Author Interview

Adrian Holloway took time out after a busy trip to the USA to talk to us about the book and how he first got the shock of his life...

The Facts
Age
31
Job
Evangelist
Family
Married to Julia, daughter Esther (10 months)
Football Team
Fulham
Most Memorable Book Read
Two volume biography of George Whitefield (1714-1770) by Arnold Dallimore

You were a successful sports journalist, working with the BBC, meeting household names. Why give up that influential role to work for the church?

Good question! In a nutshell, I used to tell people about football, now I tell people about Christ! I mean, when I was a TV presenter, I told my mates about God’s love whenever I could, but I was actually being paid to tell the public about goals and groin strains! And that took up most of my time! In the end, I believe God called me to spend all my time telling people about Jesus instead. So I quit.

Actually it’s often a talking point now when I go into schools. It challenges people that I gave up a fairly hip job to tell people about Jesus. It seems to add credibility to the message.

How did you discover Jesus?

Two friends invited about 20 of us to their church. We went out of curiosity one Sunday evening. I was taken aback by the enthusiasm of the worship. It wasn’t what I was expecting. I found it all hard to dismiss and began asking questions and exploring for myself. Next I read a bit of the Bible (thinking how sad I was!) and was surprised by what a strong character Jesus was.

About nine months later, a woman stood up in this same church (about 250 people) saying she had a message from God for someone there and that she knew who it was for. She then described details about my life she couldn’t have known. She said God was calling this young man to live his life for God. She then pointed to me and said "It’s you!" To this day, people who were there, come up to me and talk to me about it. At the time I just had a sense that God knew all about me, and had called me out in public! That night I was born again!

A book about hell and judgement is quite a bold step. Why did you grasp the nettle and go for it?

Because so many people are in for the shock of their lives! When they die, so many people will be shocked to find out that they are really being judged on Judgement Day by Jesus Christ! We warn children away from danger, and it’s common sense to warn people of what’s coming round the corner when they die. Love doesn’t keep quiet, love warns!

What do you hope the book achieves?

Time will tell! At the moment, I’m getting emails, letters and phone calls from people almost every day saying the book’s challenged them to think about God, eternity, and what they’re doing with their lives. Many have said that they’ve started reading the Bible for themselves, and that’s what I really wanted.

Why use a story?

Because people relate to stories. Think about EastEnders or Big Brother. They’re stories! They get people interested in the subject matter. My subject matter is the Bible, and I’m using stories to get people interested in it. So in the preface to the book, I say that if you’re more likely to fly to the moon than read the Bible then "the shock of your life" is aimed at you!

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