The Pastor's Heart with Dominic Steele

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.The Church Cothechurchco.com is a website and app platform built specifically for churches.  Advertise on The Pastor's HeartTo advertise on The Pastor's Heart go to thepastorsheart.net/sponsorSupport the show

 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. The Church Cothechurchco.com is a website and app platform built specifically for churches.  Advertise on The Pastor's HeartTo advertise on The Pastor's Heart go to thepastorsheart.net/sponsorSupport the show

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)The Church Cothechurchco.com is a website and app platform built specifically for churches.  Advertise on The Pastor's HeartTo advertise on The Pastor's Heart go to thepastorsheart.net/sponsorSupport the show

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. Support the show

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’ Support the show

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. Support the show

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. Support the show

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 overwhelmingSupport the show

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. Support the show

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 Support the show