Queensland University’s Dean of Law Patrick Parkinson says we are facing a fall of Rome moment in Western Societies. Christendom is over.

We need to not put our trust in princes in the way that American evangelicals have disastrously done so.

It sounds so simple. And yet it’s clear from the statistics (National Church Life) that people in some congregations are reporting much growth in faith, while people in others are reporting not much at all.

And isn’t it what we all want: For the sheep that God has given us the task of being under shepherds for - to report that they have grown significantly in faith this year?

Tom Harricks and Roger Cunningham are two of the ministers featured in a new report for the Anglican Church in Sydney (https://j.mp/35UXjt5) who have achieved better than average results.

We could have talked to the report authors. But we’ve chosen to interview the report subjects and find out what the key ingredients are… so we can learn from them and steal from their recipes.

I’m a little concerned, spiritually concerned, that for some of my friends (perhaps for up to a third of our churches) we are letting the excuses to not come physically to church get in the way.

Unless you are in a high risk group you should go back to church and help serve again in building up your local expression of Jesus’ body.

It's a spiritual temperature check as we take the pulse on the relationship between church involvement in local missions and support for overseas missions.

We discuss the factors that contribute to the evangelistic heartbeat of a local Church, how Church size and denomination impacts their mission involvement and what this means for how we lead our Churches.

There’s been a drop in post COVID attendance at church across the world. For some the issues are health, others head (anxiety etc) and for others it’s an issue of the heart.

Antony Barraclough has been researching the patterns and reasons for modern church attendance by committed Christians. He works to diagnose the issues and suggest some ways forward.

The average Christian gives only 2.5% But the first step in getting our churches finances right is getting the church leader’s hearts and finances right.

How do we create a dual audience church? How do we do church live and well, simultaneously for both those physically in the room audience and at the same time for those linking in via online stream.

Today we hear from two younger leaders. We’re exploring the joint problem of not enough people putting themselves forward for ministry and the shortage of senior ministers for Sydney’s Anglican Churches.

Moore Theological College Lecturer Mark Earngey and St George North Assistant Minister Mike Leite have been researching for several years the underlying issues that have contributed to the Sydney minister drought.

How to exercise calm present leadership when there’s disappointment, constant change and pressure from every side?

Understanding what’s going on psychologically now with your church, team and you? How to best care for your team? And how to lead now when anxiety levels keep oscillating as the risk from the virus waxes and wanes (and are likely to for the next two years).

Plus navigating how to lead when there are so many different views inside and outside the team about which direction you and your church should take.

Australian church leaders need to make a philosophical shift in every aspect of our ministry, away from leading for recovery and towards planning to lead for endurance.

Dominic Steele says we need to start using the catchcry, ‘Not Recovery, But endurance, ’ in order to set our people’s expectations right.

Dominic was speaking at today’s Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion Conference in conjunction with the Peter Corney Institute.

Rob Smith has been a global leader in evangelical music for three decades. He has a new book out ‘Come, Let us Sing!’ just as singing has been restricted in many churches due to COVID-19.

Rob, who is also a lecturer at Sydney Missionary and Bible College, joins us to talk about some of the principles he’s discovered in a lifetime’s work in Evangelical Music, plus how the current pandemic has caused course corrections.

We’re asking how do we engage with God and engage with each other best in normal circumstances and in the current pandemic. What part does music play in praising, praying and preaching together.

What advice is there for musicians and church leaders on navigating current restrictions (like no congregational singing, one song leader, social distancing etc) in regards to song choices, instrumentation, arrangements, number of songs, introduction, arrangement of meeting, use of the screen, pressure on musicians, leading the congregation in song vs performance ?

To buy Rob’s new book go to: http://bit.ly/comeletussing

After three years of researching the pornography problem and what to do about it, Marshall Ballentine Jones has a message of hope.

The same stats keep recurring – 70% of males and 20% of females struggle with pornography use.

This is true in Christian schools, our churches, and ministry staff. Pornography negatively impacts individuals, their relationships, and society. Males are more likely to initiate sexualised behaviour over social media (called ‘sexting’), while females are more likely to be targets of sexting. If this is news to you - please check out the resistporn.org site, which has the research.

There is a long list of people in our ranks affected by pornography. No one is immune, and the problem remains urgent. Marshall has been on a quest has been to help find effective solutions.

There is no easy fix or silver bullet, but he’s recommending a four pronged tested strategy to as a way forward: 1. Communication, 2 Containment, 3. Co-operation and 4. Clinical support.

More details and to subscribe: http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/pornography

Thousands of Christians packed into John MacArthur Juniors’ Los Angeles evangelical megachurch ‘Grace Community Church’ on the weekend, in defiance of a California state directive.

Moore Theological College’s Lionel Windsor and Northmead Anglican Church’s Adrian Russell give their different perspectives.

There’s a critical problem here in Sydney, with more than ten percent of churches without a senior minister.

How have we come from ‘oversupply’ just a few years ago to ‘crucial shortage’? And what can we change?

A fortnight ago we spoke to former Sydney Dean Phillip Jensen and he rolled a 'hand grenade down the aisle.' Today we talk to two of Sydney’s leading senior ministers Phil Colgan and Simon Flinders about possible ways forward.

Today we remember JI Packer with two of Australian evangelicalism’s most respected leaders Mark Thompson and Peter Jensen.

Moore Theological College Principal Mark Thompson says Dr Packer was one of the three great giants of 20th century evangelicalism.

Image credit: The Gospel Coalition

Former Archbishop of Sydney Dr Jensen says Dr Packer gave us a robust confidence in the authority of the word of God, and taught us the crucial importance of evangelism.

The Pastor’s Heart. Dominic Steele. And setting vision in the midst of massive change. How do we make plans when because of COVID-19 we don’t know what’s going to happen next week?

We are talking today to two leaders who have really good things to say about vision - Stuart Starr and Tim Clemens.

There’s been an across the board drop in people stepping up to serve in full time ministry roles whether as senior pastors, assistant pastors or people putting themselves forward to study at theological college.

Humanly speaking Phillip Jensen was massively used by God in past decades to prompt an explosion in the number of gospel workers. We ask Phillip what are contributing factors that have caused the current slump, and what needs to be done?

We are discussing a Christian response to Indigenous Australians. We talk the character of God, mistakes made in the past and present, and how we can lead our Churches to promote reconciliation.

We’ll be looking at how we can acknowledge our history and better support Indigenous Christian leaders.

Neville Naden is BCA’s first Indigenous Ministry Officer. Together with his wife Kathie, Neville seeks to support those at the coal face who minister to our First Nations people, many of whom live in rural and remote communities.

Kanishka Raffel, Dean of the Sydney Anglican Cathedral and head of the Sydney Anglican Indigenous Ministry Taskforce.

The Alpha Course is 'emotionally powerful but theologically confused'.

Christian Author Tony Payne has watched through the latest Alpha materials, and joins Dominic Steele to work through the strengths and weaknesses of the popular evangelistic course.