The death of Pope Francis marks a pivotal moment for Roman Catholics.

What does this transition mean for the future of Catholicism and how should Protestants respond?

From Vatican City, Leonardo Di Chirico offers a firsthand perspective on reactions in Rome, while Rachel Ciano provides historical context from Sydney.

Many Protestant leaders have referred to Francis as a "brother in Christ," but Francis's final public act—granting indulgences during Easter—epitomizes the theological chasm between Catholic and Protestant understandings of salvation.

His distinctive Marian devotion and frequent requests for prayers further highlight fundamental differences in how salvation is understood.

The contrast between Benedict XVI's emphasis on Roman doctrine and Francis's focus on Catholic universality reveals a pendulum swing in Roman Catholicism that will likely now swing back.

Leonardo di Chirico is pastor of the Church Brecca di Roma and director of the Reformanda Initiative.

Rachel Ciano lectures in Christianity and History at sydney missionary and bible college, and is part of the faculty at the Rome scholars and leaders network, hosted by The Reformanda Initiative.

Reach Australia National Conference
Reach Australia’s National Conference is from 19 to 22 May 2025 on the Central Coast of NSW. This year’s theme is URGENT: The Necessary Task of Mission Before Christ Returns.  For more info.

Anglican Aid
Anglican Aid - To find out more about how to support Anglican Aid.

The Church Co
A website and app platform built specifically for churches: http://www.thechurchco.com 

Dominic Steele's preaching at Village
Subscribe to Dominic Steele's weekly sermons from the Village Church website. 

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New South Wales’ Conversion Practices Ban Act has just come into effect — along with guidelines from Anti-Discrimination NSW that many Christian leaders believe overstep the legal boundaries and impact ordinary pastoral ministry.

We are joined by legal expert Associate Professor Neil Foster, South Sydney Bishop Michael Stead, and Summer Hill Anglican Assistant Minister Simon Swadling. 

Together, we unpack the implications of the new law for Christian preaching, prayer, counselling, and discipleship — especially in matters of sexuality, marriage, and gender.

We discuss:

• The difference between the legislation and the government’s explanatory materials
• The implications for pastors, parents, and churches
• The tone and posture of faithful gospel ministry in a hostile legal environment
• Why some pastors are calling for civil disobedience — and others for restraint

Reach Australia National Conference
Reach Australia’s National Conference is from 19 to 22 May 2025 on the Central Coast of NSW. This year’s theme is URGENT: The Necessary Task of Mission Before Christ Returns.  For more info.

Anglican Aid
Anglican Aid - To find out more about how to support Anglican Aid.

The Church Co
A website and app platform built specifically for churches: http://www.thechurchco.com 

Dominic Steele's preaching at Village
Subscribe to Dominic Steele's weekly sermons from the Village Church website. 

Support the show

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The new McCrindle report ‘An undercurrent of faith’ says: 

• Those turning to Christian faith are not who we might expect - it’s especially older people, the recently widowed and recently separated or divorced.
• The move is most on away from Christian identity in outer suburbia and regional areas.
• Australians are still turning to Christianity in large numbers, despite a decline in Christian affiliation.
• While 85,000 15-24 year olds have moved towards Christianity in the last five years, that’s dramatically down on a decade ago

Founder and Principle of McCrindle research, Mark McCrinde, says his report shows a new search for purpose and meaning and asks is “Australia Post Christian or are we now Post Secular?” 

Plus we compare the findings of the national McCrindle report with the recent Sydney Anglican report on Church attendance. 

Reach Australia National Conference
Reach Australia’s National Conference is from 19 to 22 May 2025 on the Central Coast of NSW. This year’s theme is URGENT: The Necessary Task of Mission Before Christ Returns.  For more info.

Anglican Aid
Anglican Aid - To find out more about how to support Anglican Aid.

The Church Co
A website and app platform built specifically for churches: http://www.thechurchco.com 

Dominic Steele's preaching at Village
Subscribe to Dominic Steele's weekly sermons from the Village Church website. 

Support the show

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Become a regular financial supporter of The Pastor's Heart via Patreon.

The average 11-year-old spends 4.5 hours daily on non-school screens. By 15, 70% of boys regularly view pornography. This isn't harmless fun—it's rewiring young brains during critical development. 

The addictive nature of social media, the mental health impact on teens, distorted identity and comparison, the way the attention economy undermines discipleship.

Parents (and pastors) so often feel out of their depth.

Marshall Ballantine-Jones created the Digihelp school curriculum addressing sexualised media, and the Resist Recovery Program.

Reach Australia National Conference
Reach Australia’s National Conference is from 19 to 22 May 2025 on the Central Coast of NSW. This year’s theme is URGENT: The Necessary Task of Mission Before Christ Returns.  For more info.

Anglican Aid
Anglican Aid - To find out more about how to support Anglican Aid.

The Church Co
A website and app platform built specifically for churches: http://www.thechurchco.com 

Dominic Steele's preaching at Village
Subscribe to Dominic Steele's weekly sermons from the Village Church website. 

Support the show

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Become a regular financial supporter of The Pastor's Heart via Patreon.

Today we review the 50 year impact of The University of New South Wales’ Campus Bible Study on Christian ministries across Australia and around the world - in raising up gospel workers, sending missionaries, planting churches and in Christian publishing. 

Former Anglican Dean of Sydney Phillip Jensen led the ministry for thirty years till 2005.  Since then Paul Grimmond and Carl Matthei have been senior chaplains. 

Alan Stewart started studying at the University of New South Wales just two years after Phillip Jensen arrived as Anglican Chaplain.  Alan was saved by Jesus in 1979 and went on to assist in the ministry, before becoming CEO of Anglican Youthworks, Bishop of Wollonong, head of Church Planting for Sydney Anglicans and then national director of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches. 

Tony Payne and Tracey Gowing started as undergraduate a few years after Alan.  Tony went on to run the influential Christian publishing house Matthias Media, while Tracey led the Christian ministry at  Cumberland College Christian Group before returning to UNSW as a senior staff member at Campus Bible Study. 

Reach Australia National Conference
Reach Australia’s National Conference is from 19 to 22 May 2025 on the Central Coast of NSW. This year’s theme is URGENT: The Necessary Task of Mission Before Christ Returns.  For more info.

Anglican Aid
Anglican Aid - To find out more about how to support Anglican Aid.

The Church Co
A website and app platform built specifically for churches: http://www.thechurchco.com 

Dominic Steele's preaching at Village
Subscribe to Dominic Steele's weekly sermons from the Village Church website. 

Support the show

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Become a regular financial supporter of The Pastor's Heart via Patreon.

Proclamation is for every Christian, one’s Christian faith is always public and a command is not needed to link faith to speech. 

'I believed therefore I spoke' - That’s what the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:13. And yet it’s a verse hardly referred to in the last few decades in discussions over who is responsible for evangelism. 

Chris Braga of Grace West Anglican Church Sydney told the Nexus Conference in Sydney that 2 Corinthians 4:13 shows that there’s a spiritual reflex that internal faith (in the crucified and resurrected Jesus) will challenge fear and lead to speech. 

Not because we’re commanded, but because we can’t help ourselves.

Reach Australia National Conference
Reach Australia’s National Conference is from 19 to 22 May 2025 on the Central Coast of NSW. This year’s theme is URGENT: The Necessary Task of Mission Before Christ Returns.  For more info.

Anglican Aid
Anglican Aid - To find out more about how to support Anglican Aid.

The Church Co
A website and app platform built specifically for churches: http://www.thechurchco.com 

Dominic Steele's preaching at Village
Subscribe to Dominic Steele's weekly sermons from the Village Church website. 

Support the show

--
Become a regular financial supporter of The Pastor's Heart via Patreon.

Proclamation is for every Christian, one’s Christian faith is always public and a command is not needed to link faith to speech. 

'I believed therefore I spoke' - That’s what the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:13. And yet it’s a verse hardly referred to in the last few decades in discussions over who is responsible for evangelism. 

Chris Braga of Grace West Anglican Church Sydney told the Nexus Conference in Sydney that 2 Corinthians 4:13 shows that there’s a spiritual reflex that internal faith (in the death and resurrection of Jesus) will challenge fear and lead to speech. 

Not because we’re commanded, but because we can’t help ourselves.

Anglican Aid
Anglican Aid - To find out more about how to support Anglican Aid.

The Church Co
A website and app platform built specifically for churches: http://www.thechurchco.com 

Reach Australia National Conference
Reach Australia’s National Conference is happening from 19 to 22 May 2025 on the Central Coast of NSW. This year’s theme is URGENT: The Necessary Task of Mission Before Christ Returns.  For more info.

Dominic Steele's preaching at Village
Subscribe to Dominic Steele's weekly sermons from the Village Church website. 

Support the show

--
Become a regular financial supporter of The Pastor's Heart via Patreon.

Pastors facing up to our imposter syndrome - navigating the noise that leads us to make bad decisions.

As Pastors, we feel the pressure to have the right answers to people’s questions.

We want to be able to navigate the complexities of life and church and land everyone safely at the other end. 

People share with us and the hardest parts of their lives, they trust us with their most private issues, and time and their money.

And they trust us that we will handle the most complex relationship difficulties with wisdom. 

We end up feeling like imposters. Who am I to lead the people of God?  And how can I have wisdom here? 

Archie Poulos from Sydney’s Moore Theological College has found the secular book Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment helpful as he has addressed these issues.

Reach Australia National Conference
Reach Australia’s National Conference is from 19 to 22 May 2025 on the Central Coast of NSW. This year’s theme is URGENT: The Necessary Task of Mission Before Christ Returns.  For more info.

Anglican Aid
Anglican Aid - To find out more about how to support Anglican Aid.

The Church Co
A website and app platform built specifically for churches: http://www.thechurchco.com 

Dominic Steele's preaching at Village
Subscribe to Dominic Steele's weekly sermons from the Village Church website. 

Support the show

--
Become a regular financial supporter of The Pastor's Heart via Patreon.

A new study shows that training in systematic self reflection will develop resilience among ministry workers, who are at risk of stress related ill health. 

Self reflective resilience training is beneficial to those in ministry roles and programs in this area can minimise stress related ill health. 

BUT, Not all self reflection is equal. 

Organisational Psychologist with Sydney’s Center for Ministry Development Kirsty Bucknell has surveyed and tested a significant number of Australian Protestant Ministry workers to analyse the relationship between self reflection and mental health outcomes.

Kirsty’s just completed her PhD on this subject and says while there is a high sense of purpose and personal satisfaction in ministry work the stressors and strains of the role have been associated with burnout and stress related ill health.

Reach Australia National Conference
Reach Australia’s National Conference is from 19 to 22 May 2025 on the Central Coast of NSW. This year’s theme is URGENT: The Necessary Task of Mission Before Christ Returns.  For more info.

Anglican Aid
Anglican Aid - To find out more about how to support Anglican Aid.

The Church Co
A website and app platform built specifically for churches: http://www.thechurchco.com 

Dominic Steele's preaching at Village
Subscribe to Dominic Steele's weekly sermons from the Village Church website. 

Support the show

--
Become a regular financial supporter of The Pastor's Heart via Patreon.

We are hearing reports from the university campuses, from young adult ministries, and from youth groups - that there is an increasing openness to the gospel of Jesus - and there’s a new openness among young men. 

There’s a shift in the culture. There’s something happening that is different among young people -  Especially among young men. 

There’s a greater biblical ignorance in the rising generation.  But significantly more openness. 

There’s less hostility when compared to a decade ago.  Walk up evangelism is easier and people are more open to discussing their views on Jesus. 

And people are being saved. And young men are being saved

Andy Stephenson heads the Youth Ministry support team for Anglican Youthworks. 

Dave Jensen works with Evangelism and New Churches encouraging and mobilizing churches in Evangelism and is one of the keynote speakers at the Nexus Ministry Conference on 17 March 2025.

Katie Stringer is involved in high school ministry across Sydney’s secular inner west. 

Reach Australia National Conference
Reach Australia’s National Conference is from 19 to 22 May 2025 on the Central Coast of NSW. This year’s theme is URGENT: The Necessary Task of Mission Before Christ Returns.  For more info.

Anglican Aid
Anglican Aid - To find out more about how to support Anglican Aid.

The Church Co
A website and app platform built specifically for churches: http://www.thechurchco.com 

Dominic Steele's preaching at Village
Subscribe to Dominic Steele's weekly sermons from the Village Church website. 

Support the show

--
Become a regular financial supporter of The Pastor's Heart via Patreon.