PEP Talk

With the recent death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, her life of service and character has been honoured and spoken about throughout society. Her Christian faith was the source of those qualities, admired by everyone from prime ministers to hairdressers. What a great time to show our friends or colleagues that these qualities of servant leadership they respect and value are modelled on Christ's own Kingly service.Ex-New York Adman, formerly London School of Theology vice-Principal, Mark Greene is Mission Champion at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC). A pioneer of workplace ministry and whole-life discipleship, his books include Thank God it’s Monday, Imagine how we can reach the UK, Fruitfulness on the Frontline, and, with Catherine Butcher, the million-copy selling The Servant Queen and the King She Serves. He has just published A Life of Grace: a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. He is married to Katriina, a Finn, and they have three splendidly different adult children.Support the show

The Church Behaving Badly can be an insurmountable obstacle for many people in coming to faith in Jesus. In the case of religious justification for racism and slavery, this issue impacts whole communities and ethnic groups. How can we de-bunk the concept of "the white man's religion" when speaking to our friends in black communities? Andy and Kristi speak with Clare Williams on PEP Talk to unpack this obstacle to evangelism.Clare Williams is the founder of Get Real, a Christian apologetics organisation which addresses questions about Christianity, particularly from the black British community.  She has a degree in English Language and Literature from Oxford University, and she completed postgraduate training in theology at Wycliffe Hall.  Clare has an MA in Leadership and an MA in Culture, Diaspora and Ethnicity. She enjoys engaging with questions of culture, truth, identity and the gospel.Support the show

Have you put a "no" in the mouth of a non-Christian friend before you've even invited them to investigate the Bible? Isn't it surprising how people we know well react once they're given an opportunity to speak about Christ? Today on PEP Talk we chat about some great resources helping Christians walk through the Bible with their enquiring friends - why not invite yours?John MacKinnon is based in East Kilbride, Scotland, where he served as the Lead Pastor of Calderwood Baptist Church for more than 17 years. He previously served as an Evangelist and Bible Teacher in an itinerant capacity, with an emphasis on enabling churches to develop their members to make Jesus known amongst their friends. Currently he is Director of Evangelism at The Word One to One, where he rejoices in the privilege of drawing alongside local churches to encourage, equip and enable them to raise up an ever-increasing number of joyful bible sharers. He is married to Linda and they have three children, all adults, and he is Papa to five grandchildren who fill his life with so much fun.Support the show

All the way from Australia, today Andy speaks with Natasha Moore on PEP Talk. Both there and here in the UK, there are similar needs to speak into our changing cultures, whilst retaining the winsomeness and grace that remains attractive whether we have a public platform or a private conversation.Natasha Moore is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity. She has a PhD in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and is the author of For the Love of God: How the church is better and worse than you ever imagined and, most recently, The Pleasures of Pessimism. She has worked for CPX since 2014 and written on topics that include books, movies, politics, food, domestic violence, Scripture in schools, war, Thanksgiving, and freedom of speech.Support the show

Here at Solas we love hearing about how Christians are living out their faith and sharing it creatively in all kinds of contexts. Today we hear from a policeman about the particular challenges and opportunities he finds in his line of work. Graham Alder is a Police Sergeant and Christian Police Association Scotland Branch Leader & Trustee. He has over 18 years Police service in a variety of roles and locations.  Blessed with a wonderful wife and children, a keen musician and late comer to enjoying books, mainly on apologetics and church history.Christian Police Association UKCPA Scotland Facebook page Support the show

Today we welcome back a previous guest on the podcast to discuss Gen Z, deconstruction and the role of apologetics in the church today. Mary Jo Sharp also introduces Darkroom, a new, free resource for young people and youth leaders to address the issues Gen Z cares about in terms they understand. Clare Williams also joins the podcast as our guest co-host for this episode. A former atheist who came to faith, Mary Jo Sharp has experienced two worlds of American culture: the post-Christian culture of the Pacific Northwest and the evangelical culture of the Bible Belt. She first encountered apologetics in her own spiritual search while seeking answers. Mary Jo is now an assistant professor of apologetics at Houston Baptist University and the founder and director of Confident Christianity Apologetics Ministry. She has been featured in Christianity Today’s cover story “The Unexpected Defenders” and is an international speaker on apologetics, focusing on love and logic to uncover truth. Support the show

We have recently heard more stories of Christians "deconstructing" their faith before eventually leaving it. But today we speak with an academic and historian about how her atheism was "deconstructed" when she discovered its true implications for morality, value and equality.  She goes on to show how hospitality and relationship can be radical evangelistic tools in the context of our secular individualised culture. Sarah Irving-Stonebraker is an Australian-based academic, focusing on the history of Britain and the colonial world and especially the intersection of religion, science, and politics. She was awarded her PhD in History from Cambridge University and has lectured at Western Sydney University since 2012. Sarah and her husband, Johnathan, have three children. The family lives in the Hawkesbury region outside of Sydney where they are active members of a Sydney Anglican Church.Support the show

Andy Moore joins us this week to bring us insights from his unique background spanning full-time evangelism and corporate finance. Looking at the shifts happening in big business and the personal lives of his financial colleagues, how can we respond to the questions of purpose, moral responsibility and meaning that dominate these worlds?Andy Moore is a Director and Entrepreneur with experience across Corporate, Private Equity, Charitable and start-up sectors. Andy leads an Angel-investment network, with a sister-Venture Capital fund focussed on scaling for-profit businesses that solve social or environmental problems. Besides this, Andy serves on the Board for a Christian charity which focuses on human rights and religious freedom.Andy is an experienced public speaker and holds associate positions with The OCCA, Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and Transform Work UK. Andy has spoken at some of the world’s largest corporates, including Facebook, UBS, Goldman Sachs, KPMG and Barclays among others. Andy is a Chartered Accountant in England and Wales and holds a Masters in Philosophy from the University of Birmingham. Andy is married to Rachel and enjoys the highs and lows of following Manchester United and the Irish rugby team!Support the show

Andy's just moved house and discovered a new neighbour sharing the gospel on his street! They meet up in a local cafe to discuss evangelism, spiritual MOTs, church planting and encouraging others to share their love of Christ. Eavesdrop on their conversation in this unique episode of PEP Talk.Carl Porter is married to Sarah and has two daughters. Carl became a Christian in 2014 and since then has been passionate about personal evangelism and trying to help others grow in their own evangelism. From October this year Carl will be leaving secular employment to allow him to go full-time into evangelistic ministry in both his local community and more widespread by providing practical evangelism training to other individuals, groups and churches.Support the show

Today on PEP Talk, Andy and Kristi speak with a chaplain working in a hospice setting. Here, mortality is a daily reality, as are experiences of suffering. What is it like to talk with folks and share the hope of Christ in such an environment? Although most of us aren't in that position, many of us will go through the process of dying with loved ones, and our guest Jackie helps us think through how to approach it.Jackie Whyte serves as the Chaplain working at Northern Ireland Hospice and Children's Hospice. Having given his life to Jesus as a teenager, he worked in engineering before moving into Christian ministry. Jackie enjoys listening to Deacon Blue, watching football and walking sections of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. He lives in Carrickfergus with his wife Nicola.Support the show