PEP Talk

The life of a Hindu monk can seem extreme–celibacy, poverty, thousands of miles of pilgrimage–but what are they searching for? Today we hear from a former priest about how Christianity met his heart's desire. He offers some important guidance on how to reach out to others from Eastern religions, when the cultural gap can seem so daunting.

As a Hindu priest Rahil Patel was a renowned international speaker whose spiritual counsel was received by politicians, industrialists and celebrities. His life changed dramatically after encountering the love of Jesus, and he is now involved in ministries at Holy Trinity Brompton, Balham Vineyard Church and the NowBelieve Ministry, a missionary organisation serving in the UK, India and South Africa.

His testimony is available in his book Found By Love: A Hindu priest encounters Jesus.

During the periods of restrictions we've had during the pandemic, some churches have become very creative with their outreach activities. Today Andy speaks with the pastor of a small church plant about their "drive-in church" and Christmas carols on the back of a tractor and trailer. Full of ideas and enthusiasm, it's great to hear how a small church is having a big impact.

Richard Gibb is on the leadership and preaching team at Loch Leven Church in Kinross. He is married to Alison and works as a Director for a management consultancy firm. Richard, who helps lead activities within the new church, studied Theology at Wheaton College near Chicago and at the University of St Andrews. He swims each day and had a mid-life crisis a couple of years ago when he took up judo!

Street Evangelism. A phrase conjuring up images of crazy preachers with placards reading "The End is Nigh", one that strikes fear in many Christians. Is it a thing of the past, with no place in our multicultural 21st century cities? Or is it still a means that God can use, even one He still calls us to?

Dominic  Muir is an evangelist, teacher, author ('God Hunger: Meditations from a Life of Longing' and ‘Firebrand: Devotions from a Life of Burning’) and revivalist with a passion for street ministry and the priesthood of all believers. Dominic co—leads a ministry vehicle of gospel proclamation and demonstration called ROAR (www.roarthegospel.org) with Evangelist Daniel Chand. Before founding Jesus Fields, Dominic ran an itinerant ministry called Now Believe (www.nowbelieve.com) and is also founder of 'David's Tent', a three day annual Christian worship event in the UK (www.davidstent.net).  Dominic and his wife Thea  run a movement together that celebrates true identity called I Am So Many Things (www.iamsomanythings.com).

Today we are joined by historian and academic Mike Licona to discuss his specialist topic, the resurrection of Christ. Although we'd expect our secular society to dismiss such a miracle, Mike shows us that the supernatural is a real part of more people's lives that we might expect. 

Michael R. Licona, Ph.D. is associate professor of theology at Houston Baptist University and president of Risen Jesus, Inc. He is the author of several books, including The Resurrection of Jesus: A New Historiographical Approach (IVP Academic) and Why Are There Differences in the Gospels? What We Can Learn From Ancient Biography (Oxford University Press). Visit Mike’s web site and YouTube channel.

For many people, God and faith aren't the things they're most interested in. But most people are interested in (and have an opinion on!) big questions about life. What are those questions? How have they changed over the years? And how can we show that a Christian worldview makes the best sense of these life questions?

Michael Ots was Minister of Evangelism at Lansdowne Baptist Church in Bournemouth for five years before becoming a travelling evangelist. He is passionate about sharing his faith through university missions in the UK and outreaches in Europe with organisations such as IFES and the European Leadership Forum. His books include “What Kind of God?”, “What Kind of Hope?”, “But Is It True?” and his latest title “Making Sense of Life”. Find them all at 10ofThose.com

What has driven the shift in recent years from hostility towards apathy in relation to the gospel? When people don't care about the questions of God and faith anymore, what DO they care about? Answering that can help us return our conversations back towards the joy in our salvation and pique the interest of the apathetic.

Kyle Beshears is teaching pastor at Mars Hill Church in Mobile, Alabama and teaches courses on worldview and religion at the University of Mobile. He holds a Master of Theology from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where he is currently a PhD candidate.. He’s the author of Apatheism: How We Share When They Don’t Care.

One of the biggest reasons for people to reject Christianity is because of their experience of the Church or other Christians behaving badly. How can we deal with abuse of power, hypocrisy and loss of trust? In an age of scandal, misinformation and conspiracy theories how can we point people to the love, truth and safety of Jesus Himself? Andy and Kristi speak with author and pastor Mark Meynell about these incredibly important questions.

Mark Meynell  is Director (Europe and Caribbean) for Langham Preaching (one of the 3 programmes of Langham Partnership). An ordained Anglican minister, he has served in churches in the UK (in Oxford, Sheffield and London) and taught (and for a year was Acting Principal) at a small seminary in Kampala, Uganda. He is married to Rachel and they have 2 grown-up children. He is currently working on a Doctor of Ministry (DMin) at Covenant Theological Seminary in St Louis, MO,

He is the author of Cross-Examined (IVP, 1998, 2010), Good Book Guide to Colossians (GBC, 2008), The Resurrection (10ofThose, 2013), What Makes Us Human? (GBC, 2015) He is passionately concerned to cross the bridge between the Bible’s world and the contemporary world, which led to A Wilderness of Mirrors. (Zondervan, 2015)

Medical professions can often be useful for overseas mission work, but today's guest tells us all about the mission field here in today's NHS. In her work with the Christian Medical Fellowship, we hear about how young doctors and nurses are learning to share their faith - and seeing God at work!

Georgie Coster is an intensive care nurse in the English Midlands and Associate Head of Nurses and Midwives at the Christian Medical Fellowship.

Why are we afraid of talking about sexuality, especially when sharing our faith? Probably because many people today see religion as oppressive to their sexuality, and, by extension, their personal identity. However, today's guest suggests that marriage and sexuality is one of the quickest routes into telling people about how much Jesus loves them and the hope He offers them.

Ed Shaw is the pastor of Emmanuel City Centre in Bristol and leads the team behind www.livingout.org. He loves his family and friends, church and city, gin and tonic, music and books. He’s the author of The Plausibility Problem and Purposeful Sexuality (both IVP).

Find his books by searching for Ed Shaw at 10ofThose.com

"And then something strange happened..." probably means you're about to hear about what the Holy Spirit has been doing in someone's life. As today's guest reminds us, God is at work in far, far more people than we know. With some fantastic thoughts on sharing faith, especially in the face of suffering, Jeremy Marshall chats with Andy and Kristi on today's PEP Talk.

Jeremy Marshall worked in banking, his last job was CEO of C Hoare & Co, the UK's oldest private bank. Six years ago he was diagnosed with incurable cancer and has been in treatment since. He is an evangelist and writer. He is also involved in A Passion For Life encouraging local church evangelism.

You can find Jeremy's books, Beyond the Big C and Hope in the Face of Suffering at 10ofThose.com - search for Jeremy Marshall.