What impact does growing up in a pastoral family have on ministry kids? Valerie Ling from the Sydney Centre for Effective Living joins us to unpack the ‘Ministry Kids Wellbeing Survey,’ revealing what Australian ministry children, say about their upbringing. They tell of heightened responsibilities and an acute awareness of adult realities plus concerns about  feeling different from their peers.We explore the broader impacts of pastoral life on children, and explore displacement, constant mobility, difficulties in forming lasting friendships and achieving a sense of belonging.Comparisons are made with the experiences of diplomats and defence ministry kids, emphasizing the common struggles and the critical role parents play in providing stability.Plus we talk the importance of empathy and creating safe spaces for doubts.The Church Cohttp://www.thechurchco.com is an excellent website and app platform built specifically for churches.  Support the show--Become a regular financial supporter of The Pastor's Heart via Patreon.

One of the world’s leading New Testament Scholars Thomas Schriener is in Sydney for the Moore College Lectures on ‘The Battle for the truth of the gospel.’At the center of his attention is NT Wright and the New Perspective on Paul, a debate that questions whether ancient Judaism was legalistic.Schreiner tells of his roots in Roman Catholicism, a transformative evangelical faith, and the enduring importance of the Reformation perspective of justification by faith alone.Schreiner, who chairs the Christian Standard Bible translation committee, takes us behind the scenes of the Christian Standard Bible's translation process, revealing the rigorous debates and decisions that shape how we read that translation. He outlines how denominational diversity influences translation accuracy. Plus we unpack the profound need to teach biblical gender roles in contemporary culture.Thomas Schreiner is professor of New Testament at Southern Baptist Theological College in Louisville, Kentucky. The Church Cohttp://www.thechurchco.com is an excellent website and app platform built specifically for churches.  Support the show--Become a regular financial supporter of The Pastor's Heart via Patreon.

Religious Freedom leaders are calling on Australia's Government to quickly bring a Religious Discrimination Act to the parliament.Mark Sneddon says the Religious Discrimination Act is not about granting unlimited freedoms, but about preventing adverse treatment of religious individuals and organizations.He says there needs to be a fair compromise that the rights of all involved, which should be supported by both sides of politics. Mark Sneddon from the Institute for Civil Society, Mark Spencer from Christian Schools Australia, and Mike Southon from Freedom for Faith bring this update on where the Australian Religious Freedom debate is up to, following this week's Freedom For Faith conference. The Church Cohttp://www.thechurchco.com is an excellent website and app platform built specifically for churches.  Support the show--Become a regular financial supporter of The Pastor's Heart via Patreon.

What does Expressive Individualism mean for churches?  And what specifically does it mean for church music?Here is the expressive individualism worldview: ‘Truth comes from inside me.  It’s important that I look inside to discover who I truly am’ and ‘I need to express my individuality and personal truth to the world around me to receive validation.’That truth comes from within - is the unspoken assumptions of guests who come to our churches.And it’s a worldview that has impacts inside the church, including inside our music teams and inside the heads of the songwriters who write the songs that we sing.Philip Percival and Alanna Glover lead the work of Emu Music, focusing on writing congregational songs and the training of church musicians and leaders.Alanna is doing a masters research project in Expressive Individualism & music, and Philip’s PhD is in the biblical theology of worship.The Church Cohttp://www.thechurchco.com is an excellent website and app platform built specifically for churches.  Support the show--Become a regular financial supporter of The Pastor's Heart via Patreon.

Disillusionment is one of the great threats to the Christian life and to Christian ministry  A wise man said the worst thing in ministry was not a pastor who quits, but a pastor who doesn’t quit, but who keeps going when they’ve given up.Sydney Missionary and Bible College Karl Deenick shares his own experience of hitting a major wall after seven years of pastoral work. We unpack how ministry challenges can lead to a sense of disillusionment, especially among millennials, plus a way back. The Church Cohttp://www.thechurchco.com is an excellent website and app platform built specifically for churches.  Support the show--Become a regular financial supporter of The Pastor's Heart via Patreon.

What would Dave Keun and Jon Kwan like to tell their younger selves if they could travel back in time before they took on the position of senior minister?How has their sense of ownership changed?What has been most difficult about the transition to the role? What mistakes have they made?Dave Keun has been senior minister of Kellyville Anglican Church in Sydney’s North West since March  2022.Jon Kwan has been lead pastor of St David’s Forestville (on Sydney’s Northern Beaches) since May 2022.The Church Cohttp://www.thechurchco.com is an excellent website and app platform built specifically for churches.  Support the show--Become a regular financial supporter of The Pastor's Heart via Patreon.

Roadmap for a reset communion - with Paul Donison and Glenn Davies The chair of Gafcon Laurent Mbunda and chair of Global South Justin Badi Arama are to meet to work out a roadmap for the resetting of the Anglican Communion. Global South Anglicans have endorsed the Former Sydney Archbishop Glenn Davies call for the communion to be reset on biblical foundations.  The Global South have called on their Primates to work with the GAFCON Primates Council and other Orthodox leaders to reset the communion on its biblical foundations as a matter of urgency.In other Anglican news. The Church of England General Synod is meeting in York.  They are considering whether to press go to move towards the next stage of endorsing their bishops’ proposals for same sex blessing.  Orthodox Anglicans united under a banner called The Alliance are calling for structural differentiation in England (essentially a new province).  The Bishop of Oxford has hit back telling The Alliance to take a running jump. Orthodox Anglicans from across Australasia gathered in Brisbane last week. New daughter churches are being planted within the fledging diocese of the Southern Cross. A new Archbishop appointed to lead the Anglican Church of North America. Steve Wood will replace Foley Beach. A collective meeting of orthodox leaders in Cairo has met for a week on ways that faithful christians might be able to reset the Communion. The Global South Anglicans met in Cairo the week before that and voted to call for the chair of the Global South Justin Badi Arama to work with the chair of Gafcon to reset the communion. Our guests are new General Secretary of Gafcon Paul Donison and new Bishop of the Diocese of the Southern Cross (and former Archbishop of Sydney) Glenn Davies. The Church Cohttp://www.thechurchco.com is an excellent website and app platform built specifically for churches.  Support the show--Become a regular financial supporter of The Pastor's Heart via Patreon.

All the time in church there are unexpected things happening.  We or someone else makes a decision to change something which then relationally or missionally impacts another area of church life that we didn’t expect.Sometimes we put  too much attention into one area of church - and now other areas are suffering.Whatever size your church is - the church system is complex, interdependent and interconnected.Sometimes the presenting problem won’t actually be the real problem, there’s something else causing it which is not immediately obvious.Greg Lee is senior pastor of Newcastle’s Hunter Bible Church.The Church Cohttp://www.thechurchco.com is an excellent website and app platform built specifically for churches.  Support the show--Become a regular financial supporter of The Pastor's Heart via Patreon.

How do you balance the instability and chaos of external ministry with adding a foster child or adopted child to a ministry family?What are the implications of taking children in crisis into the ministry home? What motivates ministry families to become foster parents or to adopt? How do older children and the church respond? Sarah and Mat Yeo serve at Hurstville Grove Anglican Church in SydneyMatt Wilcoxen pastors St John’s Darlinghurst in inner Sydney.To purchase ‘The Forgetful Prince’: https://youthworksmedia.net/products/the-forgetful-princeThe Church Cohttp://www.thechurchco.com is an excellent website and app platform built specifically for churches.  Support the show--Become a regular financial supporter of The Pastor's Heart via Patreon.

Phillip Jensen, head of Two Ways Ministries, and Adrian Russell, Senior Minister of Northmead Anglican Church, dive deep into the essence of Christian masculinity. They discuss the biblical interpretation of manhood, emphasizing maturity and mentorship. The conversation touches on empowering young men and women in faith, navigating modern media while maintaining spiritual integrity, and the lifelong commitment to serving God. With a focus on core theological principles, they advocate for a positive Christian worldview in cultural engagement.