How do you not just work ‘in the ministry’ but ‘on the ministry’?
How does a senior pastor lead in vision, finances, staffing and money to promote the gospel of Christ?
How do we communicate, execute and celebrate the vision?
How to teach on generosity?
How do we ask graciously?
What are the mistakes to avoid?

Rod Irvine was senior minister of Figtree Anglican Church Wollongong and has written ‘Giving generously: resourcing local church ministry.’

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A good friend tells you when you have something stuck between your teeth just before the photograph is taken.

Scotland’s David Andrew Robertson was a guest on The Pastor’s Heart a few months ago and is a good friend (http://bit.ly/2vp3MJ4).  

In an interview with ACR, having spent three months in Sydney, he’s had some significant things to say about the Sydney Anglican Church and asks have we gone off the boil on seeking the lost saved? 

On Tuesday 7 August at 2pm, Phil Colgan from St George North Anglican Church and Craig Schafer from St Mark's Pennant Hills for a live discussion with Dominic Steele to discuss what we can learn from from David’s critique

I’ve had the attached sermon notes on my computer since 2004.  I know I didn’t write them.  I cant be sure who gave them to me (If it's you please make contact and I'll attribute properly).  They are certainly helpful as we attempt to minister God’s word either in public Sunday teaching or in small groups. 

There’s also a range of graphics that you may like to use as you prepare to lead your people in prayer on this.

What is poverty?  What gospel do poor people need?  How have parachurch ministries made the problem worse?  What does evangelism look like in poor communities?  What role for preaching?  What does church membership and discipline look like?

How can we see a transformation in desperate poor communities in Scotland or Australia?

Mez McConnell is the senior pastor of Niddrie Community Church in Edinburgh, Scotland, and founder of 20 Schemes, a ministry dedicated to building gospel-centered churches for Scotland’s poorest communities. 

As a senior minister what should you do if you have a porn addiction? What if it’s a staff member of senior lay leader? How do you preach to the congregation about these issues?

We talk to Marshall Ballantine-Jones who is doing a PhD on this topic, and who says there’s a significant rate of porn consumption in the general community, the church and amongst church leaders.

We are talking about and with the minister who loses it all, when the diocese moves into apostasy, leaving you and your people as faithful followers of Christ Jesus, but without denominational support, stripped of your ministerial license, church building and house. 

This week we talk to four men and one woman who have been and are in that situation. 

- From Canada, David Short. 
- From the US, Chuck Thebeau (and his daughter Rachel)
- From Scotland, David McCarthy.
- From NZ, Dave Clancey.

The Anglican Dean of Sydney Kanishka Raffel and Senior Minister of MBM Rooty Hill Ray Galea join Dominic Steele, by the shores of Lake Galilee in Israel, to discuss last week’s important Anglican Gafcon Conference in Jerusalem.

Plus we play out an extended interview with Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, who serves as the Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, with it's 25,000,000 million members and as the chairman of the Gafcon Primate’s Council.

How can you build a church building, so you don’t quit in the 12 months after the project is finished.
This is a discussion for pastors. But also for parish council and committees of management.
Andrew Robson has taken a lead roll in three major church building projects, two at EV Church, on the Central Coast of NSW, and is currently taking the lead at St Paul's Anglican Carlingford’s major rebuild.
When I rang him to line up this interview, he was standing over a pit of previously undiscovered asbestos.
We will be asking him about what he’s learned? What he wouldn’t do again?
But what are your questions about any aspect of building a new church building* Vision and ministry principles relating to building design,* Ministry philosophy of church buildings and space,* The value of aesthetics,* How much to spend on big ticket items like sound/AV, lighting, furniture?* How to resolve differences of opinion and make compromises?

Multisite is here. 

There’s the start of a trend in Australia for larger churches to switch strategies from planting daughter churches to becoming a multisite network of a man campus and a series of campuses.

Often when we hear the word 'multi-site' we think American mega churches which sound more like mercenary organisations than a loving caring Jesus honouring community.

But there are a number of churches in Australia quietly rolling out multi site ministry models, within traditional denominations

It’s hard because we go into ministry because we like doing the ministry. 

But if things are to grow, we need to step back and empower and encourage others in these roles.

This is true in kids ministry, but it’s true across the church. 

I think this is one of the major factors that is hampering the growth of our churches. 

We are talking this Tuesday with Sandy Galea, from MBM Rooty Hill in Sydney’s West and Kidswise about how to grow ministry teams.

Andrew Beddoe is asking about evangelical churches: Where are the tradies? Where are the factory workers? Retail workers? Those on social welfare benefits?

What does it take to have fruitful ministry over the long haul? 

Our guest is Dean of Students at Sydney’s Moore Theological College Paul Grimmond.  Paul has battled with anxiety all his adult life, and has been quite open about this.  He wrote recently “‘Don’t be anxious about anything,’ Is that all God’s got to say?”

Paul says ‘it’s difficult to differentiate between the anxiety that is a result of the fallenness of the world and the unhealthy anxiety that is a part of my sinful response to this broken world. Am I feeling anxious because I have a body that chemically over-reacts to threats, or am I feeling anxious because I have let sin take control? That’s not always an easy question to answer. 

Paul shares shares his story with Dominic Steele and looks at what the bible has to say. 

David Robertson is minister of St Peters Free Church in Dundee Scotland. http://www.stpeters-dundee.org.uk He is also the associate director of the Solas Centre for Public Christianity http://www.solas-cpc.org

David is in Sydney to speak at Katoomba Christian Convention and for a holiday.

He does a lot of writing – in newspapers, magazines, on the net and also books. He’s the author of Awakening (the life of Robert Murray McCheyne); The Dawkins Letters, Quench (cafe evangelism) and Magnificent Obsession. His latest book is called Engaging With Atheists.

He’s interested in history, politics, theology, music, sport, art etc. David’s a ‘big picture’ person who likes to look at things in a wide context – especially the growth, decline and renewal of the church in the West….

His nickname ‘wee flea’ comes from a series of interactions He had on the Richard Dawkins website. Robertson was banned from his site under his own name and Dawkins called him, Alaister McGarth and John Lennox ‘fleas living of a dogs back’.

Robertson promptly started reposting under the name ‘the wee flea’, and Dawkins, not being aware of Scottish church history or the nickname of my denomination (the wee frees), let it go by for a few weeks…until he was outed…and banned again!