The Pastor's Heart with Dominic Steele

“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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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:

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‘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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‘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 Churches

http://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. 

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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Join us in conversation with Vishal and Ruth Mangalwadi, as they unravel the complexities of Modern India and the Hindu perspective, and helpful ways to engage them with the gospel.

Particularly as immigrants from the Indian subcontinent to Australia increase. Vishal and Ruth Mangalwadi explore how the foundations of modern India have been profoundly shaped by the Bible and the Protestant Missionary Movement.

They also address touch questions like the issue of female infanticide and widow burning within this context.

Through this enlightening conversation, both gain deeper insights into the intricate tapestry of India's cultural and religious landscape, as well as the potential paths towards transforming the lives of our Hindu friends.

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 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)

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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.

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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.

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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? 

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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  

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)

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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. 

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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 yields the same results. 

Senior minister of Dapto Anglican David Rietfield says there’s fewer new people and the regulars are coming less frequently. 

David has a new book out ‘Being Christian after Christendom’ 

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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 in 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 Steinberg, 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 Steinberg 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 itGafcon emphasised faithfulness to Jesus and the priority of missionThere are real issues that theological conservatives need to talk about regarding sexualityIt 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 TanzaniaKey to the future is raising theological education standards in AfricaChristians are helping with the darkside of the Serengeti - preventing Female Gentile MutilationThe 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? 

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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

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An extraordinary story of God working by his spirit in the life of African Anglican Primate Laurent Mbanda

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 Mbanda 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 Mbanda 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. 

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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 and this one  

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 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. 

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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 Statementhttp://bit.ly/3YS1wGt
Archbishop of Canterbury speech to the Anglican Consultative Councilhttps://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/

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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.

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/archie

http://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/

Statement released after meeting of Evangelical Leaders (after this interview):
https://ceec.info/ceec-formally-responds-to-house-of-bishops-proposals-and-subsequent-public-communications/

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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

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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? 

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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. 

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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. 

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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

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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

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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 grow your church’s evangelistic ecosystem? Is that possible? 

83% of Gavin’s church members see personal evangelism as an individual responsibility, yet at most 60% of them had a maximum of two spiritual conversations with non-Christians in the last six months! 

Gavin Perkins has been researching what may be the causes and blockers to personal evangelism and how we might overcome these to see more people to Christ! (See https://bit.ly/3zUPIZK)

So then 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: 

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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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Gafcon Australia Chair Richard Condie has responded to revisionist critics, labeling them as false teachers who have rejected Biblical and Anglican doctrine, and are responsible for the current Australian church schism. 

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: 

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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In Australia, there are now two expressions of Anglicanism.

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. He 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.

Now, Peter will pastor the new Southern Cross Anglican Church of Beenleigh and Logan.

Peter says his decision to leave the South East Queensland diocese, where he had pastored St George’s Beenleigh for six and a half years, was provoked by the national bishops’ failure to endorse biblical marriage and Archbishop Aspinall’s presidential address at the synod in Brisbane.

Archbishop Aspinall’s address was described by one of his ministers as ‘hurtful, hypocritical and hateful’.  https://bit.ly/3dAVHuJ

#gafaus22 #gafcon22

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The Anglican Communion is broken and needs 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 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.

Former Archbishop of Sydney and former General Secretary of Gafcon Peter Jensen joins us to review the confusion in global Anglicanism in the wake of Lambeth22.

Gafcon’s letter to the churches: https://bit.ly/3BWUKad
Communique from the Global South: https://bit.ly/3p64FSV
Media Release from the Global South: https://bit.ly/3JUZoYh

http://www.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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Being a grandparent is such a blessing, however, comes with a great responsibility!

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? How might we encourage them and teach them how they can 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 happening in September.  (https://ngmlegacy.com.au/)

Julia Baird on Grandmothers - https://bit.ly/3PVZKQ8

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/grandparents

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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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'We prayed that the surgery would be successful and that God would lead her hands... millimetre by millimetre surgery... there is a lot of time in there operating on our little boy's head.''We are five weeks out from neurosurgery and we haven't seen one seizure.  Praise God''Over the course of the five weeks he has been slowly returning to us and it's like regaining a child.'We call it the slow awakening.  Every day we see something return that we forgot we lost.'To have him return to us over five weeks, little mannerisms, ways of thinking, questions, questions.  We love his questions. The inquisitive mind that is Noah's.  It's wonderful to have that back.'

Cath and Otto Peeters have spent the last month at Ronald McDonald house while their little six year old boy Noah has been recovering this last month from 12 hours of brain surgery. 

They shared on air the story of Noah's miraculous recovery.  

Cath and Otto want to thank all those people who prayed for them during this period.

Otto says 

'Noah has done better than any of us expected, including the medical team. His recovery and rehab have both gone really well. Praise God for a terrific outcome! He has taught Cath and I so much through this we couldn't have learnt in other ways.'

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As we proclaim God to others, we don’t always get it perfect! So then, how do we proclaim Him as we ought? How might we rectify the mistakes we make and improve our evangelistic preaching? 
Each talk we do is different, meaning that our preparation should be too. We ask Ross for the best approach various kinds of evangelistic talks and be creative when presenting sin?

Ross Ciano is senior minister of Sydney’s Marrickville Road Anglican Church and brings us thoughts on this today!

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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: 

Recommended articles:

Recommended websites:

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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. 

1. 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

2. Shine like stars in a crooked and depraved medium Philippans 2:15

3. 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

4. Face to face is best. 1 Thessalonians 3:6

5. Have generally outsider focused material on your website and facebook page.  Internal communication and internal Christian debates in Facebook groups. 
 
6. Beware of the expectations and dangers of the medium you are operating in. 

7. 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

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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

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