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 sheep, false accusations, losing joy, practising thankfulness, avoiding burnout and returning daily to Christ.And we explore something pastors rarely discuss: the reward promised by the Chief Shepherd.“When the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” — 1 Peter 5:4An honest and encouraging conversation for weary pastors.To watch or listen to Bible Teaching from Dominic Steele at Village Church Annandale Sydney goto this link. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Answering "Anglican", "Catholic", or "Baptist" on the Census isn't a test of church attendanceBefore filling out your form, hear researcher Mark McCrindle, and Bishop Michael Stead discussWhat the Bureau of Statistics is actually measuring.Why writing your specific denomination helps community planning more than generic labels.How census data impacts real-world support—like hospital, prison, and military chaplaincy.Don't let a secular misinformation campaign fill in your form for you. Get the facts and answer honestly!The Bureau of Statistics definition of religious affiliation is simple: it’s the faith group you associate with, even if that differs from your active practice or participation.To watch or listen to Bible Teaching from Dominic Steele at Village Church Annandale Sydney goto this link. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 have grandchildren. Bock is known for getting up at 2am in Dallas to watch the Swans play live on TV.  He will see three Swans games during his current visit to Australia. Darrell Bock is executive director of Cultural Engagement at The Hendricks Center and Senior Research Professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary.To watch or listen to Bible Teaching from Dominic Steele at Village Church Annandale Sydney goto this link. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 and Mark?What—what kind of historian is Luke?How do you explain the difference between Luke’s genealogy and Matthew’s genealogy?How do we reconcile the birth narratives in Luke and Matthew? What is Luke’s theology of atonement? What is the kingdom of God in Luke?How does Luke use the Old Testament in ways that are different to the other Gospel writers?”Why is the Sermon on the Plain from Luke 6 different to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 to 7?”Plus Luke’s distinctive emphasis on the world wide expansion of the gospel, the kingdom of God, the Holy Spirit, care for the poor and the creation of one new family from Jews and Gentiles. To watch or listen to Bible Teaching from Dominic Steele at Village Church Annandale Sydney goto this link. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. But application has dangers, it might come not really from the text, or could be overly directive. Or we could give accurate lectures that fail to shepherd the church.Richard Coekin leads Reach UK.  Richard has just written ‘Apply the Word: A Practical Guide to Preaching with Application.’ To watch or listen to Bible Teaching from Dominic Steele at Village Church Annandale Sydney goto this link. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 purpose, relationships, character, mental and physical health, life satisfaction and material stability.But if churches are helping people flourish, what is happening to the pastors who lead them? Senior pastors carry grief, crises, expectations and organisational responsibility that most people never see. A church may appear to be growing and successful while its pastor is quietly being depleted.And how do we know whether a church itself is healthy? Valerie Ling joins us from the Center for Effective Serving to explore richer ways of recognising flourishing in pastors, churches and the communities they serve.To watch or listen to Bible Teaching from Dominic Steele at Village Church Annandale Sydney goto this link. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 faith in Jesus Christ 50 years ago, has served Jesus for decades in Melbourne and is the author of Certainty for Life: An Invitation for Those in Eastern Orthodoxy.We ask: Why are evangelicals leaving for Orthodoxy? What is Orthodoxy offering that some evangelical churches seem not to offer? Where is Orthodoxy right in its critique of us? Where is it wrong? And what should pastors do when someone in our church starts drifting?Purchase John's new book.To watch or listen to Bible Teaching from Dominic Steele at Village Church Annandale Sydney goto this link. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, sing with conviction and be raised up for ministry.But how did Katoomba become such an influence in Sydney evangelicalism? What decisions shaped its extraordinary impact? And what lessons are there for today. We start a new occasional oral history series on the Pastor’s Heart, with former Katoomba Chairs Philip Jensen, David Cook and Al Stewart, reflecting on Katoomba’s phenomenal influence, the priority of expository preaching, the importance of guarding the platform and why “we teach the Bible” became a defining conviction.To watch or listen to Bible Teaching from Dominic Steele at Village Church Annandale Sydney goto this link. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 disengage, how inherited faith becomes owned faith and what churches can do to better navigate the critical transitions from childhood to adulthood. We discuss the practical changes pastors, parents and churches can make to help more young people keep following Jesus for the long haul.To watch or listen to Bible Teaching from Dominic Steele at Village Church Annandale Sydney goto this link. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 implications of the priesthood of all believers, and that passages like Ephesians 4, Hebrews and especially 1 Corinthians 11-14 may need to be read rather differently than many of us have assumed.Tony asks, have we trained people to serve on teams, but not trained them to speak God’s word to one another?It’s a challenge that reaches into some of our most fundamental assumptions about Christian ministry. We discuss prophecy, the ministry of women, the role of the pastor-teacher, preaching and discipleship, and what it would actually look like for the word of Christ to reverberate through a congregation rather than stopping at the pulpit.To purchase: matthiasmedia.com.au/products/let-the-word-dwell-richlyTo watch or listen to Bible Teaching from Dominic Steele at Village Church Annandale Sydney goto this link. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.