Good stress is short-term and motivates you. Bad stress, however, is the kind that wears you out. Fortunately, the best remedy has no unwanted side-effects.
After any adventure, rest is often the thing we need most. It’s the same with life: when we’re caught up in difficult seasons where we need a constant supply of resilience and persistence.
Psalm 121 was written for all the weary among us, the stressed, all of those who’ve been running on fumes for far too long. It’s a beautiful psalm that speaks of the Lord’s protection over our lives.
“He will not let your foot slip … The Lord will keep you from all harm … The Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore.” Psalm 121:3-8
You know what I love most about it? It starts with the psalmist searching for answers. He was at the end of his rope, scanning the skies, wondering, “Where does my help come from?” (v.1). It takes courage to admit that we need help, but it’s vital to our survival.
Once he admitted that he needed help, the psalmist could move on and remind himself of the answer: “My strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains. He won’t let you stumble, your Guardian God won’t fall asleep. Not on your life!” vs 2-4 MSG
The next time you feel like you’re too long in the storm, read this psalm. It’s okay to need help, it’s good to take time away, and it’s strong to look up. Christ will always be with us – and will always protect us.
Extract taken from Soul Fuel by Bear Grylls, published by Zondervan in the US and Hodder Faith in the UK.
Digital Editor’s Note: It is with great delight that I welcome Louise Jane, the CEO of the prestigious Christlit Book Awards as a Sorted Magazine Guest Writer. My little book Notes from the North End of Nowhere was shortlisted for the Creative Future Writers’ Award, it has also won a Christlit Book Award and The Christlit Book of The Year 2024 Award. Louise has very kindly written this lovely endorsement. It’s very humbling to see my work standing alongside authors I admire, such as Joyce Meyer and Louie Giglio.
Louise writes: Val Fraser’s Notes from the North End of Nowhere is a brilliant concept for a book that feels refreshingly original. I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I picked it up, but I found myself laughing out loud more than I ever have with any other book!
The warmth and familiarity of the narrative enveloped me, making it the ideal companion for a laid-back weekend spent on the couch with a hot brew in hand. It’s the type of book that draws you in so completely that you lose all sense of time and space. As I read, I often found myself wishing I could sit down with the author to discuss her intriguing and inventive thoughts. Her unfiltered, candid writing style makes the reading experience feel so intimate and engaging.
With a remarkable ability to weave beautiful metaphors, Fraser showcases a talent for imaginative and thought-provoking writing. While I was engaged with the text, I also found myself longing for the magnificent northern landscapes, like those in Wales and the Lake District, as each description stirred a deep appreciation for the beauty of our planet.
One part that particularly stood out to me was the brilliantly written Notes on Noticing, which made me chuckle more than a few times. Val cleverly weaves together religious themes and humour, using sheep as a metaphor to demonstrate how Christianity can be a force for good, all while keeping that classic Northern wit. I couldn’t resist sharing some quotes with my Northerner pals, who enjoyed the humour just as much as I did. Additionally, the author’s references to TV shows like The Repair Shop and Gardeners’ World not only piqued my interest in watching them but also highlighted her ability to draw connections between everyday life and faith.
Altogether, this unique and brilliant book is a must-read! And I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone seeking a delightful literary experience.
By Tony Uddin – Pastor of Tower Hamlets Community Church
I was raised on fairly rough council estate in South London. My dad was a Bangladeshi Muslim and for most of her life my mum didn’t really have a meaningful faith of any kind. Very occasionally my three brothers and I would go with dad to the mosque, but mainly my parents left us to work out our faith for ourselves.
One day, an invitation was extended to my family through my brother. He was invited to a Crusaders boys’ bible study and years later at six or seven I started going along with him. That one unusual invite to a young boy with a Muslim parent to come to a Christian bible study led to him, and others in the family including me, coming to faith. This small invitation became a defining moment in my life and has subsequently shaped my ministry in Tower Hamlets.
From that invitation, my brother and then the rest of us started going to more Crusaders events and then to yearly Crusader camps. These events were like holidays to us, it was the only time we’d go out of London at all in the year and we were never excluded if we didn’t have the money to go. While we would be told Bible stories, we would also play sports and visit other places. They gave us opportunities that we ordinarily wouldn’t have access to.
It wasn’t until I was 10 that I made the personal choice to follow Jesus. We had a lot of fun on these camps, but they didn’t hide the gospel or water it down. It was always clear and was communicated in a way we could understand, without jargon or vagueness. The events were a constant for me, I had been attending Crusaders weekly for years at that point, but the message, the invites and the influence never wavered. That year, a missionary from London City Mission called Bill Dean spoke, and that’s when the implications of the gospel fully clicked for me for the first time. Now, years later I pastor a church myself.
Having the consistent support of a community after I responded to the gospel helped me grasp how it would shape my life. I saw what Christian service looked like, I witnessed Christian values first hand. The leaders were really important to my growth and were always reliable. Martin, my youth leader, was such a positive influence although he had such a different background from me. We came from different worlds; he was from a middle-class family and attended private school, yet he was committed to youth work in our community.
Having these role models gave me a window into a new world and helped to change me. Notably with my education, I was able to see what was possible and be encouraged by my peers and leaders. It broadened my horizons and allowed me to have greater aspirations.
There was this expectation from leaders that I would go on to lead. They saw a ‘calling’ in me and didn’t disregard or underestimate me because of my background. My ministry at Tower Hamlets Community Church (THCC) has been shaped by the impact an invitation had on my life. I never had to change who I was. I want to lead a church that is being shaped by and shaping the community in the East End where we are placed. Too often, churches simply don’t do well at raising leaders from working class backgrounds. For us at THCC its really important that the kind of leaders that we raise are grounded in and shaped by our local community.
It’s amazing to see churches across the UK want to be more invitational and welcoming. But we have to remember that for a true invitation to be meaningful to our communities, we cannot then exclude them from certain positions or opportunities because of our bias. The Church doesn’t always notice, but those being invited and then excluded definitely do. Our invitation doesn’t stop once they’re through the door or regularly attending. We need to ask ourselves: “if people from our communities come into our church, will they see people like them in visible, vocal at the front positions?” They need to be given an opportunity to lead, to step into their calling regardless of class, background, or race.
When I was a teenager a church plant moved to our estate but although they were lovely people, they weren’t interested in truly engaging and learning from the local community. They wanted to grow a church and assumed that what had worked in leafy Surrey would work on our urban estate. There wasn’t really a sense that they came as learners, more as saviours. Sadly, the Church ended up very short lived.
Our churches and leaders must look more like the communities we’re based in. That’s how we take the shape of our communities. Very often, it’s too easy to mistake a middle-class civility for Christian maturity and therefore anyone who lacks the middle-class upbringing is disqualified. To reach new people and reach into marginalised communities, we need to embrace the DNA of our communities.
I’m so glad that those who invited me understood the importance of reaching families like mine; they didn’t always understand our culture or ‘get’ what our lives were like, but they did embrace us, include us, and ultimately trained and supported us to step into our calling. Most importantly, they didn’t dumb down the Gospel for us. Let’s lean into intentionally reaching the communities around us. A good challenge for us on a Sunday is to look around our church and rather than celebrate who is in the room, think about which parts of our community are not there? Let’s ask ourselves why they are not there and what can we do to change that?
Former 80s pop star, the Reverend Richard Coles, published a book that lays bare the profound grief he felt at losing his ‘life partner’ – and reveals he found solace in music.
The Madness Of Grief is a poignant account of Coles coping with the 2019 loss of his partner, Richard, and how he dealt with the trauma and pain of bereavement.
He reveals he has an eclectic taste in music, revelling in the stirring synthesizer sounds of The Eurythmics while being awe-struck by hymns such as Thou Visitest The Earth and All My Hope On God Is Founded.
And it is to these melodies, and more, he turned when he was at his lowest ebb.
Although not a self-help book, the homilies, experience and catharsis within creates invaluable solace. It will resonate for the myriad struggling with grief wrought by the pandemic.
Since relinquishing pop stardom for the vestry, Coles was vicar of St Mary The Virgin in the Northamptonshire parish of Finedon. He can also be heard on Radio Four every Saturday morning, where he co-hosts a popular weekend programme.
His latest book follows Fathomless Riches and Bringing In The Sheaves – his best-selling memoirs.
Digital Editor’s Note: I’m pleased to welcome Tim Farron as our Sorted Magazine Guest Writer. Tim has been the Member of Parliament for Westmorland and Lonsdale since 2005 and served as the Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party from 2015 to 2017. Tim is also the host of Premier’s A Mucky Business podcast, which unpacks the murky world of politics and encourages believers around the UK to engage prayerfully. He is the author of A Mucky Business: Why Christians should get involved in politics
Tim writes: Next week, backbench Labour MP Kim Leadbeater will introduce a Private Members’ Bill to introduce assisted dying for terminally ill people.
This will be a non-government bill, usually debated on a quiet Friday when most MPs are in their constituencies, and a route that rarely leads to a change in the law. However, sometimes a bill is given time to progress – and Keir Starmer has indicated his support to enable this, although the government will take a neutral position. MPs in all parties will be given a free vote.
Of course, this is a contentious topic and I will discuss my concerns in the coming weeks. Today though I want to look at how Christians should engage with this debate.
Firstly, we all come to this with our own beliefs, assumptions and experiences. I strongly oppose the legalisation of assisted dying but some Christians take the other view, and many people with no religious faith are as uneasy about the consequences of changing the law as I am.
So we must reject the lazy assumptions of those such as the National Secular Society who have chosen to frame the debate in binary terms. They expressed support for the bill because it would “prevent those suffering from having their choices limited by other people’s religious beliefs”.
Their call for “compassion not dogma” instantly dismisses ‘religious views’ as invalid and heartless. It shuts down debate rather than engaging with nuance.
Their argument is that you can have your personal faith, but don’t impose it on others. But secularism isn’t neutral and no one is saying that secularists must keep their faith out of public policy! The secularist faith is that there is nothing beyond this life, no accountability and no enduring meaning. These are legitimate assumptions, but they are based on a faith, an unprovable belief, that they are true. This shows, to put it generously, a lack of self-awareness by those who believe that only people who attend a place of worship have faith.
This approach insists that people whose worldview is informed by a religious faith must not use that worldview to inform public policy … while secularists are free to impose the outworkings of their faith and assumptions. I say this gently, but that’s a very inconsistent position. It doesn’t bear scrutiny and, I might add, it’s not very liberal!
This is a hugely emotive subject. Many of us, me included, have personally experienced the suffering of loved ones from cruel and degenerative diseases, and of course we long to take this grief away. But we will not make better laws if each side digs into a tribal trench and starts hurling abuse at the other.
I want to seek some common ground for a courteous national debate that encourages curiosity and respect on all sides.
As Christians we must acknowledge that our society does not recognise authority where we do. Quoting scripture to an atheist will get us nowhere. But loving our neighbour by listening attentively, doing our utmost to understand another’s point of view, I hope will.
So let’s recognise that people on both sides approach the issue from a sense of compassion.
Those of us opposed to changing the law are neither callous nor uncaring. And we must show respect to others, refraining from labelling their views as an easy or even wicked option.
Because we all desire dignity. Those in favour of assisted dying want to make it easier for people at the end of life to maintain self-respect in the face of pain and increasing dependence on others. This springs from a belief that we should have autonomy over our own bodies and, where possible, our own lives.
As a Christian I believe in a dignity that is even richer and deeper. Dignity that is not found only in our abilities, mental capacity or control over our lives. Dignity that springs from the belief that each individual is a deeply loved, awesome creation of the living God, made in His image and therefore with intrinsic and unconditional worth.
This debate touches the heart of what it means to be human. We do not speak much of death in our society. We are afraid of losing control over our bodies, of suffering and losing our self-worth. And without the assurance of God’s love or sovereignty, people are seeking a new concept of humanity, on human terms. As Bishop Robert Baron puts it, we are seeking to be ‘inventors of ourselves’.
But if we believe that “God has set eternity in the human heart” (Ecclesiastes 3:11), this explains why these deep concerns resonate on both sides of today’s debate. We are still a deeply Christian society at heart.
This issue deserves careful, thoughtful and respectful discussion. In seeking to respond in this way, Christians can reject this debate as another outpost in the culture wars and instead place a renewed focus on the worth and deep value of each individual right to the end of their lives.
A brilliant Head of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London, C E M Joad, was not always a man of faith, but when he was asked on a radio programme which one historical figure he would most like to meet and ask just one question, he didn’t hesitate: “I would meet Jesus Christ and ask him the most important question in the world, ‘Did you or did you not rise from the dead?’”
You see, if Jesus Christ really is risen from the dead, it changes everything. It means that every word, every claim, every statement He ever made is true:
■That He came to bring life, to save the lost, to bring us all home. ■That He came to set us free from religion and rules. ■That He wants us to live lightly. ■That we can move mountains and heal the sick. ■That we are all His children. And that, ultimately, He won’t let harm come to us.
But it all hinges on His resurrection. If He didn’t rise again, then His claims about Himself were not true. In the words of C. S. Lewis, “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic, on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg, or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse.”
But if He did rise again, then how? The compelling evidence for the resurrection is hard to argue against. I have tried. Many of the greatest minds of our time have tried. The evidence is so stacked toward it being the truth that many scholars have found faith after setting out to discredit it.
So if He did rise again, it means this also is true: “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). And if He is right here, right now. beside us, for us, and within us, then our day really should be full of joy and assurance! Jesus with us. Truth. Soak it in.
Longstanding friend of Sorted Magazine, Bear Grylls, ventures into the wild with cast members of The Chosen.
The Chosen in the Wild with Bear Grylls is a six-episode unscripted adventure series. It is produced by The Natural Studios in association with 5&2 Studios. Celebrity survivalist and adventurer Bear Grylls (Emmy®-nominated Running Wild with Bear Grylls and You vs. Wild, Man vs. Wild) takes an immersive journey with the cast and creator of The Chosen. This provides a unique exploration of the global hit series.
In each episode, Grylls ventures into the wild with one cast member. Their is an exploration of their personal stories and in depth look into their own perspectives on the series and the characters they portray.
Bear Grylls said: “This show allows viewers to discover what the real people behind the phenomenal TheChosen series are actually like. The wild opens people up in a way nothing else does, and it challenges us to dig deep and find our true selves. This adventure series pushes The Chosen actors like never before whilst also discovering their own personal stories of life and faith. That’s the magic of this new series, bringing new insight and revelation to some of TV’s most loved and watched characters.”
Creator of The Chosen Dallas Jenkins’ new independent studio 5&2 Studios is currently working on a New Children’s Animated Series called The Chosen Adventures.
The Chosen Adventures follows nine-year-old Abby in the Galilean city of Capernaum, circa 30 CE. Inquisitive young Abby is bursting at the seams with questions and feels she doesn’t have the kinds of answers she’s looking for. When she and her best friend, Joshua, meet Jesus will all that change?
The 14 episode animated series features the voice talents of Emmy® winner Paul Walter Hauser(Black Bird, I, Tonya), Emmy® nominee Yvonne Orji (Insecure) and two-time GRAMMY®-nominated artist Jordin Sparks. In addition there well loved cast members from The Chosen, including Jonathan Roumie, Paras Patel, Elizabeth Tabish, Noah James, Joey Vahedi, Yasmine Al-Bustami, Brandon Potter and George H. Xanthis.
Ryan Swanson, Creator/Executive Producer of The Chosen Adventures and Executive Producer of The Chosen said: ;“I’m thrilled to welcome Paul, Yvonne, and Jordin into The Chosen family as we continue to produce more incredible content for our fans. We were surprised and encouraged to discover that children have been watching The Chosen alongside their parents, so we wanted to continue the family co-viewing experience by creating an animated series that is full of humour, heartfelt life lessons, and loveable characters.”
Creator of The Chosen, Dallas Jenkins (pictured on the left above) embarks on his next chapter with the formation of 5&2 Studios, a new independent studio that will now oversee production of The Chosen franchise in addition to a future line-up of film and television projects set in the biblical world. The announcement was made during the first day of the ChosenCon fan convention in Orlando.
Dallas Jenkins is Chairman and Chief Creative Officer at 5&2 Studios and Creator and Executive Producer of The Chosen. Jenkin’s is also Director of Lionsgate’s upcoming film The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Jenkins explained: “Nearly every time I encounter a viewer, they say something about wanting more Bible content from us. I always say we need to not get ahead of ourselves and remain focused, but now we’ve got a robust enough team to expand our efforts. I’m very excited to bring our ‘Chosen way’ to more great stories from the Bible, and it’s awesome that we get to first announce it to the fans who helped get us here long before we were popular.”
Over 5,000 fans of The Chosen gathered at The Chosen Insiders Conference (ChosenCon) for the two-day fan convention in Orlando. The conference featured panel discussions, cast meet-and-greets, special announcements, sneak previews, and more. The first ChosenCon was held in Dallas, TX in 2023 with over 3,500 attendees.
Digital Editor’s Note: I’m delighted to welcome Matthew White as our Sorted Magazine Guest Writer. Matthew is a priest, poet and songwriter as well as an accomplished musician and singer. He is passionate about faith, poetry and music and has always had a keen fascination with words. His debut book Propelled into Wonder was released in September 2024 (Wipf and Stock Publishers).
Matthew writes: Did you know that approximately 33% of the Bible is poetry? That’s effectively one third of the entire canon of Scripture devoted to various kinds of songs and poems! Followers of Jesus who regularly attend a church will be familiar with the singing of songs as an integral part of Christian worship and discipleship but how many of us actively make room in our lives (or in our services of worship for that matter) for poetry?
If you’re anything like me, you can probably recall, hum, sing or whistle the words or tune belonging to your favourite songs or pieces of music but how many of us can confidently recite a favourite poem that perhaps over time we may even have committed to learning by heart?
For indeed, the “heart” is both pertinent and significant when it comes to engaging with poetry as this is where the best poems emanate from and where the best poems gladly make themselves at home.
In stark contrast to the often laborious and tedious experience of reading a set of instructions or pouring over an academic textbook, the beauty and “magic” of poetry is that it is a medium which demands to be savoured, chewed, interrogated, ingested and pondered. Or, to put it another way, poetry is that which encounters us.
I am more convinced than ever before that poetry is a rich and dynamic gift from God, the very same God who is himself a dynamic hum of perfect relationship and who “spoke”1 the world into being. I am also convinced that good poetry necessitates being felt as well as read and, sadly, there are plenty of people out there who haven’t tried either.
Poetry has many benefits to offer those who afford it proper time and due reverence. One of the main things I have benefitted from is poetry’s uncanny ability to give a voice to those emotions and experiences that perhaps I would have otherwise found difficult to talk about or make sense of myself.
Poetry has the power to profoundly and wonderfully enrich our lives. Poetry can be a source of healing. Poetry can soothe and comfort as well as stir and agitate. Poetry can lead us to meditate and poetry can provoke us into action. Poetry invites us to slow down and helps us to become present, serving the particular moment or text that we find ourselves in.
As we continually open ourselves to a varied plethora of poets and poems and as we spend time reading (and I would advise speaking and listening to) the Psalms, we quickly discover that our experiences of loss, heartache, abandonment, bewilderment, anger and hopelessness are perhaps not as uncommon as we might think.
My new book, Propelled into Wonder (Wipf and Stock Publishers), is an original poetry collection containing many highs and sighs from the past decade of my life. Several of the poems in the book were written in the gruelling aftermath of losing my beloved father unexpectedly and suddenly to Covid during the lead up to Christmas in 2021. Others were inspired by a selection of my favourite people and places or born out of several incredibly joyful and unsavoury experiences from both within and outside the walls of the Church.
Propelled into Wonder is home to poems about faith, doubt, grief, leadership, beauty, childhood and love (among others). Many of the poems are accompanied by original hand drawn illustrations. My hope is that this book will inspire and speak to others in the same way that the poetry of others so often ministers and speaks to me.
In the book’s introduction, I write the following words: “If nothing else, my hope is that the words on the pages that follow are honest. Moreover, that they are honest in the way that the Psalms are honest, holding nothing back and declining that dangerous invitation to adopt an unrealistic state of permanent politeness, all in the name of showing God due reverence.”
If you are kind enough to pick up a copy of my book, my heart’s desire is that my words will speak to you, or even help you speak, and I am praying that my poems will become both friend and firebrand.
It was one of my favourite poets, Gerard Manley Hopkins, who famously observed in one of his most well known poems2: “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.” Perhaps your world needs to be charged with poetry!
Genesis 1:3, Psalm 33:9
From the poem God’s Grandeur by Gerard Manley Hopkins
