The Pastor's Heart with Dominic Steele
by Dominic Steele
Christian leaders join Dominic Steele for a deep end conversation about our hearts and different aspects of Christian ministry each Tuesday afternoon. We share personally, pastorally and professionally about how we can best fulfill Jesus' mission to save the lost and serve the saints. The discussion is broadcast live on Facebook then on YouTube and on our thepastorsheart.net website and via audio podcast.
Episodes
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When Trauma Comes to Church — What Pastors Get Wrong and How to Care Well | Darby Strickland
When trauma comes to church, how should pastors respond? And what happens when our well-intentioned pastoral care actually makes things worse? How should pastors care for people whose lives are overwhelmed by suffering? What do we say when someone asks, ‘Where was God when this happened?’ When is...
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The Cost of Standing Firm — and What God Did Next | David Short
They Lost Their Church Building — But Not Their Church. Twenty-four years ago, Anglican minister David Short found himself at the centre of a controversy in Vancouver that would help reshape the worldwide Anglican Communion. David was leading one of Canada's largest Anglican congregations when a...
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Evangelicals Gain Ground — But will God save the Church of England? - Vaughan Roberts and John Dunnett
Evangelicals have gained ground in the Church of England's General Synod elections. But so have the revisionists. The middle ground has shrunk and the battle over marriage, biblical authority and the future of the Church of England is more polarised than before. And now there's a significant...
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Lessons, Bruises & Wins: 15 years of Vine Church with Toby Neal
They said a Bible-believing church would never grow in Sydney's secular heartland. But 15 years after planting Vine Church in Surry Hills with just 12 adults, Toby Neal leads a church community of 380, with over 160 professions of faith. Yet the journey has been anything but smooth — hostile…
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Are We Sending Missionaries Where They’re Needed Most? — Tim Silberman
Where is the need for the gospel greatest – and should that change where we send missionaries? We often make mission decisions around personal connections, available opportunities, language skills or where churches already have established partnerships. But Tim Silberman says we need to take a...
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Operation Christmas Child: What to ask before packing a box — with David Painter
Before your church packs another Christmas shoebox, pause to ask: who is our generosity really helping? After more than twenty years serving with the Church Missionary Society in Cambodia, David Painter has challenging questions about Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child—and the way...
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Authority Imbalances, Complaints and Christian Leadership – with Jenni Woodhouse
What happens when someone has been hurt in a Christian organisation, and the person they need to complain about has authority over them? Does Christian conflict resolution sometimes assume an equality that simply isn’t there? What changes when the other person is your senior pastor, CEO, bishop…
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Abuse in Christian Marriage – with Darby Strickland
How might we better (as pastors) better come alongside victims of domestic abuse? Abuse in Christian marriage is easy to miss—and even easier to minimise. How can pastors recognise what is happening behind closed doors and help our churches become places of refuge for the oppressed? Counsellor…
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Building conflict capable ministry teams – with Tim Dyer
Why do some church teams emerge from disagreement stronger, while others fracture, divide or quietly drift apart? We expect opposition to the gospel and theological disagreement. What we’re often far less prepared for is tension within our own ministry teams. When ordinary disagreements become...
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Twice as Vulnerable: What Every Pastor Needs to Know – with Bec Baines
Consent, Bodies and Belonging: Ministering to Young People with Disability. In every church's orbit are young people with intellectual disability, whether in the pews, in youth group, or in a family that stopped coming because it got too hard. The Australian Disability Royal Commission found…
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20% attendance growth in three years – Craig Roberts
After a decade of decline, Sydney Anglican church attendance has grown by more than 20% in just three years. This is now higher than at any point since 2013. But underneath the encouraging headline, the picture is uneven. Larger churches have grown fastest. Around 13% of churches reached an...
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Challenging functional idols in ministry from the ten commandments - Phillip Jensen
What's the functional idol in your own ministry? Career? Family? The platform? The numbers? Are we preaching law as legalism dressed up as discipleship, or grace so loose it asks nothing of anyone? Do we actually rest, or just talk about it? And when my church's own reputation is on the line…
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‘Dick Lucas’ mind was blown apart’ - with Andrew Atherstone
1986. London’s Westminster Central Hall. The then young Australian preacher Phillip Jensen takes the platform at the Evangelical Ministry Assembly, and detonated UK Anglican Evangelicalism Dick Lucas, the elder statesman of UK Evangelicalism Rector of St Helen's Bishopsgate, said his mind was...
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In it to win it—or quit now? with Andrew Atherstone
For evangelical Christians in the Church of England, the question of whether to stay, resist, or leave is a live crisis. If you’re deciding whether to head into C of E ministry or carve out a path in independence, or if you’re a pastor navigating a "mixed denomination," how do you maintain gospel...
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The joys, privileges and rewards of Christian ministry — with Matt Fuller
We often speak about the pressures and heartbreaks of pastoral ministry. But we speak far less about its joys, privileges and eternal rewards. Matt Fuller, Senior Minister of Christ Church Mayfair, joins us to discuss his new book, The Joyful Pastor (Despite Everything). We talk about difficult...
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Confusion over the Religious Question on the Australian Census
Answering "Anglican", "Catholic", or "Baptist" on the Census isn't a test of church attendance Before filling out your form, hear researcher Mark McCrindle, and Bishop Michael Stead discuss What the Bureau of Statistics is actually measuring. Why writing your specific denomination helps community...
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Darrell Bock on Engaging Aussie Culture
In this special ‘pop up’ episode of The Pastor’s Heart we talk with New Testament Professor Darrell Bock about how best might Christians might engage culturally to reach Australians for Jesus. Plus his love of Sydney, Sydney Swans Australian football team and why he would move here if he didn’t...
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Darryll Bock answers EVERY question on Luke's Gospel
Leading New Testament scholar Darrell Bock gives a rapid fire exploration of Luke and Acts. Bock, who is Senior Research Professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, outlines what first drew him to Luke and answers questions including: Is Luke writing before or after Matthew...
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Darrell Bock answers EVERY question on Luke's Gospel
Leading New Testament scholar Darrell Bock gives a rapid fire exploration of Luke and Acts. Bock, who is Senior Research Professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, outlines what first drew him to Luke and answers questions including: Is Luke writing before or after Matthew...
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How to preach sermons that change lives — with Richard Coekin
Do our sermons actually land in the lives of the people in front of us? Do they help anxious believers, tired parents, proud leaders, compromised Christians or sceptical guests to hear, trust and obey the living Word of God? Richard Coekin says application is part of faithful preaching itself.…
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How to preach sermons that change lives — with Richard Coekin
Do our sermons actually land in the lives of the people in front of us? Do they help anxious believers, tired parents, proud leaders, compromised Christians or sceptical guests to hear, trust and obey the living Word of God? Richard Coekin says application is part of faithful preaching itself.…
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Church attenders do better — with Valerie Ling
New global research associated with Harvard University suggests that people who regularly attend church tend to do better in life than people who do not. The Global Flourishing Study is following more than 200,000 people across 22 countries and tracking not only happiness, but meaning and…
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Church attenders do better — with Valerie Ling
New global research associated with Harvard University suggests that people who regularly attend church tend to do better in life than people who do not. The Global Flourishing Study is following more than 200,000 people across 22 countries and tracking not only happiness, but meaning and…
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Pastoral heartbreak: young adults leaving evangelicalism for Orthodoxy and Catholicism and what to do about it - John Diacos
On the surface, some are drawn by beauty, history, liturgy, mystery, masculinity, discipline and Orthodoxy’s claim to be the original church. But John Diacos says beneath many of the surface attractions lies something much more spiritually dangerous. John was converted from Orthodoxy to a clear...
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Pastoral heartbreak: young adults leaving evangelicalism for Orthodoxy and Catholicism and what to do about it - John Diacos
On the surface, some are drawn by beauty, history, liturgy, mystery, masculinity, discipline and Orthodoxy’s claim to be the original church. But John Diacos says beneath many of the surface attractions lies something much more spiritually dangerous. John was converted from Orthodoxy to a clear...
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How Katoomba shaped a generation of Sydney Evangelicals
For a generation of Sydney evangelicals, the Katoomba Christian Conventions weren’t just events in the calendar - they shaped church programs across the city. In the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, thousands gathered under the circus tent and then later in packed auditoriums to hear the Bible taught,...
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How Katoomba shaped a generation of Sydney Evangelicals - Phillip Jensen, David Cook & Al Stewart
For a generation of Sydney evangelicals, the Katoomba Christian Conventions weren’t just events in the calendar - they shaped church programs across the city. In the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, thousands gathered under the circus tent and then later in packed auditoriums to hear the Bible taught,...
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Why do young people leave the church, and what do we need to change to help them stay? Ruth Lukabyo
New research suggests that around 70% of those who attended church regularly at age 11 are no longer attending by their late twenties, with the most vulnerable years stretching from around age 10 through to 25. Dean of Students at Youthworks College Ruth Lukabyo explores why young people…
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Why do young people leave the church, and what do we need to change to help them stay? Ruth Lukabyo
New research suggests that around 70% of those who attended church regularly at age 11 are no longer attending by their late twenties, with the most vulnerable years stretching from around age 10 through to 25. Dean of Students at Youthworks College Ruth Lukabyo explores why young people…
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Have we preached the word richly, but failed to let the word dwell richly among us?
Tony Payne provocatively argues that while evangelicalism has successfully recovered expository preaching and every-member ministry, we have not adequately recovered every-member word ministry. Tony argues that the Reformation remains unfinished, that we haven’t fully thought through the...
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Have we preached the word richly, but failed to let the word dwell richly among us?
Tony Payne provocatively argues that while evangelicalism has successfully recovered expository preaching and every-member ministry, we have not adequately recovered every-member word ministry. Tony argues that the Reformation remains unfinished, that we haven’t fully thought through the...
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Are evangelicals losing confidence in low-church evangelicalism? - with Orlando Saer
What’s going on? Is this a reaction against thin, seeker-friendly evangelicalism? Spiritual nostalgia? Across the Western church, some younger Christians seem to be searching for deeper roots: tradition, transcendence, beauty, liturgy, sacraments and a stronger sense of connection with the…
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Are evangelicals losing confidence in low-church evangelicalism? - with Orlando Saer
What’s going on? Is this a reaction against thin, seeker-friendly evangelicalism? Spiritual nostalgia? Across the Western church, some younger Christians seem to be searching for deeper roots: tradition, transcendence, beauty, liturgy, sacraments and a stronger sense of connection with the…
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Fixing the 'senior pastor loneliness problem' - with Sheridan Voysey
The loneliest person in church may be the one standing at the pulpit. Pastors spend their lives surrounded by people, but ministry can make real friendship strangely difficult. Confidentiality, responsibility, expectations, perceived favouritism and the pressure to “have answers but not needs”…
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A senior pastor’s tears — and a gospel culture to reach a nation - Richard Leadbeater
Richard Leadbeater is the senior pastor of the influential Dundonald Church in London. He came to Australia for the Reach Australia Conference — 1450 pastors and leaders from across Australia, the UK, the US, South Africa and New Zealand — and left deeply moved. Richard says he found himself in...
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Fixing the senior pastor 'loneliness problem' - Sheridan Voysey
The loneliest person in church may be the one standing at the pulpit. Pastors spend their lives surrounded by people, but ministry can make real friendship strangely difficult. Confidentiality, responsibility, expectations, perceived favouritism and the pressure to “have answers but not needs”…
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From corrective to culture setting: leading Australian evangelicalism | with Richard Coekin
The Reach Australia movement has matured into something broader: from a corrective voice into one of the most significant culture-shaping forces in Australian evangelicalism. Reach Australia has often been heard as a corrective: a push for clearer pathways, better systems, output thinking and…
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From corrective to culture setting: leading Australian evangelicalism | with Richard Coekin
The Reach Australia movement has matured into something broader: from a corrective voice into one of the most significant culture-shaping forces in Australian evangelicalism. Reach Australia has often been heard as a corrective: a push for clearer pathways, better systems, output thinking and…
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A senior pastor’s tears — and a gospel culture to reach a nation | Richard Leadbeater
Richard Leadbeater is the senior pastor of the influential Dundonald Church in London. He came to Australia for the Reach Australia Conference — 1450 pastors and leaders from across Australia, the UK, the US, South Africa and New Zealand — and left deeply moved. Richard says he found himself in...
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Live from Reach: Christ’s victory amidst discouragement, criticism, exhaustion, disappointment and sin.
We preach Christ’s victory as pastors. But we battle discouragement, criticism, exhaustion, disappointment and sin. What does the victory of Christ actually mean for pastors whose ministries feel painfully ordinary? What does it mean for leaders carrying the slow weight of imperfect churches,...
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Christ’s victory amidst discouragement, criticism, suffering and sin
Christ’s victory amidst discouragement, criticism, exhaustion, disappointment and sin. We preach Christ’s victory as pastors. But we battle discouragement, criticism, exhaustion, disappointment and sin. What does the victory of Christ actually mean for pastors whose ministries feel painfully...
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Should evangelicals sing Hillsong, Bethel and Elevation songs in evangelical churches? - with Mal York
Church music is one of the most formative and contested parts of local church life. People join churches because of music. People leave churches because of music. But music is not a filler between the sermon and the prayers. The songs we sing put theology into people’s mouths and memories. So how...
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Dominic Steele on Sam Allberry 'There are no rocks being thrown from this corner.'
Dominic Steele says 'There are no rocks being thrown from this corner.' Dominic Steele's Pastor's Heart for Sam Allberry. I, like many Pastor’s Heart viewers, read online in the middle of the day on Monday that Sam Allberry had engaged in inappropriate relationship with a man in 2022 and that, as...
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New thinking on addressing the collapse in ministry recruitment and training? with Orlando Saer
In the UK there are serious signs of a narrowing pipeline into ministry recruitment and training. Fewer people are coming forward through some of the traditional routes. Traineeships are under pressure. Residential theological education is changing. And churches are asking: where will the next...
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James Valentine, Voluntary Assisted Dying and How Christians Should Speak of Death - with Megan Best and Michael Quinlan
How should Christians respond when voluntary assisted dying is publicly framed as dignified, compassionate and courageous? James Valentine has been rightly honoured as a much-loved broadcaster in the wake of his death last week. But alongside the tributes there’s been significant reflection on…
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How to put together an excellent funeral? | David Cook, Sandy Grant and Gary Coleman
Not every funeral is great. Sometimes they go too long, sometimes the gospel is not clear, sometimes the content overlaps. How do you create a funeral service that God would be pleased with, connects well with people, honours the deceased and serves the bereaved? David Cook is former Principal of...
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JUST WAR & the US, Israel, Iran and Ukraine - with John McClean, Rob Smith & Grant Dibden
How should Christians think about war? How does the Biblical Framework of Just War help us understand how we should react to what is happening in the Ukraine, Iran, Israel and south Lebanon. We go back to first principles drawing on the work of Augustine of Hippo Thomas Aquinas - asking when is…
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How to really change a church? - with Archie Poulos and Kirsty Bucknell
Tinkering or transformation? How do you change a church, like really change, not just tweak a program or update a roster, but challenge the whole model? Kodak missed the shift to digital photography. We’ve seen huge changes in industries impacting newspapers, landline telephones, taxis, bank...
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Getting Authority and Care Right - Peter Orr on Today’s Pastor
‘Authority’ and ‘care’- the two big words New Testament lecturer Peter Orr says belong together at the heart of real shepherding. Lecturer at Sydney’s Moore Theological College, Peter Orr, has told the Nexus Conference, that one of the great confusions of our moment is confusion about the role of...
About this show
Christian leaders join Dominic Steele for a deep end conversation about our hearts and different aspects of Christian ministry each Tuesday afternoon.
We share personally, pastorally and professionally about how we can best fulfill Jesus' mission to save the lost and serve the saints.
The discussion is broadcast live on Facebook then on YouTube and on our thepastorsheart.net website and via audio podcast.
Hosted by
Dominic Steele
Categories