Interview with John

What do you do for fun?

Cooking, swimming, reading books (historical fiction / sci fi / fantasy), watching films, walking in the countryside, quizzes, board games.

How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?

I don't care.

What are the top 5 books that have shaped your theological thought aside from the Bible?

Really tough to answer... In no particular order:

• John Stott – The Message of Romans. I read it as a teenager while on holiday and it really helped me get my head around God's plan for the world.
• John Piper – Desiring God. Piper's whole idea about God seeking his own joy and glory needs more Trinitarian focus, but this book really helped me to understand that emotions are an important part of the Christian life rather than a hindrance.
• Jack Deere – Surprised by the Power of the Spirit. Deere's basic question - “If you just had the New Testament, would you expect God to speak outside Scripture or not?” helped to open my eyes to the fact that he sometimes does. Simon Ponsonby is better at explaining the theology and Jonathan Edwards is better at discernment, but Jack Deere was what I read first.
• John Calvin – Institutes of the Christian Religion. Both directly and indirectly through his influence on others, Calvin is so important. To paraphrase Spurgeon, I don't agree with Calvin because he's Calvin; I agree with him because he's so often right. Nor do I agree with him 100%, and I'm not a big fan of later Calvinism – it seems to me that it can get bogged down in unhelpful scholastic hair-splitting and miss the point. But time and again, when I'm wrestling with a difficult question, I find that Calvin has got it spot on.
• Not sure about the last one, but might well go for Francis Schaeffer – Complete Works. Again, I don't agree with all his conclusions, but Schaeffer is really good at modelling thinking through things Biblically.

What's your favourite Bible book and why?

This changes a lot, depending what I'm reading or preaching on. John & Ephesians come up more often though.

Top 3 authors?

(again in no particular order) John Calvin, Tim Keller, Dale Ralph Davis. Alternatively: J.R.R. Tolkien, John Grisham, Orson Scott Card.

How did you meet Lydia and how long have you been married?

We were both at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford. I was starting my second year of training for ordination; Lydia was starting a postgrad course at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. We've been married for a bit over 2 years now.

Are either of you musical?

Yes, though my musicality is mostly restricted to listening and enthusiastic singing. Lydia is much more musical than I am.

What's your favourite meal/dessert/sandwich filling?

It changes a lot. Here's a sample: meal – a fruity curry. Dessert – raspberry ice cream roulade. Sandwich filling – hummus & falafel. Ask again in 10 mins, and you might well get a different answer!

What are your favourite ways to put the words of Jesus into action in your local community?

Lots depends on context – what is loving for one person or group could be patronising or unnecessary for another. Engagement with local community has to involve sharing Jesus with that community eventually though. It ain't the Kingdom of God if Jesus ain't acknowledged as King.

I think one of the big problems in society at the moment is the idea of self-sufficiency. It leads to isolationism, and is a real obstacle to the gospel. When people think they're self-sufficient, it's very hard for them to receive grace. Where we are at the moment, we're putting Jesus' words into action effectively by doing a lot of work with young people (who aren't self-sufficient because they have nothing to do), with the bereaved (who aren't self-sufficient because you can't be when coping with death) and with the elderly (who aren't self-sufficient because they are increasingly lonely). We're also walking the long slow road of building friendships with people in the local community via pub quizzes and so on.

Of course I have personal preferences in terms of setting, style and so on, but I'd much rather do something uncomfortable and strategically effective than something comfortable yet irrelevant.