Episodes
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A new massive ethical question has risen up with the advent of artificial intelligence.
How will people decide what kind of morality to give to their artificial intelligence creations?
There will need to be a morality. But what should it be?
The market is already making different choices.
Elon Musk has said he wants the AI behind X (formerly Twitter) to be morally flexible. He wants his AI to appeal to all people: left and right, authoritarian and democratic, kind and brutal.
Stephen Driscoll is the author of ‘Made in our Image - God, artificial intelligence and you’.
To order online: http://matthiasmedia.com.au/products/made-in-our-imageSupport the Show.
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How can a senior minister best train junior preachers (student ministers and assistant ministers) in preaching?
There’s a tension we all feel: we want to be a training church raising up the next generation of leaders and yet we also want to make sure that the quality of what happens in our gatherings is high.
We don’t want a Sunday morning ‘plane crash in the pulpit’, where people at church that day think‘I wish I had stayed home today’ or ‘I wish I had gone to St Bloggs down the road.’
Toby Neal is at Vine Church in Surry Hills in Sydney. Toby says there’s been days when he sat at the back of the church, head in hands thinking, “Oh dear - I hope we don’t have anyone new here today!”Support the Show.
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Artificial Intelligence is an oncoming tsunami that will catch all of humanity off guard.
It is a change more like a wheel than a typewriter.
But what will this do to our sense of self?
Stephen Driscoll, in ‘Made in our Image - God, artificial intelligence and you’ says artificial intelligence may do great harm - giving more power to sinful people, governments or companies.
He says artificial intelligence will likely trend towards people pleasing - giving each of us what we want now/a sense of heaven now or it may become more debauched.
It may even become an existential threat to us - because EITHER it lacks a wise moral system OR it righteously opposes our sin.
Artificial intelligence will likely lure us into our own individual heavens and unbundled freedoms, but it won’t fix our souls.
Stephen Driscoll works in ministering to postgrads and academics at the Australian National University in Canberra as part of the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students.
Matthias Media Link to purchase: https://matthiasmedia.com.au/products/made-in-our-image.Support the Show.
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‘God wants all of me to love all of God all the time’ says Senior Pastor of Fellowship Dubai, Ray Galea.
Pray Ephesians 3 prayers for yourself and your team. Never assume a potential ministry staff member has accepted the gospel of God. Listen to see if they are personally gripped by grace. Demonstrate God’s love by meeting with your team consistently.Watch to see if the demands of ministry have choked the joy of salvation. Demonstrate God’s loving grace when a team member misses the mark. Encourage ‘Gospel Grace identity’: Does a team member welcome feedback or are they defensive; are they willing to apologise without qualification.
We want our staff and leaders to live and serve in ministry out of an overflow of the love of God for them. Grasping this love properly lifts our service from duty to desire.
As pastors we are so committed and focused on encouraging our congregations to love God with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. But do we stop to consider that our own love for God might be the limiting factor?
The pastor’s love for God will be a limiting factor for the congregation’s love for God. If we do not truly have hearts for God, how could we possibly lead others to the same?
Key Applications:Ray Galea was the pastor of MBM Rooty Hill in Western Sydney for 33 years until he moved to Dubai in 2022 to lead the Fellowship Dubai church there.
Ray is giving the evening keynote addresses at the Reach Australia Conference to talk about our the Pastor’s heart, feelings, emotions, and faith.Support the Show.
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“It may be that God is destroying the Church of England and who am I to stand in his way?
“The real tragedy would be if, in this traumatic, confusing time, if all of the evangelicals and the broader Orthodox group fall out with each other… if we can bear with each other in our different strategies, then that will be what we need (in whatever the future in England is going to be), whether that's within the Church of England or outside.
Charlie Skrine, the senior minister of All Souls Langham Place London, says his church (and other evangelical churches in the UK) are in a world of pain at the moment over the growing split in the Church of England.
Mr Skrine, who is speaking at the Evangelical Fellowship in the Anglican Communion Conference in Sydney, says All Souls is united in it’s commitment to biblical teaching on sexual ethics, but divided on what the best response should be.
He says a third of All Souls members are wanting to leave the Church of England now, a third want to stay and fight (never leave), and a further third are confused, and this diversity of opinion is reflected in the staff team.
Former All Souls evangelist Rico Tice has distanced himself from the Church of England, attends a Presbyterian Church, but retains Church of England Permission to Officiate. Rico said on the Gafcon 2018 livestream, of the gospel promoted by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Evangelism Team, “It's a different religion... and it’s around whether scripture is authoritative in terms of human sexuality… I think it’s a great wickedness to tell people who are on the road to destruction that they're not... if we have church leaders who are putting people on that road to destruction it’s a salvation issue.. That's why we have to distance ourselves..." (https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1482677891837392)
Mr Skrine says in Revelation 2 Jesus says that his people must not tolerate sexual immorality.
Mr Skrine says the bishops don’t get it, but there are tiny glimmers of hope of a settlement, with bishops moving slowly reluctantly towards the conclusion that they need to give up authority and come to a settlement.
He says the actions of the Bishop of London have united evangelical leaders within the London Church in a highly significant way with groups like All Souls, St Helens, Holy Trinity Brompton and Soma all standing side by side.Support the Show.
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Australia’s former Prime Minister Scott Morrison releases a new autobiography this week where he speaks explicitly about his Christian faith, and there’s a bible quote on almost every page.
Akos Balogh of Blue Fox Media joins Dominic Steele to review Mr Morrison’s new book where the former Prime Minister writes of wrestling with whether to study at Vancouver’s Regent College, being helped by listening to sermons by Tim Keller and Rick Warren, being rebuked and encouraged by Christian pastors and friends, wrestles with forgiveness, and God’s goodness during a long struggle over infertility.
Plus we discuss how pastors can wisely interact with political leaders.
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It is almost D day in the Anglican Communion.
Today we give the background for two highly significant meetings. One to take place next week in Rome. The second in June in Cairo.
The Rome gathering has been called by the rejected Canterbury leadership. The Cairo gathering has been called by the leadership of the Global South.
As background, The Church of England, the historic mother church of the Anglican Communion, under the leadership of the Archbishop of Canterbury formally abandoned the historic Christian faith when the English General Synod voted to follow Archbishop Welby and his house of bishops in voting for same sex blessings.
In reaction, the majority theologically orthodox have drawn a line in the sand and parted company with The church of England.
The Global South Churches said in their important Ash Wednesday 23 statement that the Church of England has disqualified herself from leading the Anglican communion.
Gafcon said the Archbishop of Canterbury’s leadership has been irreparably damaged.
We speak with the chair of the Global South Archbishop Justin Badi Arama of South Sudan and the new General Secretary of Gafcon Bishop Paul Donison.Support the Show.
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We are moving into a post - post-modern world But what does that look like and mean for truth - and us as pastors - as we attempt to communicate with our churches?
Our church members have unconsciously adopted some of the presuppositions of our society in the way we process texts and information.
We are living in a fake news world on social media with a parallel loss of confidence in institutions and authorities. Prince Harry says, ‘Whatever the cause, my memory is my memory, it does what it does, gathers and curates as it sees fit, and there’s just as much truth in what I remember and how I remember it as there is in so-called objective facts. Things like chronology and cause-and-effect are often just fables we tell ourselves about the past.
Former US President Barack Obama says “Unfortunately, too much of politics today seems to reject the very concept of objective truth. People just make stuff up. They just make stuff up. … we see the utter loss of shame among political leaders where they’re caught in a lie and they just double down and they lie some more. Politicians have always lied, but it used to be if you caught them lying, they’d be like, “Oh, man”. Now they just keep on lying."
Moore Theological College Lecturer Lionel Windsor joins Dominic Steele to explore what it means to believe the truth, turn to the truth, and adopt habits of truth and faithfulness in a post truth world.
Purchase Lionel Windsor’s Truth be Told https://bit.ly/3VVD34NSupport the Show.
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What is permissible and not permissible under new conversion practice laws in New South Wales - with Neil Foster, Matt Aroney and Michael Stead
Sydney Anglican Bishop Michael Stead, who chairs Freedom for Faith, describes the new laws as the least worst that he has seen in Australia.
Associate Professor of Law at Newcastle University and author of the Law and Religion blog Neil Foster says the law is unnecessary, but better than has been implemented in other parts of Australia.
Professor Foster supports moves to ban oppressive or violent practices that are designed to change someone’s sexual attraction or impair gender identity.
However, Professor Foster says the laws (which have a criminal and civil component) can go beyond those bad things to areas where a minister is explaining the teaching of the Bible and wanting to help people to live in accordance with the bible.
Acting Minister of Watsons Bay Matt Aroney says he doesn’t think the new laws will impact his pastoral practice. Matt wants to turn down the anxiety levels. He encourages to choose thoughtfully to respond to the people in front of us with the love and compassion that Jesus has.
Matt applies the principles of his new book ‘Renovated: How God makes us Christlike’ to caring well for those Christians experiencing same sex attraction or gender incongruence.Support the Show.
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The Pastor’s Heart - A word to our heart from Dominic Steele
In a Pastor’s Heart special, Dominic Steele speaks to our hearts today as we engage in the battle of the Christian life. We get a call today to perseverance and resilience.
Dominic addresses, not just pastors, but young and old; healthy and unfit; wealthy and poor; busy and quiet; husbands, singles, divorcees and widowers; fertile and infertile, straight or experiencing same sex attraction; or struggling in addictions.
Calling out to God:
God what are you doing?
Why am I stuck in this?
What is going on?
Why is it so hard?Support the Show.
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We explore the delicate dynamics of faith, family, and identity in the world of church leadership.
As pastors most of all we want our kids to love Jesus. And yet Barnabas Piper says so often pastors kids are messed up.
What are the unique experiences, joys and challenges of being pastors kids? And how can we better parent as pastors?
There are issues of awareness, assumptions and expectations. Plus confusion about identity.
This episode isn't just about the challenges; it's also a treasure trove of wisdom for Pastor's kids themselves. Whether you're feeling the weight of a congregation's gaze or struggling to carve out your own identity.
We discuss the power of parental apologies and the healing they can bring.
James Galea grew up as a pastor’s kid in Western Sydney and now leads the ministry team at Freshwater Anglican Church on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.Support the Show.
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How do we speak to children about sin? How can we help youth understand themselves as sinful and in indeed of forgiveness?
What to make theologically of the sense of entitlement in youth culture?
Plus how do we think theologically about the important issue of vibe in youth and children's ministry and in regards to how kids engage with church.
And what can we learn from Sunday School history that will help with practice today?
The new book ‘Identity, Church Culture and Discipleship in Youth and Children’s Ministry - Australian Evangelical Perspectives on Youth Ministry’ is being launched this week.
Papers in the book were first presented at the HOUSE conference for youth and children’s ministers in Sydney.
Contributors include Ruth Lukabyo, who leads the Sydney Anglican Youthworks Institute, teaches church history at Youthworks College and his responsible for editing the book.
Bill Salier is a former principal at Youthworks College and now heads up the Anglican GAFCON Theological Educators Network.
Tim Beliharz is on the ministry support team at Youthworks.
To purchase: https://bit.ly/3x3P0uUSupport the Show.
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The old saying is ‘A rising tide lifts all boats.’ But could the spark of story telling, and celebrating faith increase evangelism in churches and on university campuses everywhere?
National Director of the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students Richard Chin is emphasising the importance of prayer, through what he calls a 'two-for-two' model, and asks churches to join him in consistent branding in a nationwide push to introduce people to Jesus.
We discuss practical steps to integrate evangelism into the church's DNA, champion the role of head, heart, and hand in fostering a consistent culture of outreach.
Rory Shiner is senior pastor of Providence Church, Perth and Chair of the Gospel Coalition Australia.
Baden Stace leads the ministry team at St Stephens Normanhurst in Sydney’s north.
Elliot Temple is missions pastor at Christ Church St Ives also in Sydney’s north.Support the Show.
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“It’s like they got the exegesis spot on, then closed their eyes, fired an arrow randomly into the air, opened their eyes to see where it landed and said, ‘That looks like a good place to do application!’” - Theological College lecturer on student sermon application.
But are those of us who have graduated from theological college much better? For after all the students are just imitating what we have modelled.
Dean of Students at Sydney’s Moore Theological College Paul Grimmond has just completed a doctor of ministry project on improving application in evangelical preaching.Support the Show.
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Andrew Leslie is encouraging us to first take a step back from practical concerns and reflect on the beauty and wisdom of the bible’s teaching about manhood and womanhood.
In much contemporary debate about gender we focus on practical questions about what different people can do.
However the head of Moore Theological College’s Doctrine Department says the picture of gender in the beginning is not an arbitrary divine imposition that comes with its own set of arbitrary rules and instructions. Rather, the man and the woman together – and only together – irreducibly different and yet one inconceivable without the other, created a microcosm of God’s own very being and character and glory, summing up the wisdom and creative word of God.
Andrew Leslie gave the keynote addresses at the Priscilla and Aquila Conference in Sydney. Talk One: https://bit.ly/49ABygt Talk Two: https://bit.ly/3ORxWhI
He wants us as pastors to more fully appreciate the beauty of the bible’s teaching.
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Stephen McAlpine says the real question is “Does the future have a church?”
The statistics are not our friend.
We have been talking on The Pastor’s Heart about dropping church attendance. Stephen McAlpine is writing about the more widespread phenomenon.
He says some countries like the US are coming off a high base and in those places there is fat and cultural cachet to play with, whereas the level of religious commitment in the UK has dropped so dramatically that it is possible to imagine a time when Christianity will be a thing of the past.
In Australia the proportion of people self identifying as Christians has shrunk to 44% in 2021, down from 61% in 2011.
Church attendance across the west is collapsing with the rise of nones and dones.
Ministry Consultant Stephen McAlpine from Perth in Western Australia has a new book FUTUREPROOF.
Order online: https://wanderingbookseller.com.au/products/future-proofSupport the Show.
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Social media is changing again. In an increasingly digital age, our collective consciousness is captured by infinite scrolling, short-form videos, and internet personalities. A church's social media presence has gone from an optional nicety to a key lever for engaging newcomers to church.
How can pastors and ministry teams best capture the opportunities that can come with social media? How can a church's resources be best assigned to this new space? What if our gifts and skills don't line up?
Hannah Thiem and Liz Fong discuss best practice and minimum dose for churches and pastors on social media.
They highlight some of the biggest church wins on social media.Hannah Thiem works at leading social media company Hello Social working with major corporates, and on the side does social media for Sydney Anglicans and Dubbo Presbyterian Church.
Liz Fong runs social media for Reach Australia and advises churches on best practice in social media.Support the Show.
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How can male senior pastors have better relationships with the women on their ministry teams, where everyone shares complementarian convictions.
In those contexts - there are stories around that suggesting that relationships between some senior pastors and the women on the teams have been strained and have sometimes broken down completely.
There’s been massive cost to the individual, the team, the churches and to gospel work.
Clare Deeves has just completed her PhD, studying working relationships between women employed in complementarian ministry teams and the senior pastor who they work with.
Clare serves as an Assistant minister at Kallaroo Anglican Church in Perth. And lectures in church history at Trinity Theological College Perth.Support the Show.
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What can we learn from recent secular literature about the practice of Christian pastoral leadership?
Head of Ministry at Sydney’s Moore Theological College Archie Poulos looks at how the 'The Infinite Game' concept, popularized by Simon Sinek, can be applied to ministry.
Growth and Change - by Andrew Heard - The danger and necessity of a passion for church growth The Infinite Game - by Simon Sinek - exploring the consequences of short and long term thinking in business and life The Human Element: Overcoming the resistance that awaits new ideas - by Loran Nordgren and David Schonthal After the Ball - by Marshall Kirk and Hunter MadsenHuman Sexuality and the Same-Sex Marriage Debate - by Mark Thompson (Editor)
Sinek explores the consequences of short and long term thinking in business and life. Long term success is more likely when an infinite perspective is taken.
Then we examine Loran Nordgren and David Schonthal’s book ‘The Human Element: Overcoming the resistance that awaits new ideas.'
Archie considers the emotional and psychological hurdles (inertia, effort, emotion, and reactance) that congregations face when change is suggested.
We look back to ‘After the Ball’ by Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen, a 1989 secular play book for effecting LGBTI societal acceptance. Archie suggests there are lessons from aspects of that strategy for Christian mission.
Plus Archie talks about what impressed him about Andrew Heard’s soon to be released book ‘Growth and Change - The danger and necessity of a passion for church growth.
Purchase/download links to the books discussed this week:Support the Show.
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‘Many of the ways we are running our churches and ministries and many of the ways we are exercising leadership within our churches, has become a significant hindrance to the growth of the church.’
Andrew Heard’s about to be released book Growth and Change will be the ‘must read’ book for pastors for 2024.
In his opening preface Gospel Coalition founder DA Carson - says ‘I am usually loath to proclaim that such and such a book is the best in it’s field … but if there is one book that happily serves as the exception to the rule, Heard’s book is it.
Change is painful. Why don’t we want to change?
We cannot be content to just be faithful, if we mean faithfulness has no regard for the growth of God’s church.
The younger leader is more likely to succumb to the dangers relating to a passion for growth. However for older leaders, ‘As we age, it is possible to get stuck… We have battled for so long under the weight of small things, that our vision has shrunk to become no larger than the day to day needs of the church.’
How do we get unstuck? ‘Leading change requires significant emotional, relational and creative energy. But most church leaders have very little in the tank…'
Pre order ‘Growth and Change’
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