As pastors we’re expressing leadership in our churches on gender and sexuality. We want to help our people think biblically - and yet with the culture moving so fast - it is an area that we feel ill equipped. 

On today’s Pastor’s Heart we benefit from the hard work of Sydney Missionary and Bible College Theology and Ethics lecturer Rob Smith who has just published a reworked version of his PhD under the title ‘The body God gives.’

As transgender visibility reaches new heights, we explore its historical and philosophical roots, noting the pivotal cultural shifts since the "Transgender Tipping Point" in 2013. 

We outline the biblical stance on the sex and gender binary while engaging with contemporary philosophical debates. 

We dissect the relationship between second-wave feminism and the transgender movement.

Our discussion ventures into the diverse theories surrounding sex and gender, distinguishing between non-trans, soft trans, hard trans, and queer perspectives. 

The Church Co
thechurchco.com is a website and app platform built specifically for churches. 

Advertise on The Pastor's Heart
To advertise on The Pastor's Heart go to thepastorsheart.net/sponsor

Support the show

What happens when a leader operates without a clear vision.  And how poetic or concrete should a vision be? 

How to organise things so the overall vision cascades down through every area of church life? 

What should our pastoral approach be to innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards and the nos. 

Biblical vision and Leadership vision: What is the difference? Why do people mangle Proverbs 29:18?
 
Plus infusing the church with vision, in a significant moment and especially via drip feed.

Craig Hamilton is senior pastor of Pitt Town Anglican Church and author of ‘Wisdom in Leadership.’

The Church Co
thechurchco.com is a website and app platform built specifically for churches. 

Advertise on The Pastor's Heart
To advertise on The Pastor's Heart go to thepastorsheart.net/sponsor

Support the show

There are claims - and you hear them every so often - that archeology has disproved this story or that in the bible, and claims from this or that scholar of particularly late dating of different bible books.

How do we as evangelical pastors react/respond/answer those claims?

Hans Kristensen is senior pastor of Marsfield Community Church in Sydney and is studying ancient archaeology.

He suggests that there are 10 major archaelogical finds that help us to increase our confidence in the Old Testament:

1. There’s evidence of a big population jump in Caanan at exactly the time that the bible said that Yahweh was giving Israel the land, called the ‘Hill Country Explosion.’
2. The Egyptian Pharaoh Merneptah boasts of raiding the land of Caanan, saying it was occupied by Israel.
3. In the city of Hazor, archaeologists have found religious idols destroyed and other items intact, just as expected from Joshua 11-12
4. The recently discovered altar at Mount Ebal is likely Joshua’s altar (Joshua 8)
5. In the Tel Dan inscription we now have archeological evidence for King David’s existence.
6. There’s consistent architectural town planning in the cities built around the time of David and Solomon - pointing towards planning and control under one ruler (eg a King).
7. There are similarities between what we know of the temple of Solomon and a similar temple built at Ain Dara, about 30 kilometres from Beirut, showing Solomon’s temple fits into the religious and architectural landscape of the time.
8. The discovery of six massive chambered gates at Hazor, Meggido and Gezer and other architectural discoveries at those sites corresponds with 1Kings 9:15.
9. A ninth century battle account from King Moab of Mersha mirrors the one in 2 Kings 3.
10. The Biblical chronology of the listed kings matches almost exactly with archeological evidence.

The Church Co
thechurchco.com is a website and app platform built specifically for churches. 

Advertise on The Pastor's Heart
To advertise on The Pastor's Heart go to thepastorsheart.net/sponsor

Support the show

How does godliness play out differently if I am a man, a woman, a young man, a young woman, a husband or a wife?

All Christians are called to live like Christ.  Why does the Apostle Paul choose to write about what godliness looks like for the older and younger and for us as men and women, rather than more generally for us as people? 

Does our age and sex have implications for the challenges we face in living for Jesus? 

Are these things just human constructs or elements of divine gift? 

And what implications does this have for how we think about discipleship and our lived experience of complementarian ministry? 

Paul Grimmond is a senior lecturer at Sydney’s Moore Theological College.  Paul gave the keynote address at the Priscilla and Aquila conference.

The Church Co
thechurchco.com is a website and app platform built specifically for churches. 

Advertise on The Pastor's Heart
To advertise on The Pastor's Heart go to thepastorsheart.net/sponsor

Support the show

Godliness vs Effectiveness - the Both/And Ministry dilemma 

• Godliness vs Effectiveness
• Theology vs Pragmatics 
• People centered vs Organisationally minded
• Leading from the front vs Serving others 
• Courage to take a stand vs Quick to submit
• Others know I am one of them vs I am set apart to lead
• I lead patiently vs I lead with a sense of urgency 

Most Christians at some point do start to wonder if they are the real deal.  What God asks of us is so far reaching, so all encompassing, that when we come up short, we start to ask ourselves  “Am I an imposter?” “Should I really be a leader?” and perhaps/Am even a Christian at all?’

Gary Millar is the Principal of Queensland’s Theological College and author of a new book ‘Both/And Ministry.’

The Church Co
thechurchco.com is a website and app platform built specifically for churches. 

Advertise on The Pastor's Heart
To advertise on The Pastor's Heart go to thepastorsheart.net/sponsor

Support the show

What is the work of the Lord? What is in vain if the resurrection is not true? What truly lasts and what does gospel work looks like in our daily lives? 

The debate over eschatology and one’s view of the new heavens and new earth.   Will there be a Sydney Harbour Bridge in the new creation? 

And in the meantime, what should be our priorities?

William Taylor is the rector of St Helens Church in London, where he is engaged in ministry to city workers. 

He has written the book ‘Revolutionary Work’ to address these issues.

The Church Co
thechurchco.com is a website and app platform built specifically for churches. 

Advertise on The Pastor's Heart
To advertise on The Pastor's Heart go to thepastorsheart.net/sponsor

Support the show

Indigenous Australians and the Christian Gospel - with Michael Duckett 

As we approach ‘Aboriginal Sunday’ (19 January) we focus on the progress of the gospel among the indigenous in Australia.

What are the cultural changes and what openness to Jesus Christ among Indigenous Australians? 

Where are we seeing growth? What are the roadblocks and opportunities for the growth of the gospel among the indigenous communities? How much has to do with the soil.  How much has to do with things that we can change? 

Michael Duckett leads the Anglican Indigenous Ministry at Macarthur/Campbelltown in the far south west of Sydney and Chairs the Sydney Anglican Indigenous Ministry Committee.

Aboriginal Sunday
In 1938 the aboriginal leader William Cooper called on the churches of Australia to mark what he called ‘Aborigines Sunday’ on the Sunday before Australia Day. He ‘requested sermons be preached on this day dealing with the Aboriginal people and their need of the gospel and response to it and we ask that special prayer be invoked for all missionary and other effort for the uplift of the dark people.’

The Church Co
thechurchco.com is a website and app platform built specifically for churches. 

Advertise on The Pastor's Heart
To advertise on The Pastor's Heart go to thepastorsheart.net/sponsor

Support the show

We speak to Alistair Begg about pastors, suffering, humility and surviving long term in ministry.

Alistair Begg is in Australia speaking at the Church Missionary Society conference in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. 

Alistair has served the people of Cleveland Ohio for 42 years at Parkside Church and has a global impact through the influential Truth for Life Ministry. 

We go backstage with Alistair to discuss:

• His teaching on 1 Peter, focusing on suffering, perseverance, trials, humility and standing firm in God’s grace.
• Reflections on 40+ years of pastoral ministry and lessons learned along the way.
• Insights into global mission and the long-term commitment of missionaries.
• His upcoming transition after more than four decades of leadership.
• The impact of Australia on his ministry in the US, including his close friendship with former Moore College Principal John Woodhouse.
• Insights into preparing for life after pastoral leadership as he approaches his final months as senior pastor.

The Church Co
thechurchco.com is a website and app platform built specifically for churches. 

Advertise on The Pastor's Heart
To advertise on The Pastor's Heart go to thepastorsheart.net/sponsor

Support the show

How should we guide our congregations in thinking ethically about engagement in Bitcoin? 

What is Bitcoin? 

How do we as Christian leaders assess the morality of bitcoin? 

Proponents say that it’s design fosters transparency and fairness and promotes economic justice.

Critics highlight its speculative risks and potential for illegal use. 

Jeffri Chiam is on the team at St Mary’s Cathedral in Kuala Lumpur.  In 2024 he completed a final year research project into Bitcoin. 

The Church Co
thechurchco.com is a website and app platform built specifically for churches. 

Advertise on The Pastor's Heart
To advertise on The Pastor's Heart go to thepastorsheart.net/sponsor

Support the show

Most of us evangelical pastors, theological colleges, indeed the whole of evangelicalism - we have a blind spot when it comes to Roman Catholicism in our theology, missiology and practice. 
 
Where do we as Evangelicals make mistakes in our engagement with the Roman Catholic world? 

What can we change?  What should we change?

How do we best see our Roman Catholic friends come to a personal saving relationship with Jesus Christ? 

Leonardo De Chirico has been at the forefront of theological education of evangelicals in this space internationally for over a decade. 

Leonardo is a church planter, pastor in Rome, and Director of the Reformanda Initiative. 

Rachel Ciano is the Dean of Academic Development at Mary Andrew's College, Sydney. 

The Church Co
thechurchco.com is a website and app platform built specifically for churches. 

Advertise on The Pastor's Heart
To advertise on The Pastor's Heart go to thepastorsheart.net/sponsor

Support the show