10 May 2026

Sam Jackson is the Controller of BBC Radio 3. He was interviewed recently by Gerry Lynch. The result appeared in an article in the Church Times. The forty-five year old comes from Godalming. He was the first in his family to go to university and he became a Christian during his first term at the University of York.

Interestingly, he is very much involved in his parish church. ‘I’ve always done a lot of volunteer youth and children’s work.’ he said. ‘Even though I love the day job, it’s a wonderful antidote.’ On Sunday morning, he works with a group of 4-7 year olds leading worship, telling Bible stories, playing games, doing craft work.

Jackson was challenged by a fellow broadcaster to be more public about his faith. His response to the suggestion, ‘I’m always happy to talk about this part of my life.’ On his social media profile, he has quoted Philippians 4;13, ‘I can do all things through him who strengthens me.’

He is clearly passionate about music and its powerfulness in shaping our lives. ‘Music can speak incredibly profoundly about the human condition, the soul, who we are, our hopes and our fears.’ he said. ‘Whether we have faith or not, the human condition is to search for meaning beyond the day-to-day.’

‘When I listen to cricket commentary, they don’t feel the need to explain ‘lbw’ every time they use the term.’ he said. ‘We should be warm and welcoming, but also unflinching in how we present classical music.’ There is a fear that in broadening access, standards would fall in a dumbing-down freefall. This need not happen.

Sometimes I think the sermon has been a casualty of  an anti-intellectual bias whereby everything has to be framed as light entertainment. The Gospel is a challenge and so people should not assume that the sermon would not be challenging. Listening to a sermon is work. We are called to concentrate, think and feed on nothing less than  the Bread of Life.