Expressive Individualism and Church Music - with Philip Percival and Alanna Glover

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.

A way back from disillusionment and disappointment in ministry - with Karl Deenick

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. 

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.

How do we diagnose complex problems within our church - with Greg Lee

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.

Strategies to increase the retention of the children of members - with Al James

There are three different ways that the adult population of churches can grow:

  1. Adults being saved. 

  2. Christians transferring from another congregation within your denomination of switching from another denomination. 

  3. Children of members growing up in the church and taking on their parents faith for themselves.

Most evangelical churches - even growing churches - are underperforming in the first and third ways.

In the Sydney Anglican Church parents report that an average of only 65% of their children who grew up in church are currently professing Christ. That number hasn’t changed in ten years - despite a targeted effort to increase it to 70%.

Getting high quality preaching from trainee ministers - with Toby Neal

How can a senior minister best train junior preachers (student ministers and assistant ministers) in preaching?

There’s a tension we all feel: we want to be a training church raising up the next generation of leaders and yet we also want to make sure that the quality of what happens in our gatherings is high.

We don’t want a Sunday morning ‘plane crash in the pulpit’, where people at church that day think‘I wish I had stayed home today’ or ‘I wish I had gone to St Bloggs down the road.’

The traumatic implications of artificial intelligence - with Stephen Driscoll

Artificial Intelligence is an oncoming tsunami that will catch all of humanity off guard.

It is a change more like a wheel than a typewriter.

But what will this do to our sense of self?

Stephen Driscoll, in ‘Made in our Image - God, artificial intelligence and you’ says artificial intelligence may do great harm - giving more power to sinful people, governments or companies.

He says artificial intelligence will likely trend towards people pleasing - giving each of us what we want now/a sense of heaven now or it may become more debauched.

It may even become an existential threat to us - because EITHER it lacks a wise moral system OR it righteously opposes our sin.

‘The hardest talk I’ve ever given: Loving God’ - with Ray Galea

God wants all of me to love all of God all the time’ says Senior Pastor of Fellowship Dubai, Ray Galea.

We want our staff and leaders to live and serve in ministry out of an overflow of the love of God for them. Grasping this love properly lifts our service from duty to desire.

As pastors we are so committed and focused on encouraging our congregations to love God with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. But do we stop to consider that our own love for God might be the limiting factor?

The pastor’s love for God will be a limiting factor for the congregation’s love for God. If we do not truly have hearts for God, how could we possibly lead others to the same?

Inside the ‘Compelled to Resist’ movement in the Church of England - with Charlie Skrine

“It may be that God is destroying the Church of England and who am I to stand in his way?  

“The real tragedy would be if, in this traumatic, confusing time, if all of the evangelicals and the broader Orthodox group fall out with each other…  if we can bear with each other in our different strategies, then that will be what we need (in whatever the future in England is going to be), whether that's within the Church of England or outside. 

Charlie Skrine, the senior minister of All Souls Langham Place London, says his church (and other evangelical churches in the UK) are in a world of pain at the moment over the growing split in the Church of England. 

Mr Skrine, who is speaking at the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion Conference in Sydney, says All Souls is united in it’s commitment to biblical teaching on sexual ethics, but divided on what the best response should be. 

Plans for Your Good: A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness - with Akos Balogh

Australia’s former Prime Minister Scott Morrison releases a new autobiography this week where he speaks explicitly about his Christian faith, and there’s a bible quote on almost every page.

Akos Balogh of http://www.bluefoxmedia.com.au joins Dominic Steele to review Mr Morrison’s new book where the former Prime Minister writes  of wrestling with whether to study at Vancouver’s Regent College, being helped by listening to sermons by Tim Keller and Rick Warren, being rebuked and encouraged by Christian pastors and friends, wrestles with forgiveness, and God’s goodness during a long struggle over infertility.

Plus we discuss how pastors can wisely interact with political leaders.

A high stakes game of ecclesiastical poker in the Anglican Communion - with Justin Badi Arama & Paul Donison

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.  

We have a problem with Truth - with Lionel Windsor

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.

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.

Navigating new laws on Conversion Practices: A Pastoral Approach to Compassion and Legal Compliance - with Neil Foster, Matt Aroney & Michael Stead

Sydney Anglican Bishop Michael Stead 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.

Things that hinder and sins that entangle - with Dominic Steele

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.

Hearts for pastor's kids - with James Galea

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. 

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. 

Theologically rethinking youth ministry - with Ruth Lukabyo, Bill Salier and Tim Beilhar

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 childrens’ ministry and in regards to how kids engage with church.

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