Book review: Don’t fret - Don Purdey

It’s rare to come across a foreword that so powerfully shapes how you read what follows. This one tells the story of the author, Don Purdey, passionately worshipping God, despite the slurred speech cruelly brought on by motor neurone disease. It adds that the last page of the book, where Purdey quotes 2 Timothy 4:6-8 (“the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight”) was open on his computer on the day he died in July 2014…

This article appeared in the January 2024 edition of Premier Christianity Magazine. To read the full piece please click here.

Djokovic and Macron: What would Paul say about the vaccination divide?

For many people, playing and watching sport provides escapism and relief. At the onset of the pandemic, as sporting events fell like dominoes and clubs were cancelled, many people felt bereft at the loss of activities and occasions that provided a welcome distraction from jobs, responsibilities and worries.

This article appeared on the Premier Christianity Blog in January 2022. To read the full piece please click here.

Redman & Riddle: This brilliant podcast will challenge, inform and nourish worship leaders

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to grab a coffee and chat all things worship with two of the world’s most respected Christian songwriters? Well, imagine no more, because Matt Redman (‘10,000 Reasons’, ‘Blessed be your name’) and Jeremy Riddle (‘This is amazing grace’, ‘One thing remains’) have taken the conversations they were having in a coffee shop to a recording studio for a wider audience to savour – and it works a treat.

This review appears in the January 2022 edition of Premier Christianity Magazine. An online version of it is available to read here.

Gracious in defeat: the Christian faith of Lewis Hamilton

Source: Reuters

There are times when, even if a particular sport is not our thing, it’s impossible to escape the fanfare of a certain event. Whether its newspaper headlines, Twitter, workplace banter, or even sermons, it’s just everywhere.

We’ve seen this a few times this year. In July, England almost self-combusted as the men’s football team made history by reaching a major tournament final. In September, we collectively crowned a new tennis hero in Emma Raducanu after her incredible US Open victory. And last weekend, the country rallied behind Lewis Hamilton in his attempt to win a record-breaking eighth Formula One championship.

This article appeared on the Premier Christianity Blog in December 2021. To read the full piece please click here.

Pat Robertson is retiring. Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly of his 55 year ministry

For some people, retirement is not in their vocabulary — and for many years, that seemed to include Pat Robertson.

He’s the 91-year-old founder of CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network), the first US Christian television station, and America’s longest-running TV host. But last week, Robertson told viewers of The 700 Club that, after 55 years hosting the programme, he was to step down, to be replaced by his son, Gordon.

This article appeared on the Premier Christianity Blog in October 2021. To read the full piece please click here.

“It’s coming home!” God’s place in England’s dressing room is another reason to get excited during Euro 2020

Three years ago, three words became the tagline for the English summer. “It’s coming home!” people declared. But disappointment inevitably followed as the men’s football team exited the 2018 World Cup in Russia in the semi-finals.

This article appeared on the Premier Christianity Blog in July 2021. To read the full piece please click here.

God Squad

At the beginning of 2020, Liverpool’s Brazilian striker Roberto Firmino shared an unusual post with his 13 million Instagram followers. It was a video of his baptism. In the pool with him was teammate Allison Becker, and both were wearing T-shirts, commonly associated with Hillsong, which display the symbols ‘=’ (the cross equals love). Firmino’s Instagram caption read: “I gave you my failures and the victories I will give you too. My biggest title is your love, Jesus!”

It isn’t just Firmino and Becker who are open about their faith. The Liverpool manager, Jürgen Klopp, is also a Christian. He comes from a Lutheran background and has spoken of the security and liberation that Jesus gives him, once quipping: “If anyone asks me about my faith, I give information. Not because I have claim to be any sort of missionary. But when 40 I look at me and my life – and I take time for that every day – then I feel I am in sensationally good hands.”

Two hundred miles south of Liverpool, and a little further down the football pyramid, Adebayo Akinfenwa and Alex Samuel recently took to their knees in prayer after Wycombe Wanderers gained a promotion. In an Instagram post, Samuel explained that two years ago, injured and without a team, God gave him a vision that he would play for Wycombe…

This article appears in the November 2020 edition of Premier Christianity Magazine. If you’d like to read the full piece, you can order a free copy of the magazine can here (if you’re reading this after November 2020, please contact subscriptions@premier.org.uk to request a copy of the correct edition).

The faith of Coldplay

They're like marmite. You either love or hate Coldplay.

Catchy melodies, anthemic songs and emotional lyrics are their staple — the very things that draw in the fans but deter the haters.

But wherever you fall on the divide, Coldplay have had a monumental impact on pop culture. This month marks 20 years since their debut album Parachutes was released…

This article appeared on the Premier Christianity Blog in July 2020. To read the full piece please click here.

Angel encounters

It was a brisk Saturday morning on my local high street some years ago. I was doing outreach with my church. We were gathered together for prayer when a man none of us knew quietly joined us, prayed and offered some timely encouragement. We thanked him and asked his name. “Why do you need to know that?” he replied. He departed and we saw nothing further of him. 

I’d forgotten all about this. But recently, having heard increasingly from others who believe they have encountered angels, I’ve returned to it as part of a broader reflection. To what extent can these angelic stories be believed in light of the Bible and good old common sense? Are angels actively involved in ministering to us? 

This article was the cover story for the April 2020 edition of Premier Christianity. To read the full piece please contact subscriptions@premier.org.uk to get a copy of the magazine.

Here’s the lowdown on Justin Bieber’s 5 celebrity pastors

To the uninitiated the above photo may look like an album cover for a singing quintet. Five handsome chaps looking rather dapper. All that’s missing are a few vintage mics.

But alas they are not. Instead they are five pastors who have more than Jesus in common. They’re all friends with Justin Bieber.

The above photo was taken at a private celebration last Monday to mark the singer’s marriage to Hailey Baldwin. 

Here’s the lowdown on the each of them…

This article appeared on the Premier Christianity Blog in October 2019. To read the full piece please click here.

The Upside Down World of Stranger Things

BMX bikes, arcade games, walkie-talkies, nods to Stephen King and films such as Jaws and E.T., a playlist featuring the likes of Cyndi Lauper and The Clash. Then there are the likeable kids who bear a close resemblance to The Goonies. It’s little wonder people have been getting all wistful over the 1980s pop-culture phenomenon Stranger Things.

The Netflix original series first aired in 2016; its stunning success surprised even the streaming giant and turned its young cast into global stars. More than 40 million households tuned in to watch the first episode of Stranger Things 3 within days of its release earlier this month, a Netflix record.

There are many facets to the appeal of Stranger Things. Alongside the wonderful nostalgia, the show features an endearing set of relationships, a haunting synth-led score, compelling character development, sacrificial acts of love, geeky bits of science, and an imaginative, if sometimes confusing, plot line. Then there is the stranger side to Stranger Things, the supernatural, which leads to get-behind-your-sofa moments. It is here that the show bears a surprising likeness to the eschatological world view of the Bible.

Christian author Michael S Heiser, whose new book The World Turned Upside Down: Finding the Gospel in Stranger Things (Lexham Press) is released in October, writes: “Stranger Things taps into spiritual questions and crises and addresses them the way the gospel story does – with mystery and transcendent power, justice, and love.”

This article appears in the Culture column of the August 2019 edition of Premier Christianity. To read the full piece please contact subscriptions@premier.org.uk to get a copy of the magazine.

Benny Hinn is rejecting the prosperity gospel. But true repentance requires action

“I think it's an offence to the Lord, it's an offence to say 'give $1,000'. I think it's an offence to the Holy Spirit to place a price on the Gospel.”

This is the charge many Christians would level at the prosperity gospel — the strand of Christianity that teaches health and wealth are promised to those who give financially. So it may surprise you to learn this quote comes from Benny Hinn, a name synonymous with the movement for the best part of 40 years…

This article appeared on the Premier Christianity Blog in September 2019. To read the full piece please click here.