The Profile

Life completely changed for Simon Edwards in September 2009 when he became a Christian in his prison cell. Up until then, he had been in and out of prison, caught up in burglary, drug dealing and violence. He had received threats to his life from drug gangs. His crimes culminated in a life sentence, with a minimum of six years, for armed robbery. At his lowest point he attempted suicide, but then found himself locked up with a Christian cellmate, whose influence led Simon to faith. Upon leaving prison, Simon set up Walk Ministries, a Christian organisation based in Stoke On Trent which helps released prisoners to develop a new life. Premier's central correspondent Rachel Matthews hears the full story Follow Simon on Twitter @JESUSWALK52 The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine. For a free sample copy of the latest issue, which features an interview with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, visit premierchristianity.com/freesample              

Music can go to a lot of places where the preachers can't go. That's one of the things Tim Jupp discovered while touring the world as part of the band Delirious? Whether he was playing in front of the Pope, or touring Asia with Joyce Meyer, Tim was  able to interact with Christians of all backgrounds and denominations. In this in-depth interview, he reminisces about his 17 years playing keyboards in the world's biggest Christian band and explains how that chapter of his life came to a close. Today, he's the founder and pioneer of Big Church Day Out (BCDO) - the largest Christian festival in the UK, which is held annually in Sussex. Going from a musician to a festival organiser might sound like a dramatic change of career, but Tim believes that Delirious and BCDO share the "same DNA" - a love for music, a passion for unity and the unique ability to bring tens of thousands of Christians together in one place for the purpose of worshipping Jesus.  Big Church Day Out will take place 25-26 May 2019 at Wiston House, West Sussex. To find out more and book tickets visit bigchurchdayout.com Follow Big Church Day Out on Twitter @bigchurchdayout

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. But whatever you do, don’t call him a radical. Sam Hailes hears the full story. Read this interview in the latest issue of Premier Christianity magazine. Request a free copy    

Dr John Dickson is an Australian Bible scholar, Anglican minister and writer. He is the founder of The Centre for Public Christianity (CPX) in Australia and the author of books such as The Doubters Guide to Jesus. He tells Justin Brierley about how he found faith, life in an an evangelistic rock band, helping Hillsong write their song 'The Creed', making the case for Jesus to sceptics, and his new film documentary For the Love of God: How the Church is Better and Worse Than You Ever Imagined. Follow John on Twitter @johnpauldickson The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine. For a free sample copy of the latest issue, which features an interview with Francis Chan, visit premierchristianity.com/freesample    

It's a double bill on The Profile this week. In the first part of the show, Premier's Eno Adeogun sits down with Don Moen - the writer of many classic worship songs including 'God will make a way', 'Give thanks' and 'Our Father'. The pastor, producer and former president of Integrity Music explains how in his early ministry, he would play 1,000 concerts a year. This relentless touring schedule continued for over a decade as he spend time working with Terry Law ministries. "After that I never took Don Moen so seriously anymore," he explains, "because the rough edges got knocked off".  In the second part of this week's show, Premier's political editor Martyn Eden meets Dame Caroline Spelman MP. The Conservative Member of Parliament for Meriden has long been up front about her Christian faith. In this interview, Dame Caroline explains how she somewhat reluctantly pursued a career in politics. She also responds to recent calls to end the practice of Parliamentary Prayers, and gives her view on the current Brexit debates.  The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianitymagazine. For a free sample copy of the latest issue, which features an interview with Francis Chan, visit premierchristianity.com/freesample    

Phil Loose is the managing director of one of the biggest Christian music labels in the world. In this in-depth interview, the managing director of Integrity Europe shares what he's learned from working as a church leader, a session musician and most recently, a record label boss. Premier Christianity's Sam Hailes puts a selection of tricky questions to Phil including, "Why do some worship songs travel around the world, and others don't?", "Is it true that worship songs all sound the same?" and "Is there money to be made from Christian music?" Drawing on his experiences working for a variety of organisations including Spring Harvest, ICC Studios and Kingsway, Phil also explains why he believes Christian musicians need to be given permission to "play brilliantly and not feel bad about it".  The Profile is brought to you in association with Premier Christianity magazine. For a free sample copy of the latest issue, which features an interview with Francis Chan, visit premierchristianity.com/freesample  

Jackie Pullinger’s classic autobiography Chasing the Dragon remains a best-seller among evangelicals, despite being released more than 30 years ago. It tells the story of how this plucky young woman from Croydon boarded a ship with nothing but a £10 note and a prayer that God would show her where to get off. When the boat pulled into Hong Kong in 1966, God ordered her to disembark and Pullinger the missionary obeyed. In this rare interview, the 74 year old missionary opens up about her lifetime of service, which has included seeing drug addicts set free through praying in tongues, what she's learned and why she won't be retiring anytime soon.   You can also read this interview in Premier Christianity magazine  To take advantage of Premier Christianity's limited HALF PRICE subscription offer visit premierchristianity.com/subscribe

It's a double bill of The Profile this week. In the first part of today's show, Alex Williams interviews Jack Philips about the much-discussed 'gay cake' case. The Colorado baker cited religious reasons when declining to make a cake for a gay couple. He was taken to court over the decision and the case reached the USA's supreme court, where Phillips won. In this interview, the Christian opens up about the legal proceedings he's endured and the toll its taken on him. In the second part of today's show, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III shares his reflections on church unity, the political situation in Jerusalem and discusses his own personal faith story with Premier Christianity's Sam Hailes. His Most Godly Beatitude visited Premier Christian Radio's studios shortly after his meetings with Prince Charles and the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, both of whom have a keen interest in the plight of Christians in the Middle East.   To take advantage of Premier Christianity's limited HALF PRICE subscription offer visit premierchristianity.com/subscribe    

US Messianic Jew, author and radio host Michael Brown joins Justin Brierley to tell his conversion story in a wide ranging interview covering the hot-button issues Michael engages in. As a Jewish kid into rock music, Michael became addicted to hard drugs, but had a radical conversion to Christ. Today he debates with Jews and LGBT proponents, defends Charismatic Christianity, runs a popular broadcast ministry and has written a new book Donald Trump is not my saviour: An evangelical leader speaks his mind about the man he supports as president Follow Michael on Twitter @DrMichaelLBrown To take advantage of Premier Christianity's limited HALF PRICE subscription offer visit premierchristianity.com/subscribe  

"I'll punch your face in, mate". That's what Mez Mcconnell said to a fellow student while he was at Bible college. "I guess the guys weren't ready for that kind of discourse," he says, looking back. Mez was involved in violent crime from the age of 14. He committed fraud, spent time in prison and describes his teenage years as "manic" and "wild". So when he became a Christian, a lot had to change. It didn't happen overnight, and Mez laughs at the idea its all been plain sailing since (see the aforementioned Bible college altercation). "I thought church was for pansies" he remembers. But as he read the book of Romans, he was convicted of his own sin, realising he couldn't blame his difficult past or upbringing for the life he was now living. Mez is often outspoken on issues relating to class and Christianity, describing evangelicalism as "unbelievable elitist". He also claims prominent church leaders have ignored what he's had to say, dismissing him as having a chip on his shoulder. And when it comes to fundraising for his organisation 20schemes - which plants churches on Scottish housing estates - he says "no one in England or Scotland" would give him money, so he's decided to fundraise in the USA instead. In this wide-ranging conversation with Premier Christianity's Sam Hailes, Mez delves into all these issues and more. Follow Mez on Twitter @mez1972 To take advantage of Premier Christianity's limited HALF PRICE subscription offer visit premierchristianity.com/subscribe