The Pastor's Heart with Dominic Steele

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.

How might we better (as pastors) better come alongside victims of domestic abuse? Abuse in Christian marriage is easy to miss—and even easier to minimise. How can pastors recognise what is happening behind closed doors and help our churches become places of refuge for the oppressed?Counsellor and author Darby Strickland joins us to discuss domestic abuse, the entitlement that drives it, and the patterns of control that can be hidden beneath an appearance of Christian respectability.Darby Strickland is a counsellor and faculty member at the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation (CCEF), and author of Is It Abuse? A Biblical Guide to Identifying Domestic Abuse and Helping Victims.We explore how to listen carefully and ask better questions.We consider how Christ’s sacrificial love shapes our care for those living with oppression and fear.Also see: Caring pastorally for domestic abuse victims — Jenni WoodhouseFeatures a survivor’s story, with Jenni reviewing Dominic’s pastoral response and discussing what pastors can learn.Abuse in the marriages of ministry leaders — Jenni WoodhouseExplores the added pressures when a victim’s home, income and church community are tied to their spouse’s ministry.Telling the difference between Domestic Violence and Dysfunctional Relationship? — Magdalena LiemLooks at recognising abuse and responding pastorally to victims and those accused of perpetrating it.Coercive control in Christian families and the impact on children — Jenni WoodhouseDiscusses the impact on children and how church leaders can recognise and respond to coercive control.

Why do some church teams emerge from disagreement stronger, while others fracture, divide or quietly drift apart?We expect opposition to the gospel and theological disagreement. What we’re often far less prepared for is tension within our own ministry teams. When ordinary disagreements become personal, motives are questioned and relationships begin to rupture.Tim Dyer has spent years helping churches and ministry leaders navigate conflict. He says church teams can be simultaneously conflict-prone/averse and process-poor, which can lead to a “high fire danger rating”.So how do we build ministry teams that are genuinely conflict-capable? And how do we stop a disagreement becoming a relational rupture?

Consent, Bodies and Belonging: Ministering to Young People with Disability.In every church's orbit are young people with intellectual disability, whether in the pews, in youth group, or in a family that stopped coming because it got too hard.The Australian Disability Royal Commission found people with disability are twice as likely to face abuse and exploitation. Are our churches actually safe, welcoming places?Accessibility Ministry Advisor at Sydney Anglican Youthworks Bec Baines speaks about consent, capacity, bodies and belonging, and how to disciple young people with intellectual disability.Living Hope Anglican Accessibility Guide

After a decade of decline, Sydney Anglican church attendance has grown by more than 20% in just three years. This is now higher than at any point since 2013.But underneath the encouraging headline, the picture is uneven. Larger churches have grown fastest. Around 13% of churches reached an approximate proxy for the report’s 5% conversion target.Plus, a significant group of churches remain in long-term decline.So what’s driving the turnaround? Are people actually coming to faith in Jesus? Or are Christians moving between churches? And why are churches with stronger children’s and youth ministries growing faster?Craig Roberts, CEO of Anglican Youthworks and chair of the committee behind the new Sydney Anglican attendance report, says there’s much to thank God for, but there’s also some challenging numbers, as Sydney Anglicans pursue the ambitious goal of 5% annual attendance growth through people coming to faith in Jesus.

What's the functional idol in your own ministry? Career? Family? The platform? The numbers? Are we preaching law as legalism dressed up as discipleship, or grace so loose it asks nothing of anyone? Do we actually rest, or just talk about it? And when my church's own reputation is on the line, does truth-telling survive contact with self-protection? In this episode, we examine the application of the ten commandments to pastoral leadership today. Most Anglican churches have given up reading the Ten Commandments aloud. Phillip Jensen says that's sad. And when Dominic Steele read the line in his new book, he almost choked, because he was a member of the church Phillip pastored for 15 years and doesn't remember it happening there at all.The Ten Commandments have stood for centuries as a basic statement of good works, but in our society they're being quietly displaced by shallower substitutes. And the problem isn't just out there — it's in the church as well.We are with Phillip Jensen, former Dean of Sydney's St Andrews Cathedral, now heading up Two Ways Ministries. He has just published “Written on Our Hearts”. 

1986. London’s Westminster Central Hall. The then young Australian preacher Phillip Jensen takes the platform at the Evangelical Ministry Assembly, and detonated UK Anglican Evangelicalism Dick Lucas, the elder statesman of UK Evangelicalism Rector of St Helen's Bishopsgate, said his mind was "blown apart by these bold Australian exhortations." Chris Green says a room full of ministers in training were "revolutionised overnight." It's the third in our occasional series of specials on evangelical oral history.We are with Dr Andrew Atherstone (Wycliffe Hall Oxford) and this time we trace how a Sydney rector's insistence on Bible teaching and the local congregation, over and above inherited Anglican structure made such an impact on the UK evangelical scene. Jensen's 1986 and 1988 addresses didn't just inspire, but they gave a generation of English ministers permission to think differently about bishops, boundaries and where real spiritual authority lives.Phillip Jensen’s Evangelical Ministry Assembly talks are here. https://phillipjensen.com/resources/?_series=evangelical-ministry-assembly-uk#evangelical #anglican #history #phillipjensen #dicklucas

For evangelical Christians in the Church of England, the question of whether to stay, resist, or leave is a live crisis.If you’re deciding whether to head into C of E ministry or carve out a path in independence, or if you’re a pastor navigating a "mixed denomination," how do you maintain gospel integrity when institutional leadership turns away from historic orthodoxy?Church historian Dr. Andrew Atherstone (Wycliffe Hall, Oxford) to look back at six decades of evangelical oral history—and what it teaches us about our current crossroads.We cover:The 1960s Crisis: Why ministers like Herbert Carson, Eric Lane, and Moshe Radcliff reached the breaking point and the intense personal cost of separation.Lloyd-Jones vs. Stott (1966) & Keele (1967): The iconic confrontation that defined the "in it to win it" strategy for a generation.The David Jenkins Stress Test: How a controversial bishop radicalized evangelicals to plant across parish lines and rethink financial support.Dr Atherstone has been presenting on this at Sydney’s Moore College Lectures.

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.