It’s going to be an especially bumpy six months for religious freedom issues in New South Wales..

Legalised Euthanasia will be rolled out in just a few weeks. But what about faith based aged care institutions, where organizations and staff are conscientious objectors to euthanasia? 

Then there’s the Law Reform Commission inquiry into religious schooling and whether the religious exemptions to anti discrimination law should be removed. 

And the debate over conversion therapy will come to a head in the parliament. 

Monica Doumit is Director of Public Affairs and Engagement for the Catholic Church in Sydney… and was one of the presenters at the Freedom for Faith Conference in Sydney. 

Mike Southon is executive director of Freedom for Faith 

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/euthanasia-discrimination-conversion 

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A few weeks ago on The Pastor’s Heart we talked with Zac Veron and Raj Gupta about issues confronting Sydney Anglicans.

The National Church Life Survey shows a drop in newcomers from 9% in 2011 to 5.4% in 2021 - a more than ten year trend of fewer people joining church.

Plus there’s been a 7.5% drop in attendance between 2015 and 2019.

But it’s not just the Sydney Anglicans that need a wake up call. It’s most of us in Australian Evangelicalism.

And if you are a senior pastor watching from around the world - it’s highly likely that there will be a massive overlap between your problems and our problems.

Andrew Heard leads the large and influential EV church on the Central Coast of New South Wales. He’s also the key person behind the influential Reach Australia movement. And is a leader in the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/problems-of-heart-head-and-hands-andrew-heard

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Rolling out the Global Anglican rescue - with Archbishop Justin Badi Arama 

Nicky Gumbel teams up with the Global South in rebuking Archbishop Justin Welby

Slowly, carefully, but quite deliberately, a new locus of leadership is emerging within the global Anglican Communion, a locus that significantly is intentionally focused on Christ and biblical authority and not focused on London, England or the Archbishop of Canterbury. 

An important meeting of the Primates of the Global South and other leader of the Anglican Community has just wrapped up in Cairo. 

Significantly and surprisingly the 13 orthodox Primates were joined at their meeting by Nicky Gumbel, the pioneer of the Alpha Course and London’s Holy Trinity Brompton’s massive UK church planting network. 

Nicky Gumbel has been a friend of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby since high school. 

Chair of the Global South Archbishop Justin Badi Arama spells out the plans to reset the Anglican Communion, coming out of the Cairo meeting.

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We traverse the historical landscape of identity, starting from Descartes' cogito ergo sum or "I think, therefore I am," to the current age where identity has become a commodity. 

Chris Watkin, the award-winning author of the Biblical Critical Theory, helps us understand possessive individualism, starting with John Locke, expressive individualism, and how both terms help us grapple with modern identity formation.

Plus, we probe into the delicate balance between dignity and humility in the context of human identity. 

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Our focus today is on the massive legacy of some of the greatest women of church history.  We discuss how different the Jesus’ mother Mary (as portrayed in the New Testament) is to Mary as she’s popularly thought of.  We focus on the account of one of the early martyrs, 22 year old mother Perpetua, who was fed to the lions.  

We look at England’s nine day queen Lady Jane Grey and her mentoring by the Swiss Protestant reformer Heinrich Bullinger.  Then there’s the extraordinary story of Salvation Army co-founder Catherine Booth’s campaign to have the age of consent raised in England from 12 to the eventual age of 16.  And Gladys Alward’s 350 kilometer trek across the mountains of China with 100 orphan children.

Click here to purchase Ten dead gals you should know by Rachel Ciano and Ian Maddox

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Whether we are the senior pastor, theological college lecturer, missionary, student worker, Christian publisher, or denominational leader - we all work within an evangelical ecosystem.

And it’s possible for us to make it harder or easier for our ministry peers to play their part in glorifying God. 

Mikey Lynch’s new book The Vine Movement, published by Matthias Media (https://bit.ly/vinemovement), explores how churches, missionary organisations, evangelical student ministries, chaplains and denominations can all work together best.

Mikey Lynch is a director of Reach Australia, leads the AFES staff team at the University in Hobart and is the editorial director for Gospel Coalition Australia. 

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Now, where and how for Sydney Anglicans - with Raj Gupta and Zac Veron

The future of the Anglican Church in Sydney.  

We engage in a ‘Stockdale Paradox’ discussion, confronting the brutal facts about attendance, finances and National Church Life Survey data about mission, newcomers and maturity. 

Plus we review the recent Sydney Anglican Synod debate where leader after leader poured out their heart. 

• The gap is widening between the diocese’s declining attendance and Sydney’s growing population.
• While there are COVID factors, the National Church Life Survey trends are clearly observable and are worrying.
• There’s a difference between having a heart for evangelism and knowing how to engage effectively. 
• While gross giving has increased, real giving (adjusted for inflation) seems to be down. 
• There’s a clear difficulty with strategic planning and implementation. 
• What to do about the accelerating trend of people moving to larger churches. 

We look at the hard facts and attempt to chart a way forward. 

Zac Veron is the senior minister of Bayside Anglican Church, Sydney.

Raj Gupta is the senior minister of Carlingford Anglican Church, Sydney.

http://www.thepastorsheart.net/podcast/sydney-anglicans-now-where-how-raj-zac

References: 

Slides used in this discussion. 

How to increase your newcomers - 2019 study 

Raw data on Attendance (Zac Veron’s questions) 

Raw data on Giving (Raj Gupta’s questions) 

Raw data on National Church Life Survey (Dominic Steele’s questions) 

Sydney Mission 2020 Goals (set in 2014) 

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Social Justice is a fiercely contested concept among Christians. Often discussions about caring for the poor have not been grounded in a biblical vision for gospel ministry.. 

Evangelicals have been criticized for appearing to be weak on social justice. 

The charge is that we have been so focused on gospel ministry that the poor and disadvantaged have been neglected. How does caring for the poor fit with the mission of Jesus church? 

Tim Swan is the CEO of Sydney’s Anglican Aid, which hosted an important conference last weekend ‘Reframing Social Justice.’  

Ed Loane is Warden at St Paul’s College in Sydney and lectures in Church History part time at Moore Theological College.

Berthier Lainirina is Principal of St Patrick’s Theological College Madagascar

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We send out missionaries.  But sometimes it doesn’t work out.  There’s a forced return home.  Dashed hopes.  And all sorts of understanding and support - from the mission agency, supporter churches, pastor friends and others.

Stan and Clare Lie were serving with the Church Missionary Society, lecturing in theology in the middle east, and serving with a church in Alexandria, before being called home during COVID. 

Jenni Woodhouse is pastoral care consultant with the Church Missionary Society.

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How should Christians respond to customs, traditions, and stories that have associations with false religions, demonic powers, and evil?

Could a church building be covered in cobwebs and used as an invitation to come inside?

Would you run a Halloween event for the kids of your church so they don’t feel like they are missing out? Or would you run something as an outreach to connect to the neighborhood? 

Is it about the occult and to be avoided at all costs and denounced or is it kids in funny outfits and junk food? 

To talk Halloween, kids and churches our guests are: 

Craig Roberts, CEO of Sydney’s Anglican Youthworks and former minister of Neutral Bay Anglican Church.

Kristen Young, Director of student and community care at Sydney Missionary and Bible College. 

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