Charles Gardner is a South African-born journalist and volunteer with CMJ (Church’s Ministry among Jewish people) living in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, and married to Linda, who teaches Christianity in primary schools.
- How did you become a Christian?
I was staying with my Jewish grandmother in north London when a friend from university athletics days in South Africa shared how Jesus had come to give us life in all its fullness.
I had become aware of a lack of direction or purpose, especially after failing to finish a marathon for the first and only time! Brian Jackson, a top athlete who was training for the Anglican ministry at Oxford, encouraged me to invite Jesus into my life and insisted I attend the evening service at All Souls Langham Place, the next day. I never looked back. - What lessons have you learnt since that you would want to pass on to a younger Christian version of yourself?
Though I understood perseverance as a marathon runner, it took me a long time to learn patience, along with the importance of faithfully waiting for answered prayer, and for ordinary things like buses. - How would you describe your prayer life?
Though I find myself communicating with the Lord on an almost continual basis as my absolute dependence on Him grows deeper, disciplined prayer times come in fits and starts. - Which two or three Christian books apart from the Bible have most influenced your faith?
Appointment in Jerusalem by Derek and Lydia Prince and R.T. Kendall’s God Meant it for Good (re-released as Total Forgiveness), both published by Kingsway. Both helped cement my calling to the Jews. - Who or what have been your biggest Christian influences?
The profound teaching of John Stott, our beloved pastor at All Souls, along with the leader of his ‘nursery class’ for new believers, Helen McIntosh, who always referred to herself as a ‘completed Jew’. It was through a sermon Stott preached on being salt in the world that I felt God’s call into journalism. - What are the main challenges you believe Christians face today?
Staying true to the gospel in the face of growing antagonism from the liberal left’s unholy alliance with jihadism sweeping across the West like a tidal wave; and standing with the Jewish people as they face the potential of another Holocaust. The alternative is to cave in to antisemitic pressure by remaining silent, as the German church of the 1930s did to its shame. - What encourages and what discourages you?
I love inspiring testimonies, which is why I founded the New Life evangelistic tabloid 43 years ago. I am discouraged by indifference to what I perceive as vital issues. - What makes you laugh?
Only Fools and Horses and other great comedians like Morecambe and Wise. I love a good joke but am hopeless at telling them, though having a beer with friends is usually a recipe for much laughter. - What would you want to say to the wider evangelical world?
Avoid being straitjacketed by a totally inflexible doctrinal position for which you believe there is no possibility of error. Be always open to guidance from the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth. Avoid being a know-it-all and don’t put Christian “celebrities” on a pedestal; they are not the final arbiter of faith. That honour belongs to God’s Word. - Which Biblical person (other than Jesus) do you most look forward to meeting in glory and why?
The prophet Isaiah. It must have been so hard to have been called to proclaim the gospel with no prospect of being taken seriously. “Who has believed our report?” (Isa.53) he lamented. As a journalist, I can identify with that. But thanks to him (and others), we can rejoice at the glorious outcome of what he prophesied. The Lord has often used Isaiah to encourage me and even call me to proclaim good news to Zion, telling them that their God reigns (Isa. 52v7)!
