When I was older, it meant having a reputation that won me friends, and friends who kept my reputation on top. He spent his childhood treading on eggshells, keen not to provoke the anger which his dad would regularly take out on Claud, his mum, his siblings, and their dog.

Innehållet i podden är skapat av Premier Christianity magazine och inte av, eller tillsammans med, Poddtoppen. He left the family home round about the age of 12 or 14 to live with my nan in Brixton and he would come home once or twice a month.It’s not the external forces of secularism, individualism or consumerism that are the biggest threat to the Church today. As I sat there on the edge of my seat, I was sure he was going to declare that he collected toy trains or still played with Star Wars figurines — both of which would have been fine — but then the strangest thing happened. While there, I created behavioural programmes and implemented them within the sector that I was working in.

No missing or damaged pages, no creases or tears, no underlining or highlighting of text, and no writing in the margins. His story is not just about a life of crime, but about the turning points, and the disillusion and damage, that take someone there. I did a lot in my life – I shot, participated in knife fights, all my life I taught myself not to be afraid.Whether you read it in a day or take your time over it, there is a challenge in these pages to see the work of God in one man's life, and the hand of God over all our lives.

One that does not, but he mentions in his book, Guns to God, is that he got the chance to trial as goalie for Wimbledon. I don’t know if he was scared, but he seemed as cool as a cucumber and announced his faith in Jesus. Claud shares his powerful testimony, from dealing drugs to finding faith, and becoming an advocate for change. Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH). When Claud was approached about becoming a mentor for high-risk young offenders for the local council, it initially seemed like a handy ‘respectable’ cover for his drug-dealing activities.

He started to attend Holy Trinity Brompton, and successfully interviewed for a job at HTB’s homeless shelter, where he realized how quickly lives and fortunes can be turned around (for the worse). Warren Furman went from being homeless to overnight fame, starring as Ace in the hit 90’s TV series Gladiators. Now I serve in the church, and therefore, if God permits, I will become a priest in the Church of England.

Recorded live at the TBN UK London Studios, Hosted by Rob Wall, Valerie Elliot and Ray Bevan share powerful messages on Unlimited Grace. His story is one of poverty, abuse, drug dealing, and violence – and of a life turned round by a loving God who refused to give up on him.By now, I had tried to upstage him many times in the office and couldn’t; no matter who was around, Pete would always say good morning to me when he saw me. During this time, he spent much time working with young offenders and other young people, mentoring young disengaged adults and visiting young offenders’ institutions, as well as holding weekly youth drop-ins at the church. Once ordained, he would love to plant a church and to work with young people to decrease gang culture and knife crime. When they started to question me on this occasion, it soon came up that I was a mentor for high-risk young offenders with the local council. With paranoia clouding my every thought, I knew I needed some legitimate work to cover the tracks left by what was now 15 years of illegitimate business.