Author, CEO, Speaker, Presenter, Activist
About
Ben Lindsay OBE is founder of the Charity Times Charity of the Year for 2023 – Power The Fight, a charity which launched in Jan 2019 to train and empower communities to end youth violence. Ben raised £4.2 Million for Power The Fight in 5 years.
Winner of the KPMG UK Black Entrepreneurs’ Award for Most Promising Not For Profit Organisation 2024, Charity Times Social Media Leader of the Year 2023, the Charity Times Rising Leader Award 2022 and one of The Evening Standard’s Progress 1000 London’s most influential people for 2018, Ben is an experienced presenter, trainer and facilitator with more than 19 years spent working with high risk young people in the field of gangs and serious youth violence.
Ben began his career developing programmes in some of the most challenging estates in London (Brixton, Clapham and Lewisham). In 2003 he became a learning mentor at a primary school in the borough of Lewisham, South East London before joining the Lewisham Youth Offending Service, where he worked in a number of roles, including leading the early intervention team.
While at Lewisham, Ben developed several successful programmes including the ground-breaking knife crime prevention programme Double Edge for young people impacted by weapon carrying and violence which was featured in the ‘Gang and Group Offenders – A Practitioner’s Handbook of Ideas & Interventions’ published by the London Criminal Justice Board.
In 2010 Ben developed the gangs and serious youth violence strategy for Camden Council and then went on to work for the mental health charity MAC-UK leading their mini mac project.
Ben was Chair of the Greenwich Independent Advisory Group until 2016. Between 2016 -2020, Ben was lead pastor at Emmanuel New Cross in South East London. He currently sits on the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s Violence Reduction Unit Partnership Reference Group, Chair’s the Violence Reduction Unit Multi Faith Network and worked on the cross parliamentary Youth Violence Commission.
His first book, the No1 Bestseller, We Need To Talk About Race – Understanding the Black Experience in White Majority Churches was released in July 2019 through SPCK Publishing.
Ben is also currently a Phd candidate at Durham University researching Cultural Sensitivity in Teacher Training.
Ben was awarded an OBE in King Charles’ first New Years Honours List for services to communities in SE London.
Book
It’s time for the church to start talking about race.
From the UK church’s complicity in the transatlantic slave trade to the whitewashing of Christianity throughout history, the church has a lot to answer for when it comes to race relations. Christianity has been dubbed the white man’s religion, and yet the Bible speaks of an impartial God and contains a diverse body of believers.
In this book, Ben Lindsay offers eye-opening insights into the black religious experience, challenging the perceived ‘status quo’ in white majority churches. Filled with personal experience and insightful questions, this book offers a comprehensive analysis of race relations within the UK church and how we can work towards creating a truly inclusive church community.
Book
It’s time for the church to start talking about race.
From the UK church’s complicity in the transatlantic slave trade to the whitewashing of Christianity throughout history, the church has a lot to answer for when it comes to race relations. Christianity has been dubbed the white man’s religion, and yet the Bible speaks of an impartial God and contains a diverse body of believers.
In this book, Ben Lindsay offers eye-opening insights into the black religious experience, challenging the perceived ‘status quo’ in white majority churches. Filled with personal experience and insightful questions, this book offers a comprehensive analysis of race relations within the UK church and how we can work towards creating a truly inclusive church community.
Resources
Welcome to We Need to Talk about Race, a four-part home group study series based around Ben Lindsay’s book of the same title. You don’t need to read the book to complete the studies, but doing so will help you get the most from the course.
The studies cover a range of topics from the black experience in churches and wider culture, to the history of racism and the role of slavery, to radical solidarity, social action and the road ahead.
Presenting
Ben Lindsay is an experienced presenter including hosting 4 seasons of the podcast series PowerTalk and Fit for Purpose – Youth and Crime for TBNUK. For all presenting enquiries please email hello@benlindsay.co.uk
Features/Reports
Articles
- // Protecting Young Black Lives, Celebrating Black Professionals – Report
- // I’m not surprised by the Casey review, but I am still praying for change
- // Pastor Ben Lindsay: Harnessing the Potential and Resources of Faith Groups – Youth Violence Commission Final Report
- // Covid-19 has revealed racial inequalities. Here are 3 ways the Church must respond
- // The Gospel according to grime: Why these artists are rapping about God
- // Our government is failing to stop London’s knife crime epidemic. Will the Church step up?
Press
-
// Ben Lindsay OBE Named as One of Britain’s Top Black Entrepreneurs for 2024.
- // Naming racism as safeguarding issue ‘critical’ to protecting young black lives, report says
- // Tackling racism crucial to protecting young Black people report says
- // POWER THE FIGHT WIN CHARITY TIMES CHARITY OF THE YEAR AND THEIR CEO BEN LINDSAY OBE WINS SOCIAL MEDIA LEADER OF THE YEAR FOR 2023
- // BBC RADIO LONDON INTERVIEW WITH DOTUN ABEBAYO AND BEN LINDSAY OBE/POWER THE FIGHT
- // Ben Lindsay on the 115 Miles podcast with Josh Connolly – Why Don’t You Care About Racism?
- // THE CHARITY IMPACT PODCAST EPISODE 18: Fundraising and brand building for social impact, with Ben Lindsay OBE, Founder CEO of Power the Fight
- // Mental Health Awareness Week: Power the Fight
- // ‘We’ve failed young people’: Former south London pastor on the fight to tackle teenage violence
- // Ben Lindsay named in the Voice Newspaper as one of 23 to watch in 2023
- // Ben Lindsay, CEO of Power the Fight UK, has received an OBE for services to the community in south east London.
- // 2023: Charity leaders to watch in the year ahead – Charity Times
- //Ben Lindsay: “The work we’re doing isn’t easily marketable” – Charity Times CEO Profile
- // Former south London pastor is tackling youth violence head on – Southwark News
- // Ciaran Thapar and Ben Lindsay on the UK’s youth violence crisis – Dazed
- // ‘It’s a form of structural oppression’: Critics say more police stop and search powers will harm Black people – Metro News Paper
- // The Social Matters Podcast – Episode 10 (S4). Approaches to Safeguarding Young People. (feat. Professor Carlene Firmin MBE and Ben Lindsay)
- // ITN News – Boxer, 16, stabbed to death during fight outside gym in New Cross
- // Channel 4 News – Boy of 13 arrested after man stabbed to death in west London
- // The Hopeful Activists’ Podcast – Power the Fight: Community, Collaboration and Prayer
- // The Hopeful Activists’ Podcast – The Church & Race
- // Images of Fatherhood Sunday Worship 21.06.20 with Ben Lindsay, Guvna B and Lord Hastings – BBC Radio 4
- // Ben Lindsay: The tension between race and faith – The Magnify Podcast
- // Just Cause Podcast – Ben Lindsay on youth violence and the importance of community with Derek A Bardowell
- // We Need To Talk About Race review by Andy Goodliff for the Baptist Union
- // We Need To Talk About Race review by Jennie Pollock for Jubilee+
- // We Need To Talk About Race review by John Woods for Inspire Magazine
- // We Need To Talk About Race review by Chris Cambell for Soliquidas
- // We Need To Talk About Race review by Anthony Reddie for The Church Times
- // Becs Dhillon and Nicky Gumble interview with Ben Lindsay – Faith & Equality Podcast.
- // Ben Lindsay: youth violence, racism and parenting – Interview with Ruth Jackson for Premier Radio
- // Structures which can be traced back to slavery need to be destroyed – Church Times Interview
- // Ben Lindsay on why the Church needs to talk about race – Church Times Podcast
- // Race Matters interview by Reform Magazine
- // Why We Need to Talk About Race extract in Premier Christianity Magazine
Talks
Protecting Young Black Lives, Celebrating Black Professionals – Report Launch 19 April 2024
COVID 19, Disproportionate BAME Impact and the White Led Church Response
– June 2020
Ben Lindsay OBE BBC Radio London 1st October 2023 – Elianne Andam, Youth Violence, VAWAG
Protecting Young Black Lives, Celebrating Black Professionals Conference, Cumberland Lodge, Oct 2023
CEO/Founder of Power The Fight Ben Lindsay OBE interviews Guvna B for #mentalhealthawarenessweek – May 2023
Cultural Sensitivity, Young People and Therapy | TEDxFrensham
– May 2022
On The Line // We Need to Talk About Race // Ben Lindsay
– June 2020
Bringing down racial and ethnic barriers in our congregations
– May 2020
YC20: Ben Lindsay – Invisible Barriers // Let’s talk about race, O2 Arena
– February 2020
Ben Lindsay, Youth Culture, 02 Arena
– February 2019
Ben Lindsay, St Pauls Cathedral
– October 2019
BBC RADIO LONDON INTERVIEW WITH DOTUN ABEBAYO AND BEN LINDSAY OBE – 17 JULY 2023