Claim OwnershipCommending & Contending
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A podcast of The Gospel Coalition Australia about how we are commending and contending for the gospel in our daily lives.
61 Episodes
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We return for the new year, in the wake of some exciting developments at The Gospel Coalition Australia and among Australian Christian leaders.
In TGCA we have established a Board of Directors to enact our vision and mission, with new directors joining some of the existing Council members. In this episode we are joined by Bill Salier, the Chair of TGCA and also chair of the the Board of Directors.
We also had the Doubling Vision statement developed and published. We chat with Bill about how this Doubling Vision came about and what might be possible if we pray and work together toward this goal, across Australia.
Visit our website for the paper from Andrew Heard presented at the Leader's Summit.
Read Rory Shiner's article about this Prayer for Australia, for a Doubling of ministries.
This is part two of our series looking at The Gospel Coalition Australia foundation documents - particularly when we ask ourselves the question: what is gospel ministry in Australia?
In this episode we consider the importance of effective evangelism in our ministry. We hear from past guests on this topic, including:
Richard Chin (episode 40)
David Shaw (episode 53)
Jess Fields (episode 56)
Helen Bell (episode 23)
Tori Walker (episode 15)
And here's part one of the series: Weekly Gatherings
Josh Allan joins us in the episode of Commending and Contending to talk about film making, and especially a project he's working on right now. We talk about the collaborative nature of the work of making a movie and how artists can balance the art and the message of a movie.
You can find out more about Josh's project at: faithdoubtfilm.com.au
We are joined in this episode by Murray Lean, a long serving TGCA Council member, who is also active in his local TGCA Network in South East Queensland. Murray shares with us how he has sought to serve the people of God in his retirement.
We also tap into Murray's wisdom and experience to hear about some places he has ministered and his thoughts on mentoring younger pastors.
An article from Murray, from a few years ago:
Pastoral Ministry and the Call to Die
When we compare the demographic of the local area with who is with us at church, we might discover that Everyday People are under represented amongst God's people. Andrew Beddoe, who works at the Vocational Bible College, joins us for thsi chat about why it might be that we see the discrepancy and how we might respond to it.
Vocational Bible College
Addressing the 'Everyday People' Leadership Gap
In this episode we are joined by Jess Fields who works for the main Religious Education provider in the city of Canberra. Jess shares the joys and challenges of bringing the good news of Jesus to students in ACT public schools.
The Gospel Coalition Australia Website has plenty of great articles, but it has other resources too. Joseph Hewitt serves as the Reviews Editor for TGCA and brings to our conversation a recent book review by Mikey Lynch. I have an episode of one of our new podcasts, TGCA Music, to talk about.
A Chronicle of Melbourne Revivalism seeking principles for today
You can email: joseph.hewitt@thegospelcoalition.org.au
King of Grace by Tenielle Neda on TGCA Music podcast
You've probably wondered about how God's Holy Spirit at work in you fits together with how much you are doing, you own agency, as you grow and change.
We rest in Jesus' promise that the Spirit is present and active to cause us to grow and bear fruit, and yet we also know that we are to work out our own salvation.
How should we think about all of this? Candice Bergamin joins us to talk about her post-graduate study and what she's learning about this topic.
1It's kind of obvious to say, but the apostles had a pretty good handle on what it takes for disciples to commend the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. David Shaw joins us in this episode to focus our attention on Peter's first letter and the themes we find there.
Peter's teaching is wonderfully helpful in shaping how we understand who we are, and what it might look like to live out our calling, and be a blessing.
Here are some of David's articles from the website:
God's elect, resident aliens in Babylon
Bless, for to this you were called
When we open our Bibles to read them for ourselves, we can can feel overwhelmed or unsure about how to make sense of the Old Testament. Gary Millar returns in this episode to help us grow in confidence, to read and explore all that God has for us in his word.
Find out more about the Online Workshop on Preaching Prep
Take a look at the TGC commentaries that Gary mentions
In this episode we are joined by Tamara Robson, who worked through all the responses from the recent survey TGCA conducted in connection with the Leader's Mini-Summit.
The goal of this smaller summit was to gather leaders from like-minded ministries all across the eco-system and from all over Australia. We were gathering to consider how we might collaborate together to achieve things for the glory of God.
In preparation for the leaders getting together TGCA invited all those leaders and anyone connected through the website to our regular email updates to share their thoughts.
Tamara and I were keen to share the key themes that came out of the responses we received.
The Gospel Coalition Australia has written a Theological Vision for Ministry. Part 5 of this Foundation Document asks the question: What is Gospel-Centred Ministry in Australia?
The very first answer is: Weekly Gatherings of God's People.
For most Christians this means a Sunday Church service - but why do we believe this is so important? What is our theological grounding for committing to this? I invited a few of of my guests from the first half of this year to speak to this topic.
We are joined this episode by the Chief Operating Office of TGCA, Sarah Kuswadi, who chats with us about her own experience of joining online training offered by the U.S. TGC. We also talk about the very first TGCA Online Workship, all about preparation for preaching.
Online Workshop: Preaching Prep
Support the work of TGCA
Dan Anderson, from the Lachlan Macquarie Institute, joins us on this episode to wade into the complex waters of our shared political life. How might the good news of Jesus enable us to engage with other Christians who have a different view on politics to us? And how could Christians be involved in politics in a way that commends the gospel?
Find out more about the Lachlan Macquarie Institute
God saves people into local churches, where we shape one another, especially over the long haul, through the ups and downs of life. Rick Maude has been doing exactly this in the one spot for many years.
Rick chats with us about the challenges of recruiting people, and the joys of centering the gospel in relationships and ministry.
Comms? Socials? Ops? what are these things and how do they happen in churches. In the background of every ministry there are administration actions that keep them going.
Communications: getting the word out. Social media: reaching people where they are. Operations: making sure the logistics all work and don't get in the way.
Sam Jensen, founder of Virtual Church Assist chats with us in this episode about how these admin tasks fit into church life.
We also get onto what makes a gospel-hearted admin person tick and how to care for our admin people and support them in their vital work.
Virtual Church Assist
Ministry Support Summit
We're joined by TGCA website editor Mikey Lynch, who brings a couple of new pieces from our website, while I pull out something old, but still very much worth reading. There's so many excellent articles at the website to explore. You can subscribe to our email to update on new articles and follow us on social platforms to get the 'throwback Thursday' recommendations.
Engaging with Western Post-Christian Inquierers Today, by Kamal Weerakoon
A Journey into the Postmodern Hinterland, by Michael Jensen
8 Ways to Become More Humble, by Jane Tooher
Award-winning author, and TGCA Council Member, Murray Capill returns to the podcast to talk about his recent book about gospel clarity and church leadership. How does a church leadership team commend and contend for the gospel of Jesus, and not just manage finances and repairs? Murray calls church leadership teams to give proper attention to a gospel vision for a healthy church.
One key part of the ministry we share as the body of Christ is the pastoral care we extend one another. In this episode we are joined by Sarah Condie to talk about how our pastoral care might commend the good news of Jesus.
Council Member, David Starling has served for two decades in Theological Education. He is well placed to reflect on the changes over time and current state of play. How are our Bible Colleges going?
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