Salt – Conversations with Amy
127 episodes - English - Latest episode: 22 days ago - ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsAmy Townsend is a Christian media presenter and actor, as well as a graduate of Sydney Missionary and Bible College (SMBC). Join her on a forty-minute journey into someone’s amazing and often unexpected spiritual travels. Missionaries and media makers, scientists and sportspeople, new agers and new migrants – Salt is a chance to enter into the lives of people and discover heartwarming, sometimes challenging and always extraordinary gospel stories.
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Episodes
Leviticus Saved My Life - Geoff
May 15, 2022 14:01 - 36 minutes - 33.5 MBJenny Salt introduces us to Geoff Harper, a self-effacing Irishman with a love for the last book of the Bible most Christians get around to reading. Geoff grew up an evangelical in a country steeped in Roman Catholicism. One thing he was certain of, his life would not be one spent in ministry. But God had other ideas, and when Geoff found his true path it was a journey into the heart of the Old Testament. There, Geoff would discover a life-long love for the book of Leviticus - a passion...
Glorious Acting - Alison
May 08, 2022 14:01 - 42 minutes - 38.9 MBJenny Salt is joined by Alison Chambers, a mother to three adult children, a wife to a cardiac specialist, and a trained physiotherapist. But just those details wouldn't be enough to know her. Alison is an actor with a capital 'A'. As a child, Alison dreamed of acting and it became a driving motivation for most of her life. It's taken her on to the stage on countless occasions and into the storylines of many well-known Australian television dramas. But the acting profession is a challengi...
Cruelty to Christianity - Linda
May 01, 2022 14:01 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBJenny Salt meets Linda Chan, whose parents grew up under the turbulent and cruel regime of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge. They came to Australia hoping for a better life, but for Linda, turbulent and cruel is how she describes the childhood that followed. A troubled home life, school bullying, and third-degree burns to 90% of her body combined to make her life a complete misery. But when Linda discovered the love of Jesus as a teenager, she found an answer for her brokenness. Salt is proudly b...
Cruelty to Christianity
May 01, 2022 14:01 - 32 minutes - 44.3 MBJenny Salt meets Linda Chan, whose parents grew up under the turbulent and cruel regime of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge. They came to Australia hoping for a better life, but for Linda, turbulent and cruel is how she describes the childhood that followed. A troubled home life, school bullying, and third-degree burns to 90% of her body combined to make her life a complete misery. But when Linda discovered the love of Jesus as a teenager, she found an answer for her brokenness. Salt is ...
Black and White Christianity - Michael
April 24, 2022 14:01 - 44 minutes - 40.6 MBJenny meets Michael Duckett, an indigenous man who has given his word to follow God and sees no reason to take it back. Michael’s life could be summed up in a word: reconciliation. Moving in and out of a foster home as a baby and toddler he was adopted by his white foster family who raised him and cared for him as their own. But it took hearing a “boring” sermon at the age of 17 for Michael to truly understand his identity and what it means to be reconciled to God. Salt is proudly bro...
Achievement Addiction - Justine
April 17, 2022 14:01 - 33 minutes - 30.7 MBJenny Salt talks to Dr. Justine Toh, a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity, where she speaks and writes about deciphering contemporary culture. Justine shares how she grew up in an immigrant culture that made an idol out of education and measured success in terms of career benchmarks. Her book, Achievement Addiction, examines our need to succeed, and her own struggles in setting this mindset aside. As a Christian, she now draws her identity from what God has done, ...
The Cross-cultural Challenge - Ed
April 10, 2022 14:01 - 43 minutes - 40.1 MBEd Grudier tells Jenny Salt he did not expect God to lead him to more than a decade of ministry in Turkey, testing the tempers of the police as he sought to plant a church. Ed started his life in the middle-class suburbs of Cleveland, the so-called Bible-belt of the US. But despite growing up in a culturally catholic household, he still managed to hold on to a secular outlook. Yet, a single sermon at the age of 18 set him on a path that has taken him all around the world, powered by the...
The Cross-cultural Challenge
April 10, 2022 14:01 - 43 minutes - 60.2 MBEd Grudier tells Jenny Salt he did not expect God to lead him to more than a decade of ministry in Turkey, testing the tempers of the police as he sought to plant a church. Ed started his life in the middle-class suburbs of Cleveland, the so-called Bible-belt of the US. But despite growing up in a culturally catholic household, he still managed to hold on to a secular outlook. Yet, a single sermon at the age of 18 set him on a path that has taken him all around the world, power...
Big Animals, A Bigger God - Janet
April 03, 2022 14:01 - 39 minutes - 36.5 MBTune in to hear Jenny Salt interview Janet Riley - a city girl with a country heart. As a vet, Janet loved the big animals, and as a Christian, she knew the love of an even bigger God. And it was this love that took her from regional NSW to Africa and on as she journeyed through cancer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Deaf Hear - Andrew
March 27, 2022 13:01 - 39 minutes - 36.4 MBAndrew Miller is the international operations coordinator for Deaf Ministries International. He tells Jenny Salt how an interest in Japanese culture led to 25 years of lay leadership in an international church in Osaka. Since then he has transitioned into ministry to the silent world of the deaf community. Traveling all over the world to support DMI's ministries, he has discovered that the Gospel can still be heard powerfully by those who can hear nothing at all. Click here to learn about...
The Country Life - Ruth
March 20, 2022 13:01 - 34 minutes - 31.9 MBJenny Salt welcomes Ruth France on to the show and talks to her about what brought a suburban girl to choose a life of ministry in the country. As a young adult Ruth experienced a number of life-changing moments, including a literal bolt from the blue. But the biggest lightning strike to connect with her life was the call to mission. What began as an interest in overseas work, though, transformed into a call to the country where she has ministered alongside her husband through fire, droug...
Onward We Stumble - Adam
March 13, 2022 13:01 - 40 minutes - 37.1 MBJoin Jenny Salt as she ascends the heights and plumbs the depths of church planting with veteran Adam Ramsey. Adam has been involved in church planting for 15 years, including working in Seattle in the Mars Hill church alongside Mark Driscoll. He is also a pastor of a church that was planted on the Gold Coast in QLD, and he is the Network Director of Acts 29 for Asia Pacific - and he hasn’t hit 40 yet! In his 'spare time', he's also written a book titled Truth on Fire: Gazing At God Unti...
Great stories for season 6
March 06, 2022 13:01 - 2 minutes - 2.12 MBJenny Salt is keen to share Season 6 of Salt with her listeners, and hints at what's in store. In the meantime, there are TWO competitions to take part in: NUMBER ONE Just write a review of Salt and send us a snapshot and mail it to [email protected] – it’s that simple. And the best three reviews will receive a free copy of Anthony Brammall’s new book, Never Going Home, the life story of missionary woman Mabel Green. NUMBER TWO We’ve put a little poll together of our most-listened-to sh...
Not one competition but TWO!
February 27, 2022 13:01 - 1 minute - 1.49 MBThe Salt team is getting ready to bring you a fresh season of Salt, which will drop into your podcast app in just over a month. While you’re waiting, tell us about your favourite Salt episode. We’ve put a little poll together of our most-listened-to shows and you could win a book just by telling us why you like the one you chose. Follow the link I want a free book and get voting. And thanks to our generous sponsors, Sydney Missionary Bible College, we’ll give a copy of a free book from ...
Want a free book? Write us a review :)
February 20, 2022 13:01 - 1 minute - 1.49 MBAll of the team over at the Salt Mines are hard at work producing season 6 of Salt, which will drop into your podcast app in just over a month. In the meantime, Jenny's running a competition to help get the word out about the show, and you can help. Just write a review of Salt and send us a snapshot and mail it to [email protected] – it’s that simple. And the best three reviews will receive a free copy of Anthony Brammall’s new book, Never Going Home, the life story of missionary woman M...
America's Jesus - Graham
November 22, 2021 13:01 - 42 minutes - 39.3 MBGraham Cole, together with his wife Jules, has been involved in Christian ministry for more than 40 years. Jenny Salt hears how it has taken them to many places around the world, and for 20 of those years, to the Midwest of the United States. There, they discovered a perspective on life and the love of God that reveals the future for both America and Australia. They’re back at home now, but still feel very connected to the country, the culture, and the Christians they left behind. Se...
My best 'worst year' - Scott
November 15, 2021 13:01 - 32 minutes - 29.4 MBLike most of us, Scott Lavender and his family will have reflections on 2020 and 2021 – some good, some hard. Covid has changed so much in our world. But for Scott, the last two years have contained the most excruciating pain he could imagine, alongside a host of other struggles. But as doctors struggled to understand what was happening to him, Scott discovered that God was carrying out his own surgery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Life to death to life - David
November 08, 2021 13:01 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBJenny Salt's guest today is David Luxford. To meet David is to meet a man who in many ways just quietly gets on with things. No fanfare. No profile, megachurch, or fame. But to know David is to know someone who has faithfully got on with serving the Lord for more than 50 years - through long, difficult tasks and the tragedy of death in the family - because he was challenged as a young Christian to be an ambassador for Christ. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Faith and Puppets - Kay
November 01, 2021 13:01 - 42 minutes - 39 MBIn this episode Jenny Salt speaks to Kay Yasugi, a talented performer letting her light shine in the international world of puppetry. Kay was born in Japan to a Japanese dad and a Korean mum. Along with her older brother they came and settled in Sydney when Kay was little. Kay was brought up in a very multicultural home – girl’s school during the week, Japanese school on Saturdays, and a home life filled with fusion food - but becoming a Christian and doing summer missions in Bathurst ch...
God's plan for a plumber - Ben
October 25, 2021 13:01 - 38 minutes - 35.7 MBBen Hunter tells Jenny Salt he didn't set out to be a plumber - that was God's plan. Because of difficulties on the home front and at school, straight out of High School he decided to take up the offer of an apprenticeship. Consequently, he worked as a plumber for many years - a blue-collar industry in which he laboured to show friends another way of life. But for Ben, it wasn’t really what made his heart sing. Rather, it’s always been wanting to tell young people about Jesus – somethi...
Christ on COVID's front line - Tamara
October 18, 2021 13:01 - 36 minutes - 33.3 MBJenny Salt speaks to Tamara Flinders, a minister’s wife, a mum to 3 daughters, and an Emergency Physician – working on the frontline of Covid in a busy Sydney hospital emergency department. Every shift brings very sick patients into her orbit – many with Covid. But through it all, what keeps her grounded is her relationship with God, her daily walk with the Lord, and the desire to be an ambassador for Christ whatever the context. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A Christian in a Muslim world - Roy
October 11, 2021 13:01 - 37 minutes - 34 MBRoy grew up in a poor town in a Southeast Asian country. On one level, his family identified as Christians. But Jenny Salt discovers his childhood was far more impacted by a father with a criminal history and an addiction to gambling. And it wasn’t until Roy left to live and study in another part of the country, that he came to really understand what it meant to follow Jesus. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Faith that informs grief - Pete
October 04, 2021 13:01 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBJoin Jenny Salt as she interviews Pete Stacey, a Christian since a young boy, who has known the joy of telling others about Jesus for most of his life. Pete has done that through music, and through teaching and preaching in the local church. He has also known the sorrow of losing his beloved wife to cancer and preaching Jesus through his grief and loss. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Setting Sail For God - Kathy
September 27, 2021 21:57 - 37 minutes - 34.3 MBJoin Jenny Salt as she speaks with Kathy Rossiter, a medical professional and a member of the Mercy Ships ministry. Kathy tested blood samples for a living, but rather than retire she and her husband decided to put their years of leisure to a Kingdom use. Instead of heading for some sunny island, she took up a position in the labs onboard a floating hospital, showing Gospel love in action to some of the neediest people in Africa. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
God and government - Mike
September 20, 2021 14:01 - 33 minutes - 30.8 MBMike Baird is one of those high-profile Christians, having been a politician for some years. His relationship with power culminated in him taking on the top job as premier in New South Wales from 2014 to 2017. Jenny Salt asks Mike what it means to be a public Christian. How do you live out your life as a follower of Christ in front of a watching, often critical, world? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Domestic violence, depression and hope - Helen
September 13, 2021 14:01 - 35 minutes - 32.2 MBTrigger alert: This episode contains some distressing details of assault. Jenny Salt introduces us to Helen, a woman who has suffered much in her journey towards God. Like most of us, Helen has a busy work life, a loving family, a close church community, and a lot of people who know and love her as a friend and sister in Christ. Helen’s story also includes heartache and pain in the context of domestic violence and living with a major depressive disorder for most of her life. But ultimat...
Loving Pakistan - Sarah
September 06, 2021 14:01 - 33 minutes - 31.2 MBSarah Raiter is a wife, mum, grandmother, author, artist… and grew up in a country considered extremely dangerous from a western perspective - especially for Christians. But for Sarah, life in Pakistan meant a childhood filled with stories of adventure, beautiful sunsets, villages, compounds, and high walls. As an adult, though, it was also the place where she both lost and found her faith. In the end, she loved Pakistan so much that she went back and lived there with her husband and chil...
The Saltiest Salt - 10, 9, 8... God is great!
August 30, 2021 14:01 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBColin Buchanan is one of Australia's most beloved country music and kid's worship composers - a perfect choice for the final pre-season episode in the lead-up to next week's season 5. Colin's family journey spans the globe, his musical journey the breadth of this country, and his spiritual journey from darkness to light. Join Jenny Salt as she presents a bonus-length, musical special that peers into the corners of Colin's life and comes out with a smile on its face! See omnystudio.com/li...
The Saltiest Salt - Can we trust God with this?
August 23, 2021 14:01 - 42 minutes - 39.2 MBWhen huge challenge is followed by huge challenge, how do you manage to hold on to God? As the trials mounted, Helen Thomas had to ask herself again and again, "Can we trust God with this?" Helen Thomas is a wife and mother of four with a wonderful Greek heritage and a faith that has been with her since her teenage years. But when God placed his hand first on her husband, then on her children, her life entered a valley that few have to enter. What she found at its bottom though, was a w...
The Saltiest Salt - Reflections on life in the shadow of death
August 16, 2021 14:01 - 32 minutes - 29.4 MBIn the run-up to season 5, Jenny Salt shares her favourite four episodes. In this episode, Jenny chats with Richard Hibbert about life and ministry in Turkey and Bulgaria (among other places). Richard impressed Jenny as someone with an ever-present taste for adventure, with wisdom to share as he contemplated life in the shadow of his own death. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Saltiest Salt - When the lights go out
August 09, 2021 14:01 - 34 minutes - 32 MBJenny Salt shares her four favourite episodes of all time as we count down the weeks to the beginning of Salt's fifth season. First off the rank... In 1960 Ruth Myors left Australia to work as a midwife with the Somali people. For over two decades she served in a hospital in Somalia, a village in Ethiopia and a radio ministry in Kenya. Bureaucratic decisions, coups, communist takeovers, natural disasters, sudden deaths - all disrupted plans and brought about unexpected changes in her life....
Salt's pre-season special
August 03, 2021 00:50 - 1 minute - 1.23 MBThe new lockdown in New South Wales has hampered our ability to get all of the great stories we have lined up recorded. But Jenny still has some great stories to share. Join her over the coming weeks as she delves into the Salt archives to re-share her favourite four stories from the past four seasons. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Do you know a story that should be on Salt?
May 31, 2021 14:01 - 1 minute - 1.49 MBJenny Salt is hard at work preparing season 5 of Salt, and she's wondering if you have stories to share? Is there someone in your life whose Gospel-centred life is inspiring to you? You should let us know! Just email your story ideas to Jenny at [email protected] and we'll see if we can include them in the show. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Ten free books for the first ten reviews
May 25, 2021 01:55 - 1 minute - 1.49 MBJenny Salt is offering ten free books to the first ten listeners to send a picture of a Salt review to [email protected]. It's that simple! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Gospel Power for a Needy World - Tim
May 17, 2021 14:01 - 36 minutes - 33.1 MBJenny Salt introduces us to Tim Costello, the former CEO of World Vision and one of Australian Christianity's most prominent advocates for the suffering, the poor, and the disadvantaged. You might think there's nothing more to know than that, but Jenny takes us on a journey into Tim's back story - the town in which he grew up, the parents who so powerfully influenced his faith, and the legal career that led him to serve Australia's most vulnerable citizens. Then, when we arrive at Tim's se...
With God On The Wharfs - Barrie
May 10, 2021 14:01 - 29 minutes - 26.6 MBJenny Salt introduces us to Barrie Hadley, a man who has spent more than 80 years in the same town, and more than 40 years in the same job. 'Bloomin' Barrie' is the definition of the blue-collar worker, growing up in the smallest of towns, becoming the local butcher, and then working for half a lifetime unloading ships. His Christian journey is an understated one but undergirded by a simple truth: if you want people to listen to what you have to say about Jesus, you have to begin by being ...
Arnhem's Grace-Filled God - Red
May 03, 2021 14:01 - 41 minutes - 38.3 MBRed Fulton grew up in the heart of Sydney but God gave her a heart to see the Gospel proclaimed wherever it would take her - even to the ends of the earth. And that is exactly what it felt like when Red and her husband answered the call to work in Arnhem Land. But in Australia's far north she discovered a people with hearts as big as this great brown land. Not only did Red meet sisters thoroughly transformed by the Gospel, but she's been able to see Christian love take on the worst expre...
Mentoring And Ministering To Minds - Tim
April 26, 2021 14:01 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MBJenny Salt introduces us to Tim Dyer, a much sought-after man in the context of mentoring Christian leaders and getting alongside churches in conflict. From an early age, Tim was gripped by the Gospel and this spurred him on to a ministry that aims to encourage and equip others to lead and teach Christian workers all over the world. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Millions That Led To Humility - Tim
April 19, 2021 14:01 - 48 minutes - 44.1 MBTim Sims talks to Jenny Salt about a life that has spanned the globe, taking in elite educations and millions of dollars under management along the way. Tim's early life included more countries that most will visit in a lifetime matched against long months in a lonely boarding school. However, an education from both Oxford and Harvard Universities put him on the fast track to business success. But in the end, Tim tells Jenny that all the millions in the world couldn't answer the question: ...
Cancer, Chronic Fatigue and Calm - Cat
April 12, 2021 14:01 - 37 minutes - 34.6 MBCat Tuckwell is a Canberra girl who dreamed of becoming a country vet ever since she opened her first puppy book - a dream that was fulfilled in time. However, Cat's dream was first rocked by cancer, then complicated further by chronic fatigue. But she tells Jenny Salt how her conditions have actually worked to remind her she is immortal, and God still has much more for her to do. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Just Turning Up - Phil
April 05, 2021 14:01 - 44 minutes - 60.8 MBJenny Salt introduces us to Phil Singline, a man who has made a ministry out of 'being there' for society's hardest cases.
Sharing The End Of Their Journey - Pip
March 29, 2021 13:01 - 36 minutes - 33.2 MBJenny Salt talks to Pip Russell, a woman whom God has used to be a spiritual 'mum' to many people, in many different stages in life. From her early school years, through teaching and on into the former Soviet country of Kyrgyzstan, Pip learned that God had a special ministry for her that centred around caring for those He put close to her. What she liked best was sharing the Gospel, and both her gift and desire have culminated in life as a chaplain to the oldest members of our community. ...
Setting Slaves Free - Karine
March 22, 2021 13:01 - 37 minutes - 34.2 MBFrom suburban Sydney to South America, and now a mission field that encompasses the world. Karine Woldhuis chats with Jenny Salt about how her life began with a normal childhood in a fairly 'standard' family in Sydney's suburbs. She thought she would always keep in touch with her Dutch heritage, but she never dreamed of what was ahead. Karine and her husband John followed their convictions as Christians to the mission field in South America. However, a tragic event involving a young girl o...
The Slow Burn - Harry
March 15, 2021 13:01 - 46 minutes - 42.8 MBHarry Brice is a third-generation farmer who counts himself blessed to be living on the land in the Bega region, in southern New South Wales. What he didn't count as a blessing, though, was a worrying ignorance of what life was for. He tells Jenny Salt the unique story of how he and his wife took years to come to Christ, and how that faith was tested during the wildfires that swept over Cobargo and surrounding towns on New Years Eve, 2019. When everyone's hopes were going up in smoke, Harr...
Confusion To Clarity - Cate
March 08, 2021 13:01 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MBCate Arenstein is a South African with no fear of telling things how they are. She grew up during the Apartheid era when a nation was in the throes of working out who it was. Finding her own identity was a similar struggle. Cate shares that she was abused as a child and that contributed to a struggle with her own sexual identity that led her into a range of unhelpful relationships. But she tells Jenny that God has pieced this all together to create a straight-talking woman who's not afra...
Knowing who you are - Rob
March 01, 2021 13:01 - 42 minutes - 38.7 MBJenny Salt kicks off Season 4 of Salt with Rob Smith, creative Christian musician and respected theologian. With Jenny, we delve into Rob's early life growing up next to his father's giant intellect and discovering his first love for music. But as his talent grew, so did his desire to 'come home' to a Father who knew him even better than his own dad. Now his theological work has taken him to examine the challenge of people struggling to find their own way home in a sea of sexual dysphoria. ...
10, 9, 8... God Is Great! - Colin
September 23, 2020 02:00 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MBColin Buchanan is one of Australia's most beloved country music and kid's worship composers. His family journey spans the globe, his musical journey the breadth of this country, and his spiritual journey from darkness to light. Join Jenny Salt as she presents a bonus-length, musical special that peers into the corners of Colin's life and comes out with a smile on its face! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
When The Lights Go Out - Ruth
September 15, 2020 02:00 - 33 minutes - 30.7 MBIn 1960 Ruth Myors left Australia to work as a midwife with the Somali people. For over two decades she served in a hospital in Somalia, a village in Ethiopia and a radio ministry in Kenya. Bureaucratic decisions, coups, communist takeovers, natural disasters, sudden deaths - all disrupted plans and brought about unexpected changes in her life. Ruth wrote about these experiences in her memoir When The Lights Go Out, and she shares them with Jenny Salt. See omnystudio.com/listener for pr...
What's In A Name? - Michael
September 08, 2020 02:00 - 33 minutes - 31.1 MBMichael Jensen is the son of former Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen, and nephew to evangelical heavyweight Philip Jensen - two lives that have often cast long shadows over his own. Jenny Salt asks him to share what it was like to grow up with a family name that was both loved and vilified by the people around him. What Michael reveals is how he quietly fashioned a name for himself that still challenges people to come to terms with the Gospel, but in a way that is uniquely his own. See ...
Helping Children Grieve - Jill
August 31, 2020 14:01 - 34 minutes - 31.9 MBGrief and loss are inevitable parts of life in this world. As Job puts it, "Man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward." The experience of both can be a lonely, painful and confusing time, especially for children. Jill McGilvray has not only faced her own loss and grief, but has been involved in bereavement counselling with children for many years. Join Jenny Salt as she shares the lessons she has learned from decades of helping others grieve. See omnystudio.com/listener for...