Manor Park Evangelical Church|Serving Christ and the Community in St. John's

I was born in 1960, in Pakistan, to missionary parents. I have three sisters and two brothers, and am somewhere in the middle! I have many happy childhood memories of growing up near the Indian Ocean. I can remember watching turtles laying their eggs in the beach sands. I can remember taking wheelbarrows of newly hatched baby turtles down to the sea to prevent them from being eaten by wild dogs and crabs! Our family moved to England in 1972. Ever since 1992 I have been a pastor.

How did you become a Christian?

I was brought up in a Christian home, but that did not make me a Christian. I do not know exactly when I became a Christian, but as a child I believed. However, I remember my faith becoming strong when I was a physics student in Liverpool faced with many competing world-views. I spent a lot of time reading and became more and more convinced that Jesus Christ was the way to God.

I gather you trained as a scientist. Please tell us about that.

Yes, I spent ten years training and working as a scientist, specialising in a branch of physics called thermodynamics. Some of these years were spent in post-doctoral research. I enjoy science because it reveals something of the incredible mind and heart of the One who created all things. I believe, as the founders of science believed, that science glorifies God since it makes his mighty works known.

How did you become involved in church leadership?

It's a strange thing, but for a long time before I became a pastor, I somehow knew that God was calling me. That calling grew stronger and stronger and was confirmed by the leaders of my home church who encouraged me to begin studies. In 1989 I read Biblical studies at Sheffield University.

Some people would say that science and Christianity contradict each other. How would you answer them?

I'd love to sit down with them and explain in detail how the contradiction is a myth. Sadly it is propagated by well-known scientists such as Richard Dawkins who really should know better.

It's difficult to answer the question in a few words, but in brief I'd respond by drawing a distinction between the facts of science and the theories of science. The facts of science are beyond dispute and there are no known facts at odds with Christianity.

The theories of science, on the other hand, are the product of human imagination and are open to change with time. Theories often rely upon assumptions which cannot be proved. It is a few - and it is important to note that it is only a few - of these theories that conflict with Christianity.

So I'd say that a few theories of science which conflict with Christianity, but no facts of science conflict with Christianity.

One final question: What is your burning ambition in life?

My great ambition is to know Jesus Christ better and to live a life that is worthy of him. That isn't a pious or religious ambition. It means, in practice, being the best husband I can be to Yvonne. It means being the best father I can be to my four boys. It means trying to be the best Christian leader and example I can be at Manor Park Church.

None of these things are easy and all of them are impossible on my own. The secret lies in a day to day walk with Christ, listening to him speak to me through his word, the Bible, and speaking to him in prayer.

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