When Dundee power couple Dean and Janine Wallace started up Relight Church, they knew it would cause a stir in the city. Known in the business world as the founder and CEO of beauty empire BrowJam (Janine) and in the entertainment world as a footballer, podcast host and life coach (Dean), the pair both had big reputations cemented in their hometown. So when they posted a video on social media of themselves being baptised in the River Tay on Broughty Ferry beach in November 2023, it took many of their friends and associates by surprise.
“People knew us before, how we partied and things like that. Or knew us through our business,” explains Dean, 40. “But nobody knew we’d been on this journey of admitting our life to Christ.”
“This was our public declaration,” adds Janine, 39. “And I knew there would be people saying things.
“It’s a big thing to start a church in your hometown,” she continues. “People are usually missionaries because they’re not listened to at home, so we’re carrying a big burden. But we love Dundee.
“And that day in the Tay was the most liberating, incredible – but freezing! – experience.”
So how exactly did the Wallaces go from two of Dundee’s most well-known rat racers to devout followers of Christ? Moreover, why start a church of your own? And is it worth the allegations that you’re “a plant of an American cult”? I sat down with Dean and Janine in a city Starbucks one Friday afternoon to get the full story.
‘We’re not religious’
Growing up in the same Dryburgh estate, neither Dean nor Janine previously considered themselves religious. Janine was “very badly damaged” by the Catholic church in her youth. Meanwhile for Dean, religion “never resonated” but it always fascinated him.
“I always remember watching top boxers or sports stars winning and saying: ‘I just want to start by thanking God.’
“I would think: What are they talking about? Why are they saying that?”
But during lockdown in 2020, Dean and Janine each found faith after their “fast paced” lives stretched them to breaking point. Couple’s identities were lost in work
“We used to live life really fast-paced,” explains Dean. “It was all about earning, working, partying every weekend.
“Then lockdown hit, everything came to a standstill. And I suddenly was like: ‘When I’m not working, who am I?’”
Janine also says she had a “proper breakdown” after realising her “whole identity was attached to being in BrowJam“.
“I was really struggling to be around my family,” the mum-of-four shares candidly. “I was so used to being out grafting. Everything I knew didn’t make sense anymore.”
The pair’s personal struggles had led to them facing challenges within their marriage. “There was loads of love there, but it was a train wreck at times,” chuckles Dean. “In lockdown, I started searching for answers.”
Through LinkedIn, Dean connected with American author and chemical engineer John Lenhart, whose book, Modelling God, claims to outline a “non-contradictory interpretation of the Bible and model for the human brain”. The controversial book suggests a “true” model for “who God is” and offers guidance on how interpreting the Bible through this model can help people to “flow” in their lives. John, who offers self-help coaching through his organisation Flowcess, took Dean under his wing and coached him without charging.
“It completely changed my life,” enthuses Dean. “Our marriage was getting better, I had so much energy. I was learning that we’re all unique beings, that we gain and lose energy, and learning to deal with my patterns and triggers.
“I asked John where everything he’d taught me had come from. And he was like: ‘It’s from the Bible’.”
Lenhart ‘didn’t push God on us’
For Dean and Janine, this was the lightbulb moment. “John didn’t push God on us,” clarifies Janine. “He just helped us as people. The transformation was so remarkable that it cleared all the noise, and I believe that’s when God could then come through.
“It was very easy for us to make the connection between feeling so good, loving each other and then loving God.”
The pair then began counselling other couples for a number
