The most wonderful time of the year?

I absolutely love the excitement that surrounds Christmas: decorating the tree, carols by candlelight, wrapping presents, the cheesy movies; the whole shebang. 

I love picking out Christmassy foods at the supermarket while bopping along to the classic tunes that can just about be heard over the general hubbub of people filling their trolleys with mince pies and mulled wine.

But sometimes we can get so caught up in the trimmings of Christmas, we forget about the important things. First, the reason that we celebrate Christmas in the first place: to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Second, that we are called to care for those that are less fortunate than us, a message that was close to Jesus’ heart.

So this week’s news that hunger in the UK – the seventh-richest country in the world – has reached public health emergency levels is a complete disgrace! An estimated 60,000 will be without food over Christmas this year! 

How are people going to bed hungry right under our noses? How are elderly people dying because they cannot afford to heat their homes? And how are families finding themselves without homes at all?

Now I realise that these problems exist all year round, not just at Christmas, but at this time of year we should be doing more, not less, to help those in need. Nobody should be without food, heat or shelter this Christmas!

So what can we do to help?

• Find out where your nearest food bank is and take advantage of two-for-one offers when you’re next at the supermarket. You may not have tons of money to give away, but there are ways to give without bankrupting yourself.
• Sign Jack Monroe’s petition calling for parliamentary debate on hunger in the UK. Did you know that 350,000 people received three-day emergency food rations from food banks between April and September this year alone?
• Give sensitively. Maybe you have a neighbour, colleague or friend who is struggling to make ends meet. Find a way to help without being patronising. Perhaps you could take round a Christmas hamper, or better still, invite someone to share Christmas at your home. Maybe an elderly person you know will be spending a lonely Christmas at a residential care home or hospital this year. A half-hour visit could make all the difference.

The Bible speaks a great deal on this subject. Deuteronomy 15:7-11 tells us not to harden our hearts against our “poor brother”, while Leviticus 25:35 and Isaiah 58:6-7 go a step further, suggesting that the poor brother/homeless person is taken into our homes and supported.

Proverbs speaks extensively about meeting others’ needs and being generous to the poor (and the blessing that comes with it):

• Proverbs 19:17: “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.”
• Proverbs 22:9: “Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor.”
• Proverbs 14:21: “Whoever despises his neighbour is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.”

Jesus himself spoke extensively on the subject, for example in Luke 3:11: “And he answered them, ‘Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.’"

These verses are summed up nicely in 1 John 3:17-18: “But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

So let’s remember those in need this Christmas, and throughout 2014.

Finally, if you’re already doing all this and want to address the spiritual needs of those around you, why not use Christmas as an opportunity to invite a friend to church or to a carol service?

Or why not give them a gift that introduces them to the Christian faith? Yup, you’ve guessed it! Sorted and sister magazine Liberti make excellent Christmas presents for people of all faiths and of no faith. You can buy a gift subscription for one special person or a bumper box to distribute among friends and strangers alike.

Finally, check out this clip from The Piano Guys to get you in the Christmas mood. It’ll blow you away.

Why I support the rights of women

By Steve Legg










If I’m honest, I don’t really understand why anyone wouldn’t support the rights of women. There’s more depth to the debate than that, of course; but on one level, what kind person doesn’t treat everyone with respect?

The thing is, I love women. Let me qualify that: I’m a dad raising five women, a husband partnered by a simply brilliant woman, and I was raised by the first women I ever loved – my mum. Each of these women is amazing in their unique way and I love to watch them reach their potential; to grow and develop and aim high. I don’t like to see them boxed in by other people’s opinions, ignored because they’re ‘just women’ or leered at, because alongside being outstanding they happen to be stunners.

As a Christian I’ve chosen to follow a God who, when he came to earth as a man, went out of his way to honour women, who respected them regardless of their background, marital status or profession, and who empowered women to go out and change the worlds they lived in, even though culturally that was incomprehensible. Jesus loved women too.

I run a men’s magazine, Sorted, and I started it because I wanted my son and his mates to be able to read a magazine that wasn’t full of semi-naked women. I wanted him to understand that reading about footballers is entertaining and that learning about great adventurers is exciting, but that getting kicks out of looking at naked women is offensive.

I wanted to reach more men and boys with that message, but I also wanted the women in my life to know that there are men who want that type of magazine; who aren’t just buying their ‘reading’ material for the pictures. Some great women write for the magazine, and they’re appreciated for their journalism skills and their wit, not for their vital statistics.

From the beginning, I’ve wanted to take on the magazines that objectify women: Loaded and Nuts being two of my particular bugbears. It has been amazing to watch Sorted’s circulation rise as theirs have dropped. We now distribute more magazines than Loaded. 

There have been many campaigns to boycott these magazines, but I think it sends an even louder message to the market when the ‘boobs, babes and bums free’ magazine overtakes the smut through a process of natural selection.

I want to encourage men to be men – to learn how to be good dads, husbands, brothers and friends – and at the heart of that is the lesson of how to live in what I believe is a God-ordained equal partnership with women.

Visit our website to find out more about Sorted magazine and click here to order your copy today.

Let’s get this thing Sorted!

Guest blog from

Stephen Baring

I was in yet another airport waiting for a plane and picked up one of the free magazines to pass the time. Sorted grabbed my interest and I was some way into it before it dawned on me that it was a magazine with a Christian ethos. I was thrilled.

Here, at last, was a Christian magazine that really stood a chance of being read by non-Christian guys; a magazine that our God can be proud of. It perfectly took Christianity out of the confines of the Church and into the world, in a relevant, entertaining way. 

I am a business person, with a strong understanding of sales and marketing and an involvement in publishing. Magazines are not cheap to produce and distribute. I spoke to the editor Steve Legg and was inspired to help when he told me that he does not draw a salary from the magazine.

The fixed costs are £10,000 a month and it is up to us as successful Christian business people and professionals to draw alongside Steve and support him in one of the UK’s most potent evangelistic projects.

If fifty of us commit to sowing just £200 per month in the magazine, we cover the fixed costs, allowing advertising revenue to be used to further develop the magazine and get more copies out there. 

And remember, we are not doing Steve a favour – quite the opposite! He is doing us a service by providing us and our businesses with the opportunity to partner with a project truly significant in the kingdom of our Lord.

I do not know Steve well and have not been involved with the magazine up to now. I ask you, too, whether you know Steve or not, to partner with me in supporting the work of Sorted. 

Don't pray about it, just do it.

Email steve@sorted-magazine.com to find out how you can support the magazine. 

What’s your vision?

Guest blog with Tim Childs


When people have a vision, a goal, an aim, they seem to stand out; whatever that goal might be. And if they have enough drive they are often successful in achieving what they set out to do.  



When I say successful, I’m not necessarily talking about becoming rich and powerful, I mean ‘successful’ in the broadest sense: living successfully, holding down a job, volunteering some of your time; for the Christian, serving God each day with a whole heart is the height of success. 

But as well as this, success can mean making money, having a thriving business and pursuing a career in something you really want to do. I find that although my life is far from perfect in many respects, when I have a vision and pursue it, I feel a true sense of accomplishment. 

The majority of us have dreams that motivate us to get out of bed and we work towards these dreams almost every day. We hang on, hoping that we will see our dreams become reality, and sometimes we work day and night to see this dream get off the ground. 

Whether or not I succeed in what I do is less important than the fact that I am busy doing something. Of course, I don’t want to labour fruitlessly, but I believe it’s all in God’s hands anyway; as long as I play my part I have nothing to worry about.

When people lack vision, life can become rather selfish. Material things often become more important than spiritual conditions such as peace, happiness, contentment, joy and genuine wellbeing. 

People indulge their every whim thinking that possessions and other things will make them happy, but in my experience they don’t. To make up for the disappointment, they indulge themselves even more and end up caught in a vicious circle. 

One of the problems with Western society at the moment is that we have become spiritually bankrupt; and when people lose sight of the spiritual, of what really matters in life, they gravitate towards the material. As a result, all of our priorities get skewed: on a global, national and local level, but also on a very personal level.

When humans are greedy and selfish, they stop thinking about other people’s needs. They can become ruthless and even vicious in securing their own wellbeing, even at the expense of other people. 

We all have a selfish streak, and perhaps especially at this time of economic strife we need to stop being selfish and learn how to be practically concerned for other people; regardless of whether you run a successful business or are unemployed like so many of us are at this time.

We can all make the world a worse place, and, guess what? We can all make it a better place too. Whether we have a little or a lot, we can all play our part.

We all need a vision in life. With a vision we can overcome the most dramatic and seemingly immovable objects. Sometimes it’s just about putting one foot in front of the other, and repeating; and knowing where we want to go. 

I think if you know where you want to go, and you know what you want to be, you are half way to fulfilling your dream. I may add, the Christian has the added advantage of leaning fully on God. 

Whatever your vision is, I would encourage you to invite God into your plans. This may come as a surprise, but He might just want you to live a fulfilled, successful life too!

Read more about living a God-focused life in the next issue of Sorted magazine.

Boom and bust: the false economy

Special guest blog with Tim Childs

One of the things that has been brought to the fore in the last few years is the economy that booms for a time and then goes bust.

The boom and bust economy serves the get-rich-quick mentality. The worst aspect is that it creates super-rich people and corporations who don’t even pay token amounts of tax, while at the bottom it creates low-wage, dead-end jobs; so it only serves to increase the already large divides between rich and poor. 

But I’m not just blaming the rich; I think we all need to rein in our finances. We can all cut down and live within our means. In this age of easy credit, many people are living on money that they don’t have, buying things they don’t really need and then finding themselves in debt. That includes individuals, corporations and entire nations. 

It’s easy to get our hands on money and worry about repaying it later; and we have paid the price for this. It is my belief that no one should live on credit, and that we should all live within our means. I understand necessities are a different matter; but do we need that plasma TV? Do we need a second holiday? Do we need to redecorate the house at great expense? 

The financial hub in London was living beyond its means, and when things went bust – and boy did they go spectacularly bust – everything went with it, and we are all paying the price for it now (except perhaps the bankers who are still on huge bonuses). 

In the end, most societies’ economies are only really about the wealthy and powerful staying wealthy and powerful, and if some crumbs fall off the table for the rest of us, so much the better. 

But the reality isn’t really one of a nation benefitting, that ‘we’re all in this together’. It’s about a precious few making tons of money while the rest of us look on with no real chance of doing the same.

Shouldn't churches and responsible people be talking about this? Shouldn’t governments and parties of every political hue be trying to stop the worst aspects of boom and bust? 

Whatever happens and whatever is said, it’s obvious that until we start to look at this and the moral and even spiritual bankruptcy behind it, nothing is going to stop the boom and bust of wealthy economies. I hate to say it, but as long as rich people make money, nothing else seems to matter. 

The answer is for all of us to stop being greedy, quite frankly.  How many millions of pounds do you need to be happy? How many houses can you live in? How many cars can you drive at one time? 

There is a moral and a spiritual dimension to all of this. It may be legal and above board to make money while the sun shines and to hell with everyone and everything else, but there will be a price to pay.

However rich or poor you may be and wherever you find yourself in the social system, such behaviour is contrary to God’s laws.

So how does a person prosper and live as a Christian at the same time? By putting God first! I think we put God first by acknowledging that there is a spiritual and moral dimension to life, and by regarding other people as being as precious as ourselves, our own families and friends. 

Finally, is it good for people to expect so many years of the high life and then somehow always be waiting for the ‘pay-off’? I believe this creates instability simply because so many of us are expecting it to happen. The rich get richer, even the poor live well for a while, and then the proverbial hits the fan… and most of us suffer the consequences. 

This particular credit crunch might be slightly different in origin, and I’m no economist so I can’t fully understand or explain it, but the effects are basically the same; we’re all in it together through the bad times, but when the good times roll around again it’s every man for himself.

This is the bankrupt morality at the heart of so many wealthy nations and until we challenge it, beginning with our own greed and selfishness, we can expect the same thing to happen over and over again. 

Click here to read more from Tim Childs. 

You can read more on finance and other life issues in the next issue of Sorted magazine, which is hot off the press.

Let’s get it out there!

The Olympics haven’t kicked off yet, but the Games have already made headlines for all the wrong reasons. There was the G4S ‘scandal’, the omission of Becks from the team GB football squad, the ticketing debacle, the allegations against major sponsor adidas of paying “poverty wages” in Asia (which it firmly denies), the decision to allow former ‘drug cheats’ to compete, and so on and so forth.

Now I should probably explain that I am a massive fan of the Olympics. I was lucky enough to be working from home during the Beijing Games, so I managed to catch almost every event (as work-related research, of course). Even sports like hockey, which I detested at school, were fascinating to watch.

There is something incredibly special about having the world’s top athletes all in one place. About the fans travelling from around the world to cheer on their country’s best sportspeople; the face paints, the waving flags and the excitement that exudes from every pore of those watching live.

I’ve heard people complaining about the added security risks in London this summer, the disruption to travel services, and of the cost to the taxpayer. But I wonder whether people would make the same complaints if we were hosting the World Cup… I think the moaners and the groaners have simply failed to capture the thrill of the Games and the absolute privilege it is to have them on our doorsteps.

So here comes the shameless plug… The Olympics version of Sorted magazine is out now, and a number of people (including the mighty Bear Grylls) have said it’s our best issue to date. It covers everything from security to doping and features in-depth, exclusive interviews with Victoria Pendleton, Steve Redgrave, Tom Daley, Philips Idowu, Jessica Ennis and a host of others. It also tells you what’s on (and when) to ensure you don’t miss any key events.

And with all the other content – film reviews, gadgets, nutrition advice and great insights from our regular columnists – you’ll love it even if you’re not a sports buff. In fact, the front cover alone is worth the money!

But even more importantly, we’re giving away 10,000 free copies of Sorted across London in the next week. It will be available in bars, restaurants and tube stations as well as through the usual channels (online, in local newsagents and at WH Smith). Not only does this magazine offer a much more positive build-up to London 2012, it offers an opportunity to share the Christian message with people who might never hear it elsewhere.

The magazine presents relevant, engaging issues from a godly perspective without being in your face or cringey. There are no tambourines or sock-and-sandal combos. It’s a mag you could be read in public without any embarrassment and pass around your friends. And there has never been a better time to get it out there, with 11 million people expected to hit London in the next month.

If you share our vision of reaching people with a positive, God-focused message, then there are various ways you can help. Number one – buy the magazine and tell people about it. Preferably buy a bumper pack of 50 (for just £75) and give them to people in your church/local area/workplace.

Finally, if you’d like to sponsor some copies, we can get the magazine into the hands of even more people this summer. It’s not cheap printing huge quantities of magazines, and as this is our longest ever edition (108 stonking pages), the cost will be significant. But at Sorted we believe that you reap what you sow, and what you sow into this project financially could have eternal consequences.

Contact Steve Legg on steve@sorted-magazine.com to find out how you can get involved. And let’s make this Olympics one to remember for all the right reasons.  

What does it all mean?

Guest blog with Tim Childs

Perhaps people have been pondering that question since the dawn of time; I know I do from time to time anyway. To some people, life means nothing more than having a good time: drinking, laughing, eating good food and doing the things they very much want to do. That doesn’t sound too bad to me, to be honest. 

To someone else, however, life is more than just enjoying themselves; more than pleasure, more than what it is on the surface. I hasten to add that in my own life I’ve been the consummate pleasure seeker and the thinking philosopher. I’m not a holier-than-thou person; in many respects I’m just an ordinary bloke who likes to think about things.

How do we square the mundane world we live in with the Christian reality God wants us to live out? We are in two worlds: the world of secularism, of sport, of pleasure, of strife and competition, the world that is very much out there; and the world we need to live in as Christians, where God’s laws and rules are the things that set us apart from most other people. We are like two people, one pulled in one direction and one pulled in the other. Is this the Christian life and, if so, what are we meant to do about it? How do we live in two realities?

So what does it all mean? Do we ever really think about that? Do we ponder life’s mysteries and hope for answers, even if they never come? Isn’t it part of the human condition to think; to think deeply about who we are, where we come from, how we got here and how everything come into being? We don’t just need to eat, sleep, work and aspire to better things. We’re more than automatons; we need answers – even if they never come.

Are we to somehow ignore the nagging thoughts we have, to bury them conveniently so we can just get on with our usually complicated lives? What are we to make of the questions that need answering? Who can really say? Haven’t wise men and great philosophers, great ancient thinkers and great holy men and women pondered all this long before today? And if they couldn’t come up with any credible answers, if they could make neither head nor tail of it all, why do we think we might be able to?

And how many realities are there? There is the Monday morning reality, there is the reality of the deadline, there is the inevitable reality of being let down by family and friends. There are perhaps as many realities as there are human beings. But, for me, there is the growing reality of God. We can’t ignore Him because He always has a way of making Himself known; through creation, to answered prayer or in the seemingly random twists and turns of fate. We never see His face, but somehow we know we’ve encountered Him, even if we can’t quite put a finger on how.

But does any of it actually mean anything, after all? Where we are going and what we want to do with our lives; will it make any difference? If we’re descended from apes, as some scientists and evolutionists claim, then it really doesn’t mean or amount to anything does it? 


If we are, however, specifically created by a loving God, a creator who has only ever wanted the best for us, where does that leave us? Don’t we have a duty to find out what He wants from us? Whatever you believe, it is obvious that human beings stand apart from the rest of creation. We are special, we are different, we are restless and creative, never satisfied and wanting to push boundaries; it’s the human condition.

For me, becoming a Christian wasn’t the end of my journey, it was in fact the beginning of my journey; the beginning of finding out who I am, what I am about, where I come from and where I am going. It is a journey that involves an intimate relationship with my creator and one that starts anew each day. I still don’t fully know what God has in store for me, but I am eager to find out. It is more than religion, more than fulfilling a set of rituals, far more than being religious (whatever that means). It is a walk with God, a 24/7, day-to-day reality that shapes my life and defines who I am and what I do.

So again, what does it all mean? You know, I don’t have the answer to that question; not fully anyway. But I see light at the end of the tunnel, not darkness but light. If we want to know the answers to the big questions, then who better to ask than He who created us? I still have so many questions, but don’t we all? Question after question assails me, but I know one day I will have all the answers I seek. 

Find out more about life's big questions in the next issue of Sorted magazine.

Men and the Church

Special guest blog with Sorted publisher and editor Steve Legg

Being a real bloke in the 21^st century is difficult. We suffer with man flu and many of us cried when England were knocked out of Euro 2012. Some men use moisturiser and eat fancy sandwiches with rocket in them. 

My dad knows how to tinker around under a car bonnet and change a wheel on the car. I don’t. I call out the RAC. I’m a disaster at DIY.

But being a Christian bloke is even harder. It seems to me that church these days is mainly geared for a particular type of person. I used to say women, but my wife assures me it's not her cup of tea either. Whoever it's aimed at, men don’t come and that’s a tragedy; because most men don’t want anything to do with the Church.

I think part of the problem is that we run meetings in buildings with embroidered banners and nice flower arrangements. Many men just don’t feel comfortable in that sort of environment with lots of singing, sitting down for ages and listening to long talks in a building that looks like something out of a Laura Ashley showroom. They feel uncomfortable with hugging, holding hands and sitting in circles discussing their feelings in a church context.

We also seem to have turned Jesus into a wimp with a beard. You know the sort of thing: gentle Jesus meek and mild, long flowing hair, blue eyes and wearing a white M&S negligee and sandals. He’d be nice enough to present Songs of Praise alongside Aled Jones, but he wouldn’t turn the world upside-down.

Statistically we’re told that the Church is made up of 70% women and 30% men, with 90% of boys leaving by the time they hit their late teens. I guess church didn’t quite match up to their spirit of adventure and turned out to be less Bruce Willis and more Bruce Forsyth. Men are looking for a challenge; they need the gauntlet to be laid down before them with a strong, motivating message that relates to their everyday life.

Jesus was a man’s man – a powerful, amazing, revolutionary bloke – and the first thing he did when he started his public ministry was to choose a bunch of lads. They weren’t professional, well-spoken good boys; they were a bunch of working class, down-to-earth blokes who constantly put their foot in it. But he chose them to take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

Around 150 years ago, the Industrial Revolution meant many men went off to find work in mills, mines and factories leaving mainly women, older people and children in church, so ministers adapted services to suit the new congregations and church began to change. Add in a bit of Victorian respectability, send the men away again to a couple of World Wars and Bob’s your uncle, but church is no longer a place geared up to meet Bob’s needs!

The wars are over but the men have come back to find a church they don't feel at home in, so they choose to opt out altogether. It’s like going shopping with my wife – I just don’t want to do it.

To get men back and involved, we need to change the way we run church. Men often struggle in a classroom environment so that’s why Jesus didn’t sit them behind desks or hand out study guides. They did stuff together and learned along the way.

Jesus taught Peter how to step out in faith by getting out of a boat and walking on water – not by listening to a CD series, hearing a sermon or watching a documentary on God TV. That should be a valuable lesson for starters.

When it comes to reaching men for Christ, men love doing stuff together – team sports, fishing, pub quizzes, paintballing, DIY projects, curry nights, bowling, clay pigeon shooting and going out for a beer. 

If we build genuine relationships with men through active events we’ll put ourselves in a position to introduce them to a God who never sits still and who is relational to the core.

But I don’t think it’s about trying to create a masculinity that’s more to do with John Rambo than Jesus Christ, because we’re all different and that’s where some churches and men’s groups get it wrong; they forget that although Jesus sat round fires with fishermen, he cried with them too.  

The thing we do have in common is that all men crave warmth, honesty and authenticity. Most are genuinely interested in spirituality, meaning and asking deep questions. They want to know how to become better dads and husbands.

Sorted surveyed hundreds of Christian men and asked them what subjects they’d most like to see tackled in church. Family issues were top, followed by money, anger, sexual purity, addictions, pornography and gambling.

It shows men are looking for answers to important questions, but this doesn’t have to be on a Sunday at 11am in a cold building with a tall steeple. It’s a case of connecting with men where they’re at and showing them that Christianity is worth following, has real answers to tough questions and isn’t just for girls.

What’s the big idea?

Guest blog by Tim Childs

I grew up in relative poverty, in an inner city district that was quite poor and rundown, but so have many people; I’m nothing remarkable.

I’m a Christian, and have been for more than 30 years now; on and off, I suppose.  Now, in this phase of my life I first of all just want to serve the Lord with a whole heart and with all of my being. Whatever He wants me to do and however He wants me to live, that’s what I want to do, quite simply.

I’ve had years of unemployment and years of depression, again on and off; perhaps one reality fed off the other. Now I find myself in a better place both health and spirit wise, and in where I’m going in life. Curiously enough, now that I find myself restored to a better relationship with God, I also find myself wanting to achieve my longstanding dream, which is to be a writer. My ambition to serve the Lord also fully coincides with my desire to succeed as a writer; I don’t know why.

For some reason, I come up with idea after idea, for stories, quiz shows, TV programmes and all kinds of Christian-themed articles and books. Getting ideas for me is not a problem; it’s sitting down and working on these ideas that can be problematic. What If I work hard on a number of ideas, present them well, and none of them ever see the light of day? Who wants to labour in vain, after all?

Of course, as a Christian I pray about all of this and ask God to guide me towards both ambitions; to serve Him and to work towards my goal of being a published author. But the nagging thoughts I have can sometimes leave me feeling that I don’t have the right to success. Why me, after all? And, like most creative people, I am plagued with all kinds of doubts. But, the ideas still come and come, they never stop and I never run out of things to write about. Whether I am good writer or not… well only you, dear reader, can really answer that question.

My question is: can we serve God with a whole heart and totally, while at the same time pursuing a goal or ambition that may see us become successful? Aren’t these two things at odds with each other? The answer that comes to me is that as long as we are honest about our ambitions, and we do serve God in all we say and do and in the way we treat other people, then so long as our ambitions are in line with God’s Word, we can pursue our dreams like everyone else.

Don’t we all want to get on? I know I do, and I think I am like many, many other people in this. We all have dreams that give our lives meaning and focus.  I think it’s the dreams of little people – the myriad ordinary and everyday people – that make the world go round.

And, after all’s said and done, I’m just one of those ordinary people with a big dream that keeps me going and gets me out of bed in the mornings. Most of the time, anyway!

Read more from Tim on his personal blog.

Order your bumper box of Sorted mags now. Our Father's Day special is available and is just £50 for 50 copies - a saving of £125!! 

 

The curse of the 'nice' church

Guest blog with Tim Childs

I have a confession to make… Although I’ve been a Christian for more than 30 years, I’ve never been to church as a believing Christian!


Some people might ask how I can be a Christian then, while others I’ve met (largely online) in the past have shared the view that you can be a Christian without going to church. 

Yes, I have a relationship with God; but I feel that I am missing out somewhat. The problem?  I’m a bloke – quite a private and shy bloke in some respects – and the idea of singing hymns and listening to someone waffle off a sermon about such and such a thing doesn’t appeal to me greatly. 

 

You could ask how I know until I’ve tried; that would be a good question. My answer is quite simply that organised churches do not seem to be reaching out to ordinary people, and they don’t seem to be reaching out to toughened streetwise city boys like me. It’s all a bit, dare-I-say-it, middle class. It’s rather nice people going to rather nice suburban churches being nice, usually on a Sunday; and I hate Sundays!

How do we solve the problem of so many Christians not going to church, especially men? Do we change the churches to make them more relevant (whatever that means), or do we ask Christian men what sort of church and what sort of worship they want?

That might be a start. I believe that, like the big established political parties, the big established denominations like the Catholic Church and the Church of England have a veneer of grassroots participation as long as those people do as they’re told and don’t rock the boat; and for me, as an outsider but very much a working-class Christian, this just isn’t good enough anymore.

Societies and nations progress when people challenge dominantly held views. They progress when ordinary people demand a bigger say in how their lives are run, how governments are run, how business is conducted and how different groups relate to each other and work together. In short, I believe we all thrive when there is a concerted effort to introduce fair play and equality into all of modern societies’ many institutions. That includes established churches.

For the first time in centuries, organised denominations such as Catholicism, the Church of England and maybe many others have the chance to be more relevant to ordinary people and to come kicking and screaming into the 21st century. At the time of writing this, the Association of Catholic Priests is backing a call for the end of compulsory celibacy as a prerequisite for becoming a Catholic Priest. I personally think this idea is not before its time, quite frankly.

The guys on the frontline, so to speak; those who deal with largely ordinary people out in the world, surely know what they are talking about and I have no doubt that this is not a knee-jerk reaction against Catholicism and the Vatican, but a considered and well-thought-out answer to the problem of celibacy.

You only have to witness the sex scandals involving supposedly celibate priests throughout the world in the last twenty years or so, and those that have come to light years after, to know celibacy is a problem. Unfortunately, it appears that the Vatican are going to fight this appeal to modernity and commonsense tooth and claw, which I think is a shame.

What is religion about; what is Christianity about, after all? Is it really about huge, wealthy and powerful churches dominating people from one end of the world to the other, or is it about love, concern and compassion; true brotherly and sisterly love where we regard other people as important and as valuable as we are? 

I believe the latter. It seems that love and the best of ideals can get lost in vast impersonal organisations, and the best of issues can get sidelined in the clamour for the important business of religion. Aren’t we missing something, aren’t we missing something vital: the personal touch, the smaller picture, the love and mercy of simple people believing in hope, faith, peace, joy and happiness? Is the business of religion, just like every other established power, the controlling of people, making them do as they are told for no real good reason other than to exercise power? 

Sadly, I believe it is. We need to ask ourselves what sort of Christianity Jesus wants us to have, and just what sort of message Jesus preached and lived. It was a radical message, and often He was in conflict with the very people that represented religion; it was the religious authorities in part who condemned Jesus and had Him put to death! We should all remember that from time to time.

Check out Tim's blog here and discover more hot topics for Christians in the upcoming edition of Sorted magazine.

Olympic security is no game

Peter Daulby has been tasked with overseeing the military contribution to the Olympics. 

The military’s role will be to support the police; to provide capabilities and resources that the police don’t have. Peter's personal mission is to ensure that the nation remains safe while the athletes compete and the world looks on.

He told Sorted: “The military’s large involvement – currently 13,500 servicemen and women – wasn’t a surprise to me. All three services contribute daily to the safety of UK citizens and visitors to our shores as normal business.

“The Olympics is very different, but the military contribution to the Olympics builds on existing UK resilience process and plans. The Olympics is vitally important to the UK’s reputation; it is right that the military are doing all they can to contribute to a safe and secure games.” 

Peter’s personal role is chief planner for the entire military contribution to the Games. “That sounds very grand, but it means I have the job of ensuring that I take strategic guidance from the higher levels of the MOD, who themselves are taking guidance from the government,” he explains. In practise this means turning this guidance into actionable plans, missions and tasks that then flow down to the military’s tactical units in the land, air and sea. 

I ask him how much it is possible to prepare in advance for the potential dangers out there. “Defence has been planning its element of the Olympics for years. Preparations have included designing, testing and activating a maritime security plan, primarily in the Thames and in Dorset; the same in the air, although more wide-ranging, and preparing for many security tasks on the ground,” he says.

“We provide the police with what they are not able to provide: typhoons patrolling our skies is one such area. However, we don't just have to prepare ourselves; we have to prepare local communities. Military equipment can sometimes appear aggressive. We are working hard through the media and face-to-face with communities to reassure the public that we are there as a deterrent to anyone who seeks to disrupt the Games. Our mission is to ensure that Britain enjoys a safe and secure Games.” 

There has been quite a bit of criticism about the UK hosting the Olympics with the risks it may be opening up, and with the cost to the taxpayer, but Peter feels it is important to do so, and should be considered a privilege.

“We have lived with the threat of terrorism in our nation for many years and as a nation we have always been determined not to let any such threat stop us from living life to the full,” he says. “The Olympic Games are a spectacular opportunity to celebrate who we are as a nation and to put on the greatest festival of sport in the world. The Olympic Games coming to London is a once-in-a-generation opportunity that Britain will fulfil with professionalism, enthusiasm and resilience; it is an exciting time.”

As a Christian, Peter says it is no different bringing God into his work from bringing God into his marriage. He relies on his faith to help him make good decisions, to stay strong through adversity and to be morally upstanding in his dealings with superiors and the teams he leads.

“My faith runs through my veins,” says Peter. “It seems completely natural to me to pray on the way into work and to cling on to God's 'coattail' when I need to be pulled through a difficult time. People sometimes question whether Christians should be in the armed forces. It has always felt to me that God wants to be a part of ensuring that a potent force has a moral compass. I influence that moral compass in whatever way I can.” 

Read the full story in our Olympic edition of Sorted. It’s going to be a belter!

Getting the bored on board

I'd be the first to admit that I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to outdoor pursuits. I don't like anything involving heights, water, long distances, being cold or taking risks. So pretty much all of it really. 

But a company providing safe outdoor activities came to my attention recently and has managed to tempt me away from my desk... well, to think about it at least.

Berkshire-based Crossover Boardriders offers people of all ages the opportunity to skateboard, snowboard, mountainboard, wakeboard, windsurf, skimboard and surf in a fun and safe environment.

Run by a vibrant bunch of Christians, the organisation works hard to engage young people as well as their friends and family, in healthy, positive, activities through which friendships can be fostered.

Crossover Boardriders organises outings to a range of facilities where boardsports can be learnt and enjoyed under proper supervision. And when they’re not getting people up on their boards, they are hosting social nights where the latest boardriding films are shown, food is munched and relationships are strengthened.

Company founder Guy Higgins explains: "When I was a kid I would talk my parents into driving me to the coast so I could surf and skimboard. As soon as my friends passed their driving tests we would be off on adventures to Wales, Devon and the south coast. 

"A couple of years ago I was praying about what I should give my time to. God gave me the name, the logo and the vision. I have rarely heard God so clearly. I raised some money for the artwork and an insurance policy and Crossover Boardriders was born."

And you don't have to have any experience to get involved. "We ride all sorts of boards so there is something for everyone," explains Guy. Wakeboarding, surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, stand-up paddleboarding, skimboarding. It doesn’t matter if you are an expert or complete beginner, you are welcome. We have run skateboard schools for kids aged five and above; but we have also run stand-up paddleboarding sessions just for adults.

But what do boardsports and Christianity have in common? Isn't it all a bit dangerous? According to Guy it doesn't have to be, and there's nothing wrong with a bit of adventure. 

"I think God likes adventure, He is an adventure! I wanted to give people the chance to experience the thrill of boardsports but in an environment that parents trust. That doesn’t mean in a Christian bubble, it means in a friendly environment with expert tuition and lots of laughs," he says.

 
"The health benefits are huge, not only for the body but also the soul. You are outside in God’s creation riding with friends and family; it’s exciting and calming at the same time." 

Don't be scared by the pictures; Crossover Boardriders offers activities for all ages and wimp levels, so even landlubbers have no excuse for chickening out. 

It's the perfect way to entertain your kids/friends and get a bit of fresh air, so if you've been surfing the net for a great boarding break, look no further. More details (and some great pics) are available on the company's website.

Read more from Joy in the latest issue of Sorted magazine. 

The president and the prayer breakfast

Guest blog with Phil James

Speaking last Thursday to 3,000 people at the annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, President Obama explained how his Christian beliefs influence and help guide his political and personal life. Drawing heavily on the Bible, he addressed and prayed with political, business and social leaders from across the world.

In my predictions for 2012, I said that we should expect the best and worst of Christianity to be showcased through US politics, and though often the bad is more visible and perhaps more entertaining to critique than the good, that doesn’t mean the good isn’t there.

Republican senator Jeff Sessions introduced the president by thanking him “for all the ways you strive for all Americans; you give your life to that”. This would draw awkward silence on the floor of the Senate, but underlines the prayer breakfast’s position as one of the last genuinely bipartisan arenas for American politics.

From his efforts to raise taxes for the wealthiest Americans to sending troops to prevent human rights abuses in Uganda, Obama argued that his political behaviour and actions are founded in his faith:

“The Bible teaches us to ‘be doers of the word and not merely hearers’. We’re required to have a living, breathing, active faith in our own lives. And each of us is called on to give something of ourselves for the betterment of others.”

In a demonstration of his personal belief, Obama described how he prays each morning and seeks advice at times of stress. He also outlined how he’s found politics and religion to be complementary elements in his own decision making:

“I think to myself, if I’m willing to give something up as somebody who’s been extraordinarily blessed, and give up some of the tax breaks that I enjoy, I actually think that’s going to make economic sense. But for me, as a Christian, it also coincides with Jesus’ teaching that ‘for unto whom much is given, much shall be required’.”

He added, however, that his decisions are not ordained from on high:

“Our goals should not be to declare our policies as biblical. It is God who is infallible, not us. Michelle reminds me of this often.”

The National Prayer Breakfast, attended by every president since Eisenhower, is an opportunity for people of different faiths and denominations to come together and pray. It can be used as a pulpit or a platform to remind the powerful of their duty and, as demonstrated on February 2, it can help to define the role of religion in politics. It can raise the level of political debate, rather than diminishing it, and it can change the tone of political interaction.

Phil James writes for Godculture, an online magazine that showcases Christianity in modern culture. For more articles on faith, creativity, technology, justice, music and more, head to www.godculture.co.uk.