When Duncan from the Amazing People podcast first came to faith in Grade 9, it was largely thanks to a book someone gave him to read: 'More Than a Carpenter' by Josh McDowell.

McDowell was a law student who, for a college assignment, set off on a quest to disprove Christianity once and for all. His mission didn’t go well, and he was instead compelled to become a follower of Jesus.  


Today, more than 40 years since More Than A Carpenter was first published, it has sold more than 27 million copies, and McDowell has authored or co-authored more than 151 books in 128 different languages. There's also a movie about his life, called 'Undaunted', which delves into his childhood in a dysfunctional family with an alcoholic and violent father, suffering sexual abuse by a worker on the family farm.

Now an international speaker and evangelist, Josh McDowell was due to come to Australia - before the COVID-19 travel bans came in. So, instead of interviewing him face to face, Sam and Duncan caught up with him over the phone. In their chat, McDowell shares about how his faith has shifted and grown since first writing More than a Carpenter – most importantly, that he is more patient and willing to listen more.

He also talks about how his life plans are radically different to what they once were. In the past, he had dreams of becoming a US Senator; now he instead spends his time travelling and speaking as a Christian apologist.