Commending & Contending

Gifted for Admin, with Sam Jensen

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

Something Old; Something New, with website editor Mikey Lynch

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

Church Leadership That Commends The Gospel, with Murray Capill

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.

Pastoral Care that commends the gospel, with Sarah Condie

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.

How are our Bible Colleges going? David Starling reflects on two decades in Theological Education

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?

Being Anxious, For Nothing: Nicky Chiswell on bringing our real self to God's real self

Anxiety is a real and very common experience for many Christians. How do we understand our anxious feeling and where is God in that distress. Nicky Chiswell helps us take a look at what anxiety is and how our faith in God interacts with our experience. We talk about how to remind ourselves of God's loving presence and also consider how to care for someone who is struggling with anxiety.
Find at more about Nicky and her own exploration of trusting God in anxiety at her website, NickyChiswell.com
Read more at the TGCA wesbite on this topic

What did we learn from the MEET JESUS campaign? with Richard Chin

In our last episode for 2024, we are joined by Council member and AFES Director, Richard Chin, to hear his reflections on the Meet Jesus project which spread across university campuses and local churches all over Australia.
Richard shares many encouraging stories and talks about how raising the spiritual temperature of our our outward-looking prayers can be a powerful way to lean on God's saving activity in our midst, and beyond into the world.

Treasures From the Cutting Room Floor: Kara, Tim and Naomi

We're almost at the end of the year and the end of Season Two of Commending and Contending. For this episode I went back through clips that ended up not being included in the episodes they were recorded for. Whether it was an extra bit of the conversation, or part of the chat we had to prepare, there is so much more encouragement in my conversations with guests that I wanted to share with you.

Mining Town Ministry; Glen McDonald And The Opportunities in Roxby Downs

Come with me, in this episode to the isolated town of Roxby Downs in northern South Australia. We'll get to hear from local pastor, Glen McDonald about the unique features of this mining town and how the local church looks for ways to connect people to the saving work of Jesus. There may be a surprise in how this regional town is learning from the ways of the big capital cities.

My Two Cents Worth On the Frilled Lizard and the Future of TGCA

Over the past month the team at TGCA have been praying for one hundred new supporters who commit to giving one hundred dollars a month, to sustain the valuable work which has grown over the past decade.
Join me, your host Jonathan Holt, as I dive into a recent article by Council Chair, Rory Shiner and a much older, and every early article which tells some of the origin story for the TGCA.
 
The Frill-Neck Lizard and the Future of TGC Australia
 
Introducing TGCA