In this profound, vulnerable and heart-felt book, Steve shows with eloquent clarity how we can achieve and enjoy a healthy inner life, one in which we become spiritually, emotionally and mentally free from some of the negative effects of past experience. To be able to identify some of the baggage that I have been carrying (in blissful ignorance) in my life and to be led through a simple method by which this is discarded (and replaced with something better!) has been an enormous blessing. I particularly love Steve’s great practical advice for recognising and hearing God’s voice in simple daily conversation. What a joy to relate to a God who loves giving short, direct answers to short, direct questions (I can feel His smile even as I write this!) And by combining common sense, holy truth and hard-learned lessons from life, Steve’s book offers a model of ministering to the whole person that is truly and enduringly effective. And the great news is, this model can work for anyone!

Revd David Frederick
Church Leader, Love the Street, Exeter

 

 

I met Steve and Helen when I was going through a very difficult season in my life. I found their gentle advice on how to bring my hurt, confusion and questions to Jesus and hear his answers to be incredibly life-giving. I commend this thoughtfully written and helpful book to you in the hope that it might do the same.

Andy Croft
Joint Senior Pastor, Soul Survivor, Watford

 

 

There is such depth to this piece of writing, one that reminds us how real the spiritual battle can be. However, if we so desire, we can develop our relationship and intimacy with Christ. We can be confident that in our brokenness the Spirit can lead us to become warriors. I am encouraged by Steve Pollard, the practical approach and paradigm presented in this book, and that it helps us identify our inner being and walk toward freedom. I believe this work will enable more people to understand their purpose, experience renewal and empower them to multiply it in others.

Nigel Langford
Head of Church Relations for the Bible Society; Co-founder and leader of Hub Church, Woodford; Board Member; Westminster Theological Centre.

What I most appreciate about Steve and Helen’s approach is that they care for the whole person. We found it hugely beneficial and liberating to apply God’s grace into our past, feelings, thoughts and spirit. In this sense, it was a new and much needed paradigm for us. It enables gospel-based, Spirit-led, personally-applied repentance and faith with a simple approach.

Stu Alred
Pastor, Grace Church, Exeter

If there is anyone who deserves the accolade from God, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”, it’s Steve Pollard. He is someone who walks the talk with exceptional faithfulness in life and ministry. He lives what he teaches on a daily basis through the highs and lows. Over the last decade Bespoke ministry has brought release, transformation and hope to so many people. Some have reached the end of the line with nowhere else to turn. Others have been leaders who want to serve God more faithfully and with greater freedom and power. Whether Steve and Helen are offering intense and profound ministry to the depths of people’s trauma or simply helping people walk more closely with God, they never make it about themselves and their ministry. Their passion is for people to have the skills and insights to take responsibility for their own faith and walk. It is so fantastic to see their wisdom so clearly distilled and expressed in black and white. This book is a must for anyone who wants to live fully as a disciple of Christ. It offers profound insights for those who are broken and struggling to cope, alongside basic understanding that is essential for anyone who wants to live as God intended.

Revd James Grier
Vicar, Unlimited Church

Helen and Steve have lived remarkable lives; both highs and lows. This incredible journey has inspired and motivated them to dig deep into how we’re made and how we work as God’s creation people who have been born into a fallen world. The insights and biblical wisdom Steve presents in this book provide a profound and practical roadmap to help us all understand ourselves better and learn how we can live flourishing lives.

Keith Johnson
Business Leader and Executive Coach

I couldn’t put this book down; it is more than a useful text with teaching and advice for personal and client work, it is more than an autobiography. Steve’s frank honesty provides the reader permission for their own vulnerability as well as a guide through to a hopeful outcome. As an Integrative Counsellor who also works with women exiting modern-day slavery I am so grateful for so much wisdom, theory, exercises and personal insights condensed into one easy-to-read volume.

Sue Clark (MBACP)
Integrative Counsellor and Salvation Army Modern-day Slavery Support Programme Volunteer

Steve and Helen have been a huge help to us personally and to many in our church family. I commend this book to you as I commend their ministry to our church members! As you read it I would encourage you to take you time over the questions, and allow the Holy Spirit to do his work!

Revd Edward and Lucy Hobbs
St Andrew’s Church, Cullompton

Time spent with Steve Pollard is life-changing! At last, through this excellent book, a wider audience can benefit from the wisdom and understanding that God has given to him over the years. I can personally vouch that the principles Steve unpacks here are truly transformational. May the Lord use this treasure of a book to bring many people into freedom, intimacy with Jesus and fruitfulness for His Kingdom and glory. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free”! (Galatians 5:1)

David Edwards
Worship Pastor

A year after ending a long-term abusive relationship, I sat down with Steve as he guided me through the ideas and practices set out here. I want to say it changed how I looked at the situation, but really it changed the way I looked at myself; at my self-worth and self-identity, and my relationship with Jesus. Some of the things we discussed I still reflect on now and still benefit from. This is a valuable and worthwhile model, and one that I hope will continue to serve and release many people as they discover this book.

David Poulson
Youth Worker

All of us experience the tension between who we want to be and how we are actually living, whether because of major wounds or simply the toil of daily life. This book is for anyone who wants, with God’s help, to step more fully into who they want to be. What Steve Pollard does so well is to make simple and clear some very big ideas about how the world works both in the spiritual and the natural; to draw together insights from different streams of counselling, inner healing and psychology into an holistic view of life; and then to bring from these practical tools for how to grow in God and walk into freedom. But Well Done Good and F aithful Servant is more than just another ‘how to’ book, it contains wisdom hard-won through Steve Pollard’s own life and then honed through encouraging countless others to grow in God through the ministry of Bespoke. In other words, it’s real stuff. You see, Steve Pollard is a trained spiritual director and life coach, a husband, father, and grandfather; he has been a naval officer, solicitor, church leader and church planter; he has journeyed through long term mental illness, the loss of his first child, and multiple serious illnesses in his close family, to a place not only of healing but of helping others find freedom. And Steve Pollard is my dad. So much of what I know of following Jesus, living life well, being a husband and raising children, I have learned from his invitation to share his journey (the good and the bad), to watch how he lives and how he learns, and to hear him speak into my life. In this book he extends that same invitation to you.

Sam Pollard
Associate Vicar, All Saints Woodford Wells; Lead Minister, Barking Riverside Church Plant