The zeitgeist has changed profoundly in the last month. Our 2020 vision calendar has been ripped up. We can’t predict what will happen next week, or even tomorrow. As we prepare online presentations for Good Friday and Easter Sunday in this tumultuous context, two of Australia’s leading Chistian communicators  Mike Raiter and Sam Chan join Dominic Steele to talk about how COVID-19 has changed our task.  Mike Raiter is from Melbourne’s Center for Biblical Preaching and Sam Chan is an evangelist with City Bible Forum, Sydney. We discuss the following questions: How has being online changed the audience for our sermons? How do we show the relevance of the gospel to a culture which is reeling? How should communicating online be different to an in person Church service? How do we connect with gospel-curious people in an online sphere?What questions are our covid impacted communities asking about God? How will these changes we are implementing now impact how we do Church into the future?  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.

This week on The Pastor's Heart we talk big COVID changes: individualism and community, autonomy and submission, free press & censorship, materialism, wealth and its assumptions and the seriousness of life.Plus the massive advantages for ministry and evangelism in a society which has much more time on our hands and is much more aware of the reality of death.Plus we ask Phillip how Christian leaders can honour Jesus, loving the flock and reach the lost in the Corona season.More at: http://www.thepastorsheart.netThe 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.

"Our buildings are shut down, but we can’t shut down our identity of being salt and light and love for the world"Buildings closed. Hearts open with Sydney Archbishop Glenn DaviesSydney Anglicans Archbishop Glenn Davies joins Dominic Steele in a live broadcast to answer questions on how we can lead our churches through the COVID-19 crisis.From midday Monday (23 March) religious gatherings and places of worship have been shut down in Australia, with only a small exception for small weddings and funerals.The restrictions turn church life on its head.Archbishop Davies spoke to The Pastor's Heart today, pointing us to God's plan while also warning our Churches to prepare for the current conditions to last up to six months.We're discussing the implications, challenges and opportunities for the church.Check out the Sydney Anglican web page on COVID-19 responses here. 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.

Leading your church in the corona era with Pastor Eugene Hor, Bishop Gary Koo and Dr Irmgard Pascoe How to give spiritual leadership in a highly anxious season?How to lead from the word of God?What does calm leadership look like?How can we lead when other church leaders around us are making different calls?Why do different contexts lead to different decisions?How to see this season as a blessing from God - that might lead to missional benefits?How to act not in selfishness, but in love and care for our neighbours?Navigating the finances of the church? Dr Irmgard Pascoe is a general practitioner with an interest in immunology and public health, Bishop Gary Koo is leading the Sydney Anglican Churches response to COVID-19 and Pastor Eugene Hor leads the English ministry at GracePoint Presbyterian Burwood. See Dominic Steele's message to his congregation on COVID-19 at http://www.villagechurch.sydney/corona 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.

It’s a confronting conversation this week - especially for senior pastors - as we discuss the top 15 mistakes senior leaders make, with Craig Hamilton from Glenmore Park Anglican Church.Craig will challenge us to redefine success, develop and consider a leadership pipeline and assess the ways we use our time. It will be a challenging - potentially painful - discussion, but it’s one every Christian leader should reflect on. Our leadership impacts the lives and salvation of thousands, so it is key we do that to the best of our ability.Some of the key areas areas we will discuss are:Attracting and retaining a strong teamSetting a strong and positive Church culture and developing systems and opportunities for developmentTraining and investing in leadersResponding to crisisDelegating and trusting your teamCraig is the author of Wisdom in Leadership. He has a new book coming out later this year and has given us a sneak peek.I am expecting to find the conversation helpful for reflecting on individual leadership strengths and weaknesses, and hope you will too.Check it at http://www.thepastorsheart.netCraig is the author of Wisdom in Leadership from Matthias Media.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.

Seven million Australian  Non Christians Would Accept an Invite to Good Friday Easter is a key time in the calendar year where Churches see non-believers visiting. How does Easter fit into your evangelistic pathway? How can you get Easter guests back? How do you create an atmosphere which helps believers celebrate the truth of the resurrection and equally, helps newcomers consider the resurrection for the first time.This week we will speak with Luther Symons lead pastor of Hope Anglican Church and Matt Varcoe Maturity and Mission Director at Grace City Church about how they approach Easter. They’ll be sharing their approach to Easter including:They’ll answer questions like: How does Easter fit into your evangelistic pathway? How can you see Easter guests return? How do you create an atmosphere which helps believers celebrate the truth of the resurrection and equally, helps newcomers consider the resurrection for the first time.Matt and Luther share their approach to Easter including: Specific issues Churches face, and how to address them What not to do Meeting (and breaking!) expectations How to address different demographicsWho is likely to be in the room Which services to emphasise Follow up opportunities and pitfalls How Easter needs to fit in with a wider, year long evangelistic strategy  However, this conversation is not at all limited to Easter. Instead, Matt and Luther share how to create “credible, trusted, mission events” that our congregations will feel confident to invite people to, the problem with having one-off evangelistic events and how to create clear and specific next steps which your Church is working together to achieve. They discuss specific strategies like movie nights, carols in the park, “open house” Sundays and using baptisms or videos during the event. While it is not too late for this to impact how you address Easter, it will also impact your year-wide evangelistic strategy. 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.

Do you put on attractional events, just to keep evangelism on the agenda? Do you preach the importance of sharing the gospel and not see any action? Is our issue with evangelism fueled by a reliance on introductory courses? Or are courses the only approaches bringing any measurable fruit?This week we speak with leaders in the evangelistic space in Australia: Sam Hilton, Mission Pastor at Hunter Bible Church Newcastle and Tony Wright, the Australian Manager for The Word 1-2-1 at City Bible Forum, whose written a provocative series of articles for the Gospel Coalition about the state of evangelism in our Churches. We come together to discuss the issues he raised and what we can do better. Sam and Tony rely on different ministry strategies in the contexts they work in. Dominic has also been heavily involved in one-to-one ministry as well as the creation of Introducing God. Together, they will discuss the pros and cons of 1-2-1 Bible reading and evangelistic courses, including the reach, growth of Christian maturity, visibility, success rate, the time needed and longevity. We will also discuss the health of a deeper level of spiritual health of our congregations and the importance of training them in evangelism. Our conversation will raise key questions around Church health, growth and developing an evangelical DNA.Read Tony Wright’s articles for the Gospel Coalition. 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.

‘Church in Hard places’ co-founders Mez McConnell and Matthew Spandler Davidson are in Sydney to present a key elective on Friday on 'Abuse in the Church' at the Acts29 conference for Australia, New Zealand and Japan.Ahead of the conference they are leading ‘Church in Hardplaces’ bootcamps.  Mez and Matthew talk to Dominic Steele about the transitioning of Steve Timmis out of Acts 29 this week, under a cloud of claims of Spiritual Abuse. To purchase Mez's new book, Creaking on the stairs, Finding Faith in God through Childhood Abuse.*****Update: Read Dominic Steele's report on the opening night of the Acts29 Australian conference here. 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.

There are women in all our lives and churches who have had an abortion. Men, women and children who have been touched by abortion - in our workplaces, churches and families. Senior pastors need to stop turning a blind eye to this subject and talk much much more about abortion in church. New Testament scholar and former nurse Dr Claire Smith says we are currently not meeting this pastoral and evangelistic need. Dr Smith has many suggestions on how to regularly teach pastorally and faithfully on abortion, potentially save many lives in your church. Plus we talk mistakes made in counselling on abortion at seventeen and eighteen weeks and the fallout and pastoral response needed in a post abortion situation. Watch online or subscribe to The Pastor’s Heart: http://www.thepastorsheart/podcast/abortion-clairesmithPregnancy Support and post-abortion counsellingReal Choices Australia: www.realchoices.org.au Zoe Support: www.zoesupport.com.au Embryo Donation Network: www.embryodonation.org.au Priceless Life Centre (Qld): www.pricelesslifecentre.org.auKarinya House (ACT): www.karinyahouse.asn.auBrave Foundation (teen pregnancies and help for carers/schools/health professionals): www.bravefoundation.org.auDiamond Women’s Support (Sydney): https://diamondwomensupport.com/services/ Hope House (Western Sydney): http://www.hopehouse.com.auRachel’s Vineyard retreats (Roman Catholic): https://www.rachelsvineyard.org/weekend/sites.aspx?c=Australia Resources for pastoral careDenise Cooper-Clark: http://www.ethos.org.au/online-resources/engage-mail/unspoken-grief-pastoral-care-around-abortionERLC on counselling men affected: https://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/how-we-can-speak-to-men-in-the-abortion-conversationERLC on speaking to women about abortion: https://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/why-our-hearts-matter-when-talking-about-abortion Andrew Cameron on abortion ethics (2004): https://sydneyanglicans.net/blogs/indepth/1721a ‘Pro-life’ ResourcesAustralian Christian Lobby: https://www.acl.org.au Evangelicals for Life—Peter Barnes http://evangelicalsforlife.com March for the Babies (Vic): http://marchforthebabies.org Women’s Forum Australia (secular):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.

Is it possible for our different churches to be unified, without watering down the Gospel? What is the role of the church in an increasingly individualistic society?Introducing Julius Kim - the new President of The Gospel Coalition. With over 30 million users on their website in 2019, TGC clearly has a key role in speaking into evangelical spheres and representing Christianity to a wider public.Julius is just 10 days into his role - but Dominic doesn't hold back! In this interview, Dominic will bring key questions around the role of TGC and the change of culture:Is it possible for Churches to work together despite differences?Will this lead to a watering down of the gospel?Concern about how evangelical leaders interact in political debates (especially in the US)?Is it right for a church of Jesus Christ to align themselves with one side of politics? How does this impact the ability of the Church to evangelise?Julius also speaks to the dangers of privatised religion and how individualism is impacting our Churches. Julius will outline what he sees as priorities for evangelical Churches in an increasingly fractured time and what it means to be a ‘’pilgrim” in our own countries. As a Korean American Christian, Julius is uniquely equipped to address the role of the Church in a society which increasingly suggests it is unwelcome.Watch the full interview at http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/juliuskimgospelcoalitionThe 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.