Open House Interviews with Dwayne Jeffries

Aussie cattleman Grant Lock has an amazing story to tell from his decades helping villagers in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He talks about one particular incident in where he and Afghani villagers are confronted by an armed gang. His daring response, 'shoot me first', is now the title of a book recounting his mind blowing experiences.

We continue our series on Fearless Daughters of the Bible with author Lee Grady. This week he talks about great leaders and says many women took on the burden of leadership. Lee talks about his favourite three women leaders in the Bible.

Leadership exists in nearly every area of life and is fundamental for growing and learning. Mac Pier is the founder of New York City Leadership Centre and has written a book about fifteen influential leaders from business, government and Christian communities. Mac talks about what makes a good leader and says we should all value encouragement and guidance given to us.

Leroy Barber has spent more than 20 years eradicating poverty and helping the destitute. He talks about his book Everyday Missions and says we need to open our eyes and change our hearts to see the opportunities lying right in front of us. He says we sometimes wait for God to do miracles and forget about the simpler and equally significant things in everyday life.

We begin a new series on forgiveness with Open House human condition guru Lyn Worsley. This week she talks about the process of forgiveness from both a Christian and psychological perspective.

Open House TV critic Mark Hadley reviews ABC show Making Couples Happy. He questions whether we can really be happy together and compares what the show and Bible says about making a marriage last.

The great debate over school scripture with new moves to ban it altogether. A new petition has been launched by the Fairness in Religion in Schools group aimed at ceasing special religious instruction. We hear both sides of the argument with Graham McDonald from Children of the World and Dr. David Zyngier from Monash University in Melbourne.

In less than a month there will be a new Pope following the shock resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Father Frank Brennan from ACU takes a look at the current field of candidates and predicts who he thinks will take the top job.

Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation shocked the world prompting questions about the future of the Catholic Church. Brisbane Catholic Archbishop Mark Coleridge saw Pope Benedict just two days before he resigned and says the news came as a bolt out of the blue. He analyses the situation and talks about what this means for the church.

Doubt in the Christian faith is actually a positive thing according to author Andrea Palpant Dilley. He book Faith and Other Flat Tires recounts how she grew up in a missionary family, fell away from her faith and returned with a stronger belief. She shares her story and says we all face roadblocks at one time or another.

A great little community project that has the potential to make a huge difference. Rector of St Michael’s Vaucluse Michael Palmer talks about how his congregation made a boat from old materials when their church building was renovated. He says they will auction the boat off and donate the money to people in Tanzania to build a bible school.

We conclude our series on optimism with Open House human condition guru Lyn Worsley. This week she revises her conversations over the past few weeks and puts the test on Leigh to find out whether he is a pessimist or optimist.

Still deep in the awards season, we hear about Oscar nominated French film Amour. Open House film critic Ben McEachen says the themes are highly suitable for everyday life including love, companionship and care.

We continue our series on Fearless Daughters of the Bible with author Lee Grady. This week he talks about the more obscure women in the Bible and says their life lessons are just as important as some of the really well known women.

Angels are mentioned 273 times in the bible, but do they still exist today? Author and psychologist Judith MacNutt addresses all the modern myths in her book, Angels Are For Real. She says Angels are very real, powerful and messengers of God.