The Pastor's Heart with Dominic Steele

After a significant debate over two days, the Sydney Anglican Synod has voted unanimously to embark on a bold new five-year mission focus, praying and working towards five percent growth in church attendance through the conversion of the lost, each year. The resolution, “in a spirit of humble dependence and pastoral flexibility,” invited every part of the diocesan fellowship to commit to the goal....

The call to ministry is a call to lay down your life for others, but how do we create a well-thought-out roadmap toward pastoral perseverance - when there are external and/or internal difficulties?  How do we approach congregational conflict, criticism, unrealistic expectations or personal health, financial and family stress?  Why is pastoral friendship not optional, but essential?  Today on The P...

Today our focus on The Pastor’s Heart is on how to preach for transformation for real changes in people’s lives.  Two men with a lifetime’s passion for preaching — Robin Sydserff,  Director of the Proclamation Trust and David Cook, former principal of Sydney Missionary and Bible College and a long-time preaching mentor - now with the Expository Preaching Trust. We start by looking at how Christian...

A training culture for the next generation:  Healthy Churches producing new ministers for the next generation. Across the world, the number of candidates putting themselves forward for gospel ministry is in decline. Many churches are feeling the pinch—struggling to find leaders and often looking elsewhere to fill ministry gaps.  Yet healthy churches don’t just maintain ministry; they reproduce it....

In the past month, two of the most respected evangelical training institutions in the world have closed or announced closure of their campuses. In July, Spurgeon’s College in London—a pillar of Baptist theological education for nearly 170 years—closed, citing financial strain and a dramatic decline in student numbers.  A few weeks earlier, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) in Chicago —lon...

What change would a leader and church need to make for a congregation, denomination or movement to grow by five percent annual conversion growth.  The Gospel Coalition pulled together a mini summit of evangelical movement leaders from across Australia in June. That gathering set an aspirational goal of doubling the number of evangelicals over twenty years.  They said a key way to do it is by pursu...

It is an uncomfortable but important question: What place should numbers have in our thinking about ministry success? We all want to be faithful. But what happens when the numbers are down? Do we need to change something? Or should we just continue in the same trajectory? And should we be counting at all? This is the tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. A tension between pr...

We evangelicals, says Richard Coekin, have a problem—and it’s a preaching problem. Richard Coekin says we are too often careless—his word—when it comes to application in preaching.  We work hard on exegesis, we labour to understand the original context and the author’s intent—but then we stop short. We leave our congregations with sound doctrine, but little direction.  Richard has just concluded 2...

We’re digging into the Bible’s teaching on sex and gender—inside and outside the Garden of Eden - relating to transgender.  We’re asking foundational questions: Was humanity created androgynous? Does Genesis allow for more than two sexes? Is sexual difference a core part of the imago Dei? What does it mean that the man and woman were naked and felt no shame? Dr Rob Smith lectures at Sydney Mission...

There are understandings/interpretations of the Bible that conflict with the conclusions of modern, empirical research - where science and the Bible are thought to be giving competing explanations of the same event or concept. One way of reading the Bible leads to the conclusion that the Earth is 6000 years old while your local science department will tell you it is more like 4.5 billion years old...

In a bold move, a meeting of movement leaders from across Australian Reformed Evangelicalism has resolved to work together to see their numbers double over twenty years, through seeing sinners saved. Leaders gathered for a mini summit organised by The Gospel Coalition Australia at Sydney’s Moore Theological College last week. Gospel Coalition Australia Chair Rory Shiner says given the unparalleled...

Andrew Heard says ministries cannot be other than outcome-focused in their work - the question is will those outcomes be good or bad? Conscious or unconscious? Specific or vague?   He addresses critics who confuse having Biblical goals with adopting secular business practices. Andrew Heard leads the Reach Australia movement, and pastors the influential EV Church on the Central Coast.  • All Christ...

An apology and correction in regards to our episode of Tuesday 10 June 2025. Anglican Aid To find out more about supporting Anglican Aid . Support the show

How can we create gatherings that are both warm and deep? How can we avoid gatherings that are superficial or dry.  How do we embed gospel culture in our church gatherings. How do we emphasize grace, forgiveness and a welcoming atmosphere? And how to encourage authenticity and emotional intelligence in gathering leaders. Plus how do we evaluate. A Pastor’s Heart episode to watch with your staff te...

What happens when churches move beyond "pious passivity" to strategic intentionality in reaching the lost?  Richard Coekin—founding pastor of Dundonald Church in London and pioneer of REACH UK—joins Dominic Steele to unpack the revolutionary approach transforming churches across Australia and the United Kingdom. Following on from Reach UK and Reach Australia in May, Richard candidly shar...

Live from the sidelines at the Reach Australia Conference on the Central Coast of New South Wales, we sit down with Wade Burnett from McLean Bible Church in Washington DC and Derek Hanna, Reach Australia’s church planting and multisite specialist, for a fresh look at the multisite church model. Multisite was a buzz seven years ago . Today, with thousands of campuses launched in the United States—a...

This week on The Pastor’s Heart, we’re live from the Reach Australia conference at Erina on the Central Coast of New South Wales.  It’s an inspiring gathering, with 1,300 church leaders from across Australia and beyond, including New Zealand, South Africa, America, and the United Kingdom, coming together for encouragement and equipping to better Reach Australia. Paul Harrington has led the Trinity...

It is 1700 years since the council of Nicaea and the publication of the Nicene Creed - but what are we to make of it? It was the twentieth of May in the year 325 that the Council of Nicaea first met.  Pope Francis said ‘The Nicene Creed is a powerful sign of unity among Christians.’ The 17 hundredth anniversary of the Council of Nicaea - is being used - by the Roman Catholic Church to push the ide...

We explore the findings of the Your Story Research Report — a significant national study that listens to the voices of more than 400 young people as they reflect on their spiritual journeys. We find out who and what has, and is, shaping young people’s faith from their childhood, though to adolescence, to right now. There are insights into the eight “faith journeys” —from Embracing to Reconstructin...

For decades, the trend across Western countries seemed one-way: away from faith in Jesus Christ. But could the tide be turning?  Evangelist and author Glen Scrivener outlines signs of a "quiet revival" emerging, particularly among young people in the United Kingdom (and how things are different in Australia). Drawing on new research from the UK Bible Society and reflecting on wider cultu...

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,&qu...

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, w...

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 affiliati...

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 ofte...

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...