The Pastor's Heart with Dominic Steele

Sydney Missionary and Bible College Doctrine Lecturer Rob Smith submits his PhD this week on ‘Identity and Embodiment’ asking ‘How significant is our embodiment to our identity? How significant are our bodies to our gender identity?

There’s a new Matt Walsh Daily Wire documentary ‘What is a woman?’ that is causing a stir across the world.

We ask Rob ‘What is a woman?’ and for his review of the new Matt Walsh documentary.

Plus how do we best care pastorally for the gender incongruent church member.

Dominic Steele chairs the Sydney Anglican pastoral ministry Living Faith. Rob is a member of the Living Faith Council.

Living Faith’s ‘Developing Discipleship in Identity and Gender’ with Sam allberry and Rob Smith is scheduled for Tuesday 2 August 2022. Register at http://www.livingfaith.online

Links:

Rob Smith’s new book How Should We Think About Gender and Identity? (Questions for Restless Minds) https://bit.ly/3NNrR2a

Recommended books:

• Joyce, Helen. Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality. London: Oneworld Publications, 2021.
• Shrier, Abigail. Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, 2020.
• Sprinkle, Preston. Embodied: Transgender Identities, the Church & What the Bible Has to Say. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2021.
• Smith, Robert S. How Should We Think about Gender and Identity? Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2022.
• Walker, Andrew T. God and the Transgender Debate: What Does the Bible Actually Say About Gender Identity? The Good Book Company, 2022.

Recommended articles:

• Sprinkle, Preston and Paul Eddy. “Less Than Affirming: Perspectives Beyond the Gender Affirmative-only Model of Care for Trans* and Gender Dysphoric People.” The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender (24 March, 2021): https://www.centerforfaith.com/blog/less-than-affirming-perspectives-beyond-the-gender-affirmative-only-model-of-care-for-trans-and.
• SEGM, “Correction of a Key Study: No Evidence of “Gender-Affirming” Surgeries Improving Mental Health.” SEGM(August 30, 2020). https://www.segm.org/ajp_correction_2020.
• “National Academy of Medicine in France Advises Caution in Pediatric Gender Transition,” SEGM (March 3, 2022): https://se

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How can we create gatherings that are both warm and deep? How can we avoid gatherings that are superficial or dry.

How do we embed gospel culture in our church gatherings.

How do we emphasize grace, forgiveness and a welcoming atmosphere?

And how to encourage authenticity and emotional intelligence in gathering leaders. Plus how do we evaluate.

A Pastor’s Heart episode to watch with your staff team.

Toby Neal is Senior pastor at Vine Church in Sydney. And Liv Chapman Leggett leads the gatherings aspect of the ministry at Vine Church.

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This week on The Pastor’s Heart, we’re live from the Reach Australia conference at Erina on the Central Coast of New South Wales.

It’s an inspiring gathering, with 1,300 church leaders from across Australia and beyond, including New Zealand, South Africa, America, and the United Kingdom, coming together for encouragement and equipping to better Reach Australia.

Paul Harrington has led the Trinity Network of Churches in Adelaide for 33 years, guiding it from a single congregation of 800 to a thriving network of 13 churches with over 2,600 members.

Sue Harrington is a Reach Australia board member, has been deeply involved in supporting pastors’ wives, families, and women in ministry and runs a consultancy business.

Together, we discuss the lessons learned along the way, the emotional and practical challenges of planting daughter churches, and the role of humility and servant-hearted leadership. We explore the cost and recovery after sending, the evolving nature of church leadership, and the often overlooked but critical support needed for ministry households.

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'I believed therefore I spoke' - That’s what the Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:13. And yet it’s a verse hardly referred to in the last few decades in discussions over who is responsible for evangelism.

Chris Braga of Grace West Anglican Church Sydney told the Nexus Conference in Sydney that 2 Corinthians 4:13 shows that there’s a spiritual reflex that internal faith (in the death and resurrection of Jesus) will challenge fear and lead to speech.

Not because we’re commanded, but because we can’t help ourselves.

Chris Braga says implications are that proclamation is for every Christian, one’s Christian faith is always public and a command is not needed to link faith to speech.

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Reach Australia National Conference
Reach Australia’s National Conference is happening from 19 to 22 May 2025 on the Central Coast of NSW. This year’s theme is URGENT: The Necessary Task of Mission Before Christ Returns. For more info.

Dominic Steele's preaching at Village
Subscribe to Dominic Steele's weekly sermons from the Village Church website.

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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-image

Anglican Aid
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