The Profile

Lindz West may be best known as the energetic frontman of Christian dance band LZ7, but he is also a passionate evangelist with a heart for taking the gospel to the hardest to reach young people. In this week’s The Profile, he talks honestly to Premier Christianity’s Emma Fowle about growing up on Billy Graham tent revivals, why he walked away from Jesus as a teenager and how he was drawn back to God through music and miracle stories. The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine. *SPECIAL OFFER ​*Subscribe now FOR JUST £1/month

It's a double bill this week! Jackie Hill Perry is an American Christian speaker, author and poet who’s widely known for being raw, open and honest about her sexuality. Jackie, who says she remembers being same-sex attracted from a young age, now uses her Christian ministry to share God’s work in bringing her out of a homosexual lifestyle, which she also detailed in her first book Gay Girl, Good God.  In an in-depth interview with Premier Christian News journalist Tola Mbakwe, Jackie talks about her journey to faith, the backlash she gets for sharing her testimony, her thoughts on conversion therapy, motherhood and what she calls cringeworthy moments of ‘Baby Christian Jackie’. But don’t be mistaken, Jackie brings more to the table than discussions on sexuality and the Church. We delved deep into the topic of holiness. What makes someone holy? Do church denominations differ in the way they respect God’s holiness? What does holiness even mean? Despite having a laid-back, and easy-going personality, what’s clear from this interview is Jackie is a very deep-thinker and is a student of the Bible. Jackie and Tola discussed all things holiness as revealed in her brand new book Holier Than Thou. Plus, in part two, Cassandra meets the British evangelist Daniel Chand to hear about his testimony, and talk about his 'Tent Revival' ministry.  

The Mayor of Bristol found himself in an awkward position last summer. Marvin Rees was visibly delighted that the statue of slave trader Edward Colston, which had stood in the city centre for 125 years, had been torn down by Black Lives Matter protestors and thrown into the harbour. But given his position as mayor, he also told reporters he could not condone criminal damage. When I put this disparity to the 49-year-old, he shrugs. “Yeah, absolutely, but we live in a complicated world, and sometimes two things can be true at the same time.” Rees has learned to embrace complexity and paradox, especially when it comes to his faith. He became a Christian aged ten at an evangelical crusade, and was taught “certainty is the mark of faith” at university. In this in depth interview he explains how his faith has changed over time and why Jesus' parable of the talents is inspiring him to work for change in Bristol and beyond.  You can also read this interview in Premier Christianity magazine. Subscribe now FOR JUST £1/month 

Sarah Kroger's life dramatically changed when she encountered God at a youth conference. Today, she describes her calling has helping others to understand that they too can have a personal relationship with Jesus. In this in-depth conversation with Premier's Rachel Matthews, the Nashville-based worship leader opens up about her testimony, music and songwriting career. The Profile is sponsored by the UK's leading Christian magazine, Premier Christianity. Subscribe now for £3.95/month  

Sohrab Ahmari grew up in Iran before becoming an atheist as a teenager after moving to the USA. An adult convert to Catholicism, he is a widely-published journalist and social commentator in the US. He talks to Justin Brierley about his new book ‘The Unbroken Thread: Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in an Age of Chaos’. The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine. Subscribe now for £4.95/month  

Jeff Lucas is a popular Bible teacher, speaker and author. He's been a regular columnist for Premier Christianity for over 20 years. But what makes him tick? How did his Christian journey begin? And where does his trademark humour come from? In this in depth interview, Jeff opens up about a range of topics including understanding God's guidance, why he finds prayer so difficult, his new book Singing in Babylon, and why he's still hopeful about the future of the UK Church.  Read Jeff Lucas' columns in every issue of Premier Christianity magazine. Subscribe now for £3.95/month

2 guests are featured this week on The Profile speaking to Justin Brierley and Ruth Jackson: Jon Yates is Executive Director of the Youth Endowment Fund and author of ‘Fractured: Why our societies are coming apart and how to put them back together again’ Sam Chan is an Australian evangelist and author of ‘How to Talk about Jesus (Without Being That Guy)’ The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine. Subscribe now for £4.95/month

There is an honesty about Christine Caine that is rare in high-profile leaders. When the bestselling author, internationally acclaimed speaker and leader of multiple international organisations appears Zoom, she is straight off the treadmill, laughing and apologising for her appearance in a sorry-not-sorry way that epitomises her no-nonsense attitude. “I cannot be made up like I am for television for everything I do, or I will never have a life!” she says. “So here I am! I want to share my life, not a filtered life.” In both her writing and speaking, no topic is off-limits – whether it is the sexual abuse she suffered as a child, finding out that she was adopted in her 30s, battling thyroid cancer in her 40s, or the panic attacks that she started to experience in her 50s. It was this last experience, she says, which prompted the writing of her latest book How Did I Get Here? Finding your way back to God when everything is pulling you away (Nelson). In this in-depth interview, this self described "old school revivalist" explains the importance of staying connected to Jesus.  Read this interview in the new issue of Premier Christianity magazine. Subscribe now for £3.95/month  

Rachel Pieh Jones grew up in the USA but has spent most of her adult life in the Horn of Africa. In this in-depth interview with Premier Christianity's Sam Hailes, Rachel explains how meeting and living alongside Muslims radically changed her perception of them. Now based in Djibouti, where almost everyone is a Muslim, Rachel says she's experienced remarkable hospitality, even as she's experienced what it's like to live as a minority, and a stranger in a foreign land. Her new book Pillars: How Muslim Friends Led Me Closer to Jesus is available now.  The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine. Subscribe now for £3.95/month

Veteran broadcaster Patrick Forbes talks to Justin Brierley about his varied life and ministry, which includes seafaring, clowning and being a parish priest, as related in his new autobiography ‘A Roomful of Elephants: My first eighty years in the church’.   The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine. Subscribe now for £4.95/month