Today’s social and mainstream media channels frequently describe a cultural backdrop of a “Toxic Masculinity” - it’s a phrase that can make some of us guys flinch and self-reflect and perhaps consider how we as Christian men, husbands, fathers, brothers in Christ can respond without being defensive about being men made in God’s image and demonstrat…

On this episode we had a great opportunity to catch up with Richard Gamble, the pioneer of the Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer, which is to be built between the M42, M6, HS2 and Birmingham airport and which will become visible to approximately half a million people a week once complete. The architecture is configured into a Moebius strip comprising…

Do connect with us on our Business WhatsApp by clicking https://bit.ly/MPowerOnWhatsApp! In this episode we are chatting with Leon Mills, the manager of the foodbank on the staff team at Birmingham City Church. Leon talks us through his role in overseeing the foodbank – how it originally started out, who it serves and its heart to bring the compass…

In a special and extended edition of the podcast, we feature four of Elim’s MPower team: Mark Lyndon-Jones, Gordon Allan, Liam Husband and Nick Whittome. We have gathered some of the team to speak especially via the podcast into a big issue affecting men’s lives: loneliness. Do respond to us via our Whatsapp by clicking this link: https://bit.ly/MP…

We are chatting with James Glass, who is the Elim Regional Superintendent for the North West of England and for Scotland. James is married to Beryl who is also an ordained Elim minister and they have three children aged 24, 21 and 16. In this episode of the podcast we discuss the idea of truth: how culture interprets, handles and presents truth, an…

We are chatting in this episode with James Aladiran who leads Prayer Storm, a charity that aims to “gather people together around divine encounters and equip them to be increasingly fervent and strategic in prayer.” James opens by telling us about his family and explaining the background to his journey towards Prayer Storm. He confesses that to beg…

PODCAST OUTLINEIn this episode we are chatting with Luca Russo, who looks after the livestream production and the student and twenties ministry at Birmingham City Church in Birmingham UK, as well helping to lead worship on Sundays and create video productions.Luca is Italian, the son of a pastor from Sicily, and he became a Christian as a teenager …

PODCAST OUTLINE We are in conversation with Mark Ryan, Pastor of Birmingham City Church. Mark became a Christian in the mid-70s through an R.E. teacher who was the pastor of a small Pentecostal church. Mark’s interest in Christianity grew as his class worked through the gospel of Luke in school, and it was after Mark got invited to church by his te…

PODCAST OUTLINE We celebrate 3,000 plays in episode 21, in conversation with Steve Legg, evangelist, escapologist, comedy magician and editor of Sorted Magazine. Steve is the only bloke in his household with 6 other females (7 if you count the dog), and as you might imagine he occasionally pines for male banter about football! He opens with an incr…

PODCAST OUTLINE In this episode we are chatting with Piet Van Waarde, a pastor at Shoreline Church in Texas, America - a longstanding friend of 'Discipleship For Busy Blokes' podcast host, Nick Whittome. We are discussing a parable both of us have gained so much from over the years – the parable of the Prodigal Son. Piet shares how the younger son …

In this important episode, we are in conversation with Mark McClurg, Pastor of Ards Elim Church in Newtownards, County Down in Northern Ireland. Mark described how he contracted coronavirus amongst some of the first wave of those infected with the illness in March 2020. He started feeling unwell, and when he started to experience chest pain, one of…

In Episode 18, we are chatting with Boyd Ratnaraja, pastor at Elim Christian Centre in Aukland and head of Elim in New Zealand, which comprises a network of 38 churches around that nation. We kick off with an unfortunate international time zone mess-up, which means Boyd is chatting over WhatsApp wifi audio at 7am in the morning his time, rather tha…

‘Discipleship For Busy Blokes podcast’ got a great opportunity recently to catch up briefly in conversation with Billy Vunipola, rugby player for Saracens and England. Originally from Tonga, Billy and his family are now resident in England. He plays at Number 8 at the back of the scrum, and although he shares about notable games, tries scored and m…

In Episode 16 we are chatting with Elim’s national leader Chris Cartwright. Chris introduces himself, his wife Annie and his three grown-up children and briefly outlines his journey in faith and ministry, up to his current role as the General Superintendent of the Elim Pentecostal movement worldwide. We ask the million-dollar question: how can real…

We’re in conversation with Maldwyn Jones, who has been an Elim minister for 54 years. Maldwyn is married to Ruth and they have three children and two grandchildren. He is proudly Welsh, and became a Christian when he was 14. He has been a pastor at several Elim churches including in Plymouth, Belfast and Birmingham. In this podcast episode, we disc…

We are in a lively and fun conversation with Elim’s head of evangelism, Mark Greenwood, recorded just before the coronavirus lockdown in late February. Mark opens by sharing the story of his family’s journey to faith in Christ, through a door-to-door evangelist called Brian Hardacre, who had only been a Christian himself for six days, amazingly! We…

In this episode we are chatting with Will Neville, who is a member of Birmingham City Church. Will is a big West Bromwich Albion fan, enjoys rugby and golf and loves going out on his carbon-fibre road bike. Will plays drums on the worship team at BCC, he is married to Charlotte and they have a young son called Ben. Will is programme coordinator at …

In this brief but entertaining episode, we are in coronavirus lockdown conversation with podcast host Pastor Nick Whittome’s own middle son Simon! Simon talks about what lockdown has meant for him with school closing in his GCSE year, and going forward on predicted grades rather than having to sit a whole lot of exams. He has started his own small …

In this episode, which we recorded by iphone and Bluetooth speaker because of the coronavirus lockdown, we are in conversation with Gordon Allan, the lead pastor of Edinburgh Elim Church. Gordon opens briefly about his family, background and liking for rugby – and then we discuss the impact the coronavirus lockdown has had on life in the city and i…

In a special extended episode of ‘Discipleship For Busy Blokes’ we are in conversation with Danny Easton, one of the elders at Birmingham City Church. After initially starting out in an apprenticeship in tool-making and then moving into Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Danny is now a car-seat designer for a company with automotive clients including Jag…

In this episode we are in conversation with Mark Lyndon-Jones, leader of ministry to men across the Elim movement in the UK. We open with a review of Mark’s written devotion from Philippians 3:13-14, that he brought to set the tone for men across Elim in 2020 at the beginning of the year. We reflect on the great athletic achievement from Eliud Kipc…

We are in conversation with Dammy Awosika, one of the elders at Birmingham City Church. Dammy is a network solutions architect designer, and he explains how he built his career in IT starting out from building PCs to working with servers and systems – and how he ultimately got into networking, which he has been doing over the last 20 years. On this…

We are in conversation with Chris Fletcher, lead pastor of Manna Church, Fayetteville Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Manna Church is right next to the largest military base in the world, offering around 15 services a weekend and has an ambitious vision to plant Manna churches in every U.S. military base across the globe. Chris has a Masters in Chris…

We are in conversation with Gavin Calver, CEO of the Evangelical Alliance in the UK. The Evangelical Alliance seeks to represent evangelical Christians in the UK, to bring Christians together and help them listen to, and be heard by, the government, media and society. Gavin's infectious energy, vision and passion for Jesus and life is inspirational…

We are in conversation with Darren Passmore, who is pursuing a part-time degree in Applied Theology at Regent’s Theological College. We discuss Darren’s decision to study theology as a mature student, what led to his decision and what God has been revealing to him through his study, particularly around trust in God, identity and confidence. Darren …

On this episode, we are in conversation with James Chipwete about the book of Jonah. James is a doctor, and he is one the elders at Birmingham City Church. We are also running a free prize draw with Episode 4, with the chance to win a £50 Amazon UK voucher to spend, just ahead of Christmas! To enter, you need to contact us via the voice message fac…

On this episode we are in conversation with Robson 'Robbie' Alencar from Birmingham City Church. We discuss Robson's journey to faith, and also how he navigated a recent tough time with some extreme pain from gallstones. He describes his experiences of crippling pain, of having to wait ages for intervention, the frustration of repeatedly postponed …

In this episode we are in conversation with Liam Husband, the lead pastor at Hope Community Church in Bournemouth. We talked about: Liam’s family and the perils of keeping ducks! Recent church missions to Kenya and Estonia The local ‘coffee and bacon rolls’ ministry to the homeless of Bournemouth Advice for a bloke thinking about going on mission, …

Mark Lyndon-Jones leads Elim's national men's ministry MPower - and Nick Whittome at Birmingham City Church caught up with him just before a men's event, and asked him a few questions. We talked about: Mark's heart for men and ministering to men around the country, in his capacity as leader of Elim's men's ministry MPower How you might start a men'…