The Pastor's Heart with Dominic Steele

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
To watch or listen to Bible Teaching from Dominic Steele at Village Church Annandale Sydney goto this link.
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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.
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.

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 Woodhouse
Features 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 Woodhouse
Explores 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 Liem
Looks 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 Woodhouse
Discusses the impact on children and how church leaders can recognise and respond to coercive control.

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.

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?
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.

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
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.