Is this the best Christian book festival you’ve never heard of?

There was a moment during my interview with Dr John Lennox when I realised this was a very special occasion.

John Lennox is the first person I’ve ever met who has seen CS Lewis speak live. Not only that, but he has also recently appeared on the world’s second biggest podcast, Diary of a CEO. Now, one of the world’s leading apologists was sitting across from me in an easy chair draped in blankets, answering questions about God, AI, Richard Dawkins – and a whole host of stuff in between.

Naturally, the small Baptist church in Buckinghamshire was packed to the rafters. I looked around the room at the sea of faces - including my two young daughters in the gallery - and realised we were all experiencing that same sense of the unforgettable, almost of the uncanny, taking place before our very eyes.

None of that would have been possible without the St Andrew’s Literature Festival, perhaps the finest Christian literary event you’ve never heard of.

A premier pedigree

St Andrew’s Bookshop sits on Great Missenden High Street, in a small village in Buckinghamshire. It has been steered through the unpredictable waters of publishing by three generations of the Barnett family, serving customers since the 1960s. Their refusal to sell secular titles may not have helped their gate receipts, but I suspect they could write the book on how to survive as an independent bookshop. Difficult to know whether they’d be able to stock it, though.

One of my own personal bugbears about Christian (and secular) publishing is that it promotes content over form

The festival, which is now in its third year, was the brainchild of another St Andrew’s stalwart, Andi Bray. If you’ve been to any of the myriad Christian summer festivals, there’s a very good chance you’ve seen him orchestrating book displays and stock-taking, probably sweating from exertion and looking stoical.

I’ve been every year, in a mix of speaking and hosting roles. The experience of leaving the bookshop - which acts as a kind of communal hub, with free tea and coffee for punters – and strolling along the quaint high street, past the bougie boutiques and into the temple-like Baptist church, adds to the sense of erudition. There are no kebab or vape shops in Great Missenden. The festival blends effortlessly with the quiet class of the village, although the bright orange t-shirts worn by the stewards make it look like the whole postcode has been Tango-ed.

Form and content

The aim of the festival isn’t simply to sell books - but to give Christians in the surrounding area the chance to come and listen to the writers they might not otherwise get the opportunity to meet. And the lineup this year was at least as strong as the speaker list you might find at any prominent Christian conference - for about one tenth of the price.

Nadim Nassar, a Syrian Anglican priest, spoke on the second morning, and not since the days of Live & Kicking have I enjoyed a Saturday morning so much. There were talks on creativity, gratitude and prayer - all professionally set up and winsomely hosted. The audiences ranged in number, with John Lennox predictably smashing attendance records all over the place, and attendees have the chance to ask questions themselves.

St Andrew’s Book Festival is perhaps the finest Christian literary event you’ve never heard of

It was fun to spot the budding writers in the room, there hoping to glean insider knowledge or simply to soak up the anointing. What I didn’t really notice was a lot of unchurched locals - the festival as yet is failing to magnetise the secular masses. You get the impression, though, that any missional focus is secondary to the staging of a quality event that local churches can get behind. As already mentioned, St Andrews has never capitulated to any secular agenda. They have chosen their genre and have developed a strong narrative voice, as people like to say at literature festivals.

The numbers are growing year on year, and I pray that trend continues. One of my own personal bugbears about Christian (and secular) publishing is that it promotes content over form - the words are there to make a point, rather than being the point. The fact that the St Andrew’s Literature Festival succeeds in both its form and its content gives a pretentious writer like me a reason to be cheerful.

Oh, and I got to interview John Lennox in front of my daughters - did I mention that? It’s only appropriate to bookend the article with such a momentous evening, I think.

For more information about St Andrews Literature Festival, visit stalitfest.co.uk