Update   https://www.briansnellgrove.net/2026/10/10/christians-in-media-the-day-after/

Reports will appear here below as I complete them; I will present each session on an individual basis

Voices from the Conference – Talks, Testimonies and Reflections.” Links: 

Sam Jackson  BBC
Sam Hailes, Editor, Christianity Magazine
Paul Woolley, Chief Exec. LICC
Justin Brierley – the lost art of conversation
Mimi Chan – I was not able to collect an accurate version (communication problems)
Andy Flannagan – seranaded us with wonderfully inspirational songs
Rev Ruth Bushyager – At her request, no report of her contribution has been published

James 1:22: ‘But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

Discussion:  Yes. James is making a very practical point: hearing or understanding spiritual truth is not enough. It has to change the way we live.

The image of the mirror is particularly powerful. When we hear the Word of God, James says it is rather like looking into a mirror. It shows us something about ourselves — perhaps selfishness, pride, fear, lack of forgiveness, or something we ought to be doing. If we recognise it but then carry on exactly as before, it is like looking at our face in a mirror, walking away and immediately forgetting what we saw.

When James says “be doers of the word”, he therefore means put what you have heard into practice. If Jesus teaches compassion, practise compassion. If we recognise an injustice, do what is within our power to address it. If we feel called to encourage somebody, actually contact them rather than merely thinking that it would be a good thing to do.

The interesting phrase is “the perfect law of liberty.” At first, law and liberty can sound contradictory. But James’s point is that God’s way is not intended to imprison us. Living according to it frees us from being dominated by selfishness, resentment, fear and other forces that can control us. The person who persists in that way of life rather than merely admiring it will, James says, be “blessed in what he does.”

There is also a warning in “deceiving your own selves.” It is quite possible to listen to sermons, read Scripture, discuss Christianity and know a great deal about it while mistaking all that activity for actually living it. James is saying that Christianity is demonstrated in conduct, not merely accumulated as knowledge.

In very simple terms, I would paraphrase the passage as:

Don’t merely listen to the truth and agree with it. Let what you have heard alter what you actually do.

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Christians in Media is holding a conference in West London this coming Friday, 9th October, which I have booked to attend. It will mean a 6 a.m. start and a drive from Somerset, but I have a feeling it will be worth the effort.

I intend to make a transcript of the conference and make it freely available afterwards on this site to anyone who would like a copy. While thinking about this, another idea popped into my mind — as ideas have a habit of doing when you are not particularly looking for them.

Wouldn’t it be interesting to produce a book of testimonies from Christians who have stood up publicly for their faith, particularly when doing so has involved some personal or professional risk? I would like to hear what happened to them, what gave them the courage to speak out, what opposition they encountered and, perhaps most importantly, whether they succeeded in making their point.

There must be some remarkable stories out there. See the draft image below. Just a first suggestion.

Such a book could also become a useful fundraising venture, with the proceeds supporting the work of Christians in Media or another agreed cause. I shall float the idea at the conference and see how it is received.

I hope it will be welcomed, although experience has taught me not to assume that a good idea will necessarily be greeted with open arms. In producing my two village books, I discovered something rather curious about human nature: people can sometimes become suspicious when you offer to do something for nothing. They naturally wonder what the catch is or what you hope to gain from it.

Sometimes, of course, there isn’t a catch. You see something worthwhile that could be done, you have the ability and enthusiasm to do it, and so you offer.

We shall see what happens. I did write to the organiser and was told that ‘we will be collecting testimonies on the day and after in partnership with Eternal Wall. See this site and see what you think. It was not the testimony that I had in mind but seems like a box-ticking exercise to me. 

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WOULD YOU LIKE TO GIVE A TESTIMONY OF YOUR
STANDING UP TO YOUR CHRISTIAN FAITH? 
If so,  write to me brian@pobox.com or call 07809 245311

St Paul giving his testimony before King Agrippa in Acts 26. Paul is effectively standing before the establishment and publicly explaining his conversion and faith in Jesus — knowing that what he says may have serious consequences for him personally. Yet he does not dilute his account to make it more acceptable.

He simply tells Agrippa what happened to him: how he had once persecuted the followers of Jesus, how his life was dramatically changed on the road to Damascus, and how that experience gave him an entirely new direction and purpose.

What strikes me is that Paul is not merely arguing a theological case; he is giving testimony from personal experience. There is a considerable difference between saying, “This is what you ought to believe” and saying, “This is what happened to me, and this is how it changed my life.” The latter is much harder to dismiss. Agrippa may accept or reject Paul’s interpretation, but he cannot take Paul’s experience away from him.

Perhaps there is a lesson here for Christians working in today’s media. We live in a world of competing opinions, arguments and increasingly entrenched positions. Another argument may simply produce another counterargument. But an honest personal testimony can sometimes cross barriers that debate cannot. The challenge is to have the courage to speak when the opportunity arises — calmly, respectfully and without embarrassment — and then allow others the freedom to decide what they make of it.

Please note this is the download of inspiration that I received on Tuesday 6th October 2026. I always get a complete package at one go. The idea has not been approved by anyone.