Philippa interviews Julia Immonen, twice world record holder for rowing the Atlantic, and ambassador for anti-human trafficking organisation Justice and Care.

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Philippa interviews Julia Immonen, twice world record holder for rowing the Atlantic, and ambassador for anti-human trafficking organisation Justice and Care, about how her Christian faith moves her to act, and use her skills, passions and influence for cultural renewal.

Rowing for Justice

Julia Immonen | Rowing for Justice

Browse articles, interviews, performances and talks from previous Everything Conferences.

Resources

CEO of World Vision UK, Tim Pilkington, shares with David Stroud some of the lessons he has learned from his years in the development sector.

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CEO of World Vision UK, Tim Pilkington, shares with David Stroud some of the lessons he has learned from his years in the development sector, about the need to surrender our lives to God and be prepared to make sacrifices, if we’re to bring about positive cultural change.

A Life of Surrender to God

Tim Pilkington, CEO of World Vision | A life of Surrender to God

Artist and peace activist Hannah Thomas shares on her experience in Kurdistan and her approach to combating injustice using her creative gifts.

Art for Advocacy

Hannah Thomas: Art for Advocacy

Author and speaker Andy Crouch teaches on the Christian’s calling and purpose to be image bearers of God, and to be salt and light in today’s culture.

Be an Image-bearer

Andy Crouch: Be an image bearer

Makoto Fujimura and Haejin Shim Fujimura share their experience both as an artist and a lawyer, and as leaders of Culture Care Creative and Embers International, organisations that seek to nurture redemptive creativity and alleviate poverty, respectively.

Beauty and Justice

Beauty & Justice: An Evening with Makoto Fujimura and Haejin Shim Fujimura

Spoken word artist Harry Baker performs his original poem 'Bumble Bee'.

Bumble Bee

Harry Baker: Poetry as power - Bumble Bee

Philippa Stroud has a conversation with David Akinluyi, Ed Boyd, Tony Hodges, and Anneka Wallington about how they have used their businesses to do good.

Business as a Force for Good

Business as a Force for Good – Panel (David Akinluyi, Ed Boyd, Tony Hodges, Anneka Wallington)

CEO and Co-founder of Zena, Caragh Bennet talks about how her work with Zena helping female entrepreneurs in the poorest regions of Uganda can be a creative expression of worship for God.

Business is Creative

Business as a Platform for Good - Caragh Bennet

Live drummer for Gorillaz and leader of the jazz group, Ezra Collective Femi Koleoso talks about how he uses his platform as a performer to share and demonstrate the Gospel with other musicians and young people.

Called for a Mission

Standing for Justice in Broken Institutions - Femi Koleoso

Poet and rapper, Joshua Luke Smith performs an original spoken word poem, “Can These Bones Live?”, which explores how God calls us to play a part in the change of other people’s lives.

Can These Bones Live?

“Can These Bones Live?” - Joshua Luke Smith

Award-winning screenwriter and film director and Stuart Hazeldine talks to Philippa Stroud about his mission to create stories that help people make good decisions at key moments of their lives.

Changing the World through Film

Stuart Hazeldine: Changing the World through Film

Everything co-founder David Stroud shares stories from history of Christian communities that changed culture for good, and draws out lessons we can learn as we work to do the same.

Communities that Change the World

David Stroud | Communities that changed the World

Author and speaker Andy Crouch talks about the power of service and suffering to bring about renewal in our culture.

Counter Culture

Andy Crouch: Counter Culture

CEO of Big Kid Foundation, Shaninga Marasha talks about his conviction in God’s calling for him to end youth violence and to give young people every opportunity to be great.

Creating Solutions

Standing for Justice in Broken Institutions - Shaninga Marasha

Architect, broadcaster, and creative director Julian McIntosh talks about the need for good architecture that intentionally creates spaces for people to be able to gather.

Creating Spaces to Gather

Creating Spaces to Gather – Interview (Julian McIntosh)

Most of us are still adapting to the extraordinary events of recent days as Coronavirus has spread across the world! Philippa and I are in lockdown at home and have been joined by our two adult daughters which has provided us with some rich, unexpected time together. I have been sick with a moderate dose of Coronavirus but am recovering well and have been thinking a lot about how we can work for cultural renewal at a time like this. Whilst few of us have experienced anything like this before, the church has lived through many pandemics and the stories of their response provide us with some great inspiration for how we can respond today. 

The church did not have to wait long to experience the challenges and traumas of life in a pandemic. In the middle of the 2nd century the Roman Empire experienced what was probably the first appearance of smallpox, killing somewhere between 25% and 35% of the population over 15 years. Then only one hundred years later, there was what was probably the first appearance of measles, which also had a devastating impact. 

These diseases not only killed huge numbers of people and terrified even more, but they brought out the worst in those who were not yet infected. Bishop Dionysius describes how families threw sufferers out of their homes and fled for the country, leaving the sick in the roads to die and corpses unburied where they had fallen. 

In sharp contrast to the response of most of society, Dionysius reports that:

“Most of our brother Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another. Heedless of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need”. 

Unsurprisingly, this response had a big impact on the broader population. 

More people survived: experts today argue that informal nursing care, without any medications, can cut the mortality rate by up to 66% and it seems clear that something of this order occurred. 

People came to faith: as they saw the sincerity and care with which these Christians cared. 

And, by their very actions, the Christians challenged the cultural value of the empire that the weak were to be despised and might was to be celebrated. In fact, it was these sacrificial, caring actions that kick-started a long Christian history of caring for the sick, building hospitals and helping the dying which has made a huge contribution to Western culture. 

These Christian actions also challenged the empire’s conceptions of what God was like. 

The classical gods were a rotten, violent lot. Zeus, for instance, was praised for being more destructive than anyone else and would appear on earth in disguise looking for those that he could rape! 

The Christians argued that the nature of the God they followed was totally different, that He was not capricious and violent but a God of love. To suggest that God loved mankind and also wanted man to reflect His love through their care for their fellow citizens was a radical, society changing idea. 

These early Christians lay down a gauntlet before us: if they could bring so much good to society in crisis so long ago, how can we contribute towards the flourishing of our communities at this point in time? 

First we must keep in the forefront of our minds our responsibility to love those who are in need: to care for those who we find ourselves in lockdown with right now, the vulnerable in our own families, and to look to play a role in our broader communities too. Christians, of course, are leading the way in doing this in a vast array of activity right now as they volunteer for the NHS, staff Foodbanks, shop for vulnerable neighbours and offer online support. We must continue to build on this in the coming days. 

We must also remember the global poor. They look frighteningly vulnerable, as we hold our breath waiting to see the impact that the Coronavirus will have on the slums of our huge global cities and the refugee camps from which people have no way of escape. We must pray for them and equip those who will be working on the frontline in situations of chronic need and danger in the coming days. 

By our care we are reminding people again of the value of every individual and especially those who are vulnerable because of their jobs, age, health and living conditions. 

It is also possible at a time of such human frailty that we can point the way back to God. 

In recent decades, popular authors have argued that all the progress we have made means that we should be celebrating the power and future of mankind not just as “Homo Sapiens” but by becoming “Homo Deus”.

However, one can actually see in the history of the last two decades, that amidst the progress is a stark story of human vulnerability: in 2001 we were reminded just how hard it is for people of opposing worldviews to live together in harmony as we watched the World Trade Towers crash to the ground. In 2008 we felt our own powerlessness in preventing depression, poverty and economic collapse. Since then we have seen tech’s “dark side” as we have watched addictive behaviours multiply and mental health crises take hold of our teenagers. And one day it is likely we will be reminded of the cataclysmic dangers of weapons of mass destruction as a rogue actor threatens our lives as we know them. As one commentator recently put it, “The coronavirus is merely the latest blow, the ultimate proof that the Four Horsemen have not been conquered and never will be.” 

Times of crisis are times when people will face facts and consider truths that they would normally want to avoid. Virginia Woolf said that when you are not well, you blurt out truth that “the cautious respectability of health conceals”.  

This is a time for us to do just that: through the fear, anxiety and vulnerability of the moment to point people again, through our words and actions, to the God who loves, heals and transforms. 

Cultural Renewal in a Time of Crisis

Poet and rapper, Joshua Luke Smith shares stories of hope and endurance through suffering, and presents us the questions, “How will my life endure through this suffering?” and “Who will I become because of my suffering?”

Enduring Hope

Enduring Hope - Joshua Luke Smith

Our three panelists share from their experiences as Christians in the business world. Jedidiah Francis is founder of AI agency Jed.ai, and is passionate about the ways innovative technology can be used for good. Rachel Coulson is Commercial Director of Luminary Bakery, a social enterprise in East London empowering women to reach their potential. Dirk Paterson founded The Corporate Comms Shop and looks for every opportunity to help public affairs professionals bring Christ-centred values into their workspace.

Entrepreneurs and Pioneers

Business Panel: Jedidiah Francis, Rachel Coulson, and Dirk Paterson

Co-founder of Everything and Senior Pastor of Christ Church London, David Stroud gives the framework for the Everything Conference 2023, that Faithful Presence is not only the way of living well but is an essential precondition to change.

Faithful Presence

Faithful Presence - David Stroud

Chef, chocolatier and foodie Will Torrent shares about his career experience in the food industry and how he is using his platform to fight poverty.

Food as a Tool for Change

Ici Butcher talks to Philippa Stroud about her experience of childhood in foster care, and how it led her to bring restoration and hope to the lives of others through fostering and adoption.

Fostering & Adoption: Active Compassion

Fostering & Adoption is Active Compassion | Interview with Ici Butcher

Senior Pastor of Jesus House, Agu Irukwu speaks about the desperate need for our hearts to be on fire for God, so that when we encounter others in our lives, they may also be touched by that fire.

Fresh Fire

Prayer for Revival - Pastor Agu Irukwu

West End star of Hamilton and Miss Saigon, Rachelle Ann Go, shares stories of God’s guidance in her musical career.

Hamilton Star on her Christian Faith

Hamilton star Rachelle Ann Go shares about her Christian faith

Brin Sherratt is one of the world’s leading bass opera singers. Here he shares about the need for vulnerability, hard work and authenticity in order to contribute to the flourishing his world.

Having Faith as an Opera Singer

Brin Sherratt | Having Faith as an Opera Singer

Award winning author Temi Oh talks to David Stroud about how she has used her own struggles with mental health to write characters that resonate with young people.

Healing Through Writing

Temi Oh

We travelled to Northern Ireland to interview Dave and Emily Lynas, who set up the Lost and Found cafes with a dream for true hospitality - the kind that brings transformation to people's lives and forms the heart of a community.

Hospitality and Transformation

Lost & Found cafes: Hospitality and transformation

Author and speaker Andy Crouch explores the meaning of cultural renewal and why it's so important to Christianity.

How Should We Live in this World?

Andy Crouch: How should we live in this world?

Author and philosopher James K. A Smith shares with Everything Co-founder David Stroud some thoughts from his new book, How to Inhabit Time, about how we as Christians can better work for cultural renewal when we understand our past, present and future.

How to Inhabit Time

An interview James K.A. Smith | How to Inhabit Time

Many of us long to make an impact in culture. In this talk Andy Crouch shares that cultural change for good often happens over a long period of time, and that sometimes God uses us to have a long lasting effect, rather than a short moment of impact.

Impact and Effect

Andy Crouch | Impact and Effect

Writer and comedian Paul Karensa talks to David Stroud about the opportunities and challenges of speaking to millions on prime time radio about the things that matter most.

Impact through Comedy

Paul Karensa: Impact through Comedy

When faced with the task of renewing culture and leading others to do the same, we can often feel that we’re not good enough, not qualified enough, or that we simply don’t know what we are doing!  In this talk, Will Van Der Hart calls this Imposter Syndrome, and shares what it is, where it comes from, and how we can overcome it through knowing our identity in God.

Imposter Syndrome

Will Van Der Hart

Andy Tilsley interviews Davina Belcher, who is Headteacher of a South London school. She shares her vision to see every young person know their worth and value, be free from the affects of violence and gang culture, and reach their full potential.

Investing in Younger Generations

Davina Belcher, Headteacher

Activist and lawyer Alexander McLean shares on his work as founder and CEO of Justice Defenders (formerly African Prisons Project), and the need for compassion and service in order to effect change at a systemic level.

More Resrouces

Justice Defenders

Alexander McLean: Justice Defenders

In this interview, Christo Greyling talks to David Stroud about his experience of living with haemophilia and being HIV positive, and how he has known Jesus walking with him through it all.

Living with HIV

Christo Greyling | Living with HIV

Philosopher and author James K.A. Smith outlines the dangers of giving our trust, and ultimately our worship, to things that cannot bring us true fulfilment, such as money, social media and the approval of others. Drawing from the philosophy of Augustine he reminds us that, “As creatures of infinite desires we need to find something infinite to love.” Chasing fleeting passions creates in us as a restlessness that can only be stilled by the giver of rest, available to all of us through the gospel of Jesus.

Looking for Joy in all the Wrong Places

James K. A. Smith | The Search for Joy in a Secular Age

Daniel Kim and Sam Mabley, Co-founders of the sustainable clothing brand Yes Friends, talk to Andy Tilsley about the problems with the modern fashion industry, and their mission to make ethical clothing affordable for all.

Make Ethical Affordable

Yes Friends

Spoken word artist Harry Baker performs 'Maybe', his original poem.

Maybe

Harry Baker: Poetry as power - Maybe

Poet and rapper, Joshua Luke Smith performs an original spoken word poem asking God to break our hearts and to be desperate, once again, for Jesus. 

On Lament

On Lament- Joshua Luke Smith

I’ve found the last couple of months pretty confusing. I was disorientated by the speed of change as the country went into lockdown, sad for the loss of ministry opportunities that were being cancelled and unable to see the future clearly. I was sick too, having developed COVID-19 symptoms which lasted for six weeks. 

I’ve found the last couple of months pretty confusing. I was disorientated by the speed of change as the country went into lockdown, sad for the loss of ministry opportunities that were being cancelled and unable to see the future clearly. I was sick too, having developed COVID-19 symptoms which lasted for six weeks. 

As my head has cleared, many people are arguing that life is unlikely to go back to the way it was before the pandemic. Conceivably we are at one of those watershed times when life will never be quite the same again. 

I have found myself asking, “How should we respond? Who can we learn from? Which followers of Jesus have made a real contribution to society at moments of great change like this before?” 

A group of ancient men and women kept coming to mind. A group who were said to have saved civilisation many centuries previously and who might prove to be models for us right now to make a contribution in our time. They were Irish monks. 

A bit of background may be helpful: by the start of the 6th century, Europe was in a mess. The Roman Empire had fallen and Germanic tribes were roaming across the continent, burning cities and destroying libraries as they went. They had little interest in literacy or the ideas that the finest Roman minds gave us, which we still benefit from today. Whether it was architecture, political theory, mathematics or the Latin Bible, they were in danger of being lost forever to those who neither understood nor cared for their enduring insights. 

That they survived, is largely down to Irish Christians and those who fled to join them from across the former empire. These men and women embraced habits which ultimately made them a major force for renewal across Europe for several centuries, eventually making a significant contribution to the shape of the mighty Holy Roman Empire that began to emerge under Charlemagne.

What were these habits and how can we adopt them today? 

They gave themselves to prayer.

Patrick and other Irish Christian leaders, inspired by the early desert fathers, would seek secluded places where they could combine prayer, the reading of scripture and often fasting as they sought God. They became known for a deep spirituality that was borne out of these times which were transformative for many and were often combined with visions and other powerful experiences of God’s presence. 

They would pray for themselves and for pagan Ireland which was in the grip of warring tribes and Celtic druids. The results were remarkable, and within Patrick’s lifetime over 20% of Ireland’s tribes became substantially Christian, many monastic communities were started and many priests ordained.

As people found faith, the ideas at the heart of the Christian faith started to affect broader society. Ireland became a more peaceful and just place as warlords stopped fighting and slave raids became a thing of the past. 

I find the Irish Christians’ thirst for God inspirational. It is something for us to imitate.

We must pray for ourselves, just as they did: that we will become courageous, deeply spiritual leaders who care about our world. And we must pray for our world too: reports of one in four adults attending church online since the start of lockdown should provide added impetus to pray for a spiritual awakening across our nation with deep and lasting societal change, just as Patrick saw. 

They gave themselves to acts of cultural renewal.

In 6th century Europe books were a priceless commodity. The invention of the printing press was almost a millennia away and the largest libraries might have a few hundred books in them. The only way of producing more was to copy existing ones which was a highly skilful and patient craft that took many hundreds of hours to complete.

As books were destroyed right across Europe, scholars fled, bringing their scrolls and books with them, and it was the Irish monks who gave themselves to the long, demanding process of replication. The reality is that without their action we would, most likely, be without any knowledge of the Roman age and the wisdom they developed, to say nothing of the Latin scriptures or the work of the early church fathers.

It would be wonderful to think that there could be a renaissance of creativity that comes out of this current crisis. Of the arts? Absolutely. But also, importantly, of fresh solutions to the many challenges that the Coronavirus will leave in its wake. 

They made an incalculable contribution to the cultures of Europe.

In the generations following Patrick’s death, warrior princes like Columba turned down the leadership of their tribe in order to follow God’s call to brave the stormy waters of the Atlantic in their flat-bottomed coracles and sail to Scotland, England and the continent. 

Wherever they found themselves, they gave themselves to the same things they had done in Ireland. They prayed, shared their faith, served the local communities and gave themselves to the long hours required for creative cultural renewal. 

Columba’s strategy was simple: every time more than 150 people gathered he would start another monastic community, ending up with 41 monasteries along the west coast of Scotland from his base on Iona. 

Later, another Irish monk, Columbanus, inspired by the words of Jesus to put aside his love of home and family to follow God’s call, made his way to the continent where he founded communities in what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Italy. Along the way he learned a dozen or more languages and launched a significant Christian movement. 

At a time of great change and considerable danger for the cultures of Europe these Irish monks kept sharing their faith, copying books, teaching literacy and showing people that the message of Jesus Christ really is good news.  Their influence on continental Europe was "incalculable".

As the new, post-pandemic world becomes clear, there will be a great opportunity for followers of Jesus to lead the way and, strengthened by faith and prayer, to make a huge contribution to the needs of a world that has been shaken to its core: let’s be ready to grasp the opportunity with both hands. 

Opportunities to Contribute in the Post-Pandemic World

Philippa Stroud has a conversation with Ioannis Dekas, Vanessa Morse, and Lord James Bethell about the importance of protecting children from explicit content online and their experience campaigning for change to be implemented.

Politics as a Force for Good

Politics as a Force for Good – Panel (Ioannis Dekas, Vanessa Morse, and Lord James Bethell)

Artist Hannah Rose Thomas shares her experience meeting women survivors of violence from across the world and how she uses traditional methods of art as a way to pray for them and depict their stories.

Prayers Through Art

Prayers Through Art – Interview (Hannah Rose Thomas)

Many thought leaders make predictions about the future of our culture, but as Christians we rely on the promises of God. In this talk Andy Crouch shares some of the promises that we can hold onto as we seek to bring renewal to God's world.

Prediction and Promise

Andy Crouch | Prediction and Promise

Aimyleen Gabriel shares some of the work World Vision are doing to protect vulnerable children around the world, and how we can pray for renewal and restoration so that every child has a bright future.

Protecting Children’s Futures

World Vision - Aimyleen Gabriel

Lord James Bethell talks about how a traumatic incident in his childhood has given him the resolve and resilience to ensure measures are put in place to protect vulnerable children from explicit online content.

Protecting Vulnerable Children

Protecting Vulnerable Children – Interview (Lord James Bethell)

The Race Equality Commission was established to identify the changes needed to make racial equality a lived experience in the UK. Izzy Obeng, Nims Obunge and Philippa Stroud talk to Andy Tilsley about their experiences working towards this vision.

Race Equality Commission

Philippa Stroud interviews Sam Lawson Johnson, Director of LJ Partnership, about how he sees property development as a way to rebuild ancient ruins.

Rebuilding Ancient Ruins

Rebuilding Ancient Ruins | Interview with Sam Lawson Johnson, Director of LJ Partnership

John Kirkby is founder of debt advice charity Christians Agains Poverty, and in this talk he shares some of the ways God has led him on a journey of faith, and the important of relying on God's word to guide us in all we do.

Relying on God’s Word

John Kirkby

David Akinlyui shares his experiences as captain of the Nigerian Rugby team, and reflects on bringing renewal to the world of sport through the highs and lows of his rugby career.

Renewal and Rugby

The Road to Excellence | Interview with David Akinlyui, ex-captain of Nigerian Rugby Team

Sir Paul Coleridge talks to Philippa Stroud about his work with the Marriage Foundation, a charity that seeks to restore the value of marriage in society, in order to improve the lives of families and children, and ultimately build stronger and more stable communities.

Restoring the Value of Marriage

Sir Paul Coleridge

Christian Guy, CEO of Justice and Care, shares powerful stories of redemption from their work rescuing victims of sex trafficking and slavery, and reminds us why the church is the hope of the world.

Setting Captives Free

Christian Guy, CEO of Justice and Care | The church - the hope of the world

Creative expression is one of the ways we bear the image of God as His people. Spoken word artist Joshua Luke Smith performs his original poem.

Spoken Word

Joshua Luke Smith | Spoken Word

Founder and executive chairman of The Entertainer toy retailer Gary Grant speaks about God’s faithfulness during the pandemic and the rising cost of living, as Gary persisted in his generosity, continuing to give money ensuring his community could be fed.

Staying Generous

Staying Generous – Interview (Gary Grant)

Is strategy needed for cultural renewal? In his second keynote talk, Andy Crouch shares that if want to see the world as Jesus does, we need to see it through the eyes of an artist, rather than a strategist.

Strategists and Artists

Andy Crouch | Strategists and Artists

British-Australian Soprano Samantha Crawford and CEO of Hope for Justice Tim Nelson talk about how The Arts can be utilised as a gateway to help people understand the more challenging areas of life and take action to make a difference.

The Arts as a Force for Good

The Arts as a Force for Good – Panel Discussion (Samantha Crawford and Tim Nelson)

Co-founder of Everything and Founding Pastor of Christ Church London David Stroud introduces the theme of “The Call to Renewal” at the Everything Conference 2024, inspiring us to listen for and respond to God’s call in our lives.

The Call to Renewal

The Call to Renewal – Talk (David Stroud)

Author and church leader Mark Sayers shares with LICC CEO Paul Wooley some thoughts from his new book, A non-anxious presence: How a Changing and Complex World will Create a Remnant of Renewed Christian Leaders.

The Grey Zone

An Evening with Mark Sayers

CEO of London Institute of Contemporary Christianity, Paul Woolley speaks about truly engaging with Scripture and the implications of its teachings on our lives and on society. We also hear an excerpt from William Wilberforce’s diaries read by actor Joseph Mawle.

The Important Role of the Bible

The Important Role of the Bible - Paul Woolley

As we emerge out of lockdown, there is going to be more pain in this nation than we have experienced for a very long time. And there’s going to be a lot less resource to meet that pain than there would normally be. And this mixture is going to present the church with the opportunity of a lifetime to serve this nation and make a genuine difference in people’s lives.

They say it is foolish to try and predict the future but I am going to try.

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