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Towards Understanding is a full-length feature interview radio program hosted by Clayton Bjelan. The show contains a mix of interviews based around the understanding and living out of Christian faith and those just doing remarkable things in our world. It focuses on three key groups of people - The Known, The Overcomer and The Unknown.
89.9 | TheLight | PositiveMedia | LightFM | Melbourne
195 Episodes
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Kuruvilla George (KG) chatted to Clayton about how passionate he is about reducing stigma about mental illness among Christians and Churches. He does a lot of teaching and speaking about a Christian perspective on mental illness and suicide. KG explained that one of the main organisations that he is involved with is the Centre for Theology and Psychology at the Melbourne School of Theology where he is the Associate Director.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Tina leads service delivery at ChimeIn Recovery Services, bringing her compassionate, practical approach, dedication and significant experience working with participants seeking psychosocial or addiction recovery support. Tina shares her story of despair, hope and now providing hope for others. In 2011, Tina was inducted into the WA International Women’s Hall of Fame for her contribution to mental health and addiction support. Her successful career was forged following a vicious cycle of drug addiction and mental health struggles over two decades ago. Tina’s lived experience is the cornerstone of her ability to aid and inspire others. She possesses a unique ability to connect with, understand, advocate and empower others, while also educating the wider community and reducing the stigma associated with addiction. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Naomi Reed is an ambassador for the International Nepal fellowship (INF). The INF is an international Christian mission, working in Nepal since 1952, and aiming to empower the most marginalised and disadvantaged people in Nepal, through health and community development. She is a gifted communicator who loves to use honest, everyday stories to remind us that even in the hardest moments, God has not forgotten us. She began to write really as a means of trying to work out what is God doing in all of this? And how does he work through seasons of life that are hard. But 20 years into Naomi’s unexpected career in storytelling, she has now written down the incredible stories of God in others lives.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Luke Holdsworth is the founder of Spectrum Quest. Growing up on the autism spectrum, Luke often struggled understanding social cues, and how to communicate. As he grew up, he put in effort to increase his capacity, and has overcome those challenges. Now he gives back to the community through creativity and collaborative storytelling using Table-Top RolePlaying-Games, which has been found to help neurodiverse people have personal growth.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Kim Phuc Phan Thi is the South Vietnamese-born Canadian woman best known around the world as “The Girl in the Picture” and the “Napalm Girl.” In 1972 during the Vietnam War at age 9 she was immortalized in a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph titled The Terror of War that depicts her running naked in agony following a napalm strike in her village Trang Bang, Vietnam. Once a living symbol of the atrocities of war, for nearly 30 years she has been a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for the Culture of Peace and the founder and president of The KIM Foundation International, a non profit dedicated to helping child-victims of war, violence, and poverty. Kim shares her story of hope, purpose and joy in the face of terror, and she credits all of it to the love of Jesus.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Richmond Wandera shared with Clayton that he was just eight years old when his father was brutally murdered. Richmond's mother and six siblings were forced to move into one of Uganda's toughest slums - all because of a distant relatives lies. A chance sponsorship by a teenage girl through Compassion changed everything. Make sure you don't miss the moment in his conversation with Clayton when an act of forgiveness to his distant relative changed his life! Richmond has gone on to be a pastor and founded the Pastors Discipleship Network, a movement that has now trained over 15,000 pastors across East Africa.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Pastor Keith Tower is the senior pastor of HighPoint Church in Orlando, Florida. Keith is a Professor of Apostolic Leadership at the Every Nation Seminary. He is currently the Lead Chaplain for the Ocoee Police Department, where he’s been a chaplain for 12 years. Prior to pastoring and counselling, Keith played professional basketball for 7 years for the NBA’s Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Clippers, and Milwaukee Bucks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
1Mark is the Lead Pastor at Red Church in Melbourne, Australia. Mark is regarded by many as a leader in conversations around culture and Christian faith. Mark spoke with Clayton about recent cultural moments in Australia, Europe and America and the opportunity of faith discussions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Louise shares openly with Clayton about her early life of trauma and the impact it has had on her relationships and faith life. Louise hopes that by sharing her story others will have an opportunity to have hope and courage to take the next steps needed for their recovery. Louise has written a book about her story, Loved. Saved. Healed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Peter Irvine, started Gloria Jean’s Coffees after helping launch McDonalds into Australia. And yet all of that comes from his deep desire to live out his Christian faith in the area of work he has been given - that of business. Peter shares with Clayton stories and his desire to help other business owners to truly live out faith and the positive outcome of a faith driven business in the marketplace, See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Author Rachel Gilson share's her story of confusion and clarity around her own sexuality and her Christian faith. She has recently written the book 'Parenting without Panic' to help parents teach their children proactively and positively about God’s beautiful design for human sexuality, gender and relationships. Rachel shares with Clayton some of the work in her book around a Christian framework for sexual ethics and healthy conversations around LGBT+ conversations.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Author, speaker, thought leader, Andy Crouch is partner for theology and culture at Praxis, a venture-building ecosystem advancing redemptive entrepreneurship. His writing explores faith, culture, and the image of God in the domains of technology, power, leadership, and the arts. he spoke to Clayton on a recent visit to Australia about the idea of what redemption looks like in our society and Christian faith today.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Katherine Thompson asks the question is there benefit to deep suffering? Katherine works in the area of mental health as a therapist, lecturer, author and researcher. And also personally knows the impact of long term serious physical pain. Katherine has published in the areas of youth mental health, Christ-centered mindfulness, and cross-cultural mission and chats to Clayton about her book, The Discipline of Suffering.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In July 2011 Gloria Anderson was abducted from her home in Melbourne by a boarder she had allowed to stay in a granny flat on her property. During this time, Gloria was mocked for her faith, and she endured severe physical torture while praying constantly. After escaping, she now dedicates herself to advocating for legal reform and helping others who have experienced similar traumatic events. She helps provide much needed practical items such as clothes, toiletries etc to those who have just gone through traumatic events. She head's up the organisation Thinking Of You - From One Survivor To Another.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dr. Amy Orr-Ewing is an international author, speaker and theologian who addresses the deep questions of our day with meaningful answers found in the Christian Faith. Amy chats with Clayton about why we can trust the Bible, where to start if you are exploring Christianity, where to start if you want to best share your Christian faith and why she is so passionate about female leadership in Christian conversations around faith.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Petr Jašek, a Christian humanitarian worker and Czech national, spent 445 days in a Sudanese prison. After being falsely accused and convicted of espionage and treason, among other charges, he was sentenced to life in prison before eventually being pardoned by Sudan's president. Petr tells his story of being in a jail cell with ISIS members who made his time hell on earth. Petr is now the global ambassador for The Voice of the Martyrs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Rebecca McLaughlin is the author of Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the Worlds largest religion. If Christianity is really true - it should be able to stand up to some tough questions. Rebecca discusses some of the most common and curly questions of Christianity.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Simon is Executive Director of the Centre for Public Christianity. A former English and History teacher, Simon has a Masters in Christian Studies. He talks about whether it is the 'End of Men' in society and faith. Simon provides a thought provoking and articulate argument to continue good healthy conversation around this topic.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Since becoming Australia’s first MasterChef in 2009, Julie Goodwin has become a household name. She has had many roles since then including radio and tv host, writer and speaker and also advocate for conversations around mental health. Julie shares openly with Clayton about her journey with mental health and the opportunity she sees in sharing her story. Julie has recently released the book Your Time Starts Now.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Based in Lebanon, Wissam Nasrallah is COO at Thimar – a partner of Baptist World Aid Australia, who is working with local communities and churches to help the poorest of the poor and the huge number of refugees coming into Lebanon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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