Episode Description:

On this episode of ‘The Inspiration Project’, Brendan Corr talks to Associate Professor Elissa Deenick who works at the Garvan Institute where she is the head of Immunity and Inflammation. Dr Deenick talks about going to a Christian School, where her interest in science originated and following Jesus.

Episode Summary

• How an interest in the human body led to immunology.
• How studying science at a Christian school led to her becoming a scientist.
• Science explores the natural world; God created the natural world.
• How Christianity makes more sense of the world than other religions.
• What was it like as a young Christian studying science at a secular university?
• Pursuing the truth no matter the cost.
• What does it mean to be created in the image of God?
• Where true peace is found in an uncertain world.
• How Christians should view vaccines

Episode Description:

On this episode of ‘The Inspiration Project’, Brendan Corr talks to Kate Bracks the winner of the 3rd season of MasterChef Australia. Kate shares why she decided to go on MasterChef and how God played an important role in her winning the show.

Kate Bracks Episode Summary

• What was Kate doing before her MasterChef experience?
• Why food is so important to Kate
• The process leading up to being a contestant on MasterChef
• How God has been part of Kate’s life even while on MasterChef
• What is Kate’s purpose in life?
• What it was like being a Christian in that heady world of reality TV
• Kate not calling The Dalai Lama “His Holiness”
• Life after MasterChef

On this episode of ‘The Inspiration Project’, Brendan Corr talks to Ken Ham about debating Bill Nye, the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum and how Ken handles personal attacks from those who don’t understand what he believes.

Ken Ham Episode Summary

• What was it like for Ken to grow up in an Australian Christian Family?
• What influenced Ken to become a teacher?
• “It's only what's done for Jesus that lasts”
• Why Ken still teaches at the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum
• What does Ken see as the possible contention between faith and fact and the need to prove the things of God?
• How Ken handles personal attacks for what he believes
• What is the complimentary side of knowing the Word and having a personal relationship with God?

On this episode of ‘The Inspiration Project’, Brendan Corr talks to Claire Madden about what led Claire into the field of Social Research particularly focusing on Gen Z’s, how faith plays a role in her life as a social researcher and is there still a generational gap in our society today.

Claire Madden: Episode Summary

• What is Claire’s particular focus area?
  
  
• How do social demographers come up with fantastically obscure labels?
  
  
• What were the characteristics of Gen Zs that captured Claire’s interest?
  
  
• Is there still a generational gap in our society today?
  
  
• Do younger generations have less place for God in their shared lives?
  
  
• Are there Gen Zs and Millennials in church?
  
  
• Who is setting today's cultural narrative?

On this episode of ‘The Inspiration Project’, Brendan Corr talks to John Ford about what failure has taught John about life and faith and about working with some of the leading global companies.

On this episode of ‘The Inspiration Project’, Brendan Corr talks to Mark McCrindle about what led him to work in the field of social research and how generations respond differently to faith, COVID-19 and technology.

Nick Farr-Jones was captain of the Wallabies that won the Rugby Union World Cup in 1991, the Bledisloe Cup in 1992 and defeated the Springboks in 1992. He was capped 63 times for Australia, including 36 as captain. Nick completed a Law degree at the University of Sydney before practicing law while pursuing his amateur rugby career. In 1992, he became a Member of the Order of Australia, in 1999 was inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame and in 2001 was awarded a Centenary Medal for service to Australian society through Rugby Union. After hanging up his boots, Nick has worked in investment banking and funds management for Societe Generale and Taurus Funds Management, respectively.

Dr Michael Spence is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney. Under his leadership, the University has risen to 1st in Australia and 4th in the world for graduate employability. An alumnus of the University, Dr Spence has a BA with first-class honours in English, Italian and Law. He is recognised internationally as a leader in the field of intellectual property theory and holds a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Oxford. In 2017, Dr Spence was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours List for  leadership of the tertiary education sector and to the Anglican Church of Australia. He was ordained an Anglican priest in 2007.

Originally from the Blue Mountains, Clare studied a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics, Robotics, and Automation Engineering at the University of Western Sydney before also earning her Master of Divinity from Sydney Missionary & Bible College. She had a diverse career working in corporates like Accenture and Macquarie Bank as well as in local preschools and churches before starting as the CEO of Compassion Australia in 2020. Immediately before taking up the position with Compassion, Clare was the Chief Operating Officer of Anglican Deaconess Ministries, a role she held for three and a half years. Clare is married with three children.

Brett began his career as a registered nurse where he served in ICU and Accident Emergency at various hospitals around Melbourne for 14 years. He then moved into full-time ministry, working as the Children and Family Pastor for CityLife Church for 12 years before commencing as CEO for Focus on the Family Australia in 2013. Brett is an accomplished public speaker on relationships, parenting, mental health, suicide, sexuality, addictions and work-life balance. Brett and Kate have been married for three decades and have raised 3 adult sons. Kate works alongside Brett in Focus on the Family, regularly co-presenting marriage and family workshops.

Comedian Ben Price is a national talent who performs at an international level. Ben has performed his 200+ impersonations on television networks around the world and at functions for corporate clients such as Telstra, AMP, Commonwealth Bank, Mercedes Benz, McDonald’s, Microsoft, Cadbury. He was also a finalist on Australia’s Got Talent in 2011. As well as live performance, Ben has also acted in several television commercials and featured in 4 feature length films. He first discovered his talent for impersonating voices when he was at primary school where he used his talent to entertain and prank classmates.

Dr Luke Barnes is a John Templeton Fellow at Western Sydney University. With a PhD in astronomy from the University of Cambridge, he has published papers in the fields of galaxy formation, the fine-tuning of the Universe for life and the philosophy of science. Luke is the co-author of "A Fortunate Universe: Life in a Finely Tuned Cosmos” and the recently released “The Cosmic Revolutionary's Handbook”. Luke is an accomplished public speaker and also a committed Christian who believes that the fine-tuning in our universe points to a Creator God.

Andrew Scipione is a former police officer who served for 10 years as Commissioner of the New South Wales Police Force. He was born in London and his family immigrated to Australia when he was an infant. Upon leaving school after his father’s death, Andrew commenced work as an electrician's apprentice to help with household expenses. He shifted to policing in 1980 and worked his way up through the ranks. Andrew holds a master's degree in management and is known for his leadership skills. For his service to policing, Andrew received the Australian Police Medal in 2003 and an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2016.

Sally Irwin founded The Freedom Hub in 2014, a business dedicated to ending modern slavery in Australia. Sally is committed to raising awareness of modern slavery, helping people escape the injustice of slavery, rehabilitating people who have survived slavery and inviting others to help fight this crime. With over 10 years experience working with survivors of human trafficking in Australia and Europe, Sally has expanded The Freedom Hub to include a survivor school for victims of slavery, an ethical cafe and event venue and ethical business services. In 2017 Inside Small Business listed Sally as one of Australia's Top 50 Small Business Leaders.

Cindy McGarvie has been the CEO of Youth for Christ Australia since 2015. She has a long history working with Christian non-profit organisations. For 12 years she and her husband  served in Uganda and Tanzania with SIL International in the work of Bible translation and language development among marginalised people groups. On returning to Australia in 2010, Cindy worked as Missions Director at Nexus Church. Cindy serves on the board of Wycliffe Australia. Beyond her professional responsibilities, Cindy loves the great outdoors. She and her family reside in the northern suburbs of Brisbane. Cindy has published two books: #JESUSREVOLUTION and Lost Boys.

Margaret Court is a retired world No. 1 tennis player. Margaret won 24 Grand Slam singles titles in her career, which is more than any other player in history. She is also the only player to have won all 12 Grand Slam events at least twice and to have won the Grand Slam in both singles and mixed doubles. Margaret is a Member of the Order of the British Empire, an Officer of the Order of Australia and an inductee into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Margaret is the senior pastor of Victory Life Centre, Perth.

Brian Pickering grew up on the Mid North Coast of NSW in Wingham. After school Brian started a career in banking, where he progressed through the ranks to become a senior executive with NAB. At about 40 years of age while working in banking, Brian knew God was calling him to a ministry of intercessory prayer. He is now the National Coordinator of the Australian Prayer Network (APN), which facilitates, trains and encourages as many as 100,000 intercessors to pray for Australia. APN has thousands of registered members, representing churches of all denominations. He also coordinates the National Day of Thanks.

To see the National Day of Thanks winning entries head to the episode page at https://www.acc.edu.au/podcast/brian-pickering/

Roger Corbett has more than 50 years experience in retailing, rising from unloading trucks at Grace Brothers to the position of CEO of Woolworths (which he held from 1999 to 2006). Roger graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from UNSW and in 2008 was promoted to an officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for service to business, particularly through leadership roles in the retail sector. Roger remains actively involved in the business world as the chairman of several boards. He was previously on the boards of Fairfax Media, the RBA, Wal-Mart and the Salvation Army Advisory Board.

Rev Tim Costello is an Australian Baptist minister, qualified lawyer, current Executive Director of Micah Australian and Chief Advocate of World Vision Australia (where he formerly served as CEO from 2004 to 2016). Tim studied at Monash University, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws in 1978. From 1981, Tim studied theology at the International Baptist Seminary in Switzerland, graduating with a Bachelor of Divinity before returning to Australia to become the minister of St Kilda Baptist Church, and later Collins Street Baptist. He was made an officer of the Order of Australia in June 2005.

Duncan Armstrong is an Olympic champion swimmer and former world record holder. He is most fondly remembered by the Australian public for winning a gold and a silver medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics under the coaching of Laurie Lawrence. For his service to swimming, Duncan received a Medal of the Order of Australia in 1989. Since retiring from competitive swimming, Duncan has worked as a swimming commentator for Channel Nine and Fox Sports. He is currently employed by Telstra as an Executive Coach.