In this episode we are joined by Brendan Hurley, who chat with us about the many places he's lived, around Australia and where he's planted now.

When people live and minster in a place most of us think of as a holiday destination, what is it like? And how does it shape the ministry?

Brendan is the pastor at Northern Hope Anglican Church, in Cairns. 

For this episode I went back to re-listen to some of the earliest episodes of Commending and Contending, and I found some gems.

The guests in that first season shared about joys and challenges - and if you've joined the faithful band of listeners in the last year or so, you might like to go all the way back and tap into some of those early conversations.

The Gospel Coalition Australia exists to encourage and equip Australian disciples to commend and contend for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Part of how we aim to do that is bringing on a National Director, the recently appointed Dave McDonald.

You can read the extended interview with Dave here.

In our conversation we chat about how Dave heard about this role and what he hopes to do, as he serves in it.

The Bible tells us that older disciples should teach younger disciples, that in the family of Christ, we can learn from (and with) one another. In this episode we are joined by Betty Wan, who has found many ways to encourage and challenge younger disciples around her.

Prayer demonstrates our dependence on God, it helps us lay aside false beliefs about how "in control" we are, and how self-sufficient we are.

Peter Adam is our guest on this episode to talk with about prayer and give some insights from his recent book, Prayerfulness.

Peter helps us to think about what is stopping us from praying and how we might be able to take what we are learning in the Bible and have it shape our prayers.

We have an all new online workshop to share with you in this episode. We're joined by Bethany Lattimore, from Virtual Church Assist, who helped run last year's Online Workshops on Preaching Preparation.

This time, Council Member Rory Shiner will use the four Monday nights of the Online Workshops to take us through the life, legacy, and literature of C. S. Lewis. Famous for being the author of the Narnia series, C. S. Lewis has many other facets worth exploring.

Register for the Online Workshop here. 

When we ask ourselves, 'What is Gospel Ministry?' there are a few important answers; and in our Foundation Documents, one of those answers is all about how we trust and use the Bible in our churches, congregations and ministries.

In this episode I am joined by co-workers Ann Moseley and Rory Shiner, who serve together at Providence Church, in Western Australia. Together we talk about what it looks like to trust and use the Bible for our own discipleship, and how it looks in the leadership roles we take up in our churches.

The previous episodes in this series on 'What is Gospel-Centred Ministry?' are:

Weekly Gatherings;

Effective Evangelism.

What a journey The Lord has taken Emma on. To find herself working as a freelance writer and getting a collection of her writing published in a book.

Emma joins me to talk about life and writing, and the things we might pay attention to that reveal more about ourselves, our world and the God who made and loves us.

You can find her book (being released in early July, 2026) to read Emma's writing.

Explore more of her work at her website.

All around us are Eastern Orthodox Churches. Their buildings look different to many other church building and their teaching is unfamiliar to us. We are joined in this episode by John Diacos to get started in understanding Eastern Orthodox Christianity, and why it might be important for us to understand it.

John has written some book reviews for our website

More of John's resources can be found at his website.

And here's a review of the book that John talks about writing

God's word helps us to talk about, and think about difficult parts of our lives, the parts we might put under the heading of 'Ethics' (or even, 'Bio-ethics'). Knowing who God is and who we are, will help us navigate the world we find ourselves in.

Robyn Bain joins us to talk through these things and to help us address how we might show compassion and kindness in talking about tricky issues, and why we struggle to share about our own challenges, sin and limitations.

Robyn recommended some books to us:

Joined-Up Life, by Andrew Cameron

Marriage: Sex in the Service of God, by Christopher Ash

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, by Megan Best

Crossway Publisher, Books on Culture and Social Issues