The Profile

Special - ’In Christ Alone’ writer Keith Getty on being nominated for a Grammy Award

The modern day hymn writer Keith Getty is best known for penning 'In Christ Alone' alongside Stuart Townend. Now Keith, together with his wife Kristen, has been nominated for a Grammy award for their lockdown album Confessio - Irish American Roots. In this interview with Premier's Ian Britton you'll hear Keith's reaction to his first ever Grammy nomination and hear clips from the new album.

 

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Leadership special: Tim Gough on the youth crisis in the UK church

Andy Peck talks to Tim Gough, who is the Pioneer Director for YFC Wales and the author of Rebooted: Reclaiming Youth Ministry for the Long Haul. They talk about how the decline in young people took place despite a rise in paid youthworkers and what we might do to repair the damage in local churches.  

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Francis Chan: Why I quit my megachurch and started again

Francis Chan left his thriving US megachurch, turned his back on the fame that ministry had brought him and moved his family to a developing country. He tells Sam Hailes the full story. 

This interview was first broadcast and published in 2019. 

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RT Kendall: Bringing the Word and the Spirit together

RT Kendall doesn’t look like a heretic. He doesn’t sound like one either. But in the mid 80s he almost lost his job leading one of London’s most famous churches when he was accused of antinomianism: the claim that Christians are not obliged to follow God’s moral law. The controversy centred around a book he had written called Once Saved, Always Saved, in which he wore his Calvinist theology on his sleeve: that salvation is by sheer grace and not because of anything we do. Kendall laughs when he recalls the episode, saying that it was the testimonies of those who read the book that rescued him. "They said it made them want to be more godly," he shares. This wasn’t the only controversy Kendall would weather in 25 years of eventful ministry at Westminster Chapel. By the end of it, he saw himself as much a Brit as an American and, through his speaking and books, was regarded as a statesman of the UK evangelical Church by the time he retired in 2002. Justin Brierley hears the full story.

 

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Leadership special: Yetunde Hoffman on bringing love into business

Andy Peck talks to Yetunde Hofmann, who has been involved in leadership for over 25 years in the corporate world and now has a portfolio career which includes leading an international leadership and change consulting practice and organisation that supports black women leaders. They talk about why the death of George Floyd was an impetus to helping black women and why love is such an important element of good business leadership.

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Dr Jack Graham: The pastor of one of America’s largest churches

Jack Graham never set out to build a megachurch – he doesn’t even like the term. Nevertheless, under his watch, Prestonwood Baptist Church has grown to a membership of 45,000 – becoming one of the biggest congregations in America – since Graham became senior pastor more than three decades ago. Sam Hailes travelled to Texas to meet Dr Graham and find out why he backed Trump, how early trauma has influenced his ministry and how he guards himself from temptation.

 

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Ram Gidoomal: How a wealthy Hindu businessman met Jesus in a London pub

For reasons that were never fully explained to him, Ram Gidoomal CBE and his family were forced to flee their home in Kenya when he was just 16 years old. Having previously left India during the 1947 partition, they said goodbye to the life of wealth and comfort they had created for themselves in east Africa to arrive in a hostile 1960s London as refugees once more, with no money and little to their name. Gidoomal was brought up in both the Hindu and Sikh faiths, but Jesus started to become real to him through the lyrics of a song he heard in a London pub. At the time, he was a student at Imperial College London. His business skills had won him a scholarship and would eventually lead to him earning so much money he couldn’t even spend the accruing interest. In this interview with Abi Thomas, Ram explains how God led him to raise millions for charity. 

You can also read this interview in Premier Christianity magazine. Subscribe now from $1/month 

Leadership special: Will Van Der Hart on sustaining yourself in 2023

Sometimes the demands of leadership can overwhelm us. In this interview, mental health specialist Will Van Der Hart explains how Christians can build resilience and keep going when times are tough. This interview was conducted by Andy Peck, Premier's resident leadership expert. Will is a Pastoral Chaplain at Holy Trinity Brompton. Based on his book, The Power of Belonging, Will looks at being vulnerable as a leader and how shame works against out engagement with others. He shares why 'success doesnt equal security' and touches on his own mental health issues and the importance of being authentically present in our leadership. Why 'fake it to make it' is lousy career advice and why he hates the phrase 'becoming the best version of ourselves.'

The Profile is brought to you by Premier Christianity magazine. Subscribe for news, features and analysis from £3.95 (UK) or $1 (International) at premierchristianity.com/subscribe

Leadership special: Jen Baker on how to reach your destiny in 2023

Premier's resident leadership expert interviewer Andy Peck has been having conversations with preachers and pastors for the past 17 years. This week, Andy talks with Jen Baker who moved from Michigan in the USA to the UK in an Abraham style call where she knew very little of God’s intentions. She now helps Christians live without fear, through a writing and teaching ministry that takes her all over the world. They talk about her latest book Unwavering: The Power of Choice and find out what holds people back from making progress in what God has called them to do. The key is learning how to make decisions based not on fear, but on faith. 

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Rev Pat Allerton: The ’portable priest’ who took prayer to the streets in lockdown

The vicar of St Peter's Notting Hill, London first rose to public attention during lockdown, when he began cycling around his parish leading simple street corner services consisting of just a hymn and a prayer. Rev Pat Allerton now has thousands of followers on social media and has been featured in the national papers, who have focussed on his Eton education and good looks as much as his message. Now, two years on, Pat has written a book A Pocketful of Hope: A simple A-Z of faith for those who haven't yet found it.  He spoke to Premier's Esther Higham to talk more about his life, faith and ministry.

 

The Profile is brought to you by Premier Christianity magazine. Subscribe for news, features and analysis from £3.95 (UK) or $1 (International) at premierchristianity.com/subscribe