First Nations

Guest Christopher Yuan shares his powerful testimony and journey from living the full gay lifestyle, and eventually discovering Christ. He shares his wisdom on holy sexuality and how we can provide a safer place for those struggling with this issue. Dr. Yuan is a Christian speaker and author on faith and sexuality, and a professor at Moody Bible Institute.

How can our ethnic and migrant background contribute to burnout? How can we address this condition in our churches and as individuals? We discuss how the Bible teaches us in this area and practical steps to help get sufficient rest.  Valerie Ling is a Clinical Psychologist, Speaker, Published Author and Clinical supervisor working primarily in pursuit of burnout prevention. Valerie is the Clinical Director and Founder of The Centre For Effective Living, a group Psychology practice dedicated to clinical excellence in mental health.

We talk about work from a faith and Asian ethnic perspective! How can God's kingdom flourish among us in the workplace when we are just trying to survive? Featuring Denny* from Auckland. 

We also talk about our failings as a church community regarding family violence and spiritual abuse and discuss how we can better identify abuse and support those going through abusive situations. With Sarah Chang

How can First Nations and Asians Between Cultures relate to each other? How can Asians Between Cultures learn from First Nations people? Featuring Denise Tims, a Christian leader of Maori heritage.  Denise is a trained Primary School Teacher with over 20 years experience in community work. This work has involved Youthwork, Kohanga Reo, Financial Capability, CYFS (Orange Tamariki) Caregiving, running an Open Home, Parenting courses.  For the past 4 years, she has been studying theology through an indigenous lens as a part-time student at Laidlaw Bible College.  Denise has spoken at churches, Bible Colleges and with community groups. Denise currently stands as a Board Trustee of the Carey Baptist College.

Naomi Chong joins Grace Lung as they discuss female leadership and their own leadership journeys as they figure out complementarianism v egalitarianism, and look at the bible on this hot topic.

The eco-warrior image tends to be Anglo / White. What difficulties are there with Asians engaging with Climate Change? How does it impact Asia? Where can we better steward God's creation in our churches and Asian communities? Featuring Shilpita Mathews. Shilpita is an environmental economist and focuses on climate resilience and sustainable cities. She is passionate about linking faith and climate justice and getting young people and the private sector involved in climate action. She is an active member of the Young Christian Climate Network (YCCN) and serves in the student ministry of her church in London. Originally from India, Shilpita grew up in Sri Lanka, Jordan and Thailand before moving to the UK. She holds a BA in Land Economy from the University of Cambridge and an MSc in Environmental Economics and Climate Change from the London School of Economics.

Why don't we see many Asians in politics and civic engagement? In this polarized climate, how do we engage political issues and leaders with our mixture of East Asian culture and faith? Featuring Brendon Zhu, independent councillor for Willoughby City Council, in NSW, Australia.

What is the Renewalist movement? Do Asian Christians tend to be cessationists or continuationists? What does the Bible say? We welcome back Steve Chong, Founder and co-Director of the RICE Movement to hear his story.

Returning for another season, join Jessie Chiang (Auckland) and Grace Lung (Brisbane) as they launch into this season of "Big Issues". Starting off with Friends, they talk about friendship in the Asian Christian context and what healthy, godly friendship ought to look like.