The Profile

In this bonus edition of The Profile podcast, Marcus Jones interviews the controversial evangelist Franklin Graham ahead of his planned UK tour. The son of the late great Billy Graham is due to visit eight cities across the country but has been dealt a number of blows as all eight venues have canceled his booking, citing the division that his appearance would cause. In this interview, Franklin responds to recent criticisms, says he’s determined the tour will still go ahead and offers an apology to those in the LGBT community who have been offended by his previous remarks. The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine. For a free sample copy visit premierchristianity.com 

Peter Lynas joined the Evangelical Alliance weeks after CEO Gavin Calver told this programme the organisation needed to be “braver”. Is moving a former barrister into this public-facing role part of a new strategy for the 170 year old organisation? In this in-depth interview, Peter talks about the need for more thoughtful Christian voices in the public sphere on hot topic issues such as abortion, sexuality and transgender, why he doesn’t believe Christians in the UK are persecuted and how shrinking the Gospel down to “Jesus loves you” is “borderline heresy”. Peter also shares some of his own story, how he’s a ‘thinker’ more than a ‘feeler’ and why our culture’s craving for identity, relationships and purpose is such promising news for the UK Church.   The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine. For a free sample copy of the latest issue visit premierchristianity.com/freesample

Noël Tredinnick tells Justin Brierley about his life and work in musical ministry, leading the All Souls Choir and Orchestra and Prom Praise musical celebrations for several decades.  Following his 70th birthday he talks about handing the All Souls conductor baton on to others, and his life and passion for music and Jesus, including some musical extracts from Prom Praise down the years. https://www.allsoulsmusic.org/about/noel-tredinnick/ You can hear Noël every Sunday on Premier Christian Radio https://www.premierchristianradio.com/Shows/Sunday/All-Souls-in-Praise/Episodes

Will Torrent eats chocolate for breakfast. He recommends the practice. “Your taste buds are ready to have something exciting!” he says. In this in-depth interview with Premier Christianity’s editor Sam Hailes, the award-winning chef shares his remarkable testimony, recalls his experiences working in Heston Blumenthal’s kitchen and explains why he’s so fascinated by bananas. He also talks about his recent trip to Ivory Coast with Tearfund and how he’s become more involved in the leadership of his local church.      The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine. For a free sample copy of the latest issue visit premierchristianity.com/freesample  

Having grown up as a Christian in Iran, Katia Adams is deeply aware of the persecution which many Christians are facing around the world. In this interview with Claire Musters, Katia explains how her Grandparents witnessed a revival in their Iranian home and how her parents have since witnessed 300,000 Muslims becoming Christians over the past three decades. For Katia, living the Christian life means being radical, and she has no problem referring to herself as “crazy”. In more recent years, the co-director of Frequentsee has felt called by God to write a book on the subject of men and women in the Church. The complementarian vs egalitarian debate often rages, including in the Newfrontiers network of churches that Katia has been a part of. But while theologians continue to argue, Katia is concerned the stakes are high, and the Church must learn to speak with one voice on this important topic. She remembers being told by a fellow Christian, that for her to preach would be an act of disobedience to God. That led her to research what the Bible really says on the subject. “I was probably in my mid 20s when I decided I had to settle this issue,” she remembers. “I said to God ‘I don’t want to live in rebellion. If you’re telling me that I’m not to do what I thought I was made for then I want to follow that.’” The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine. For a free sample copy of the latest issue visit premierchristianity.com/freesample You can also read this interview in the January and February issues of Premier Woman Alive.

In this week’s show Megan Cornwell sits down with veteran missionary Simon Guillebaud to hear about the miraculous ways God has protected him and his family during decades of missionary work in what was once the most dangerous nation on earth. Guillebaud describes how God brought 164,000 people to faith through his ministry and why he believes Christians in the UK can be blind to the spiritual war going on around them. He shares extraordinary conversion stories as well as a personal insight into how God called him into long-term evangelistic ministry. The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine. For a free sample copy of the latest issue visit premierchristianity.com/freesample

In this week’s show Sam Hailes sits down the Conservative candidate for the 2020 London Mayoral election, Shaun Bailey. Although he grew up in a Christian family, Bailey soon turned his back on the Christian faith. In this interview he explains what brought him back, how Christians can be a force for good in politics and why his 20+ years of experience in youth work has prepared him for his political career. We will also be publishing interviews with other candidates standing for election in 2020 in the coming weeks. The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine. For a free sample copy of the latest issue visit premierchristianity.com/freesample  

In this week’s show Sam Hailes sits down with the San Francisco-based author and activist Mark Scandrette to talk about a whole host of issues which centre around spiritual formation, the gospel and whether we need to re-think the way we do Church. Mark’s own process of theological deconstruction began when his best friend fell asleep part-way through one of Mark’s sermons! Today, this prophetic teacher’s great passion is to move Christians away from an information-based way of thinking about faith, to a much more practical expression which involves not just assenting to correct doctrinal beliefs, but modelling their day to day life on Jesus himself. Mark believes this way of living, which takes the Sermon on the Mount seriously, can radically change a person’s life, and free them from worry and anxiety.     The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine. For a free sample copy of the latest issue visit premierchristianity.com/freesample

In this week’s show Sam Hailes sits down with the Grammy nominated Gospel artist William McDowell to hear how the miraculous has been invading Deeper Fellowship in Florida. McDowell grew up in a strong Christian family and made a commitment to God at a very early age. Over the past two decades he’s been crying out to God for revival. That prayer was finally answered on May 22, 2016 when the presence of God entered his church of Deeper Fellowship in Orlando and has yet to leave. In this in depth interview, McDowell shares some of the remarkable stories of healing which have been taking place. He also opens up about his latest, critically acclaimed album The Cry, and gives his view on Kanye West’s apparent conversion to Christianity.    The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine. For a free sample copy of the latest issue visit premierchristianity.com/freesample

In this week’s show Cara Bentley delves into the life and faith of the outspoken and at times controversial politician, Ann Widdecombe. When Widdecombe last spoke to Premier ten years ago, she was approaching the end of her career as an MP, looking forward to retirement on the south coast, and hoping a peerage would be on the horizon. She talked about her lifelong allegiance to the Conservative Party and assured us she would never go on Big Brother “and certainly not Strictly Come Dancing”. Well, life is full of surprises and a lot has changed over the past decade. She’s no longer retired, and after 55 years in the party, she isn’t a Conservative either, having moved to Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party. Despite vowing never to go on Big Brother or Strictly, she’s since thrown herself into both! Listen to the interview now to hear the conversation in full.  The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine. For a free sample copy of the latest issue visit premierchristianity.com/freesample