Australian Church Record -

Do “sheep bite”? Rethinking a popular pastoral phrase

August 19, 2025August 19, 2025 by Callan Pritchard

I have often heard church leaders use a phrase like, “sheep bite and kick,” to describe challenges and conflict in church life. In this metaphor “biting” signals hostility and stubbornness. Though it sounds biblical, this phrase troubles…

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Christian Living

Dementia and the Christian: Will Jesus remember me if I forget him?

July 27, 2025July 27, 2025 by Susan An

“She was a wonderful mother and a devoted wife”, he said, holding her hand. She sadly didn’t meet his gaze but rather looked past him, glassy-eyed and unseeing. As her speech pathologist I was sitting by her bedside, watching her not recognise…

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From campus to classroom: An interview with Jeanette Chin

July 26, 2025July 26, 2025 by Jocelyn Loane

Jeanette is married to Richard who serves as the National Director of AFES. Alongside Richard, Jeanette has ministered with AFES at Wollongong University and the Australian National University. Now living in Sydney, they attend St Matt’s…

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Ministry

Why mission needs strategy: A conversation with Scott Sanders

July 14, 2025July 14, 2025 by Kirsten McKinlay

Hi Scott, thanks so much for speaking with us. Can you tell us a bit about yourself for those who don’t know you? Well, I’ve been married to Natalie for 20 years and we’ve got four girls. I grew up in a Christian family and became a Christian…

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Christian Living Youth & Kids

In peace I will lie down and sleep

June 27, 2025June 27, 2025 by Kat Cowell

It was another night of lying on the floor in the dark, my arm raised awkwardly through the cot so my daughter could hold my hand against her face, her favourite (and seemingly only) way to fall asleep. How many minutes had we been like this now? Five?…

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Christian Living

The Bible’s guide to time travel

June 24, 2025June 24, 2025 by Annabel Nixey

Time is a funny thing. It goes too fast. Then too slow. We want it to stand still and then wish it didn’t. We love losing track of it but incessantly strive to find it. There are few things more frustrating and difficult than running out of time or wasting…

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ACR Journal Ministry

Does it matter how much a pastor preaches?

June 12, 2025June 12, 2025 by Charles Cleworth

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…

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