All articles in category Interviews

April 2017

Interviews

Christianity in UK politics (1)

Shirin Aguiar puts some searching questions to Gareth Wallace, Director of the Conservative Christian Fellowship (CCF). Before leading the CCF, Gareth Wallace was policy advisor for the Salvation Army. He also worked for the Evangelical Alliance and Oasis Trust. He has recently stood down as deputy chair (political) for Vauxhall Conservative Association, attends St Mark’s Battersea Rise in London and is a trustee of the South London Relief in Sickness Fund. SA: How does your Christian faith affect your politics? GW: That’s a good question. My Christian faith is central to who I am. I’m speaking to you from my parents’ home in Ireland; my...

By Sheila Marshall

February 2016

Interviews

Combatting Ebola in Sierra Leone

What motivates a father with an expectant wife to travel to an outbreak of one of the world’s deadliest diseases? Sheila Marshall talks to Dr James Meiring about faith and hope in the middle of an Ebola epidemic. Sheila: How did you decide to go to Sierra Leone? James: At the heart of my decision to volunteer for the UK Ebola response was a conviction of our responsibility to help our fellow man when we can.God asked Cain: ‘Where is your brother’, and he said, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ It’s similar to the story of the Good Samaritan when Jesus was asked: ‘Who is...

By Sheila Marshall

January 2016

Interviews

Turning back to our Christian roots with Ade Omooba

Prolific social entrepreneur, co-founder of Christian Concern and pastor, Ade Omooba wants to see the United Kingdom return to its Christian faith. Ade also co-founded the Christian Legal Centre, defending Christians’ civil rights. He serves as a trustee for Global Day of Prayer London and is a member of the Apostolic Team of Connection Trust, a global network of churches. Ade’s motif is ‘It’s a privilege to serve’, as he explained in an interview with Sheila Marshall. SM: Which came first, politics or pastoring? AO: It’s always been pastoring. I’m not a politician, although I’m a policy person. I engage with a lot of politicians,...

By Sheila Marshall

October 2015

Interviews

Tackling modern slavery with James Ewins

Barrister James Ewins is described by his Twitter feed as a: ‘Faith-filled lover of God, justice, the poor, my wife, my children, the church, the voiceless, friends, anti-slavery and sailing’. A specialist in family law, James’ passion for justice has led him to work with bonded labourers in India for the International Justice Mission (IJM) and become specialist advisor to the Joint Select Committee (JSC) on the Modern Slavery Bill. James spoke to Sheila Marshall on his journey with justice so far. SM: Who’s your favourite lawyer, real or fictional, historical or living? JE: It might be Nicodemus. He used his legal brain, his mind...

May 2015

Interviews

Alan Craig and election politics

Last month (ET, April 2015) Evangelical Times interviewed Christian MPs in each of the three main parties. This month it interviews a Christian politician supporting another political party.

April 2014

Interviews

The big interview – Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali

Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali was the 106th bishop of Rochester, until his resignation in 2009. He is now president of the Oxford Centre for Training, Research, Advocacy and Dialogue (OXTRAD). Before Sheila Marshall’s interview, for ET, of Bishop Michael, he casually remarked how four trees had just fallen in his garden, barely missing his house. He then proceeded to speak about his clear sense of God’s purpose for his life, amid all the challenges. SM: What lessons from your Christian life prepared you for becoming bishop? BM: I think our lives are always a preparation for what God wants us to do. Before I became...

By Sarah de Carvalho

October 2013

Interviews

The big interview: Breaking slavery’s legacy

Sarah de Carvalho MBE, founder of Happy Child International, will soon celebrate 20 years of ministry. Happy Child has rescued and restored over 9500 children from the streets and places of risk and reintegrated them back into family and community. Beginning with a 24-hour shelter in Belo Horizonte, in south east Brazil, the charity has expanded, with 10 additional safe homes in that city and, more recently, three homes in Recife, in the poorer north east of the country. Sarah recently shared her story with Sheila Marshall. Sheila: How were you called to work in Brazil? Sarah: I was a publicist on film production and distribution...

The big interview — Safety first

By Claudia Bell

March 2013

Interviews

The big interview — Safety first

The big interview — Safety first Claudia Bell is a Safeguarding Advisor with the Churches’ Child Protection Advisory Service (CCPAS). She spoke recently with Sheila Marshall about keeping faith and secular environments safe for society’s most vulnerable. ET: How did you become a Christian? CB: My parents didn’t go to church but, when I was about 12, I wanted to go; I can’t remember why. I went to a Pentecostal church with my mum’s friend and loved it. As I got older, I got interested in other things. I went on a Christian camp, but instead of running to God I ran away. Shortly after...

The big interview

By Terry Ascott

February 2013

Interviews

The big interview

The big interview Over 20 years ago, Terry Ascott saw an opportunity to reach out to the Arab world with the gospel of Jesus Christ using satellite TV. But how do you design a schedule that’s going to speak to people of a different culture? ET: What was SAT-7 like in the 90s? TA: In the 1990s, satellite television was an important new opportunity to bypass government controls on the media, at a time when television had become the primary source of information and entertainment. It was the first time that Christians could go into private homes to deliver the uncensored Christian message...

November 2012

Interviews

The big interview – Lord Bannside PC and Baroness Paisley

The big interview Rev. Dr Joel R. Beeke, of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan, met this September with Lord Bannside, PC, and Baroness Paisley, over private lunch. Here is Dr Beeke’s account of the occasion with Lord Bannside and Baroness Paisley (from now on in this article, Dr Ian and Eileen Paisley — no disrespect intended). Dr Paisley founded and led the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland from 1971–2008. He was the leader of the Irish Protestants during many years of conflict and violence between Protestants and Roman Catholics. At first, it was a rather surreal experience as the Paisleys...

Personal view: How can we best support overseas brethren?

By Joyce Griffiths

November 2012

Interviews

Personal view: How can we best support overseas brethren?

Personal view: How can we best support overseas brethren? In recent decades, many believers in the more economically developed countries of the world have had, in God’s providence, increased opportunity for travel. Whether on business or holiday, they have been able to visit the less developed countries. Often these travellers are taken aback at the physical and spiritual poverty that they encounter. They then desire, in accordance with Scripture, to help Christians in these areas, especially pastors, as fellow-members of the one body of Jesus Christ. The simplest solution that often comes to mind is to send funds overseas. But, although it may...

The big interview GOD’S COMPASSION

October 2012

Interviews

The big interview GOD’S COMPASSION

The big interview GOD’S COMPASSION The Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability’s (RHN) lead chaplain, Geoff Coyne, and auxiliary nurse, Ruth Hussey-Yeo, Registered Nurse at St George’s Nursing Home in Milford-on-Sea, spoke to Sheila Marshall about working in the adult care environment. ET: When did you come to faith in Christ? Geoff Coyne: It was when I was 11, through the school Christian Union. One of the first messages I heard was from Romans 6:23: ‘The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life’. This message brought total conviction in me and I came to accept Jesus. ET: What’s distinctive about your...