Claim OwnershipTowards Understanding
Subscribed: 5Played: 440
Subscribe
© 2025 PositiveMedia
Description
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
178 Episodes
Reverse
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.
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.
Clare has worked for over a decade in Christian ministry, focusing on strategic leadership that enables churches to better serve their communities. As Compassion Australia CEO, she is excited to see churches and Christians around the world empowered to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. In light of The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty this week, Clare chatted to Clayton about the role of the Church in justice and exploring how Christians can actively participate in addressing poverty and injustice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In Unfailing Love, Georgia Morris shares hard-won truths of her dependence on God to fight her battles. Those who have family members or friends suffering with mental illness or going through trying times in a family relationship will be encouraged by this story of a woman who learned that God was faithful to carry her through. Georgia's husband began exhibiting unusual symptoms of behaviour on their honeymoon. She shares how he controlled every aspect of her life, cut her off from her family and friend. Her coping mechanism became a total dependence on God as the mental and physical abuse escalated and her husband was diagnosed with manic depression at first, then schizophrenia, and was often hospitalized. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Melissa Lipsett is the CEO of Baptist World Aid. She believes leadership matters, and so does the call of God on our lives. She is an outspoken advocate for the poor, for inspiring not just international action but also local action. Melissa also holds dearly to the importance of hearing women’s voices and empowering them to use their God given gifts and graces for the sake of our world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Clayton chatted with author, critic and lecturer, Richard King, who talked about his newest book, 'Here Be Monsters: Is Technology Reducing Our Humanity?'. He spoke deeply about the fact that we are in the midst of a technological revolution and is this, therefore, changing what it means to be human? Richard challenged us, as modern societies, that we need to develop a more critical attitude to new and emerging technologies. We need, he suggests, to rethink our relationship to our tools from both individual and societal perspectives. It is not enough to let the market decide which technologies are good for us. We need to ask what we want from technology. And the question of what we want is a question about who we are.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Philip Yancey is a familiar name in Christian households. Known for his many books, Philip spoke openly and honestly to Clayton about his recent diagnosis of Parkinsons Disease and how he still trusts a good and loving God who often chooses to reveal those qualities through his followers on earth. He has written many words on suffering and is now being called to put them into practice.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
David is passionate about the rescue and long-term wellbeing of children. In January 2010 David and his wife Andrea, along with their children, moved to Thailand where David served with ZOE for over 11 years. During this time David worked to prevent the trafficking and exploitation of children (as well as being involved in rescues). David now heads up the ZOE Foundation Australia and has some radical, creative and unique solutions to solve the issues for the most vulnerable foster care children in Australia.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A collective of faith-based organisations have joined together to create the Christian Foster Care Network, and to bring the issue of foster care into focus during that week. Heather Packett's organisation, ARK is a part of this network. Heather shares why you should be involved in Foster Care - and the support Ark is providing to carers. For videos and resources for churches to use to highlight foster care and have a website dedicated to Foster Care Sunday check out www.fostercaresunday.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On Father's Day, Clayton spoke to Wayne Alcorn, the author of "My Father's Son", and head of the ACC church in Australia. Wayne explained he has seen God's love heal and transform men’s lives – his father’s, his own and the countless men across Australia he has talked to and helped heal.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Paul Syrstad is the creator, director, and executive producer of Testament, a bold reimagining of the Book of Acts set in an alternate modern world still ruled by the Roman Empire. While training as an actor at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London, he discovered a calling for storytelling behind the camera and creating one of the more spectacularly dynamic visual telling of a book of the Bible.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Rush Witt, Author of ‘Want to Escape’ is a pastor and counsellor who has some encouraging things to talk to Clayton about how to battle the desire to 'escape' during life. As you listen, you may find yourself reflecting on the 4 D's that you might escape to and how to combat them. Oh, and yes, Clayton asks if Rush is his real name!!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sarah Ogilvie is Professor of Language and Lexicography at the University of Oxford. Her latest book is ‘The Dictionary People: the unsung heroes who created the Oxford English Dictionary’. The creation not only was remarkably universal in its work - but has long lasting impact on our language and culture today! Sarah, as a lexicographer, has been an editor at the Oxford English Dictionary and was Chief Editor of Oxford Dictionaries in Australia. As a technologist she has worked in Silicon Valley at Lab 126, Amazon's innovation lab, where she was part of the team that developed the Kindle.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Melissa chatted to Clayton about the documentary about her life - Return to Palau. After her whole family was tragically murdered, Melissa returned to Palau many years later and miraculously met with her family's killer, and her abductor, who left her for dead in a ravine. The impact on both Melissa's life and the entire population of Palau is truly amazing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dr. Ming Wang, a Chinese immigrant who defies all odds to become a world-renowned eye surgeon in the United States joins Clayton to talk about the so called 'Cultural Revolution' in the 1960's & 70's that destroyed Dr Wang's childhood education. He shares about his journey to America, his development of ground breaking eye technology that he gifted to the world (now worth $5billion). And shares how his Christian faith guides his life, but also his work as one of, if not the, leading eye surgeon in the world. Dr Wang's story is told in the recently released movie, Sight. “I am overwhelmed that a movie is being made about my life. Living through the many dramatic events that I experienced, I never expected them to be told to the world, especially in such a poignant way. I hope this movie might pave the way to inspire more untold stories to be heard and to inspire others to persevere and follow their dreams,” said Dr. Ming Wang.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Bill Sutcliffe shares with Clayton a story of overcoming unimaginable abuse as a child (on multiple levels) to a moment of forgiveness that changed his world. Hear Bill's story as he shares about his world changing relationship with Jesus and the subsequent life changing moments he has been able to give to prisoners and those who have been abused themselves.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sheila Wray Gregoire is the author of eleven books including She Deserves Better: Raising Girls to Resist Toxic Teachings on Sex, Self, and Speaking Up, the host of the Bare Marriage podcast, and the founder of To Love Honor and Vacuum. An award-winning writer, Sheila calls the church to more than just pat answers by conducting original research to find out what advice works–and what really doesn’t. She Deserves Better is an evidence-based book grounded on surveys of over 28,000 women to offer mums a fresh, freeing, and biblically grounded message of sexuality and self-worth for their daughters that is less about the don'ts and more about the dos.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dave Fishwick is the 'Dave' behind the UK movie, Bank of Dave. He chats to Clayton about being driven by the need to help others and is constantly seeking ways to make the lives of those around him, better. He shares with Clayton, his journey of being a working-class man from the small English town of Burnley in Northern England and fighting the elite London banking establishment to establish a local community bank. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jo Hood is the Founder/CEO of mainly music. Originally starting in New Zealand in 1990, mainly music is now also in Australia and the UK, plus a handful of groups in other countries. In 2025, mainly music celebrates 35 years in NZ, 25 years in Australia, and 20 years in the UK, since the first group was established in each location. Tens of thousands of families over this time have enjoyed many moments together, singing, dancing, moving, laughing, learning, eating great cake, and most of all, realising they have been welcomed into a joy-filled community of belonging.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States