(re)Introducing the IVP Publishing Board: Sue Halliday

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself – what you do day to day.

I live on my pension – as a retired Professor of Marketing I am grateful this is able to fund a pleasant daily lifestyle. To keep fit I do Pilates, swim, cycle a bit and go dragonboat paddling on the River Avon, a short walk away. I read and write about business and marketing and deepen my theological understanding to support more insight for these writings so that I can develop a deeply Christian understanding of ‘my’ areas of expertise.

2. What is something you wished more people knew about you?

I am more in want of encouragement than I might appear – this may well be true of many of us! I am more energized by encouragement than we all might imagine! There is a real flow of positive results from me feeling encouraged.

3. Tell us about a Christian book (not the Bible) that has been influential upon your faith.

I suppose Evangelism and The Sovereignty of God by Jim Packer, read while a student and young Christian has been massively influential. As I grow older I am even more aware of how I depend upon God’s taking the initiative and dealing with me graciously. And of how this is true of all his interventions in his creation.

4. What is your role within IVP and why is it important?

As Chair of the IVP Publishing Board, I am responsible for engaging and enthusing a small team of volunteers to take special care of the theological underpinnings of IVP books to check that they remain faithful to the UCCF Doctrinal Basis of Faith. I therefore develop relationships with key employees to actively support our shared values and build trust and commitment. It also gives me a place on the SPCK Group Governing Body. Here I am largely an advocate for IVP and for its role in publishing material true to the Bible.

5. How are you uniquely equipped to support IVP?

There is no-one else on the Publishing Board with such deep experience in marketing - I hope I can make the most of my experience for IVP's good.

6. What excites you most about IVP’s work / What are your hopes for the future of IVP?

God is both Creator and Redeemer: this shapes reality and all of our lives regardless of whether we acknowledge him or not. It excites me to be part of a project to bear witness to this reality in a way that communicates the necessity and joy of a life reconciled to God, lived in awareness of and gratitude for his undeserved and persevering love.