As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to either:
Work for the Forestry Commission
Be a junior school teacher
Become a professional sailor.
Ah well... none out of three's not bad!

How did you get involved in education?

I was the Youth Minister for a large parish in 'Real Cheltenham,' who actively encouraged, supported and liberated me to be a strategic part of the significant schools network in the area. Here I discovered the joy of being expected to represent Christ as I was the God bloke. The opportunity to live truth and love in our local schools is massive...get in there!

Who has been the biggest influence in your work?

My Grandfather - Henry Hole. Christ flowed through his veins.
Brother Lawrence - Life as worship.
Paul Harris - Gave me room to dream.

What would you do with a million quid?

If you're offering, I can show you the formal business plan!
Complete God's vision for The Rock, a radical youth context I am developing in a beautiful 18th century church in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. Giving access to cutting edge facilities including live music venue, recording studios, video editing suite, skate park and street sports venue.
Why? To demonstrate the love of Christ through all things and expand our concepts of 'what is worship?'

What is your greatest fear and your greatest hope?

There are 2 things that really scare me: to be blind and not be able to soak up the incredible visual feast that is our world and to stop dreaming impossible dreams.
My greatest hope? Salvation...and that's assured.

What's the first thing you would do if you ruled the Department for Children, Schools and Families for a day?

Declare a full DCSF national holiday, transport them 1st to the beach to dip their toes in the sea and refresh the life within them and then take them on a tour of the incredibly diverse and powerful 3rd sector provision led by the people of God.

What's the one thing you couldn't live without?

True love - lived out in salvation, lived through my incredible wife & son, invested in me by my church family and friends.

What living person do you most admire, and why?

A couple actually - Ron & Ruth Berger, my heroes of the faith.
Ron & Ruth are a gentle part of International Youth for Christ. They have given their lives to it and serve all over the world encouraging missionaries and serving their families.
Why? They truly know God, make Him known amongst the nations and genuinely live by faith. They challenge and inspire me to greater things in God. They are extraordinary - ordinary people.

What do you consider your greatest achievement so far?

Firstly, this may sound sickly sweet, but it's True. Any achievements are those worked out in me by God. Greatest Achievement? Knowing my place. Oh yeah, The Rock's looking pretty exciting too!

What are the best and worst things about working in education?

The Best - Living life with young people, gloriously messy, stunningly creative, ruthlessly honest (at times!), young people and the privilege of living Christ in that community.
Worst - Prejudices against faith, Christ, identity, worth and a structure that just doesn't fit everyone.

What Christian story or biblical text motivates you in your work?

I love biblical characters who are plucked from obscurity for a moment and then return to their Godly lives and we hear little or nothing more of them, Zebedee for example. In the vastness of eternity, its real life lived.
Psalm 62 is a real source of succour.

Martin Luther King Jr had a dream for society. What is yours?

Abundant Christ-fuelled Joy for all people.

What is the main hindrance to living the dream?

Confusing temporal happiness with eternal Joy.

What is your greatest extravagance?

Prestat Chocolate, hhmmm Prestat.

What single thing would most improve the education sector?

A real and meaningful relationship with Christian (faith) provision and more discussion and understanding on what they mean by 'Holistic.' I know what I mean by it.

What would 'wellbeing' in children's lives look like 10 years from now?

Young people will feel more 'complete' and less 'lost' as a result of the government embracing true emotional / spiritual wellbeing and growth by partnering with the church in the delivery of its work.

Tell us a joke.

A man dies and goes to heaven, Jesus meets him. They walk along a beach and watch all the memories of the man's life. Most of the time there are 2 sets of footprints in the sand. During the hardest times of the man's life there is only one set of footprints. The man asks: "Why did you abandon me in my greatest time of need?"
Jesus says, "Oh my precious, precious child, amid that hardship and pain and all the turmoil you went through, at those times.... we was hoppin!"