The Leadership Journey Podcast

The guest on this episode of the podcast is Kees Postma. Kees is a Dutchman living in the northern part of his home country (Friesland) where he is involved in a church plant. He also helps oversee the church planting work of ECM (European Christian Mission) in Holland, Belgium and Germany. Kees is also an author. His first book, The Retreat, is an unusual combination of humour and spiritual wisdom that tells the story of a fictional group of Dutch pastors who travel to the southern coast of Ireland (Kees used to work in Ireland) for a spiritual retreat. In our conversation we talk about the book as well as taking about Kees’ own story and we get a preview of his next book which should appear this year. You can pick up a copy of The Retreat here. At the end of our conversation, in answer to the question of what he would say to his 20-year-old self, Kees, refers to a song by singer-songwriter (and author) Andrew Peterson. The song includes these words: You don’t have to work so hard You can rest easy You don’t have to prove yourself You’re already mine You don’t have to hide your heart I already love you I hold it in mine So you can rest easy You might like to take a few minutes to listen to the rest of the song.

In the final episode of 2022 I’m speaking to Sir George Hamilton, former Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). George served in this role for five years, retiring in 2019 – this after a police career spanning thirty-four years. Among the things we talk about are ambition and following God’s will. At times we can limit our understanding of calling to the world of pastors and missionaries: but what does it mean to someone progressing in a career outside of the church? The conversation also talks about the formation of values: how might a Christian’s personal values impact a secular organisation? And what really matters, even when someone reaches the pinnacle of their profession. I hope you enjoy listening to this episode of the podcast: if you do, why not leave a review on Apple or Spotify? Thanks for visiting the page, and may you have a wonderful Christmas.

Andrew Roycroft is the pastor of Portadown Baptist Church. Previously he has served churches in Newtownards, Armagh and Millisle, as well as spending time with Baptist Missions in Peru. In our conversation we cover the contours of his leadership journey, reflecting on some of the sometimes painful lessons learned along the way. Andrew is also a published poet and has recently released “33: reflections on the Gospel of Saint John” a collection of short poems based on John’s Gospel: we chat about his love of poetry in the podcast. If you would like to get a copy of the book, you can contact Andrew via his church website or by locating him on Twitter (@AndrewTRoycroft). Here is our conversation.

For the past four years Andy Hickford has been Senior Minister at Upton Vale Baptist Church in Torquay. He is currently on sabbatical ahead of moving into a new phase of ministry with Jubilee Leadership – a new ministry with a focus on helping leaders have the opportunity for rest, release and restoration. Previously Andy worked in churches in Worthing and Luton. Be sure to listen all the way through and catch the things Andy would say to his 20-year-old self. I’ve asked him to wrote a blog about them – it will be posted here: they are very rich. In anticipation, here are the bullet points: You are perfectly loved: learn to rest in that and minister from it. God does speak, so learn to listen. Pay attention to the habits and pace of your life. Don’t be deceived by the miraculous aspects of your calling. Embrace pilgrimage: enjoy the journey. The guest on the next episode will be Andrew Roycroft. Andrew is pastor of Portadown Baptist Church. We will be talking about his leadership journey, but also about his new poetry collection: 33 reflections on the Gospel of Saint John.

The guest on this episode of the podcast is Gavin Calver. Gavin is CEO of the Evangelical Alliance, a network of over 3000 churches and organisations across the UK. Previously he was the National Director of Youth for Christ and he has served as chair of Spring Harvest. He has authored several books, including ‘Unleashed: The Acts Church Today‘, written with his wife, Anne. The podcast will be back next month when I will be talking to Andy Hickford.

Manoj Raithatha is pastor of Pinner Baptist Church in London and chair of the board of the Evangelical Alliance. He has recently published an updated version of his autobiography, ‘Filthy Rich: How the Property Crash Saved My Life‘ which tells the story of how God transformed the life of an Asian property dealer whose reputation was such that he was featured in the property pages of the Daily Telegraph. It took the crash of 2008 to cause his lifestyle to crumble and the serious illness and subsequent miraculous recovery of his little boy to bring Manoj to the point of surrendering his life to Christ. If you would like to get a copy of Manoj’s book, you can visit the website of Instant Apostle. The podcast will be back next week when my guest will be Gavin Calver, CEO of the Evangelical Alliance.

Last week, in the context of the Keswick at Portstewart Convention, I chatted with two of the speakers – David Scott and Gilbert Lennox – about their leadership journeys. David leads the ministry of Inshes Church of Scotland, while Gilbert (who has been on the podcast previously) is known for his teaching ministry in Glenabbey Church. **There was a technical issue with David’s microphone at the beginning of the conversation: it gets sorted about 4 minutes in. If you would like to watch the conversation rather than just listen, follow this link.

This episode of the podcast is a bit different. We have a guest interviewer, Gemma Brown, and she’s talking to me (her dad) about my new book, ‘The Crucible of Leadership’ which has been officially launched this week. As well as talking about some of the processes and ideas behind the book, we even have a surprising intervention about dinosaurs! The book is now fairly widely available. Make a start with your local Christian bookstore and if you can’t get it there, then it will be available from some of the usual online sources, or you can contact me via this website and I will send you a copy. Otherwise I will be at several of the summer conferences and copies of the book will be available – you can even get your copy signed! In July I will be recording a special live edition of the podcast at the Keswick at Portstewart Convention, when I will be chatting with David Scott and Glen Scrivener over Wednesday lunchtime.

Patrick Regan is CEO of the charity, Kintsugi Hope, a charity that exists ‘to make a difference to people’s well-being’. Previously he founded and led a youth charity called XLP. He’s written six books – including his most recent one, ‘Bouncing Forwards‘ which looks at the subject of resilience, and he has travelled to over forty countries. In our conversation we talk about some of what led Patrick into leadership, what it was like to hand over the leadership of XLP, the charity that he had started, and about the nature of Kintsugi Hope. Along the way we talk about resilience, about the stigma that often seems to be attached to issues of mental health, and – of course – about what Patrick would say to his 20-year-old self. Here are three of Patrick’s top tips for resilience: Go gently Be kind Stay connected Kintsugi You can visit the Kintsugi Hope website to find out more about what’s involved, and if you are interested in starting a group: you can also pick up copies of Patrick’s books (as well as your own Kintsugi kit). On the next episode of the podcast, I will be talking about my new book – ‘The Crucible of Leadership: Learning from the story of Moses‘ which officially launches this month.

Gary BurnettGary Burnett is the author of ‘Paul Distilled‘, an accessible introduction to the theology of Paul. He has previously written The Gospel According to the Blues. In our conversation we chat about Gary’s own story as well as discussing some of the themes from his book. You can check out ‘Paul in Ten’, a series of ten-minute videos that Gary recorded, covering the themes of Paul’s theology.