Ben Lindsay OBE

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.

Available to buy on Amazon
We Need To Talk About Race
We Need To Talk About Race

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.

Available to buy on Amazon

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.

Find out more

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

PowerTalks
TBNUK

Features/Reports

Articles

Press

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

Endorsements

Contact

If you’d like to get in touch regarding speaking engagements or interviews please hit the button below. For all enquires regarding Power The Fight please visit the website.

Say Hello