Interview with William Porter

With signs of the end times in evidence like never before, Jesus’ return may not be that far off. While the time is not known, it is evident that God has a clear plan to make the church a beautiful bride for Jesus. 

In his new book Radiant and Resolute, William Porter challenges us to ask what the church should be doing now to be prepared. Although painting a dramatic picture of times ahead, Radiant and Resolute is ultimately a hopeful vision of the Lord helping his church to become his radiant bride. 

William, can you tell us a little about yourself? 

I live in Stoke on Trent with my wife Karen; we have two children in their 20’s Joshua and Sarah. I am an ordained Methodist minister, and have been involved in leading evangelistic missions, pastoring churches and more recently pioneering a house of prayer.  

You have been undertaking a prayer walking mission across Europe. Can you tell us a little about this? 

Prayer walking in a neighbourhood or city is one of the practices Christians have for blessing their communities. Over the last six years God has called me to walk and pray with a cross, and in the last year to visit all 51 capital cities of Europe, and to meet local Christians to pray for a spiritual awakening across the whole continent. Quite a big and faith stretching prayer mission, but it went amazingly well, praise God. 

Your new book is Radiant and Resolute. Can you tell us a little about the book, and why and who you have written this for? 

I have written a previous book (The Forerunner Cry) on basic understanding of the End Times from a Christian worldview. This book is an inspirational look at the church in the years before Jesus returns. I take the biblical phrase that ‘the bride has made herself ready’ for Jesus’ return, and consider how God, by his Spirit gets us to that place of readiness. In particular, I look at the scriptural trends of end time outpourings of the Spirit and global shaking and show the opportunities for the worldwide church to become radiant in our faith and resolute in our discipleship. 

There are lots of books and different views on the end times. What makes your book different from others? 

Actually, I don’t think there are many Christian books on eschatology and the End Times for a British/European market. Rather than get embroiled in debates about particular End Time prophecies about such things as the Tribulation, I concentrate on the life and witness of the church in the generation or two before the second coming. The End Times is not a pet doctrine, but rather a global context of life in the turbulent years of human history as described in Scripture. It is an unavoidable reality to come to terms with. 

At many points in history people thought they were living in the end times. What makes you think that this message is so pertinent to us now? 

Yes, there have been people at major junctures of national life – wars, turn of centuries etc – who have felt convicted about living near Jesus’ return. Yet there has never been a time where so many across the world feel the time is near. You could call it ‘the last of the last days.’ Things like the Great Commission being nearly finished, the turmoil in the Middle East, the existential threats to the life of our planet, and the globally connected society, all point towards the time of the end being near. 

You talk about the church preparing to be ready for Jesus’ return in the book. Can you give us one example that we can all do to take a step forward? 

In the book I give the metaphor of Jesus leading us into the unexplored country of End Time ministry. We will look more like the church of Acts, walking through revival and persecution. If we were to encourage our churches to seek the power of the Spirit to live a Book of Acts kind of faith journey, that would be an amazing step. 

Do you have any advice on how we should be praying in these uncertain and anxious times? 

Well, here are four things to pray: We can pray that every Christian becomes more mature and passionate in their faith. We can pray that churches use this amazing opportunity right now to share and live out the gospel, as people everywhere are searching for hope right now. We can keep praying ‘Thy Kingdom Come,’ for the grace and power of the Lord to change families and communities. And we can start to pray ‘come Lord Jesus’ more regularly; only his coming again can ultimately sort the mess of the world out.  

What was the most challenging element of writing this book?  

I wrote the first draft of the book in 2020 during the first lockdown, in a flurry of ideas and inspiration. It then took a lot of stepping back over the next 18 months to refine, expand, rework and beef the manuscript up to a level I and the publishers were happy with. The time-consuming rethinks and redrafts were hard work but profitable in the end. 

And what was the most rewarding element of writing this book?  

Reading and re-reading Scripture to pull out many nuggets of truth was very rewarding; also writing the pieces of imaginative prose in the prelude and the coda were a lot of fun. 

Have you been reminded afresh about your own personal journey with God while writing this book?  

This book was in the final stages of editing as I was doing my journeys of walking with a cross in the cities of Europe. I kept asking myself what this ‘unexplored country of End Time ministry’ would look like in these places, and what living on the edge of my faith would look like in the coming years? I felt as though I was walking out some of my writing and prayers in that prayer mission.  

What do you hope readers will most get out of reading this book? 

The End Times isn’t something to feel overwhelmed by, but rather it is a journey Jesus will lead us through. I hope the book will stimulate discussion, encourage church leaders, and draw communities of faith to follow Jesus more closely in the coming years. 

In one sentence, how would you describe Radiant and Resolute?  

An inspirational look at God’s great plan for his church before Jesus returns. 

Is there anything we can pray for you? 

You can certainly pray that I will have many opportunities to speak about the themes of this book, and that the book will be widely read and help stir a radiant and resolute heart in more of the worldwide body of Christ.