The Profile

Andy Peck is joined by Wayne Dixon, from Christian Connections in Schools, working with pupils and staff in schools in Slough, Windsor and Maidenhead. They talk about what is concerning young people today and how to best connect. What changes has he noticed since he began working with young people 40 years ago? Has he noticed an upturn in interest in Christianity? The Profile is brought to you by...

Andy Peck talks with Jenny Pillar and Rich Gower, who are involved in a new venture, ‘Counselling Carers’, which has as its strapline: improving the lives of the most vulnerable by caring for their carers. He asks Jenny Pillar, founder and clinical director about her vision for the work and Rich Gower, the managing director, about the options he faced when looking to structure the work to be susta...

American missionary Heidi Baker says she's been preaching God's word for 50 years but 1995 was the year when life changed and she answered the call to go to Mozambique. She has been there ever since. Through her humanitarian organisation Iris Global she has been serving some of the most poor in the region whether that was helping families in crisis, caring for orphans or being a vessel o...

Celebrating 20 years and 1000 episodes of The Leadership Show, we repeat part of the first ever show with Kurt Erickson, founder of Church Without Walls, looking at his call to leave New York for London. In the second half we repeat part of an interview with Sarah Mullally, then a vicar in Sutton and now Archbishop of Canterbury designate. Why did she leave a senior position in the NHS for ordinat...

Celebrating 1000 episodes of The Leadership Show this month, we dip into the archive to feature parts of two classic shows as Andy Peck talks with Dallas Willard, author of 'Personal Religion, Public Reality?: Towards a Knowledge of Faith' and David Heywood, author of 'Reimagining Ministerial formation'. With Dallas they look at the four questions everyone has to deal with and what it actually mea...

Celebrating 1000 episodes of The Leadership Show this month, we dip into the archive to feature parts of three classic shows as Andy Peck talks with Eli Gardner of Kids Matter, Jenny Costa of Rubies in the Rubble and Carrie Longton of Mumsnet about how their respective ventures came about. What might we learn about responding to an idea or prompting we receive? The Profile is brought to you by Pre...

Allan Finnegan's stint on Britain's Got Talent in 2020 made him known to millions. The Baptist minister turned stand up comedian, who wears his dog collar in stage and draws on his experience as a minster, impressed all the judges, including Simon Cowell who gave him a standing ovation. Finnegan made it to the semi-finals but his journey there was unorthodox. He grew up in Bootle in the 70s, a poo...

Celebrating 1000 episodes of The Leadership Show this month, we dip into the archive to feature parts of two classic shows as Andy Peck talks with Ian Parkinson author of Understanding Christian Leadership and then with Trevor Waldock founder of Emerging Leaders. Should Christian use ‘secular’ approaches? What does the Bible say? What role does story play in a leader’s understanding of self and ot...

The new Archbishop of Melbourne Ric Thorpe is no stranger to change. He's an accomplished church planter and until very recently served as the Bishop of Islington. But even with that experience, he still admits that moving with his wife over 10,000 across the world is both exciting and daunting. Thorpe grew up going to church and as a schoolboy attended a boarding school where chapel was mandatory...

Andy Peck talks with the founder of Jubilee Leadership and former pastor, Andy Hickford, about engaging in politics from the pulpit. What are the dangers? How might we do it and what should we make of the rise of what is called ‘Christian Nationalism’? The Profile is brought to you by Premier Christianity, the UK’s leading Christian magazine. Check out the latest offers at premierchristianity.com

The British broadcaster, journalist, and campaigner Charlie Webster has known her fair share of trauma. As a child in Sheffield she was abused by her stepfather and watched her mother be the victim of domestic abuse. Later as a young teen she was groomed and abused again by her running coach. She speaks openly about her experiences and its effect on her and campaigns for greater scrutiny on the is...

Andy Peck talks to the founder of Destiny Coaching about tricky areas leaders may not easily address. What about imposter syndrome? What do we do when we doubt our faith? How can coaching provide a healthy context for discussion and ultimate growth? The Profile is brought to you by Premier Christianity, the UK’s leading Christian magazine. Check out the latest offers at premierchristianity.com

Dr Matthew Porter admits he may not be a greatest or even the most natural Evangelist himself but says his own passion for sharing The Gospel tends to override that. It must be this quality that has lead him to his current position as Champion Lead Bishop in Mission and Discipleship in the Church of England. Porter is also Bishop of Bolton and serves as one of three Anglican bishops within Greater...

Andy Peck talks with the missiologist and assistant professor about how AI might assist pastoral care and theological study, from his book ‘AI Goes to Church: Pastoral Wisdom for Artificial Intelligence’. How might AI serve as a tool for pastors and will AI revolutionise College study? Todd shares principles from his vital book. The Profile is brought to you by Premier Christianity, the UK’s leadi...

The writer and publisher Stephanie Duncan Smith was raised by Christian parents in the state of Maryland in the US, so from a very young age faith was woven into her life. Smith likes to talk about in terms of 'rhythms' and says there were three that dominated her early life: Church, dinner and reading. It didn't take long for her to develop an instinct for 'the word'. She is now the senior editor...

Andy Peck talks with the author of ‘When Jesus Met Hippies: The Story and Legacy of the Jesus People Movement in the UK’ They look at what we might learn about revival from those days. What are the similarities between 70s and today? What might we learn about the sad fall outs that occurred and what is the key message for church leaders today? The Profile is brought to you by Premier Christianity,...

"God gives us human curiosity" says the renowned American physician-geneticist Dr Francis Collins whose is best known for his leadership of the Human Genome Project and his contributions to finding a vaccine for Covid. It's curiosity which has helped Collins play a part in some of the most extraordinary scientific discoveries of the modern age. Born in 1950, Collins trained as a physician and gene...

Andy Peck talks to the former Baptist minister and Bible college lecturer about Christian journalling. They look at how he got into it and how might journalling help a Christian leader? Why is it supported by the Bible and how practically might you go about it? The Profile is brought to you by Premier Christianity, the UK’s leading Christian magazine. Check out the latest offers at premierchristia...

John Dickson didn't set food in a church before the age of 15 but says, looking back, he would probably have described himself as a 'thoughtful child'. After his father died in a plane crash he began thinking more about faith and was encouraged to explore Christianity by a secondary school teacher who was very open about her own faith. Dickson went on to become a singer songwriter in 1990s for the...

Andy Peck talks to a former pastor and senior leader about the challenges faced when stepping down from formal church leadership. They discuss the need to ‘repurpose’, the importance of financial provision and creating a new rhythm for life so you can continue to be fruitful in God’s service. The Profile is brought to you by Premier Christianity, the UK’s leading Christian magazine. Check out the...

The MP David Smith says that while he never wanted to be a 'pigeonholed' as a Christian neither would he ever deny how central his faith is to his work. He's only newly been elected to the Labour seat in North Northumberland last year. His previous work included being Chief Executive with Oasis as well as senior roles in faith-based organisations such as Bible Society and Tearfund. It was work tha...

Miel de Botton is a Swiss-born singer-songwriter, psychologist and philanthropist. In this podcast she describes a loving but strict upbringing along with her brother, the author Alain de Botton. As her interests grew she went onto study law at Oxford before then switching to clinical psychology in Paris, where she worked with people overcoming addiction. Miel began her professional musical career...

Andy Peck talks to the church and community consultant about his work bringing reconciliation for people devastated by human conflict, including the people of Ukraine. What does it mean to be ‘messengers of reconciliation’? Why is a disposition of peace to be the pervasive stance of the Christian and how can we work towards this in our relationship with other churches? The Profile is brought to yo...

Phil Knox is best known for his work with the Evangelical Alliance - an organisation which represents and connects evangelical churches and people across the UK and where he serves as evangelism and missiology senior specialist. Knox grew up in a Christian household and attended church regularly. Home was a place where Scripture was regularly referenced. On car journeys he describes his parents te...

Andy Peck talks with two men involved in Wellbeing Church, a new style of church in Hertfordshire which creates opportunities for young people to engage with Christian faith. Jim Thornton is one of the pioneer leaders and Reiss Gillingwater on the team that develops connection with Gen Z through online gaming and Football. They discuss how this fresh expressions approach came about and the leaders...