How do we lead our churches through global instability? How should we respond to Philip Yancy's affair? What can we learn from an FA Cup upset?

In this episode of In:Dependence, Phil Topham (FIEC Executive Director), John Stevens (FIEC National Director), and Adrian Reynolds (FIEC Associate National Director) discuss news over the past few weeks and how they can teach us about church leadership.

Show notes

• Journeys (fiec.org.uk)
• Rising Lights (fiec.org.uk)
• Why are there protests in Iran and what has Trump said about US action? (bbc.co.uk)
• Trump latest: US will 'do something' on Greenland 'whether they like it or not,' says president (news.sky.com)
• ‘I don’t need international law’: Trump says power constrained only by ‘my own morality’ (theguardian.com)
• Philip Yancey confesses to affair, retires from ministry (premierchristian.news)
• Bolton stun 1992 FA Cup holders Liverpool 2-0 | Goals & Highlights (youtube.com)
• Macclesfield poised for FA Cup fourth round draw after major giant-killing (independent.co.uk)

About In:Dependence: In:Dependence is FIEC’s official podcast, where you’ll hear conversations on topics for church leaders.

About FIEC: We are ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠a fellowship of Independent churches⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ.

00:00 - FIEC news

07:44 - Leading in global instability

12:45 - Gospel movement in and from Iran

15:06 - The language and leadership of Donald Trump

21:01 - Philip Yancy's affair and disqualification from ministry

26:25 - FA Cup revitalisations and giant killings

2025 has seen encouragement and growth in the church in the midst of division and polarisation across the culture.

As the year comes to an end, Adrian Reynolds (Associate National Director) and John Stevens (National Director) look back at the big picture of 2025 and the themes that have impacted church leadership during the past 12 months.

Show notes

• The Quiet Revival: Gen Z leads rise in church attendance (biblesociety.org.uk)
• The Quiet Revival: Growth in the UK Church (fiec.org.uk)
• Sarah Mullally: A calm voice & firm hand, but not an evangelical (e-n.org.uk)
• God's Mission, Mobile World (Leaders' Conference 2025) (fiec.org.uk)

About In:Dependence: In:Dependence is FIEC’s official podcast, where you’ll hear conversations on topics for church leaders.

About FIEC: We are ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠a fellowship of Independent churches⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ.

00:00 - Introduction

01:15 - "The Quiet Revival" and growth in churches

11:22 - Responding to "The Quiet Revival"

21:19 - A fractured world full of polarisation

27:58 - Unity in evangelicalism

33:50 - FIEC serving churches in 2025

What should we make of the terror attack in Australia? Do we need to put Christ back into Christmas? What can we learn from losing a cricket match?

In this episode of In:Dependence, Phil Topham (FIEC Executive Director), John Stevens (FIEC National Director), and Adrian Reynolds (FIEC Associate National Director) discuss stories in the news and how they relate to church leadership.

Show notes

• Visual explainer: how a night of terror unfolded in Bondi (theguardian.com)
• Civilisational erasure is real, but Trump is part of the problem (telegraph.co.uk)
• Tommy Robinson holds London carol service with around 1,000 punters (metro.co.uk)
• The Ashes 2025: What is Bazball? (bbc.co.uk)

About In:Dependence: In:Dependence is FIEC’s official podcast, where you’ll hear conversations on topics for church leaders.

About FIEC: We are ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠a fellowship of Independent churches⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ.

00:00 - Different experiences at Christmas time

02:35 - Anti-semitic terror attack in Australia

12:15 - Is Europe facing civilisational erasure?

21:17 - Putting Christ back into Christmas

28:54 - Losing the Ashes and contextualisation

What lessons are there to learn from the Covid-19 inquiry? How can bias in the media help us in church ministry? Is the UK becoming more secular?

In this episode, Phil Topham (Executive Director), Adrian Reynolds (Associate National Director), and John Stevens (National Director), discuss stories in the news from the past few weeks.

Show notes

• FIEC Leaders' Conference 2026 (fiec.org.uk)
• The Street Preacher’s Charter (christian.org.uk)
• Rising Lights 2026 (fiec.org.uk)
• Journeys 2026 (fiec.org.uk)
• COVID-19 report goes a long way to answering inquiry's critics (news.sky.com)
• What to Know About the Turmoil at the BBC (nytimes.com)
• Supreme Court rules Christian-focused RE taught in NI schools is unlawful (bbc.co.uk)

About In:Dependence: In:Dependence is FIEC’s official podcast, where you’ll hear conversations on topics for church leaders.

About FIEC: We are ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠a fellowship of Independent churches⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ.

00:00 - FIEC Leaders' Conference

07:32 - Lessons from the Covid-19 inquiry

19:02 - BBC bias, media trust, and corporate responsibility

27:56 - Religious education in Northern Ireland

34:35 - An Ashes winter

Christmas carols continue to be popular across Western culture. How can we make the most of music at Christmas to build up the church and to reach out to others?

In this episode of In:Dependence, Adrian Reynolds (FIEC Associate National Director) is joined by Phil Moore (Cornerstone Church, Nottingham) and Keith Getty (hymn writer and musician) to explore why Christmas carols are so popular, how to prepare to sing at Christmas time, and which carols to choose.

About In:Dependence: In:Dependence is FIEC’s official podcast, where you’ll hear conversations on topics for church leaders.

About FIEC: We are ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠a fellowship of Independent churches⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ.

00:00 - Introduction

04:46 - Why is music at Christmas so popular?

10:16 - How do you choose which carols to sing?

15:41 - Go-to Christmas carols

18:32 - Preparing the congregation to sing

22:32 - Singing carols with children and families

28:16 - Christmas music in smaller churches

How can we pastor people with polarising opinions on immigration? Can we pray with Catholics? How should we care for those in later life?

In this episode of In:Dependence, Phil Topham (FIEC Executive Director), John Stevens (FIEC National Director), and Adrian Reynolds (FIEC Associate National Director) discuss stories in the news over the past few weeks and what we can learn from them for church leadership.

About In:Dependence: In:Dependence is FIEC’s official podcast, where you’ll hear conversations on topics for church leaders.

About FIEC: We are ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠a fellowship of Independent churches⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ.

00:00 - FIEC update

06:29 - Immigration and polarising opinions

18:53 - King Charles, the Pope, and Protestantism

28:44 - Prunella Scales and care in later life

Our fund raising campaign at the 2025 Leaders' Conference will be for a specific Bible translation project in Africa.

In this episode of In:Dependence, Adrian Reynolds (FIEC Associate National Director) is joined by Martin Dixon, the Director for Churches at Wycliffe Bible Translators, to talk about the work of Bible translation across the world and a particular project that we will be collecting donations for at this year's Leaders' Conference.

Please note: We initially understood the £70k target would allow the project to be completed, but now understand that, while it would enable substantial progress, it would not complete the project. We're sorry for any misrepresentation or confusion.

Show notes

• 2025 FIEC Leaders' Conference (booking deadline Friday 31 October) (fiec.org.uk)
• Wycliffe Bible Translators (wycliffe.org.uk)

About In:Dependence: In:Dependence is FIEC’s official podcast, where you’ll hear conversations on topics for church leaders.

About FIEC: We are ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠a fellowship of Independent churches⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ.

00:00 - Introduction

00:42 - Wycliffe Bible Translators and the need for translation

04:12 - Raising funds for Bible translation at the Leaders' Conference

10:00 - How Bible translation leads to church planting and more

There are four million people in the UK who say they are followers of Islam. In our rapidly changing communities, how can we reach out to Muslim people with the gospel?

Muslim people make up 6% of the UK population (as of 2021), which increase to 15% within London.

Reflecting on their experiences in church ministry, Adrian Reynolds (FIEC Associate National Director), Dan Strange (Director of Crosslands Forum), and Rob Scott (pastor, Asha London), discuss the complexities of engaging with Muslim people and how churches can hold out the hope of the gospel to them.

Show notes

• Sharing the Gospel with a Muslim Neighbour, Robert Scott (uk.10ofthose.com)
• For Their Rock is not as Our Rock: An Evangelical Theology Of Religions, Daniel Strange (ivpbooks.com)

About In:Dependence: In:Dependence is FIEC’s official podcast, where you’ll hear conversations on topics for church leaders.

About FIEC: We are ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠a fellowship of Independent churches⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ with members of the family across England, Scotland and Wales. Our mission is to see those Independent churches working together with a big vision: to reach Britain for Christ.

00:00 - Introduction

04:31 - The growth of the UK Muslim population

08:54 - True faith and false faith

13:32 - Diversity within Islam

18:30 - Making a start in reaching Muslims

22:23 - Touchstone issues for Muslims

26:25 - Exploring more at the FIEC Leaders' Conference