‘There are no rocks being thrown from this corner’ – Dominic Steele on Sam Allberry
Posted on May 6, 2026
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From Dominic Steele at The Pastor’s Heart – a compassionate and pastorally sensitive, gospel informed response.
King’s Birthday Conference 2026 set for Monday 8th June
Posted on May 5, 2026
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From Two Ways Ministries –
“As in previous years, KBC 2026 will be held on the public holiday Monday, 8 June, from 1:30 -5:00pm at Moore Theological College..”
“Our registration rate will increase on May 25 (10 working days prior to conference) so please register early to ensure a seat in the Marcus Loane Hall; we expect to fill it to capacity, and will have late registrations seated in an overflow room.
For those living outside Sydney who cannot get to Newtown, the Conference will be live-streamed …”
More from Phillip Jensen –
“The topic this year is Prophecy Today. It is a very important topic, which is under such controversy today.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Biblical Christianity is a prophetic religion – built on God’s revealed word. Therefore, nothing is such a threat to our faith as the lies Satan puts into the mouths of false prophets. Discerning prophets and prophecy is a very important activity.
Jesus warns us to beware of false prophets (Matthew 7:15), while Paul warns us not to despise prophecies (1 Thessalonians 5:20). How do we know the truth and what will indicate the falsehood of prophets and prophecies?
We are commanded to ‘earnestly desire to prophesy’ for prophecy builds, encourages, and consoles the church.
But how are we all to prophesy without causing confusion, and when are we to remain silent?
WHY IS IT CONTROVERSIAL?
At one end of the spectrum, the Charismatic Movement is keen to promote prophecy and prophets who speak in ways that contradict and undermine Biblical revelation.
At the other end of the spectrum, Liberal Christians are promoting as prophets people who preach the ‘correct’ political messages of social justice, and use the references to women prophesying to set aside any distinction between men and women.
And in the middle of the spectrum are confused Bible believers, unsure of what the Bible does teach about prophecy.
The King’s Birthday Conference is always a great time to catch up with old friends, a great place to make new friends, and an important place to bring friends to hear God’s word.”
New thinking on addressing the collapse in ministry recruitment and training?
Posted on May 5, 2026
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From Dominic Steele at The Pastor’s Heart –
“In the UK there are serious signs of a narrowing pipeline into ministry recruitment and training. Fewer people are coming forward through some of the traditional routes. Traineeships are under pressure. Residential theological education is changing.
And churches are asking: Where will the next generation of pastors, evangelists, church planters and ministry leaders come from?
In Australia, it is not the same story, but there is a similar question. Geoff Folland has argued that the old model of the young, full-time, residential theological student is no longer the dominant reality. Colleges face rising compliance costs, changing student profiles and tighter finances. And, churches, apprenticeships, parachurch organisations and mission agencies are now doing more of the early work of formation.
So is this a Bible college problem? A local church problem? A recruitment problem? A funding problem? Or an ecosystem problem?
Orlando Saer is Senior Pastor of Christ Church Southampton, Chair of Trustees of 9:38 and part of the team behind the Yarnton Gospel Workers Trust launched last week — a new UK initiative seeking to remove blockages and multiply gospel workers for the harvest.”
The Temple of the Holy Spirit — Our embodied future
Posted on May 5, 2026
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From Phillip Jensen –
“The commandments of 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 are obvious: flee sexual immorality and glorify God in your body.
However, Paul does not simply give commandments; he gives the rationale behind them. The rationale has to do with the meaning of the body in his thinking in terms of our creation, our resurrection, and our marital union with Christ.
This densely argued paragraph provides for us a Christian understanding of ourselves as well as our motivation to live Christianly.”
On ‘Worship Nights’
Posted on May 4, 2026
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Mikey Lynch at The Gospel Coalition Australia shares some observations –
“I have observed an uptick in stand-alone ‘worship nights’ in Australia in the 2020s—that is, Christian prayer and praise communal singing events. I hear of churches and inter-church conferences hosting special ‘worship nights’; there are even once-off inter-church events, often hosted by informal parachurch groups.
These kinds of events have strong appeal among those under thirty.
In this article, I give some notes on this phenomenon, concluding with words of caution and calls for discernment. …”
– Read here.
John Newton: Mastermind and mentor of early Australian Anglicanism
Posted on May 3, 2026
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“On 8 July 1777, Reverend John Newton confessed in his diary to binge-reading the latest bestseller: Captain James Cook’s A Voyage Towards the South Pole and Round the World, published that same year. It caught Newton’s imagination, but it also caught his evangelical heart: he prayed that the gospel would ‘arise and shine upon’ people of ‘unknown regions’.
Newton didn’t know it then, but his Lord had a time and a plan for those souls. Within seven years, Newton himself would play a crucial role in launching and nurturing the first Christian mission in Australia. …”
– Again, give thanks to the Lord for John Newton. At the Moore College website.
The clarity of Scripture and church gatherings
Posted on May 1, 2026
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James Chen writes at The Australian Church Record –
“In the wake of the technological developments that churches went through during the COVID lockdowns, I explored different live and recorded videos of gatherings that occurred locally and globally. What it provided me was an insight into the flavour of church services across denominations and regions.
Something I was struck by was the disproportionate number of Protestant gatherings that would say, or have on their church website, something to the effect of how much they valued God’s word, yet would then have no more than one section of Scripture read in the service, usually a Bible reading preceding the sermon. …”
– A challenge and an encouragement for all churches.
From Glebe to Gallipoli: Indigenous voices into Sydney Anglican history
Posted on April 30, 2026
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From Russell Powell at SydneyAnglicans.net –
“Archbishop Kanishka Raffel has decried the ‘deeply repugnant’ treatment of Aboriginal Elder Uncle Ray Minniecon at an Anzac Day service, as the Diocese prepares to hear the ‘untold stories’ of Indigenous Anglicans. …”
– Read here. And there’s a media release.
The College for the Colony
Posted on April 30, 2026
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Ever wondered why Moore College is called “Moore College”?
– This infographic for the 170th anniversary of the founding of the College introduces Thomas Moore.
Richard Johnson: Laying the foundation stone of the Australian evangelical church
Posted on April 29, 2026
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“When we think of the great evangelical movements of the late eighteenth century, our minds often turn to the Clapham Sect, those remarkable men and women whose faith reshaped British public life and whose influence extended around the world.
Figures such as William Wilberforce, Henry Thornton and Hannah More loom large in this story. Richard Johnson, the first evangelical chaplain to Australia, does not.
Johnson was never formally part of the Clapham Sect, nor was he a central figure in the closely related Eclectic Society, a small, but influential gathering of evangelical clergy and laypeople committed to deep theological reflection and gospel advance. And yet, without these two groups—and the prayerful vision that animated them—Richard Johnson would almost certainly never have set foot on Australian soil. …”
– Moore College Principal Mark Thompson reminds us of the legacy of Richard Johnson.
James Valentine, Euthanasia and How Christians Should Speak of Death
Posted on April 28, 2026
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This week at The Pastor’s Heart, Dominic Steele introduces a topic which is “delicate, important, and pastorally urgent” –
“How should Christians respond when voluntary assisted dying is publicly framed as dignified, compassionate and courageous?
James Valentine has been rightly honoured as a much-loved broadcaster in the wake of his death last week. But alongside the tributes there’s been significant reflection on his choice to use voluntary assisted dying in the language of control, dignity, generosity and dying ‘his way’.
How do we honour and grieve a much-loved public figure, while still asking serious ethical and pastoral questions about voluntary assisted dying? Has the public conversation shifted from VAD as a last resort to VAD as a normal end-of-life choice?
As we think carefully about death, autonomy, compassion, medicine, conscience and Christian hope we are joined by:
Dr Megan Best, senior researcher and professor of bioethics at the Institute of Ethics & Society at the University of Notre Dame Australia & Director of Ethicenter and
Emeritus Professor Michael Quinlan of the University of Notre Dame. Michael is also on the board of Freedom for Faith and Ethical End of Life Care.”
– A very sobering and important topic. Watch or listen here.
Archdeacon Kara Hartley to step down — A legacy of gospel partnership
Posted on April 28, 2026
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From SydneyAnglicans.net –
“After 14 years of dedicated service to the women of the Sydney Diocese, Archdeacon Kara Hartley has announced she will step down at the conclusion of 2026.
While Archdeacon Hartley originally envisioned a seven-year commitment as Archdeacon for Women’s Ministry, her tenure spanned double that time. …”
– Russell Powell has the story.
Context, Context, Context — Applying biblical thinking
Posted on April 28, 2026
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From Phillip Jensen –
“Hard passages of the Bible are great passages. The reason that they are hard is because we are not thinking biblically. Wrestling with these hard passages gives us the opportunity to change our thinking in order to be aligned with biblical thinking.
1 Corinthians 6:12-20 is notoriously difficult, and over the next two weeks, Peter and I are going to try to unravel some of its complexities.
We start today by looking at the context.”
– Hear Peter and Philip discuss at Two Ways News.
AI is coming for your Systematic Theology
Posted on April 27, 2026
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Tim Challies warns of the dangers already present –
“A recent article at The American Scholar asks Who Is Blake Whiting?
Whiting appears to be the most prolific scholar of our age, sometimes publishing up to 13 books a week ‘on a host of complex archaeological and historical subjects, ranging from the collapse of Near Eastern civilizations in 1177 BCE to the recent discovery of a huge Silk Road-era city in Central Asia.’ He must be quite the individual!
But as you no doubt guessed, he is not an individual at all. Rather, Blake Whiting is fabricated, and the books under his name have been generated using AI. …
I want you to know about these books because I want you to be aware that this is happening. I want you to know it’s happening because it’s likely that things will get far worse before they get any better. I’ll first introduce you to this slop theology, then discuss the threat these books represent, and then tell you how you can identify them.”
Biblical Theology is Key
Posted on April 27, 2026
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Peter Jensen writes at the Moore College website –
“The mere fact that our College is 170 years old this year does not mean that it is excellent. Many an institution has fallen badly away from its founding principles over such a period. Moore has had its ups and downs over its history, and there are other colleges that may be quite young, but are worth supporting.
Nonetheless, we rightly rejoice. Over many years, our College has stayed true to its origins. I think Bishop Barker, who had so much to do with its founding in 1856, would also be rejoicing. …”
Also in the Autumn 2026 edition of Moore Matters –
Top photo: Bill Dumbrell teaching at Moore College in the early 1980s.
What we believe
The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…