Leading change in the number and/or size of congregations post COVID-19 with Peter Mayrick

“We are talking Kotter’s principles of change managment and how they apply to church leadership in this post COVID-19 season where the immediate steps forward may not be clear.

We need to lead to change. But for some of us senior pastors (as things keep changing) it’s not obvious where we want to go!  And yet we need to take everyone with us. …”

– Peter Mayrick from the Center for Ministry Development is back to speak with Dominic Steele at The Pastor’s Heart.

Paul Harrington at the ReLaunch Australia Conference


Paul Harrington spoke from Adelaide to the ReLaunch Australia Conference last week.

How should we move forward as churches re-open? He urges pastoral patience, and careful thinking to build ‘gospel capacity’.

Very helpful, with plenty to think about. A number of others also spoke at the conference, with a panel discussion.

Watch his address at the link.

‘Resuming public gatherings’ – with Michael Stead


New guidelines have been released for churches in NSW. But they have been changed since the original ones we discussed on The Pastor’s Heart with Bishop Michael Stead a fortnight ago. …

Bishop Michael Stead is back for an extra discussion…. On social distancing and implementing the health department guidelines.”

– The latest from The Pastor’s Heart.

Queen’s Birthday Conference 2020 — free livestream — Monday 8th June

From Two Ways Ministries:

‘2020’ usually speaks of clear vision but this year ‘2020’ speaks of cancelled plans and a very uncertain vision for our future.

The self-assured confidence of our wealthy culture has been dealt a body blow that has finally raised big questions of life which have been ignored for generations.

The social isolation of staying at home forces society to slow down, spend time in family or long-term relationships, even make friends with neighbours and reach out electronically to old friends and distant relatives. We are forced to think about our lives.

We do not know what life post coronavirus will be like – but it will be different, and we want to make it different.

Resilient people always turn a crisis into an opportunity.

Queen’s Birthday Conference gives Christians an opportunity to think through the implications of this present crisis.

What is God’s part in this crisis?
How should we respond to the crisis?
What are the lessons Christians should learn from the crisis?
What can and should we say to our society?
How can we take this opportunity to proclaim Christ to His rebellious world?

Monday 8th June 2020, 2:00 pm – 4:30 pm.

Talks and Q&A with Phillip Jensen.

To receive the link for the livestream, register with Two Ways Ministries. Please note that registrations to receive the livestream link will close at 8pm on Sunday night.

Guidance released on NSW COVID-19 laws and churches

“This is a brief update to my previous post on recently announced changes to restrictions on gathering and movement in NSW (now, in fact, dealing with ‘gatherings’ rather than movement) as they affect churches.

The NSW Government has now (as of 31 May) put up online guidance on how ‘Places of Worship’ should be managed. This contains a link to what is called a ‘COVID-19 Safety Plan’ for churches…”

– From Neil Foster at Law and Religion Australia.

The future of singing in church – with Rob Smith, Curtis Smith & Dr Charlotte Hespe


“In New South Wales, Australia churches are permitted to gather for meetings of 50 from Monday, but are not permitted to have communal singing.  Rob Smith, Curtis Smith & Dr Charlotte Hespe discuss. …”

– Very helpful episode of The Pastor’s Heart.

Worship in Coronavirus time — the latest NSW rules

“I have previously commented on the rules concerning movement from home, gatherings in public places and opening of public premises which have been applied in Australia while we deal with the COVID-19 crisis.

The NSW Minister for Health has just released the Public Health (COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement) Order (No 3) 2020 (“RGM Order No 3”), which commences operation on Monday 1 June 2020 and repeals and replaces the previous orders. In this post I want to outline what the new rules will be in their effect on churches. …”

– Neil Foster, at Law and Religion Australia, takes a look at the latest COVID-19 restrictions affecting churches meeting in NSW.

COVID-19 Church Worker Frequently Asked Questions updated

The Diocese of Sydney has updated its COVID-19 Church Worker Frequently Asked Questions.

There’s important information there for churches weighing returning to gathering.

An invaluable resource for all in the Diocese of Sydney.

The biblical meaning of righteousness and justification Part 1, with Chris Thomson @ Moore College

“Martin Luther famously wrote about justification by faith: ‘if this article stands, the church stands; if this article collapses, the church collapses’ (Luther’s Works 40/3.352.3).

Justification matters. Why? Because it is caught up with our status before God, our assurance of eternal life, and our freedom to live the Christian life in love for others and without fear.

But what does the Bible actually say about justification? Luther and Calvin recognised that we need to come to grips with the precise meaning of the key biblical terms – ‘righteousness’ and ‘justification’ – in order to grasp the biblical doctrine. But in modern New Testament scholarship, there is often a lack of clarity about these terms.

In this 3-part series, I speak with my colleague Chris Thomson, lecturer in Old Testament at Moore College, who has engaged in detailed research in this area as well as scholarly discussions with others, including N. T. Wright.

We talk about what the terms mean, what other people are saying today about the terms, why righteousness is different from justification, why it’s both shocking and deeply comforting that God is the one who justifies the ungodly, and why it matters for us today.”

– More very helpful input from Lionel Windsor at Moore College.

Quiz Worx Home Delivery

“For over 20 years Quiz Worx has been Sharing Jesus with Kids Everywhere through fun and creative live puppet shows.

With the global pandemic of COVID-19 shutting down all opportunities for live ministry, Quiz Worx has turned its creative attention to making resources that can help churches and families share Jesus with kids in the home.”

– Terrific resources from Quiz Worx.

Is freedom of religion a human right? – Livestream from The Centre for Christian Living

From Moore College’s Centre for Christian Living.

Wednesday 27 May 2020 at 8:00pm:

“In our part of the world (Australia) we enjoy religious freedom. But the current debate over the Religious Discrimination Bill (now in its second draft) may bring some of that freedom into question.

Michael Kellahan, the Executive Director of Freedom for Faith, will help us understand the Australian cultural and political context that has made this issue so contentious, and CCL Director Chase Kuhn will help us think through the biblical and theological principles that help Christians appreciate the goodness and complexity of contending for religious freedom.

We hope you will join us (virtually) for our first livestream only event!”

They also write:

Please note: online bookings will close 12pm AEDT Wednesday 27 May. Instructions will be emailed to all attendees a couple of hours before the start of the event.

Managing congregational anxiety in the post COVID-19 reboot

From Dominic Steele at The Pastor’s Heart:

“We are addressing how we care for and lead our congregations on the way back. We are seeing states quickly move through the different stages of opening up.

How do we handle the fear of change, and navigate the decisions of starting to meet again. How do we help our members flourish in community while keeping a physical distance? How can we come through this stronger? What about the feelings that they and we are experiencing, and how can we support them through the next few months?

The best advice for Australian churches is still to expect a protracted period with congregations limited to 100 people, with one person per four square metres, for many Churches, this necessitates change, with congregations to be divided or planted.

Jenny Brown heads The Family Systems Practice, is an experienced family systems therapist and the author of Growing Yourself Up.

Nigel Fortesque is the senior minister of Christ Church St Ives.”

– Watch here.

SRE at Learning at Home now available

Writing on the GAFCON website, Youthworks CEO Craig Roberts writes,

“…the COVID-19 pandemic has forced schools to go online. Youthworks has modified some of its SRE lessons for parents to use at home with their children AND the government has put a link to our resources on every school website.”

– Read his report here – and you can also access the SRE material here.

Adaptive Leadership in COVID-19 with Brian Tung

“Brian Tung says leading our churches successfully out of COVID-19 is going to be much more complex than the journey in.

He says don’t squander the God-given opportunity to make ‘real’ change in the COVID-19 rollback.

How do you fix it even when it’s not broken?  Note, People don’t hate change. They hate loss. How do you make the most of the productive zone of disequilibrium. …”

– The latest episode of The Pastor’s Heart.

Church Seating & Stage Three – the implementation – with Michael Stead

“Today we get totally nitty gritty/extremely practical and we are talking church seating in stage three.. with the Bishop of South Sydney Michael Stead.


The road map – from Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison – indicates that there is going to be a moment that the government is calling ‘stage three’, probably/potentially mid July when meetings of up to 100 people will be able to take place.”

– Another very helpful edition of The Pastor’s Heart.

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