The Pastor's Heart with Dominic Steele

How should Christians respond when voluntary assisted dying is publicly framed as dignified, compassionate and courageous?
James Valentine has been rightly honoured as a much-loved broadcaster in the wake of his death last week.  But alongside the tributes there’s been significant reflection on his choice to use voluntary assisted dying in the language of control, dignity, generosity and dying “his way”.
How do we honour and grieve a much-loved public figure, while still asking serious ethical and pastoral questions about voluntary assisted dying? Has the public conversation shifted from VAD as a last resort to VAD as a normal end-of-life choice?
As we think carefully about death, autonomy, compassion, medicine, conscience and Christian hope we are joined by:
Dr Megan Best, senior researcher and professor of bioethics at the Institute of Ethics & Society at the University of Notre Dame Australia & Director of Ethicenter and 
Emeritus Professor Michael Quinlan of the University of Notre Dame.  Michael is also on the board of Freedom for Faith and Ethical End of Life Care. 
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Not every funeral is great.  Sometimes they go too long, sometimes the gospel is not clear, sometimes the content overlaps. 
How do you create a funeral service that God would be pleased with, connects well with people, honours the deceased and serves the bereaved?
David Cook is former Principal of Sydney Missionary and Bible College,
Sandy Grant is dean of St Andrew’s Cathedral Sydney,
and Gary Coleman is former chaplain to the Motor Racing Industry. 
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How should Christians think about war? How does the Biblical Framework of Just War help us understand how we should react to what is happening in the Ukraine, Iran, Israel and south Lebanon.
We go back to first principles drawing on the work of Augustine of Hippo Thomas Aquinas - asking when is it right to go to war — and how must war be conducted? And how do those principles evaluate what’s happening in today’s conflicts?
Joining us are:
John McClean, Vice Principal of Christ College Sydney, 
Rob Smith, theologian and ethicist and 
Grant Dibden, Anglican Bishop to the Australian Defence Force. 
Together we explore how Just War thinking has shaped Western military ethics and whether it is quietly being sidelined.
Plus we examine what the Just War doctrine says about individuals conduct in war, in light of the controversy surrounding Australian Soldier Ben Roberts-Smith? 
And how should Christians respond when the emotional weight of real-world conflict hits close

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Tinkering or transformation?
How do you change a church, like really change, not just tweak a program or update a roster, but challenge the whole model? 
Kodak missed the shift to digital photography. We’ve seen huge changes in industries impacting newspapers, landline telephones, taxis, bank branches, travel agents, street directories, encyclopedias. For each the world moved on.
But have churches missed a revolution too, and if so, what is it?
Archie Poulos from Moore College’s Centre for Ministry Development says we’ve been tinkering around the edges, changing tactics without changing the operating model, especially when our structures were built for a village world while many relationships today are affinity based. 
Kirsty Bucknell outlines a change framework to help us bring people with us. 

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‘Authority’ and ‘care’-  the two big words New Testament lecturer Peter Orr says belong together at the heart of real shepherding. 
Lecturer at Sydney’s Moore Theological College, Peter Orr, has told the Nexus Conference, that one of the great confusions of our moment is confusion about the role of the pastor. 
He asks whether in circles like ours, with a strong and right emphasis on every-member ministry, we accidentally downplayed the distinctiveness of the pastor? 
What does it mean to say that a pastor has real authority, but that it is derived, limited and for care? How to avoid harshness, being too soft and lazy. 
See also 
‘Fight for your pastor’ by Peter Orr 
The War Zone of The Pastor’s Heart with Peter Orr 

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