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).
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.
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:
Sharon will be visiting Northern Ireland towards the end of the month, leading several retreats, including a morning for people involved in leadership and ministry.
In our conversation Sharon talks about her writing, but also about her own journey of faith. We talk about some of the themes of spiritual practice that occur in the book and discuss why men are probably more likely to attend an event promising ten principles for effective leadership than a spiritual retreat!
Sharon also answers the regular podcast question about what she might say to her twenty-year-old self (she’s not sure that her younger self would have known how to take the advice).
Details of Sharon’s visit to Northern Ireland can be found on the Cleopas website and leaders may be particularly interested in the event at Edenmore on Monday 23rd May (not Monday 24th as incorrectly stated on the podcast).
This week’s guest on the podcast is fellow new author Richard Venable. Richard and I connected via our publisher, Instant Apostle.
Richard has written Worship Leading Essentials, a thoughtful and extremely practical book that explores a range of areas related to leading corporate worship. Join us as we chat about Richard’s own story and about the topics in his book.
Watch out for future podcast episodes with literary agent Tony Collins, theologian Gary Burnett (talking about Paul on leadership), author Sharon Garlough-Brown, and Patrick Regan, founder of Kintsugi Hope.
Nicki Copeland is an author, editor and speaker: she leads the team at Instant Apostle, a Christian publishing house that is celebrating its tenth anniversary.
In our conversation Nicki talks about her interest in books and her journey to being a writer as she discovered how God had created and gifted her. We talk about some of the history of Instant Apostle and get an overview of what is involved in the publishing process. Of course – as is customary in these conversations – Nicki shares some of what she would say to her twenty-year old self.
Nicki has written two books: Less than Ordinary, in which she tells her own story, and Losing the Fig Leaf, in which she discusses ways we hide ourselves behind such things as possessions and perfectionism.
I’m grateful to Nicki and the team at IA for giving me the opportunity to publish my first book – The Crucible of Leadership – which will be available in June.
This week my guest is Hwa Yung who joins me via Zoom from Malaysia. Hwa Yung has served as a minister and a bishop in the Methodist Church, and was principal of Malaysia Theological Seminary; since his retirement he has remained active, giving himself to working with the Malaysian Church, to writing, and to working with leaders in the Majority World.
As well as talking about his own – sometimes very moving – story, we talk about his book, ‘Leadership or Servanthood’ (which I summarised in a previous post). The book is a challenge to the Church’s tendency to follow the cultural understanding of leadership – something that easily leads to a neglect of foundational biblical themes like discipleship and servanthood.
The book is published by, and available from Langham on their website.
Leadership is the result of practicing genuine servanthood wherever we are and whatever position we are called to by Christ. By living and ministering as servants, our loving and humble service will impact those around us as great leadership.’
This week’s guest on the podcast is Dr Debbie Hawker. Debbie is a clinical psychologist who works along with her husband, Dr David Hawker, to support mission partners and humanitarian workers. Their work includes providing assessments and reviews as well as retreats and training. The organisations she has worked with include Tearfund, Latin Links, Interserve and YWAM. Debbie has provided training or consultations in a significant number of countries, from Argentina and Australia to The US and the UK.
In addition to her contributions to specialist publications, she has written a couple of recent books that are aimed at a wider audience – including ‘Resilience in Life and Faith’, which she has co-authored with Tony Horsfall, a recent guest on the podcast.
In the podcast we talk about the book and Debbie shares about a model for thinking about resilience that she sums up with the acrostic SPECS.
My first guest of the year is Ajith Fernando. Ajith was National Director of Youth for Christ in Sri Lanka for 35 years and since his retirement from the post has continued as a mentor to the organisation and young leaders.
In our conversation we talk about his leadership journey, including the early influence of an Irish Methodist missionary in Sri Lanka, and Ajith talks about one of his earliest challenges as a young leader and how it helped to shape his ministry approach. He shares some thoughts on the state of the global Church and reflects on some of the things that have helped him to stay fresh over several decades of ministry.
The next episode of the podcast will feature a conversation with psychologist and author, Debbie Hawker when we will be discussing resilience in Christian ministry.
Tony Horsfall describes himself as a writer, a retreat leader, a mentor, and a friend. He is based in Yorkshire. Tony has had several decades of experience in Christian Ministry – as a church-planting missionary in Malaysia, a pastor in England, a missions trainer, and a retreat leader. He has been involved in membercare, and serves under the auspices of Charis Training: their website will give you links to books and articles he has written – some of which we talk about in the podcast, including Spiritual Growth in a Time of Change, and Rhythms of Grace.
Simon Stuart is the Executive Director of A Rocha International, a family of Christian organisations involved in conservation projects around the world. Simon has worked in conservation for many years and in 2020 was awarded the prestigious Blue Planet Prize in recognition of his work.
Simon has also been a personal friend of mine for over 30 years. He worked alongside me as an elder in Westlake Church in Nyon, Switzerland, before he and his family moved to the United States.
Simon’s work with A Rocha brings together his love for God and his concern for the wellbeing of what God has made.
In our conversation we talk about Simon’s journey in the world of conservation and how he integrates faith and science. We touch on the issue of climate change – to know more Simon recommends you visit the website of Christian climate scientist, Katherine Hayhoe, and Simon shares some of what he would say to his 20 year old self.
We’re planning one more podcast episode before Christmas, when the guest will be Tony Horsfall. Tony is a teacher and trainer; he has worked overseas and has authored several books, including ‘Resilience in Life and Faith’, and ‘Working from a Place of Rest.’
Ruth and her husband, Andrew, have been living in Buncrana, Donegal for the past 17 years where they have been involved in a range of ways with their local community and have recently facilitated the start of a new fellowship. Ruth is also the founder and editor of Vox magazine and has recently published, ‘Gloriously Ordinary’ which she has written with Andrew and several other people involved in mission.
‘Gloriously Ordinary’ sets out several principles that Ruth believes are key to incarnation mission in Ireland: you can order a copy of the book from Teach Solas, an Irish Christian bookshop in County Cork (Teach Solas is Irish for Lighthouse).
In our conversation we talk about Buncrana’s ‘Amazing Grace Festival’ (are you aware of the connection between Donegal and John Newton?), about team ministry, incarnational mission, and signs of hope for the Church in Ireland.
This week Tod Bolsinger returns to talk about his book ‘Canoeing the Mountains’ (he previously talked to us about his more recent book, Tempered Resilience). The title is a metaphor for the situation church leaders find themselves in when what lies ahead of them and their leadership looks very different from what they have been trained for and grown accustomed to: leaders need to be aware of the changes that have happened in the Western World and of the need for ‘technical competence, ‘adaptive change’, and ‘relational congruence.’
We also get the opportunity to hear a bit about the man behind the books, including what Tod would like to say to his 20-year-old self.
Feel free to add your own caption!
The guest on the next episode of the podcast will be Ruth Garvey-Williams, editor of VOX Magazine.
It’s a follow on from Tod’s previous book, Canoeing the Mountains in which he discusses what it means for Christian leaders to lead in the uncharted waters of a rapidly-changing culture.
In Tempered Resilience, he walks us through a blacksmith’s forge and compares the steps in preparing a metal tool with the spiritual formation of a leader who is being prepared to ‘hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope’ (quoted from Martin Luther King).
The smithing process involves working (‘leaders are formed in leading’), heating (‘strength is formed in self-reflection’), holding (‘vulnerable leadership requires relational security’), hammering (‘stress makes a leader’), hewing (‘resilience takes practice’), and tempering (‘resilience comes through a rhythm of leading and not leading’).
In our conversation David talks about some of his experience as a minister at that time. He also talks about some of what he has found to be important in sustaining a long ministry in one place. he shares a bit about his time on the Camino Santiago and, as with other guests on the podcast, has some advice for his 20-year-old self.
David has written a book on his Camino experience and you can order a copy by contacting him via Enniskillen Presbyterian Church.
This week’s guest on the podcast is Chris Green. Chris leads a church in North London and this month IVP has published his most recent book: The Gift.
I’ve already written about the book, so you can get a quick idea of what the main ideas of the book are. In our conversation, Chris talks about some of his other work, including other books he has written, including The Message of the Church, a biblical theology of the Church, part of the Bible Speaks Today series, and Cutting to the Heart, on application in preaching.
He talks about the key ideas of The Gift, including some cautions about whether and how we should think of Jesus as the Model Leader, why church leaders could think of their work in terms of the twelve slices of pizza, and what he means when he defines church leadership as ‘Corporate Application’.
Along the way we mention the work of Patrick Lencioni and his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, which is well worth your while checking out.
And we have a discount code: you will pick up the code if you listen to the podcast and it will give you IVP’s best price when you order from their website.
This week’s podcast episode features another author interview. My guest is Dr. Justin Terry and the book is The Five Phases of Leadership, recently published by Langham (you can order a copy from their website). You can read a quick overview of the book on the blog and the podcast conversation will allow you to get a bit more detail.
The basic premise, as the title suggests, that there are five phases to a leadership assignment. You could almost call them stages, but thinking of them as phases allows for some overlap between them.
This week Rick Hill returns to the podcast (you can listen to the story of his leadership journey here and here) to talk about his new book on discipleship. Rick has written out of a deep concern to see followers of Jesus put down deep roots that will enable them to persevere in the long haul.
I had the opportunity to read the book ahead of its publication and write an endorsement.
Rick Hill is an outstanding young Christian leader, and this book expresses his heart for his generation and for those of us of any generation who are willing to listen. Simply put, it’s a renewed call to follow Jesus. Rick writes out of a deep and authentic pastoral concern and grounds his message in the realities of everyday life. What he proposes is a fresh discovery of the heart of discipleship - a call to follow Jesus and obey him, to cultivate a relationship with him, and in the process be changed to be more like him. While his style of communication is fresh and relevant, he is never faddish; and while he writes with compassion and genuine understanding of the issues that turn some people away from the Church, he never softens the call or downplays the cost. In a rapidly changing world, here is an invitation to rediscover the significance of a two thousand year-old message. Read it and digest it. Then go out and buy another copy to give away!
For more on the book, visit Rick’s website, where you can order a copy.
Ray and Jani have been married for almost fifty years and for most of that time they have served in ministry together. Ray has pastored several churches, including Immanuel, Nashville, whose leadership he handed over to TJ Tims in 2019. Together they oversee the work of Renewal Ministries.
Darran McCorriston is the minister of Ballyloughan Presbyterian Church in Ballymena, where he has served for fifteen years. Alongside his ministry in the church he chairs the committee for the Keswick at Portstewart Convention – an annual gathering on Northern Ireland’s north coast that is part of the family of the wider Keswick movement.
In our conversation Darran talks about influences he experienced growing up, about some of his early ventures into Christian ministry, and about people from whom he has learned various aspects of leadership. He also talks about some of the challenges he has faced and about the things he’s say to his twenty-year-old self.
The fruit of your life depends on the root of your life.
The guests on the next episode of the podcast will be Ray and Jani Ortlund. Ray will be providing Bible teaching at this year’s Keswick at Portstewart event (Sunday, July 11 – Thursday, July 15) and you will be able to watch a video of our conversation during the week of the convention (from Tuesday, July 13 at noon), on the Keswick website. The audio will also be available here, and via Apple Podcasts and Spotify, also on Tuesday, July 13.
It is still possible to benefit from the special offer on Terry Virgo’s new book, God’s Treasured Possession: the code mentioned in my recent conversation with Terry is valid for the whole of this month.
Speaking of books, Rick Hill‘s new book, Resilient Discipleship launches next week and you can order a copy here.
The Crucible of Leadership 