James Talks turns 1 year old this week! And to celebrate, today we have a very special edition - Chloe & Taylor Turner, AKA Chasing Lovely, who were my first guests on James Talks, are interviewing me, James Prescott! And it's a combination of a total roasting, and some deep discussion on spirituality, creativity, calling and the issues I'm passionate about. There's some fun questions like random facts about me, embarrassing stories, celebrity crushes, my soul animal, and who I'd interview i...
Sep 27, 2016•1 hr 8 min
Today Kathy Escobar & Karl Wheeler of the Faith Curcus podcast join me to share their powerful, unique & inspiring story. They share about the challenges of starting a new type of faith community, dealing with issues of theological difference & the issues which confront the modern church today. Kathy & Karl talk about how their conversations and story evolved into a podcast called Faith Circus, a discussion on church & the modern Christian faith, and some new challenges they ...
Sep 21, 2016•57 min
David Mike, author & former solider, joins me today to share his challenging and inspiring story. David was a solider who became a drug addict and dealer, resulting in a term in prison. But whilst in prison he experienced the transforming love and grace of both family, and God, Today David shares how he came to be in prison, and the conflicts, challenges and emotions he experienced there. And he tells the incredible story of how a letter, and an experience of grace transformed his life - and...
Sep 13, 2016•29 min
I'm delighted to welcome Glennon Doyle Melton - AKA Momastery - onto James Talks today. Glennon shares her powerful and challenging story of alcoholism, her struggles with established church, and working through a difficult marriage. Glennon shares honestly about the importance of confronting our pain and walking through it, rather than avoiding it, and talks about the transforming power of grace. She shares passionately about how damaging church can be and what she believes healthy church shoul...
Sep 06, 2016•47 min
Author & blogger Cindy Brandt joins me today to talk about creativity, faith, culture and justice. Cindy shares her own powerful story and talks about authenticity in her art, being vulnerable in our art, as well as her passion for justice, and building a church where all are welcome, and all are truly valued. Cindy & I also discuss the links between art and justice, and that if we believe justice to be a central theme of the gospel, then imagination and creativity is vital to achieving ...
Aug 31, 2016•46 min
Alexander Shaia is back on James Talks and this week he's taking your questions! Today Alexander answers questions sent in by listeners, including ike: What’s your favourite gospel, and your favourite passage from the four gospels - and why? What are your thoughts on the issues of discipleship and evangelism, and do you see the end of Matthew as an invitation alone, or an invitation and a commission? What does the cross look like differently in each path? It's a fascinating, eye-opening and insp...
Aug 23, 2016•1 hr 3 min
Author & blogger Amy Boucher Pye joins me today. Amy is an American married to a Vicar living in the UK, and recently launched her first book 'Finding Myself In Britain'. In today's episode Amy shares about her creative journey, which on top of authoring books, has included both blogging and book editing, and aligns this with her own spiritual journey. In this episode we see how faith and creativity intertwine and intersect, impacting one another - as we see how we're all creators made in th...
Aug 16, 2016•55 min
Kent Sanders - author, coach, teacher, blogger, joins me today. Kent shares his own creative journey and about strategies he has discovered which can help artists overcome fear, take action in their creative path, and be more productive in their creative life, which he calls his 'Artists Suitcase'. Kent shares honestly and vulnerably about his own creative struggles, and how he overcame them to become a prolific author and blogger who coaches and encourages many other creative people on their ow...
Aug 10, 2016•56 min
My friend Luke Strickland of 'The Potting Shed Podcast' (& others) joins me today. Luke is a podcaster, creator, blogger and author, and a great guy. Here he shares his creative journey and how it intertwined with his own faith journey. We talk writing, creating, podcasting & vision for our lives, and how this connects with a life of faith. Luke and I also explore how to find your authentic voice, about recognising your dreams and making them closer to reality, and finding the courage to...
Aug 03, 2016•37 min
My friend Jim Woods, an author, writing coach, and blogger, joins me today. We discuss his own creative journey, and the challenge of leaving a stable job behind to risk it all on a creative career, in his case, as a writer. Today we talk about how to maintain authenticity in our work, how to keep our artistic integrity and find our true voice as artists. Jim shares about the challenges he's faced maintaining his own integrity whilst making it his living, and great wisdom on how to do creative w...
Jul 26, 2016•44 min
Christine Sine of Mustard Seed Associates, blogger, author, missionary & gardener joins me today. Christine shares her fascinating journey which took her from Australia all over the world, led her to found Mustard Seed Associates, a Christian charity, create and grow a blog and co-create several books. You'll also hear about how she discovered a deeper spirituality in the routines of every day living, even in the seemingly small discipline of gardening. Christine talks about the liturgical c...
Jul 19, 2016•52 min
Today it's the final part of our series with Alexander Shaia on the gospel journey of Quadratos. Today, we examine the book of Luke, and how we mature in service, and take the lessons we've learned, and the good news of the Christ out into the world. Alexander & I talk about the background the book of Luke, why and when it was written and what this means for us. We discuss how even in the face of conflict and change, and the difficult realities we face every day, we can through the Gospel jo...
Jul 12, 2016•1 hr 2 min
Alexander Shaia returns in the second of our three part journey through the gospel(s). Today we focus on John, and how we discover joy, even in the midst of the most terrible suffering, and then enter into a resurrection path into a new tomorrow.
Jul 06, 2016•1 hr 7 min
Alexander Shaia returns to James Talks today, for the first of a new series over the next three weeks, walking us through the Gospel Journey of Quadratos in much more depth. In our previous discussion, in Episode 43, we briefly covered all four stages of our journey of identity through the gospels - or as Alexander prefers, the four stages of the one gospel of Christ. In this series we'll be spending entire episodes on different stages, and exploring the books much more deeply. Today we begin wi...
Jun 28, 2016•1 hr 1 min
It's the 50th episode of James Talks! Today I share some updates on my latest work, including my upcoming book, blog posts, the podcast, and mostly, a personal reflection on my recent journey. I talk about what I've been facing & what it's taught me about the importance of going back to confront the pain & struggles from our past we might have buried, in order to move forward, no matter how painful that can be. And I reflect on how it's only then that we can we begin living the full life...
Jun 21, 2016•34 min
We've all been shocked & deeply moved by events in Orlando this week. Today I posted a blog post about Orlando itself, and in this podcast I discuss the issue of guns, gun crime, and the myth of redemptive violence. From the perspective of a UK citizen living in London, a culture where there is little gun crime & no gun ownership, I share my reflections on the lessons we must learn from Orlando...and why the way of guns & violence cannot go on.
Jun 14, 2016•33 min
Author, speaker & radio host Matt Ham shares his powerful story today. It's a story of how he nearly lost everything, but instead discovered a life and a faith richer than anything he had known, and learned how to redefine what it means to be rich. It's a story of brokenness, restoration, purpose, healing and grace. Matt has such a heart to serve others and is a born storyteller with incredible wisdom, born from experience, on how to live a fully rich life of faith, discover your identity in...
Jun 07, 2016•44 min
Brandan Robertson joins me today to share his powerful, moving and often painful story of reconciling an emerging faith in Jesus as a teenager, with his own sexuality. His is a powerful story of being in, then suddenly finding himself out, again and again - and through it all, discovering a deeper, more inclusive spirituality which brings hope to all those who feel excluded by the church, whether it be because of their theology or sexuality. Brandan is an amazing guy with a heart for Jesus and f...
Jun 01, 2016•45 min
Dr Don Beck, who joins me today, is a leading authority on Spiral Dynamics. This is a theory about the development of human consciousness, and the human journey. It divides the human journey up into 2 levels of consciousness, and within those two levels are different stages, all of which are part of both our individual journeys, and the journey of humanity as a whole. Don and I outline these different stages in a very basic way, how they have unfolded through history and we discuss how this revo...
May 24, 2016•1 hr
Jory Micah joins me today to share her own story, and discuss the important issue of gender inequality in the church today. We discuss her own vision, and what gender equality looks like for Jory in her day to day life, marriage and church. Jory then shares some practical steps we can take against patriarchy in our own churches or Christian communities, understanding the different perspectives on this issue, and finally offers genuine hope to those who are in the midst of this struggle in their ...
May 17, 2016•41 min
John Williamson and Adam Narloch, AKA The Deconstructionists join me today. John & Adam are two friends with a nerdy passion for discovery, deconstruction, grace, acceptance, authenticity and humble wrestling. They run a hugely successful podcast, 'The Deconstructionists' where they discuss this themselves & with guests. Today they share their story, and in the process we talk about faith, doubt, certainty, and how to hold our faith - even those things we are certain of - with open hands...
May 10, 2016•46 min
Alexander Shaia joins me today to explore a revolutionary way of reading & understanding the gospels which he calls 'Quadratos' - a four fold journey of identity & transformation. We explore how this journey takes us back to Jesus as 'the' Christ, and opens us to read the gospels in the ancient & now restored sequence for Sunday worship - and as we do, to understand what these books really meant to those who read them. Finally, we explore the four stages of the Quadratos journey: Fir...
May 03, 2016•1 hr 6 min
Lisa Delay from the Spark My Muse podcast returns to James Talks today to talk about spiritual practices from what's called 'ignatian spirituality'. Lisa shares how these can help give us spiritual discernment and make wiser decisions about what we're going to do with our lives. You can find out more about this work in Lisa's book, 'Forked', which is available on Amazon now. Connect with Lisa at on Twitter at @LisaDelay or at her website www.LisaDelay.com.
Apr 26, 2016•43 min
Mike McHargue, from the 'Science Mike' & 'Liturgists' podcasts, joins me today and shares his powerful and deeply moving testimony, of how he lost his faith, became an atheist, and then rediscovered the way of Jesus in a whole new way - grounded in reason, science, logic...and wonder. We also talk about the fascinating interconnections between science and spirituality, and, the idea that how we were created scientifically, is connected to how we relate to God & should impact how we live ...
Apr 19, 2016•54 min
Dr Kate Hendricks Thomas & Dr Theresa Larson both return to the podcast today, as we discuss in more detail the three scientifically proven principles for a healthy balanced life, as Kate outlines in her book, 'Brave Strong True'. Kate, Theresa and I discuss the three principles of social support, self-care and spirituality/religiosity, how they are key to our individual thriving, and how science shows their benefits to our lives. Kate & Theresa both have expert knowledge and wisdom in t...
Apr 13, 2016•1 hr 5 min
Chasing Lovely, the musical/creative duo of Chloe & Taylor Turner, return to James Talks today. They were my first ever guests, and appropriately enough, are my first returning guests. Today I catch up with the Taylor sisters, talk about their latest work, seasons of life both in work & creativity, why they are stopping touring for a while, and what lies ahead for them creatively. We also talk about the interesting & endless connections between spirituality and creativity. And of cou...
Apr 11, 2016•1 hr 3 min
Dr Theresa Larson joins me today. Dr Larson is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and the founder of Movement Rx , a physical therapy and wellness company that offers support to wounded warriors and individuals with health and movement issues. She has just released her first book, a memoir called 'Warrior' Today Theresa shares her own powerful story of overcoming grief and bulimia nervosa, how she overcome demands for perfection, in life, healthy, and career, and discovered a warrior spirit within her...
Apr 05, 2016•57 min
Nish Weiseth, author, speaker, mom & fan of Dr Pepper, joins me today. With great vulnerability, Nish shares her own powerful story, including her struggles with depression, and how this shaped both her faith & her creative life. Nish also shares how she discovered the incredible power of story to shape lives, and began a website as an expression of this. A site which took her on the path to a writing & speaking career, and writing a book 'Speak' on the power of story. Nish is insigh...
Mar 29, 2016•53 min
Rob Bell, NYT Bestselling Author of Love Wins & several other books, international speaker, podcaster & former Pastor, joins me today. We discuss major events in Rob's spiritual journey (including a Midnight Oil concert), what hope is, and where he sees both culture and the church progressing in the coming years. We discuss in depth his new book 'How To Be Here' and what it means to be fully present in our own lives, how to create the life we want for ourselves & the world, sabbath, ...
Mar 22, 2016•45 min
Anita Wing Lee, Periscoper, communicator & writer, joins me today to talk about a really important cause. The Soul Of Humanity is a book of stories, photos and creative work surrounding the story of refugee crisis, with all profits going to aid awareness and give direct support to the refugees themselves. Their project is on Kickstarter, and today Anita shares about the genesis of the project, it's importance, and invites you to contribute to this potentially life-saving project.
Mar 20, 2016•21 min
