The Pastor’s Heart - A word to our heart from Dominic SteeleIn 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?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.

We explore the delicate dynamics of faith, family, and identity in the world of church leadership.As pastors most of all we want our kids to love Jesus.  And yet Barnabas Piper says so often pastors kids are messed up. What are the unique experiences, joys and challenges of being pastors kids? And how can we better parent as pastors?There are issues of awareness, assumptions and expectations.  Plus confusion about identity. This episode isn't just about the challenges; it's also a treasure trove of wisdom for Pastor's kids themselves. Whether you're feeling the weight of a congregation's gaze or struggling to carve out your own identity.We discuss the power of parental apologies and the healing they can bring.James Galea grew up as a pastor’s kid in Western Sydney and now leads the ministry team at Freshwater Anglican Church on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. 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.

Exploring the theological perspectives on sin, forgiveness, and entitlement in youth culture through the lens of a newly released book. Addressing the challenges of conveying sin to children and the importance of relational language. Discussing the impact of societal changes on youth ministry and the significance of building welcoming and inclusive church communities.

The podcast discusses a nationwide evangelistic collaboration to introduce people to Jesus, emphasizing the importance of prayer and consistent branding. It explores practical steps to integrate evangelism into the church's culture and highlights the transformative impact of prayer on church discussions, sparking change and urgency for evangelism.

“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.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.

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.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.

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-proofThe 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.

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.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 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.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.

Explore how 'The Infinite Game' concept can be applied to ministry, embracing long-term thinking for success. Learn about overcoming resistance to change in congregations. Discover lessons for Christian mission from 'After the Ball' book on LGBTI societal acceptance. Dive into the urgency of growth and change in church leadership.