He attended public school and, through a miraculous answer to prayer, became a Christian at age 15. He qualified as a Russian interpreter in the Navy then studied Modern Languages and Russian Political Thought at Oxford. There he felt called to mission and, after training in theology in Bristol, worked as a missionary with OMF in SE Asia for ten years. He lectured at All Nations Christian College for 24 years and now engages in a full-time international speaking ministry. He has authored many books, the latest being Beyond Beards and Burqas (IVP, £7.99), in which he introduces the reader to a wide variety of Muslims, relaying conversations about Islam and Christianity he has had with them during his many years of Christian service.