The Thread, from Alpha

Alpha International

The Thread is a space for fresh perspectives on Christian leadership, global culture, and evangelism in our changing world. Brought to you by Alpha, The Thread shares timely talks, relevant insights, and hosts open free-flowing conversations with diverse leaders from around the globe. All hosted by Stephen Foster.

Play

Open in

33 episodes
weekly
Avg 44 min
English

Episodes 33

Newest Oldest Longest

All20 Unplayed20 In progress0 Played0

Counted on this page — what you have heard stays on this device, so it is not something the list can be paged by.

Yesterday · 55 min
Deep Change: Moving Beyond ‘Impact’ to Three-Generation Thinking
Impact is only the starting point for genuinely consequential change. This episode explores transformation that starts smaller, unfolds across generations, and requires more imagination and spiritual power. It will help you rethink life and leadership beyond short-term measures of success, embracing models of change that characterise the redemptive mission of God.
October 27 · 1 hr
LC26 Bonus Episode: Workplace Resilience: Standing Firm in a Brittle, Anxious World
Brittle. Anxious. Non-linear. Incomprehensible. If that describes your workplace, you are not alone. Leading at work is more demanding than ever, testing the faith and character of many Christians. This episode with John Cai, former regional CEO of Prudential, explores how to lead with conviction and resilience in uncertainty, offering a biblical perspective on standing firm in a shifting world.
October 20 · 47 min
LC26 Bonus Episode: Renaissance: A Conversation on Spirit-Led Creativity
Content note: Due to technical issues on site, this episode does not include video content. We're sorry! Al Gordon and Farida Matthews interview creatives who are leaving a mark and making space for the Creator Spirit in their work: Omoyemi Akerele, founder of Lagos Fashion Week; DC3, the Northampton-raised artist fusing hip-hop, gospel, and jazz with an unashamed faith; and Steve Chao, Emmy-nominated filmmaker and founder of Signal Flare Productions.
October 13 · 57 min
LC26 Bonus Episode: The Redemptive Frame: A Model for Social Transformation
Frequently our imagination for cultural change is limited by narrow views of calling and influence. In this episode, Andy Crouch introduces Praxis’s ‘redemptive frame’, helping Christian leaders identify and pursue redemptive opportunities in their spheres. He shares on how to apply a redemptive design to the goods and services we offer, to operations and systems, and to our personal scripts for success.
October 6 · 51 min
LC26 Bonus Episode: Alive in the Trinity: Nurturing the Prayer Life of the Christian Leader
Theologian and pastor Darrell Johnson reflects on communion with God as the only foundation strong enough to sustain transformative leadership. As we live in Jesus’ relationship with His Father, we are more and more drawn into and caught up in His praying and we find ourselves liberated from "prayer-as-work" to "prayer-as-breathing", thereby experiencing fresh joy and freedom as prayerful leaders.
September 29 · 1 hr 2 min
LC26 Bonus Episode: Knowing the Times: How Should We Respond to This Cultural Moment?
To lead people through the complexities and opportunities of this cultural moment, we desperately need to understand them. In this episode, Stephen Foster, Louise Perry, author of The Case Against the Sexual Revolution, and Jon Tyson, Pastor of Church of the City New York, discuss how we can lead with wisdom, discernment, vision, and boldness in this fascinating time.
September 22 · 1 hr 1 min
LC26 Bonus Episode: Knowing Who We Are: Has Gen Z Caused an Identity Crisis for the Church?
This episode explores whether Gen Z has exposed an identity crisis for the Church and its relationship to culture. Drawing on theologians who have wrestled with the question of what the Church is during times of social and political upheaval, Jack Driver-Szekely, Fr Peter Wojcik, and Rachel Wooldridge consider how the Church can offer a hopeful witness without starting from anxiety about cultural change.
September 15 · 54 min
LC26 Bonus Episode: The Drama of Leadership: Authority, Vulnerability, and Power
Healthy leadership combines authority and vulnerability. This episode considers the complex dynamics of living and leading with both, including the particular challenges when leaders experience vulnerabilities that others do not see. Andy Crouch will help you recognise redemptive opportunities in your current sphere of influence, providing a practical tool for charting a healthy course through leadership demands.
September 8 · 58 min
LC26 Bonus Episode: Leading Churches: Building Healthy, Growing Local Churches
Leading in a church environment requires particular skills and expression. In this episode, HTB's Archie Coates, Mexico's Andrés and Kelly Spyker, leaders of MásVida, and Canada's Father Simon Lobo, General Superior of the Companions of the Cross, discuss how to navigate the different seasons of church life, how to build a diverse team and draw out the best in others, and how to set and sustain culture.
September 1 · 55 min
LC26 Bonus Episode: Breaking Strongholds: Spiritual Warfare in the Life of a Leader
This seminar from the Leadership Conference explores how spiritual warfare uniquely affects those in positions of influence. Jon Tyson considers how unseen strongholds can surface in life and ministry, and how the way of Jesus leads us to seek genuine freedom and power from God. You will be encouraged to pursue God afresh and lead with dependence, courage, and spiritual resilience.
August 25 · 18 min
LC26 Bonus Episode: An Interview with the Koleoso Family
Nicky Gumbel interviews the leaders of Jubilee Church London, Tope and Kemi Koleoso, alongside their musician sons Femi and TJ from Ezra Collective. They discuss parenting well while leading in ministry, representing Christ in secular spaces, and growing up on mission together as a family.
August 18 · 14 min
LC26 Bonus Episode: Archie Coates, Treasure in Jars of Clay
Vicar of HTB, Archie Coates, turns to 2 Corinthians 4:7 in this message from LC26: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." Reminding us that God's power is made perfect in weakness, he shares that though the containers of our lives are ordinary, the treasure we carry is extraordinary and that the way you walk in weakness is what draws people to the hope of glory that lives in you.
August 11 · 56 min
LC26 Bonus Episode: Digital Reset - Developing a Digital Rule of Life and Making AI Work for You
We all live by a rule of life – including with digital devices which come with default settings that are poorly designed for genuine spiritual, mental, and emotional health. As AI expands, intentional personal and communal practices become more urgent. This episode will help you redesign life rhythms to use technology fruitfully while growing in wholeness, freedom, and deeper humanity.
August 4 · 57 min
LC26 Bonus Episode: Unusual Suspects: Lessons in Leadership from Strange Corners of the Bible
When thinking about biblical examples of leadership, we often turn to the usual suspects for wisdom and inspiration. But what might we discover if we mine the scriptures for leadership examples that are less commonly spotlighted? Join Tim Mackie from The Bible Project and The Orchard's Rachel and Amy Hughes, as they highlight a handful of unlikely leaders in the Bible.
July 28 · 30 min
LC26 Bonus Episode: Stephen Foster, Shaken Yet Stirred
From the main stage at LC26, Stephen Foster teaches on being a joyful leader in an anxious age. Looking to Paul's letter to the Philippians, he shares an exhortation to let the disruption and shaking around you stir a passion within you, to let gratitude fill your heart, and to stay in the fight – because He is worth it.
July 21 · 28 min
LC26 Bonus Episode: Johannes Hartl, Are We Working Too Hard or Not Hard Enough?
In his main stage talk from LC26, Johannes Hartl poses the question, "Are we working too hard or are we not working hard enough anymore?" Referencing Nietzsche's model of the camel, lion, and child, he explains why this is a spiritual question that demands the spiritual solution of being rooted and grounded in the love of God in order to no longer operate as orphans.
July 14 · 22 min
LC26 Bonus Episode: An Interview with Louise Perry
Through working as a journalist and a support worker at a rape crisis centre, Louise Perry began analysing the impact of the sexual revolution and went on to write The Case Against the Sexual Revolution. In this interview with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel at Leadership Conference 2026, she discusses her findings on the cost of removing Christian sexual ethics from society and how this led her to faith in Jesus.
July 7 · 41 min
LC26 Bonus Episode: Tope Koleoso, Cultivating a Prayer Culture
Exhorting the leaders at LC26 to "ask for rain in the time of rain" (Zechariah 10), Jubilee Church London pastor Tope Koleoso shares a powerful message on prayer. He calls believers back to a place of intercession, declaration, confession, and adoration, offering practical teaching on hindrances to prayer and cultivating a prayer culture in our churches and communities.
June 30 · 26 min
LC26 Bonus Episode: An Interview with Tsitsi Masiyiwa
Nicky speaks to award-winning philanthropist Tsitsi Masiyiwa, who has leapfrogged her way to incredible impact alongside her husband, Strive. The interview highlights stories from their inspirational journey, some of the challenges along the way, and the power of prayer.
June 23 · 22 min
LC26 Bonus Episode: Nicky Gumbel in Conversation with Cardinal Tagle
Speaking to Nicky Gumbel in Rome, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle – one of just 12 Cardinal-Bishops in the Catholic Church – shares his wisdom on humility, being a good listener, remaining anchored in Jesus, and being light of heart. He also gives a one-line response to each of the Alpha episode topics.

Showing 1–20 of 33 episodes