Iver Martin
1. How did you become a Christian?
I remember asking Jesus to be my Saviour when I was about 11 and professed my faith to the church when I was 14. These were important, decisive moments, but my whole life has been a learning experience of what it means to follow Jesus.
2. What lessons have you learnt since that you would want to pass on to a younger Christian version of yourself?
Don’t be half hearted in your devotion to Jesus. If you follow Him, then go for it. When you fall, get up again quickly, run back to Jesus and move on. Don’t get hung up on knowing what God’s ‘plan’ is for your life. Get involved in your church wholeheartedly and develop a regular churchgoing discipline. Be determined to get to grips with the Bible and how it shapes your life. Don’t assume you know why Jesus died – discover the riches of what the cross means.
3. How would you describe your prayer life?
I wish you hadn’t asked that! I also wish that my prayer life was better now than as a younger Christian, but it’s not. Every day I have to remind myself that prayer is hard work, a discipline which I rarely feel like. I need also to remind myself of the many people who depend on my praying for them.
4. Which two or three Christian books apart from the Bible have most influenced your faith?
Knowing God by J.I. Packer, The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, He is There and He is not Silent by Francis Schaeffer.
5. Who or what have been your biggest Christian influences?
Overall, the single most influential person was my mother, who set an example of how to live a life of obedience and faith. As a younger Christian I went through various phases, some of them not so healthy, and was sometimes influenced by the wrong voices. But somehow, God seemed to always play the long game, navigating me into healthier waters. Looking back, I’m especially thankful for the people God brought into my life at that crucial time between leaving school and starting Uni. These were ordinary people who gave support and encouragement, and above all, set an example of consistent living for Jesus.
6. What are the main challenges you believe Christians face today?
The sheer variety of technological distractions can easily take the place that God deserves in our consciousness, so it’s really important to develop a healthy discipline. On a wider scale, unless God changes things soon (and he could), Christians will probably feel more marginalised as their convictions fall even further out of step with a rampant progressive mindset. The challenge will be to take a diplomatic but clear stand for what we believe. We need to be prepared to count the cost, while continuing to love the people we come across.
7. What encourages and what discourages you?
I’m encouraged by the youthful energy and determination of young trainee pastors I know. Although churches are smaller than they might have been 50 years ago, there’s still a vibrancy in many of them which fills me with hope. I’m discouraged by a world around me that doesn’t want to talk about what’s really important.
8. What makes you laugh?
Trigger.
9. What would you want to say to the wider evangelical world?
Whatever your worship style, never be content with superficiality. Real lasting fulfilment comes from a deeper knowledge of God, which comes by careful study and hearing His word well preached.
10. Which Biblical person (other than Jesus) do you most look forward to meeting in glory and why?
Adam. After spoiling everything for the human race, I’d want to ask him why he is in Heaven. (But I know what he’d say.)
