Does it matter how much a pastor preaches?
“The latest edition of the ACR includes the results of a survey we conducted in order to investigate how frequently senior ministers are preaching in relation to the number of full-time staff and adult church attendance.
On the whole, there is a negative correlation between the number of full-time staff and the amount a pastor preaches.
On average, a minister serving as the only full-time staff member of a church (35% of responders) preaches 4.3 weeks out of 5. For those serving in a staff team of two full-time equivalents (50% of responders), that average drops to 3.5 weeks out of 5.
What is notable, however, is that this trend flattens out as the size of the staff team increases, stabilising at about 3 weeks out of 5. For a staff team of three (26% of responders), the average is 3.2 weeks out of 5. For a staff team of four (13% of responders), the average is 3 weeks out of 5. For a staff team of five or more (27% of responders), the average slightly increases back up to 3.1 weeks of out 5. This indicates that pastors have a general preference to preach no less than 3 in every 5 weeks.
This, however, prompts the question: Does it matter how much a pastor preaches? Or more specifically, does it matter to God how much a pastor preaches? …”
– At The Australian Church Record, Charles Cleworth explores the question.
Certainty for Eternity launches YouTube channel
Mark Gilbert at Certainty for Eternity reports they have launched a YouTube channel with the aim of better equipping people to speak about Jesus with their Roman Catholic friends.
In the first video posted, Mark speaks with Leonardo De Chirico on Learning about Roman Catholicism from Pope Francis’ Funeral.
– Watch here.
We neglect it at our peril
“We know that prayer is a crucial discipline for the individual believer, but how often do we consider that it is also a crucial discipline for the assembled church?
The Bible prescribes only a few elements for local church worship, but among them is prayer. …”
– A brief exhortation from Tim Challies.
Gafcon photo.
Reimagining Science Fiction
“In our increasingly secular society, the phrase ‘Christian fiction’ probably elicits more discomfort than it does excitement, even for Christians. Often rightfully criticised as clunky and overly tactless in its messaging, the ability to hammer home biblical truths without altogether breaking a good story seems to be a lost art!
Perhaps this is why the work of C.S. Lewis often stands out in my mind. …”
– Isaac Kwong commends C S Lewis’ first foray into science fiction, Out of the Silent Planet, as an exciting and challenging read. At AP.
Image: The first close up picture of Mars, 15 July 1965.
Godly Tracts and Spurgeon’s Example
At AP, the Presbyterian online journal, Troy Appleton has some encouragement concerning gospel tracts:
“Some Christian commentators have argued that tract giving is a useless activity; that times have changed. True, many a tract may end up unread and crumpled up in the trash bin. Yet, we must trust in God’s providence. It is likely you will never be able to meet every person in your neighbourhood or even on your street – they are unlikely to ever hear the Gospel told to them in their lifetime. The giving of a tract may be the seed that God uses in His providence to cause them to come to Christ. We may never know this side of eternity. …”
– Read here. (And yes, Matthias Media also has various kinds of tracts.)
Image – a home-made tract distributed at the University of Sydney in the late 1970s.
Survey results: How often do Rectors preach in the Sydney Diocese?
“In January 2025 the ACR emailed out a survey to all Sydney Anglican Rectors – numbering just over 250. The survey was short and uncomplicated to ensure a good number of respondents. Below are the results for the survey and the questions that were asked.
The catalyst for the survey followed some anecdotes about preaching frequency amongst our Rectors, especially amongst those Rectors who serve in what might be called a large church.…”
– Mike Leite, Editorial Director of The Australian Church Record, shares the results of the ACR’s survey.
The heart of God for children
“Children have a unique way of humbling us. From the joys of first steps to the frustration of sleepless nights, children shape our experiences in profound ways. But beyond our personal encounters, what does God say about children? How does he view them, and what should our response be? …”
– Charles Cleworth, who teaches Theology, Philosophy and Ethics at Moore College, writes at SydneyAnglicans.net.
Creating warm and deep church gatherings
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“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.”
Was the Garden Paradise?
From Phillip Jensen:
“Peter and I love gardens but hate gardening. However, all the good things about the garden are set out in Genesis 2.
In today’s podcast, we explore God’s generous provision symbolised in the Garden of Eden. To what extent was the garden paradise that we need to regain? To what extent is the paradise promised to the thief on the cross something greater than the Garden of Eden?”
Related:
Two Ways Ministries’ 2025 King’s Birthday Conference is coming up at Moore College next Monday 9th June.
“From Feminism to motherhood, from animal rights to toxic masculinity, from racism to euthanasia, Australia is in an ethical turmoil on many issues. Christians often feel in the crossfire of these culture wars. Do Christian ethics apply to non-Christians?
This year at the King’s Birthday Conference, Phillip Jensen is going to look at how becoming a Christian takes us back to the universal morality of Creation.” …
– See the details, and register before it’s too late!
A Psalms ‘taster’
“Friends in Christ, recently a younger new friend has started reading the Bible, and had read some New Testament books, some of the Gospels, and some of the Letters. He’d also begun in Genesis. But I wanted to encourage him to read the Psalms. After all, the Psalms are really the song book of Jesus. That’s what all Jewish people in his era would have grown up knowing, and often singing.
But there are 150 of them! And although there is structure to the chapters, and some important themes and groupings, they don’t have an unfolding narrative that’s necessarily obvious.
So for better or worse I decided to pick just 15, 10% of the total, as a kind of introductory highlights orientation tour for my friend to read over a few times, before hopefully going on to read all 150 later on. …”
– Dean of Sydney Sandy Grant writes in the Cathedral newsletter.
The Reason to persevere in Prayer — Luke 18:1–8
“This is a parable Jesus told his disciples ‘to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart’ (Luke 18:1). And we all need this encouragement, don’t we? Because prayer is hard. Especially that persistent, daily habit of praying, day after day, month after month, year after year. …”
– Lionel Windsor speaks in Chapel at Moore College.
Discussing The Nicene Creed
Mark Gilbert and Leonardo Di Chirico chat about their new book The Nicene Creed – The nature of Christian unity and the meaning of gospel words, published this month by Matthias Media.
This 17 minute video is a terrific introduction to understanding the key differences between Romans Catholics and Protestants, so that we can love our Catholic friends from a position of better understanding.
It may also make you want to get the book! (If so, click the image for details.)
Towards the end of the video, Mark mentions The Reformanda Initiative. where there are additional resources.
Richard Coekin: ‘Pious Passivity’ vs ‘Strategic Intentionality’
From The Pastor’s Heart:
“What happens when churches move beyond ‘pious passivity’ to strategic intentionality in reaching the lost?
Richard Coekin – founding pastor of Dundonald Church in London and director of Reach UK – joins Dominic Steele to unpack the revolutionary approach transforming churches across Australia and the United Kingdom.
Following on from Reach UK and Reach Australia in May, Richard candidly shares his journey from skepticism about ‘Pentagon language’ and structured frameworks to embracing these tools as valuable expressions of pastoral care and evangelistic intentionality.
‘If you don’t aim at anything, nothing will happen,’ he explains, challenging the notion that strategic thinking somehow diminishes reliance on God’s sovereignty.
We look at the biblical foundations for strategic ministry, with Richard pointing to Acts 6 as a model where the apostles prioritized preaching and prayer, built ministry teams for delegation, and ensured the church’s practical needs were met.
Plus we discuss measuring spiritual fruit.
Whether you’re skeptical of strategic approaches to ministry or already embracing them, this conversation offers fresh insights on leading churches that are both faithful to Scripture and effective in mission.”
What It Means To Be Protestant — Book review
“Gavin Ortlund, not to be confused with his brother Dane Ortlund who wrote Gentle and Lowly (Crossway, 2020), is one of Protestantism’s foremost ‘accidental’ apologists. This is because, as Ortlund himself says in the introduction, he didn’t set out to become this but instead responded to a need he identified on social media.
Ortlund’s YouTube channel Truth Unites has become immensely popular and he is known for discussing various Biblical topics in a clear, historically insightful but most irenic way. This is also the case with What It Means To Be Protestant (Crossway, 2024) which I think is something of a model for how inter-faith dialogue – especially with Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox – should be done.
Due to the nature of the topic, this could easily become abrasive or overly hostile. However, Ortlund does a masterful job at maintaining a respectful and engaging tone.…”
– At AP, the Australian Presbyterian journal, Mark Powell reviews What It Means To Be Protestant.
Multisite Churches: What works and what doesn’t?
From The Pastor’s Heart — an extra edition from the Reach Australia Conference:
“Multisite was a buzz seven years ago. Today, with thousands of campuses launched in the United States—and many hard lessons learned—the mood is more measured. What’s changed? What’s endured? And what can church leaders here learn today from the American experience?
Live from the sidelines at the Reach Australia Conference on the Central Coast of New South Wales, we sit down with Wade Burnett from McLean Bible Church in Washington DC and Derek Hanna, Reach Australia’s church planting and multisite specialist, for a fresh look at the multisite church model. …”
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…