Reach Australia Podcast

Phil Colgan from St George North Anglican Church reminds us of the noble call of the pastor from Acts 20:17-38. Especially the importance of “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28) Pastors need to keep in mind ministry is done: 1. In humility 2. With tears 3. Through trials 4. With the priority of the word 5. Guarding yourself 6. Guarding the Flock CREDITS: The Reach Australia Podcast is brought to you by ⁠Reach Australia⁠ Contact us via resources@reachaustralia.com.au You can give to the ⁠Online Resource Library

Des Smith, lead pastor from Trinity Lockleys Church in South Australia reminds of the importance of finishing to the end. CREDITS: The Reach Australia Podcast is brought to you by Reach Australia Contact us via resources@reachaustralia.com.au You can give to the Online Resource Library

Greg Lee from Hunter Bible Church speaks on the role of mission in community in the Book of Acts. Highlights include the spreading of Jesus' kingdom through prayer and preaching, the relationship between the church and the kingdom, and strategies for cultivating a mission-focused community.

Ministry involves navigating a range of relationships and responsibilities, many of these are pastorally complex and the intensity of these relationships can often leave pastors drained of energy and confused about what help they can offer – How do you get clear on what your responsibility is, and isn’t? What help is actually helpful? This workshop offers a family systems view on pastoral care and considers how anxiety in relationships can often overwhelm the intentionality we would like to have in pastoral care. In this workshop we will: Think about the idea of congregations as emotional relational systems Take a step back and observe how patterns of care on offer might be unsustainable or even unhelpful Explore ideas of overfunctioning and underfunctioning and the application of these in ministry where ministers / pastoral carers are primed to overfunction for others Consider how to shift the focus of responsibility and care for someone from an anxious quick fix to having long term emotional and spiritual growth in mind. Executive Director – The Family Systems Institute Lauren is the Executive Director of The Family Systems Institute, an organisation that offers family systems training for clinicians, supervisors, coaches and ministry leaders. She is a mental health social worker, couple and family therapist and supervisor, with experience in tertiary level mental health services and private practice in Australia and Scotland, currently counselling with Family Systems Practice. Lauren has published articles with the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy and co-edited a book entitled Bowen Family Systems Theory in Christian Ministry. She attends Newtown Erskineville Anglican Church where her husband, Andrew, is the Senior Minister.  SHOW NOTES: Growing Yourself Up by Jenny Brown Bowen Family Systems Theory in Christian Ministry: Grappling With Theory and Its Application Through a Biblical Lens (eds Jenny Brown and Lauren Errington)

Sally Sims (Care Ministry Coordinator) and Caroline Litchfield (Membership Director) discuss organizing church care. They explore the importance of community, intentional love, and communal responsibility. They also discuss Christian pastoral care, the impact it has on people's lives, and the need for care structures and processes within a church. The episode covers the demographics and programs of a church in St Ives, the challenges faced by pastors, and different strategies for providing care and support to church members.

Andrew Heard seeks to encourage your heart in serving God through difficult times.

Tim Clemens from Grace City Church talks through 7 important questions churches need to ask about community in church. Tim's ebook can be downloaded here. You can support the Online Resource Library here.

Karl Deenick, author of Gathered Together, speaks on the hurts a church pastor can feel and how Ephesians 3 helps us in that. You can get Karl's book here. You can support our resource library here⁠.

Rory Shiner, from Providence Church in WA, takes us through his last talk in Colossians where he helps us understand unity between and with churches. The link to the Taste and See form is here. The link to support our resource library is here.

Rory Shiner, from Providence Church in WA, talks us through the theme of church in the book of Colossians.