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.

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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.

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

1. What the Bureau of Statistics is actually measuring.
2. Why writing your specific denomination helps community planning more than generic labels.
3. 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.

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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.

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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. 

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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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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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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?

Purchase John's new book.

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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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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 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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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.

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 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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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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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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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 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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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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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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• 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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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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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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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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The traumatic implications of artificial intelligence.

What morality to teach artificial intelligence?

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 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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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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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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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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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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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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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 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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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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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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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.

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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 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 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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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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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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• 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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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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'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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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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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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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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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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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:

1. 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.’
2. The Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah boasts of raiding the land of Caanan, saying it was occupied by Israel.
3. In the city of Hazor, archaeologists have found religious idols destroyed and other items intact, just as expected from Joshua 11-12
4. The recently discovered altar at Mount Ebal is likely Joshua’s altar (Joshua 8)
5. In the Tel Dan inscription we now have archeological evidence for King David’s existence.
6. 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).
7. 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.
8. The discovery of six massive chambered gates at Hazor, Meggido and Gezer and other architectural discoveries at those sites corresponds with 1Kings 9:15.
9. A ninth century battle account from King Moab of Mersha mirrors the one in 2 Kings 3.
10. The Biblical chronology of the listed kings matches almost exactly with archeological evidence.

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• 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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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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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 Sunday
In 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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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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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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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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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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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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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. 

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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. 

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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.

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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 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.

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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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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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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. 

1. 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. 
   
   
2. Orthodox Anglicans from across Australasia gathered in Brisbane last week. New daughter churches are being planted within the fledging diocese of the Southern Cross. 
   
   
3. A new Archbishop appointed to lead the Anglican Church of North America. Steve Wood will replace Foley Beach. 
   
   
4. 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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1. Adults being saved. 
2. Christians transferring from another congregation within your denomination of switching from another denomination. 
3. 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. 

To watch Al James' Seminar on helping young people stick with Jesus, click this link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/b8d6fc0e

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1. Pray Ephesians 3 prayers for yourself and your team. 
2. Never assume a potential ministry staff member has accepted the gospel of God. Listen to see if they are personally gripped by grace. 
3. Demonstrate God’s love by meeting with your team consistently.
4. Watch to see if the demands of ministry have choked the joy of salvation. 
5. Demonstrate God’s loving grace when a team member misses the mark. 
6. 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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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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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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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)

Support the show

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Support the show

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Support the show

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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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