The Profile

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.   The Profile is brought to you by Premier Christianity. Receive the next 3 print issues for just £5 now. Hurry - limited offer! premierchristianity.com/subscribe

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 

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

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.  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

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

As the year draws to a close, our presenter and producer Sam Hailes says thank you for joining us in 2022, and asks - who would you like to hear being interviewed next year? Send your requests to sam.hailes@premier.org.uk Have a merry Christmas and a happy new year, with lots of love from all the team at The Profile podcast and Premier Christianity magazine PS there's still time to bag a HALF PRICE subscription to the UK's leading Christian magazine - premierchristianity.com/subscribe (offer expires at the end of December)

Julie Roys has been described as a gossipmonger, an apostate and a liar. Such labels would cut most Christians deep, but not Roys. The 57-year-old Chicago-based journalist wears unfounded criticism as “a badge of honour” – she even has a mug printed with some of the more acerbic remarks she has received. For the last four years, Roys has been reporting on the egregious crimes committed in the Church, including the sexual abuse of apologist Ravi Zacharias, the mismanagement and abuse at Willow Creek Community Church and bullying within the Acts 29 church-planting network. It’s the “inter-connected web” of million-dollar Christian ministries that protect the members of their tribe and exploit their relationship with donors and the media, which Roys says is harming the Church’s witness in America – and she’s determined to expose it. She tells Premier Christianity's Megan Cornwell the full story.   You can also read this interview in Premier Christianity magazine. Subscribe now from $1/month

Premier's resident leadership expert interviewer Andy Peck has been having conversations with preachers and pastors for the past 17 years. This week, Andy Peck chats with Tim Alford, the National Director of LIMITLESS, the youth and children's movement of the Elim Pentecostal Churches in the UK and Ireland about how local churches might start groups designed to reach and disciple more young people. 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  

Autumn Miles was trapped in an abusive relationship, until a powerful encounter with God during the depth of her despair set her on a path to freedom. She tells Premier Christianity's Sam Hailes the full story.    You can also read this story on premierchristianity.com

Have you realised that the Nativity plays in many local churches actually have little to do with the birth of Jesus as depicted in the Gospels? In this interview with Premier's resident leadership expert Andy Peck, Rev Dr David Instone-Brewer Research Fellow at Tyndale House, Cambridge, tackles some of the mythical elements surrounding the incarnation and suggests a new way and better way of understanding what was really going on. 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