PEP Talk

Have you ever heard someone dismiss the Bible "because it's just a fairy tale"? Or maybe that it was basically invented by the early Church to peddle their religious fiction? But if either of those were true, would the Bible be what it is today? Today's guest on PEP Talk introduces us to the myriad reasons why the Bible would be impossible to invent.

Mike D'Virgilio's latest book is Uninvented: Why The Bible Could Not Be Made Up, and The Evidence That Proves It. He has a B.S. in Communication from Arizona State University and an M.A. in Systematic Theology from Westminster Theological Seminary Philadelphia. He has worked in public relations, sales, and marketing for over three decades. His first book was an exploration of apologetics for parents called, The Persuasive Christian Parent: Building an Enduring Faith in You and Your Children. He also blogs on apologetics and a variety of topics at mikedvirgilio.com.

If you have friends, colleagues or neighbours from Muslim backgrounds, this episode is for you! There are incredible opportunities in our own diverse society to interact with followers of Islam. What are some of the best ways to introduce them to Jesus? Andy and Kristi have a guest from Australia with some helpful advice.

Richard Shumack is a philosopher of religion who is fascinated by how and why people hold their religious beliefs. He is the Director of the Arthur Jeffery Centre for the Study of Islam, at Melbourne School of Theology and, with his wife Judy, is on the pastoral team at Springwood Presbyterian Church in the NSW Blue Mountains. His research specialty is certainty and doubt in religious belief, and he is the author of “Jesus Through Muslim Eyes”, and the philosophical apologetic “The Wisdom of Islam and the Foolishness of Christianity”. He loves Australian football, golf, eating curries, and making and playing acoustic guitars.

Solas is often involved helping Christian Union groups at universities across the UK, as they put on evangelistic events and missions. It is a privilege to answer questions from students and help them think through aspects of the gospel message. Today we're joined by someone involved full-time in student ministry, to hear about the questions, opportunities and priorities found in the student world.

Naomi Brehm is a UCCF Staff Worker in the North East of England, supporting the Christian Unions in Durham and Hartlepool. She studied a Physics Masters degree at Durham University, trained with OCCA The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and now loves helping students to discuss big questions and explore faith for the first time. 

From a cross-cultural guest, today's episode picks up two different strands to sharing faith. First, how do we respond to those who reject their experience of church, even those who have suffered spiritual abuse? As well, what can the contrast between "Christian" and "secular" cultures teach us about conversations centred on Jesus? In both areas, it can be tricky to unpack the individual's experience from the true gospel.

Inonge Siluka grew up in Zambia and moved to Scotland with her family when she was 14. She studied law at university after which she did some student ministry with UCCF and training with Cornhill Scotland. She works full time for a Cancer charity, and is also the founder of Restored Hope Zambia, a Charity that supports Church abuse survivors in Zambia. She is passionate about evangelism and theology and runs Overflow Chat, a blog and YouTube channel aimed at encouraging women and girls in their evangelism and faith. Inonge is a member of Greenview Church in Glasgow where is part of a community group and serves in the youth ministry.

Today's guest reflects on a traumatic childhood event and how it shaped his pursuit of God. These kind of experiences can cause many to wrestle with the love or the hiddenness of God. How can we journey with others to find a God of purpose and hope?

Dan Paterson is the founder of Questioning Christianity, an Australian ministry helping you connect the Christian story to life’s deepest questions. He has experience as a pastor, lecturer, and public speaker, having studied Theology and Apologetics in Australia and at Oxford. Dan currently lives in Brisbane with his wife, Erin, and their favourite job is raising three wonderful boys.

Fear. Lack of knowledge. Busyness. These are some of the top reasons given when Christians are asked why they don't share their faith. How do we address these issues within the church? Today's guest has years of experience teaching seminary students, and shares how he prepares them for a life of confidence in sharing the gospel.

Tim Beougher (pronounced Boo – ker) has served as the Billy Graham Professor of Evangelism and Associate Dean of the Billy Graham School at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in Louisville, Kentucky since 1996. Tim is the author of numerous materials on evangelism, discipleship and spiritual awakening, including Invitation to Evangelism: Sharing the Gospel with Conviction and Compassion and Overcoming Walls to Witnessing. In addition to his seminary responsibilities, he currently serves as Pastor of the West Broadway Baptist Church in Louisville.  He is married to Sharon and they are the proud parents of five children and the extra proud grandparents of eleven grandchildren.  The Beougher “family” also includes a Golden Retriever named Crockett.

In this guest-free episode, Andy and Kristi reflect on the many questions they've heard in discussions of faith over the years. Traditional apologetic questions about the rationality of faith, once so prominent in the era of Richard Dawkins, have largely been replaced by questions of desirability, longing and meaning. How has this impacted the approach we make in listening to and responding to sceptics and seekers we encounter at work, school or in our families?

With the recent death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, her life of service and character has been honoured and spoken about throughout society. Her Christian faith was the source of those qualities, admired by everyone from prime ministers to hairdressers. What a great time to show our friends or colleagues that these qualities of servant leadership they respect and value are modelled on Christ's own Kingly service.

Ex-New York Adman, formerly London School of Theology vice-Principal, Mark Greene is Mission Champion at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC). A pioneer of workplace ministry and whole-life discipleship, his books include Thank God it’s Monday, Imagine how we can reach the UK, Fruitfulness on the Frontline, and, with Catherine Butcher, the million-copy selling The Servant Queen and the King She Serves. He has just published A Life of Grace: a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. He is married to Katriina, a Finn, and they have three splendidly different adult children.

The Church Behaving Badly can be an insurmountable obstacle for many people in coming to faith in Jesus. In the case of religious justification for racism and slavery, this issue impacts whole communities and ethnic groups. How can we de-bunk the concept of "the white man's religion" when speaking to our friends in black communities? Andy and Kristi speak with Clare Williams on PEP Talk to unpack this obstacle to evangelism.

Clare Williams is the founder of Get Real, a Christian apologetics organisation which addresses questions about Christianity, particularly from the black British community.  She has a degree in English Language and Literature from Oxford University, and she completed postgraduate training in theology at Wycliffe Hall.  Clare has an MA in Leadership and an MA in Culture, Diaspora and Ethnicity. She enjoys engaging with questions of culture, truth, identity and the gospel.

Have you put a "no" in the mouth of a non-Christian friend before you've even invited them to investigate the Bible? Isn't it surprising how people we know well react once they're given an opportunity to speak about Christ? Today on PEP Talk we chat about some great resources helping Christians walk through the Bible with their enquiring friends - why not invite yours?

John MacKinnon is based in East Kilbride, Scotland, where he served as the Lead Pastor of Calderwood Baptist Church for more than 17 years. He previously served as an Evangelist and Bible Teacher in an itinerant capacity, with an emphasis on enabling churches to develop their members to make Jesus known amongst their friends. Currently he is Director of Evangelism at The Word One to One, where he rejoices in the privilege of drawing alongside local churches to encourage, equip and enable them to raise up an ever-increasing number of joyful bible sharers. He is married to Linda and they have three children, all adults, and he is Papa to five grandchildren who fill his life with so much fun.