steady flow of young men and women putting themselves forward for Christian Ministry. Advertisment:
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Michael says there has been a genuine cultural shift that now requires a legal response. But, the government will not act unless they believe there is a genuine problem that needs curing. So lots more shorter individual submissions are needed that spell out the problems.Advertisment:
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David Mansfield was John Chapman's successor as director of the Sydney Anglican Department of Evangelism. He speaks here about the heart of Australia's greatest twentieth century evangelist. Advertisment:
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