The Pastor's Heart with Dominic Steele Dominic Steele

It is almost D day in the Anglican Communion.

Today we give the background for two highly significant meetings. One to take place next week in Rome.  The second in June in Cairo.

The Rome gathering has been called by the rejected Canterbury leadership.  The Cairo gathering has been called by the leadership of the Global South.

As background, The Church of England, the historic mother church of the Anglican Communion, under the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury formally abandoned the historic Christian faith when the English General Synod voted to follow Archbishop Welby and his house of bishops in voting for same sex blessings.

In reaction, the majority theologically orthodox have drawn a line in the sand and parted company with The church of England.

The Global South Churches said in their important Ash Wednesday 23 statement that the Church of England has disqualified herself from leading the Anglican communion.

Gafcon said the Archbishop of Canterbury’s leadership has been irreparably damaged.

We speak with  the chair of the Global South Archbishop Justin Badi Arama of South Sudan and the new General Secretary of Gafcon Bishop Paul Donison.
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We are moving into a post - post-modern world  But what does that look like and mean for truth - and us as pastors - as we attempt to communicate with our churches?

Our church members have unconsciously adopted some of the presuppositions of our society in the way we process texts and information.

We are living in a fake news world on social media with a parallel loss of confidence in institutions and authorities. Prince Harry says, ‘Whatever the cause, my memory is my memory, it does what it does, gathers and curates as it sees fit, and there’s just as much truth in what I remember and how I remember it as there is in so-called objective facts.  Things like chronology and cause-and-effect are often just fables we tell ourselves about the past.

Former US President Barack Obama says “Unfortunately, too much of politics today seems to reject the very concept of objective truth. People just make stuff up. They just make stuff up. … we see the utter loss of shame among political leaders where they’re caught in a lie and they just double down and they lie some more. Politicians  have always lied, but it used to be if you caught them lying, they’d be like, “Oh, man”. Now they just keep on lying."

Moore Theological College Lecturer Lionel Windsor joins Dominic Steele to explore what it means to believe the truth, turn to the truth, and adopt habits of truth and faithfulness in a post truth world.

Purchase Lionel Windsor’s Truth be Told  https://bit.ly/3VVD34N
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What is permissible and not permissible under new conversion practice laws in New South Wales - with Neil Foster, Matt Aroney and Michael Stead

Sydney Anglican Bishop Michael Stead, who chairs Freedom for Faith, describes the new laws  as the least worst that he has seen in Australia.

Associate Professor of Law at Newcastle University and author of the Law and Religion blog Neil Foster says the law is unnecessary, but better than has been implemented in other parts of Australia.

Professor Foster supports moves to ban oppressive or violent practices that are designed to change someone’s sexual attraction or impair gender identity.

However, Professor Foster says the laws (which have a criminal and civil component)  can go beyond those bad things to areas where a minister is explaining the teaching of the Bible and wanting to help people to live in accordance with the bible.

Acting Minister of Watsons Bay Matt Aroney says he doesn’t think the new laws will impact his pastoral practice.  Matt wants to turn down the anxiety levels.  He encourages to choose thoughtfully to respond to the people in front of us with the love and compassion that Jesus has.

Matt applies the principles of his new book ‘Renovated: How God makes us Christlike’  to caring well for those Christians experiencing same sex attraction or gender incongruence. 
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The Pastor’s Heart - A word to our heart from Dominic Steele

In 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?
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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. 










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How do we speak to children about sin? How can we help youth understand themselves as sinful and in indeed of forgiveness?

What to make theologically of the sense of entitlement in youth culture?

Plus how do we think theologically about the important issue of vibe in youth and children's ministry and in regards to how kids engage with church.

And what can we learn from Sunday School history that will help with practice today?

The new book ‘Identity, Church Culture and Discipleship in Youth and Children’s Ministry - Australian Evangelical Perspectives on Youth Ministry’ is being launched this week.

Papers in the book were first presented at the HOUSE conference for youth and children’s ministers in Sydney.

Contributors include Ruth Lukabyo,  who leads the Sydney Anglican Youthworks Institute, teaches church history at Youthworks College and his responsible for editing the book.

Bill Salier is a former principal at Youthworks College and now heads up the Anglican GAFCON Theological Educators Network.

Tim Beliharz is on the ministry support team at Youthworks.

To purchase: https://bit.ly/3x3P0uU




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