The Pastor's Heart with Dominic Steele

They Lost Their Church Building — But Not Their Church.Twenty-four years ago, Anglican minister David Short found himself at the centre of a controversy in Vancouver that would help reshape the worldwide Anglican Communion.David was leading one of Canada's largest Anglican congregations when a dispute over same-sex blessings became a much deeper battle over biblical authority, the gospel and the future of Anglicanism.David and his congregation eventually lost their church building. David lost his licence. The personal toll was devastating. He suffered a breakdown and spent more than two years away from full-time ministry.But that's not where the story ends.Today, a growing Anglican movement in Canada is training a new generation of gospel ministers, with consequences reaching far beyond Canada.After 33 years of ministry in Vancouver, David Short reflects on the cost of standing firm, the unexpected fruit of suffering and what the future holds for orthodox Anglicanism.What does it cost to stand firm for the gospel? And what has God done through that costly stand?

Evangelicals have gained ground in the Church of England's General Synod elections. But so have the revisionists. The middle ground has shrunk and the battle over marriage, biblical authority and the future of the Church of England is more polarised than before.And now there's a significant disagreement among evangelicals themselves. Should orthodox Anglicans further break fellowship bishops who have departed from biblical teaching?We discuss William Taylor's challenge, alternative ordinations, the prospect of a parallel province and ask whether the new Archbishop of Canterbury will meet with the leaders of the Alliance or try to ‘kick the can down the road.’Vaughan Roberts and John Dunnett say the orthodox Alliance in the Church of England is stronger than ever, but the present situation is unsustainable.

They said a Bible-believing church would never grow in Sydney's secular heartland.But 15 years after planting Vine Church in Surry Hills with just 12 adults, Toby Neal leads a church community of 380, with over 160 professions of faith.Yet the journey has been anything but smooth — hostile media coverage, a controversial merger and a church that suddenly stopped growing.Senior Pastor & planter Toby Neal says the most confronting discovery was that he himself had become the barrier to further growth — so what went wrong and how did he need to change?

Where is the need for the gospel greatest – and should that change where we send missionaries?We often make mission decisions around personal connections, available opportunities, language skills or where churches already have established partnerships. But Tim Silberman says we need to take a harder, more objective look at gospel need.Tim Silberman, Lecturer in Missions at Sydney Missionary & Bible College, says there are several important questions: How many people are non-Christian? How many have meaningful access to the gospel? Where are the least-reached people groups? And how strong is the local church?The numbers are confronting. Around 2.2 billion people remain unevangelised.

Before your church packs another Christmas shoebox, pause to ask: who is our generosity really helping?After more than twenty years serving with the Church Missionary Society in Cambodia, David Painter has challenging questions about Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child—and the way Western Christians support overseas mission.Can our gifts unintentionally weaken local initiative, local giving and the churches we want to strengthen?David Painter outlines how to assess whether our generosity is helping local churches flourish.See also The Other Cheek

What happens when someone has been hurt in a Christian organisation, and the person they need to complain about has authority over them?Does Christian conflict resolution sometimes assume an equality that simply isn’t there? What changes when the other person is your senior pastor, CEO, bishop or ministry boss — someone who holds not only organisational authority, but perhaps pastoral and spiritual authority as well?So why is saying “I’m sorry” so difficult? Why do organisations become defensive? Can fear of legal liability or reputational damage cause us to respond legally rather than pastorally? And can refusing to apologise ultimately cause more damage than the original mistake?Jenni Woodhouse says Christian leaders and organisations can be far too reluctant to apologise. For more than a decade Jenni served as chaplain to the Sydney Anglican Professional Standards Unit.