Wilderness Conversations

Jaqui Wills, Johanna Brennan, and Naomi Richards are three sisters who lost their parents, younger sister, and brother in the Seaview Air Disaster on October 2, 1994. Shortly after midday on Sunday, October 2, 1994, an Aero Commander 690 aircraft operated by Seaview Air departed from Williamtown Airport, just north of Newcastle, NSW, en route to Lord Howe Island. On board were the pilot and eight passengers, including Stephen and Carolyn Lake and their children, Judith (18) and Benjamin (12). Ninety minutes into the journey, the pilot radioed that the aircraft was experiencing severe vibrations and that he was descending to 16,000 feet. Moments later, radio contact was lost. It is believed the aircraft plunged directly into the sea. Despite an extensive search, only scattered pieces of wreckage were recovered, confirming the aircraft was destroyed and all lives were lost. At the time, Jaqui was 23, Hanna 22, and Naomi 19 years old. Jaqui, Hanna, and Naomi join Wilderness Conversations to share their memories, experiences, and reflections on this profound tragedy.

Bert van Bergen was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands in 1944 at the tail end of the second world war. After migrating to Australia, was raised in a catholic family with a catholic education but was agnostic until he met some Christians that changed his life. Bert joins Wilderness Conversations to share his story of business ventures, his spiritual journey from Catholicism to becoming a Christadelphian, and the impact of family tragedies on his faith and outlook on life. Bert reflects on the gift of the gospel that he holds so dear. Bert is a member of the Golden Grove Christadelphian church or ecclesia in Adelaide, Australia.

Mark joins Wilderness Conversations to share his story, his challenging childhood experiences and journey toward finding faith, including his time with a foster Baptist family and eventual connection with the Christadelphian community. He shares his spiritual journey, including a period of reflection and eventual return to his faith, which was influenced by his experiences and interactions with others. Mark has a strong message concerning the importance of prayer, meditation, and open communication with fellow believers, while also reflecting on the role of divine providence in his life and the value of ecclesial relationships.

David Mansfield was born in Sydney, grew up attending the Christadelphian Church or Ecclesia at Campsie, was baptised at the Campsie and is still a member of Campsie over 50 years on. David joins Wilderness Conversations to share his wilderness journey.

David Bailey was born in Napier New Zealand in1953 and was baptised in Wellington 20 years later. He lives in Christchurch and is a member of the Christchurch North Christadelphian Church or ecclesia. Christadelphian Video has recently published series of talks given by David entitled Building Our Relationship with God.

A Christadelphian Bible School is held three times a year at Rathmines, a town in New South Wales located north of Sydney and south of Newcastle. Over the course of a week, Christadelphians from across Australia and around the world come together in friendship and fellowship, united by the word of God. t the recent April Bibleschool, we hosted two panel discussions under the theme “Conversations in the Wilderness.” The first of these focused on the topic of discipleship.

A Christadelphian Bible School is held three times a year at Rathmines, a town in New South Wales located north of Sydney and south of Newcastle. Over the course of a week, Christadelphians from across Australia and around the world come together in friendship and fellowship, united by the word of God. t the recent April Bibleschool, we hosted two panel discussions under the theme “Conversations in the Wilderness.” The first of these focused on the topic of parenting.

Dave Jennings lives in Los Angeles, USA and is a member of the Christadelphian Church or ecclesia that meets at Simi Hills. Dave is currently the editor of The Christadelphian Tidings – a Christadelphian Magazine and online publication. He joins Wilderness Conversations to discuss the current work of the publication and the exciting new opportunitiesContinue reading "97 The Tidings – Dave Jennings"

In this conversation we discuss mental health and the Bible and explore the potential of the Bible to improve mental well-being, the concept of humility, and the distinction between poor mental health and mental illness.

Ron Hicks was born in Adelaide, was baptised in Adelaide in August 1953 and now lives in Adelaide but has been many places in the meantime. Ron was a member of the Washington DC Christadelphian Church or ecclesia for over 50 years whilst employed by the International Monetary Fund and now back in Adelaide he attends the Happy Valley ecclesia. Ron joins Wilderness Conversations to share his Journey of Faith.

Art Courtonel lives – in his own words “in the quiet village of Burbage with his lovely wife Trasey-anna and his Son Asa-Caleb” and is a member of the Christadelphian Church or ecclesia that meets at Rugby. Rugby is a town 140 kms north west of London, 50 kms short of Birmingham. In July 2012 he established ChristadelphianVideo.org and this has now become his permanent pastime. ChristadelphianVideo.org reaches thousands of viewers and listeners from many denominations and continues to increase its exposure on the various media platforms. Art joins Wilderness Conversations to discuss this exciting project.

Jeremy is currently the assistant editor of the Christadelphian Magazine. Prior to the current role, Jeremy was the publishing editor of Testimony magazine. Recently Jeremy has written a book that is published by the Christadelphian Magazine entitled At The Citadel In Susa.

Breaking the Cycle pulls back the curtain on the hidden reality of domestic violence, revealing its impact where we least expect it. This book uncovers the painful cycle that binds victims, and the subtle ways abuse takes root. We might wonder how such harm could exist in our faith community, or what Christ-like support it demands.

Dales Tuggy is the author of a number of books including the book “What Is The Trinity”, and is the co-author of a number of books including “Is Jesus Human And Not Divine”. These books are all readily available on Amazon. He is also well-known for his online presence as the creator of “The Trinities” podcast and blog which features hundreds of episodes and posts on topics relating to competing views about the Trinity, the history of Theology and Unitarian Theology and Christology.

Geoff for some time has been contemplating the significance of the way the expression “Kingdom of Heaven” as opposed to the “Kingdom of God” is used in the Gospel of Matthew. He has published a book and takes a detailed review of each occurrence of the expressions in the gospel as well as a wider biblical view of this key component of the gospel.

Paul Wearne attends the Christadelphian Church or ecclesia that meets at Eastern Suburbs in Perth Australia. Recently Paul has been doing some investigation into different Bible translations and he seeks to answer some basic questions such as: Can we trust modern translations? Are translations biased? Is there a particular translation that we should use? Are all modern translations equal? Paul joins us on Wildernessconversations. Paul joins Wildernessconversations.

It was his study of Jude that alerted him to the prevalence of the work of Michael the Archangel more broadly throughout the scripture. Mark argues that much of the work of Yahweh was carried out by his agent who bore His, that is Yahweh’s name. Details can be found in the book “Michael the Archangel”

Kel Hammond lives in Sydney and for many years has been a member of the Christadelphian Church or ecclesia at Yagoona. Kel joins Wilderness Conversations to discuss one of his papers - The Atonement - 6 Popular Theories.

On Christmas Eve in 1974 a severe tropical cyclone named Tracy devastated the city of Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia, one of the residents was Cynthia Gillis who lost everything on that day. Years later circumstances would have her move to Adelaide where she settled in the Adelaide Hills, just west of the city centre in a township called Lobethal. In what seems like an extraordinary and indeed cruel coincidence, Cythia once again lost everything in a bush fire in 2019 that took her house along with 86 other homes and one life. The date was Christmas Eve 2019 exactly 45 years later to the day. In the intervening time, Cynthia was introduced to the gospel message, and she joins Wilderness Conversations to share her story.

Dev Ramcharan lives in Ontario Canada and is a member of the Christadelphian Church or ecclesia at Toronto West Ecclesia. In the May and June 2024 Christadelphian Magazine Dev wrote an article entitled: Choosing a Good Death and he seeks to explore our obligations to die well. Death, particularly our own death isn’t a subjectContinue reading "85 Choosing a Good Death – Dev Ramcharan"