PEP Talk Solas

In this episode we chat with a church planter and football chaplain working in the heart of Edinburgh. Be inspired by his approach to multiplying churches by sharing life and faith with individuals in a busy and cosmopolitan city. 

Derek Lamont has been a pastor for 33 years, 22 of them in the centre of Edinburgh, with the Free Church of Scotland. His current church, St Columba's, has planted four new churches in different communities of the city. He will be leaving St C's in January to re-plant a Gospel church at the foot of Leith Walk.  Derek is married to Catriona with four grown-up kids - two of whom live in America, the other two are married and work for churches in Edinburgh.

Andy and Kristi sit down with the newest member of the Solas team to discuss his passion for evangelism. Having arrived in Scotland recently from South Africa, Steve Osmond reflects on the opportunities, surprises and challenges we have here. Kristi is also interested in Steve's background in zoology and how that has informed his conversations with atheists.

Steve Osmond hails from South Africa, where he earned his MSc in Zoology from the University of Johannesburg, specialising in ecotoxicology and ecological risk assessment. Along with his passion for the natural world, he also has a love for theology: exploring the connections between faith and reason, and how Christianity makes sense of the world. He has been involved in pastoral ministry and creating training programmes for discipleship in theology and apologetics. Steve holds a MA in Apologetics & Theology from Southern Evangelical Seminary. He now lives in Perth, Scotland with his wife Robin and two young daughters.

Listen through to the end for a special 20% off discount code from 10ofThose.com [https://uk.10ofthose.com/partners/solas?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=solas]!

When it comes to sharing our faith, we are blessed with a wealth of books and writings available from articulate Christians defending and presenting the gospel. Today on PEP Talk we have a great testimony from someone whose reading quest helped immensely in moving him from atheism to Christ. He now works for a Christian book distributor and gives us some great recommendations for books and evangelistic tracts we might find helpful.

Adam White became a Christian in 2020 after reading book after book on the evidence for Christianity. He now travels around Scotland recommending books that point people to Jesus in his role with 10ofthose.com [https://uk.10ofthose.com/partners/solas?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=solas], the Christian book ministry. Adam loves reading and has a keen interest in apologetics, spending his free time giving seminars on how to talk to atheists and engaging people in 1-2-1 evangelism.

Adam's Tract Recommendations:
Christmas tracts by Roger Carswell
Peace on Earth? [https://uk.10ofthose.com/product/9781915705020/peace-on-earth-tract]
Love at Christmas [https://uk.10ofthose.com/product/9781914966125/love-at-christmas-tract]
Whiter Than Snow [https://uk.10ofthose.com/product/9781912373505/whiter-than-snow-tract]

Titantic (A night to remember) [https://uk.10ofthose.com/product/9781906173388/titanic-a-night-to-remember-tract-tract]
Last on God's List [https://uk.10ofthose.com/product/9781915705464/last-on-gods-list-tract]

The Scariest Stories Are the True Ones [https://uk.10ofthose.com/product/9781915705501/the-scariest-stories-are-the-true-ones] - Halloween tract 

Book Recommendations:
The Case for Christ [https://uk.10ofthose.com/product/9780310350033/the-case-for-christ-paperback] by Lee Strobel
Mere Christianity [https://uk.10ofthose.com/product/9780007461219/mere-christianity-paperback] and The Problem of Pain [https://uk.10ofthose.com/product/9780007461264/the-problem-of-pain-paperback] by C.S. Lewis
Strange New World [https://uk.10ofthose.com/product/9781433579301/strange-new-world-paperback] by Carl Trueman
Can Science Explain Everything? [https://uk.10ofthose.com/product/9781784984113/can-science-explain-everything-paperback] by John Lennox




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There has been a surprising rebirth in belief in God in some quarters formerly dominated by the "New Atheism" of Richard Dawkins and Stephen Fry. It seems to have disappointed many who were left without answers to their purpose or meaning in life. How is the Christian story gaining traction, and how can we show that it is both meaningful and true? Andy and Gavin are joined by Justin Brierley to discuss his observations from his latest book "The Surprising Rebirth of God [https://justinbrierley.com/the-surprising-rebirth-of-belief-in-god/]".

Justin Brierley is a freelance writer, speaker and broadcaster who has become known for creating dialogues between Christians and non-Christians. He has worked in radio, podcast and video for over two decades. Until April 2023 he was Theology & Apologetics Editor for Premier Christian Radio, and hosted the Unbelievable? radio show and podcast as well as the Ask NT Wright Anything podcast. Justin was also editor of Premier Christianity magazine from 2014-2018, for which he continues to contribute articles. Justin's first book 'Unbelievable? Why, after ten years of talking with atheists, I'm still a Christian' [https://justinbrierley.com/unbelievable-book/] (SPCK) was published in 2017. Justin is married to Lucy, a church minister in Surrey, and they have four children.

Support the show [https://www.solas-cpc.org/podcast-book-offer/]

Everyone knows about the "culture wars" and some champion following Jesus as being "counter-cultural". What precisely is the relationship between the Christian faith and human culture? Reflecting well on that relationship and our own place in it can lead to some great insights into how we live out and share our faith. Helping us do that on PEP Talk today is a minister and academic with experience on both sides of the Atlantic.

Rev Dr Anna Robbins is President of Acadia Divinity College [https://acadiadiv.ca/staff/anna-robbins/] in Nova Scotia, Canada. She has served several churches as an ordained minister of the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada. Near the end of her doctoral studies in Wales (PhD 2001), she was appointed to the faculty of the London School of Theology in the UK where she served for 12 years. In London, she was theological consultant to organisations including Theos, Christians in Politics, Tearfund, and the Evangelical Alliance. She returned to Nova Scotia in 2012, where she lives with her husband and son.

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How are the arts effective in sharing the gospel? What are the issues in reaching young adults for Christ? And what does it mean to be pastoral in evangelism? These are just some of the questions covered in a wide-ranging PEP Talk discussion today with Andy Bannister, Gavin Matthews and our guest Callom Harkrader from Southampton.

Callom Hardraker is currently the Young Adult Pastor at Above Bar Church [https://www.abovebarchurch.org.uk/staff-and-team] in Southampton, where he has been on the staff team since 2015. Originally from the USA, he has apologetics training from The Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics. Callom also serves on the steering group for The Mark Drama [https://themarkdrama.com/], an innovative theatre tool for learning the gospel story.

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