Very occasionally one individual can have a disproportionately powerful impact on a collection of people, but very rarely does that person’s impact grow in time and reach, and expand beyond anyone’s expectations and for millions, be responsible for enhancing their lives.

In this episode we explore a slightly different realm: religion. Our guest, the Reverend Nicky Gumbel, talks of his own odyssey from barrister to clergyman, before widening both awareness and access to Christianity to those outside the church via the Alpha Course.

Alpha - a term which we usually employ in a very different context on the podcast - effectively rebranded and modernised Christianity for a new generation in the 1990s, with tens of thousands of courses being run by the end of the decade. The programme has now been translated into 112 different languages, and 30 million people have taken part.

In this interview he explains his own pivot to faith, how he was asked to take charge of the Alpha Course development, and in the subsequent years how its reach was extended globally.

He explains how he built it into a global brand, how charismatic leadership can be relevant to all fields, the changing relationship between faith and secularism, the role of religion for prisoner rehabilitation, as well as thoughts on morality, money and giving!

Subscribe to stay up to date with our range of fascinating interviews, featuring some of the biggest names in global finance and business!

TOPICS:
00:00 - Introduction
01:40 - Nicky’s Background
06:50 - Education & Finding Faith
17:04 - The Pursuit of Alpha
22:26 - What Drew People to the Course
24:07 - Western Secularism & Potential Impact
26:44 - Why the Alpha Course Appeals to Multiple Churches
29:58 - Leadership & Approachability
35:00 - Building a Brand
36:41 - Generational Discrepancies
40:07 - Morality & Giving
44:31 - Marriage & Spousal Influence
46:17 - Individual Impacts of Alpha
57:17 - Dealing with Setbacks
1:00:47 - Concluding Thoughts

SPONSORS:
- Schroders is a global investment and wealth manager, with a purpose to provide excellent investment performance to clients, through active investment management. Find out more: https://www.schroders.com/en/global/i...

- Bremont is an award winning British company that produces beautifully engineered chronometers, designed to appeal to those who share the passion and appreciation of the innovation and mastery behind a beautiful mechanical wristwatch. Find out more: https://www.bremont.com/

- IFM Investors are a global institutional asset manager whose purpose is to invest, protect and grow the long term retirement savings of working people. They manage investments across infrastructure, debt, listed equities and private equity assets. Find out more: https://ifminvestors.com/en-gb/

STAY UP TO DATE
✅ Newsletter: https://www.moneymazepodcast.com/subs...
✅ LinkedIn:   / the-money-maze-podcast  
✅ X/Twitter:   / podcast_maze  

LISTEN:
🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast...
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uT0iw8...

DISCLAIMER
All content on the Money Maze Podcast is for your general information and use only and is not intended to address your particular requirements. In particular, the content does not constitute any form of advice, recommendation, representation, endorsement or arrangement and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making (or refraining from making) any specific investment or other decisions. Guests and presenters may have positions in any of the investments discussed. The Money Maze Podcast is funded by third party advertising. Money Maze Curated Podcasts do not contain third party advertising, and are instead funded by the featured interviewee and/or their business.