Podcast 01: Joel Edwards

Interview Date: 9 September 2020. Interviewer: Dr Jason Clark. Research and questions by Dr Simon Machin.

The late Joel Edwards was a distinguished elder statesman of the Evangelical church in the United Kingdom and in 2019 he was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to Tackling Poverty and Injustice.

Despite being a feature of British public life, including as a contributor to Radio 4’s Thought for Today, for decades, Joel was a child migrant to England at the age of 9 in 1960 when he travelled from his native Jamaica to be reunited with his mother.

After a career as a probation officer Joel became the General Secretary of the African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance in 1988, before becoming UK Director of the Evangelical Alliance in 1992 and its first black General Director in 1997. He then held senior posts with Micah Challenge and Christian Solidarity Worldwide which reflect a growing interest in human rights and the freedom of religious conscience.

Joel’s family confirmed he had passed away due to cancer on the 30th June.

Joel left this letter for his friends and family, as his last words:

"Dear friends, This is to say a final goodbye. First, my incredible thanks for your prayers, love and holding on with me to that fingernail miracle. Words cannot express the depth, breadth and height of my gratitude, but I have gone home. My earnest prayer is that your faith and tenacity on my behalf will not be considered a pointless religious exercise, but that it will have strengthened your faith in a God who is marvellous, mysterious and majestic in all that He does: The Faithful One. I commend my family to you. I know you will watch over them in the months and years ahead. And I commend you to God and to the word of His grace that is able to build us up and give us an inheritance among those that are being saved. I wait to welcome you…”

Timed Interview Summary

0:00 – 24:09 Early life in Kingston, Jamaica.

Family and relatives. Christian culture unifies Jamaican values. Newtown Baptist Church. School and formation of British identity. Mother victim of domestic violence. Leaves husband and home after church and does not return. Plans to reunite with her children in England. Jamaican assumptions about what England would be like. Joel’s air flight to Heathrow Airport, England to rejoin mother. Joel’s memory of the small Heathrow Airport building in the early 1960s.

24:10 – 46:20 Arrival in the United Kingdom.

Reflections on the conflict between patriotic Jamaican Britishness and the less patriotic indigenous Britishness. Is children’s exploration of racial difference, racism or human curiosity? Travel within England and comparison of London and the regions. Musings upon lack of relationship with father, exemplified in childhood departure from Jamaica, Joel’s uncle takes the lead and reassures Joel that he will make new friends.

46:21 - 59:44 Childhood Abuse & Absent Fathers

Joel and Jason compare experiences of childhood abuse and reflect on the deflating experiences of re-encountering their fathers in early adulthood. How experiences of abuse are verified in adulthood by siblings, and sometimes converted to humour as a means of coping.

59:45 - 1:17:46 Reunion with his Mother

Reunion with his mother in the United Kingdom. Trauma of negotiating a new life. The place of faith and prayer. Experience of church life is part of cultural identity as a black Briton. Jamaicans conceive themselves as missionary immigrants. No personal experience of racial discrimination but aware of being different, and young men in the church community encounter police racism and harassment. Encounters personal prejudice for the first time when working as a probation officer.

1:17:46 - 1:36:09 Pentecostal resistance to the Swinging 60s

Black Pentecostalism in the UK. Afro-Caribbean and, slightly later, Black African churches are transplanted to an alien English environment, whose moral and spiritual values they regard with suspicion as inferior. Optimistic assumption of short-term migration to England of about five years is replaced by the economic realities of permanent residence. Pentecostal resistance to the Swinging Sixties. Joel’s involvement in the Gospel music scene.

1:36:10 - 1:54:34 London Bible College and becoming Probation Officer

Secondary school, theology degree at London Bible College. Career as a probation officer. Reminiscences of inspiring teachers and mentors.

1:54:35 - 2:17:59 ​General Secretary of ACEA (African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance) 1988

Summary of Joel’s theological views in his twenties. Becomes ​General Secretary of ACEA (African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance) in 1988. Strengthens ties with EA (Evangelical Alliance). Participates in the renewed self-confidence in evangelisation and social mission within the EA. Evangelicals rediscover their history of social engagement, particularly late 18C and 19C radicalism. Joel learns that the probation service in which he works had grown out of prison missionary action. The growth of Black churches. Becomes UK Director of the Evangelical Alliance in 1992.

2:18:00 - 2:30:06 General Director of the Evangelical Alliance in 1997

Becomes General Director of the Evangelical Alliance in 1997. Finds the evangelical audience more intimidating than the secular audience. Reviews major achievements. Better relationships between black and white Christians, improved profile for evangelicals in the public square. Particularly proud of involvement while General Director of spearheading EA’s involvement within the coalition of organisations making up the Micah Challenge which lobbied governments to commit to reducing poverty as a key international development goal. Moves to become International Director of Micah Challenge in 2009. Comments on how he negotiates competing challenges within his professional life. Strong sense of personal calling and is driven from within and by God.

2:30:07 - 2:34:40 Stakeholders, Grassroots Activism and Hope

Discussion of how stakeholders connect from the grass roots to a large, common goal. People respond to a felt need not a theoretical idea. Within the Christian context, people discover a Biblical licence. Calling can come from being vexed and angry, with a sense of ‘angry hope’. No one person can do everything, but everyone can do something.

2:34:41 - 2:51:10 Christian Solidarity Worldwide 2015-2017, and a Doctorate

Works between 2015 and 2017 at Christian Solidarity Worldwide. On turning sixty as a present to himself, he undertakes a Doctorate, his ‘Mount Everest’. As a generalist, he has spent time with international human rights specialists and been impacted by their commitment, so wants to focus on freedom of religion and belief. The Doctorate asks and attempts to provide an answer to the critical question, ‘why should Christians become involved in defending the religious freedoms of people of all faith or none’. Argues that all human suffering is drawn into the sufferings of Jesus on the cross, and this provides a universal justification.

2:51:11 - 2:55:29 Looking back as a black Christian leader

Still, as an Evangelical, looking to the Word of God. Still ‘there in the drum beat’. As a black Christian leader, the Bible and its relation to modern society is even more important. Essential not to ignore the adaptability of truth to the modern situation. Still examining how the Bible informs experience of being a black British Christian. The Bible and blackness have to be held in tension.

2:55:30 - 3:03:31 Summary reflections on the strengths and challenges of Evangelicalism

Summary reflections on the strengths and challenges of Evangelicalism. Believes that the single biggest challenge of authentic Biblical Christianity lies in successfully translating it to the culture. Thinks this presents particular challenges to Millennials who face the temptation to dump propositional truths and adapt to society’s mores which is problematic for formation as Christian disciples. On the positive side, there has been a cultural development in trying to understand what diversity means as ‘a signal of hope’. Importance of being allowed to be authentically different within the cultural landscape.

3:03:32 - 3:15:23 Dancing in the Darkness - Retirement and health

Retirement from employment and transition from formal ministry to informal influence. Family health issues and fight against cancer. Learning how to ‘dance in the darkness’. Has been made more challenging because of the context of Covid-19. Yet a sense that God has not abandoned Joel because he is sick. Treatment is ongoing and prognosis is looking better. Has been a time of introspection, reflection and healing, and working out where ‘the North star’ which has led him throughout his spiritual journey will lead him next.