Chris Lee - The OMG Effect: 60-Second Sermons to Live a Fuller Life

The Reverend Chris Lee is the vicar of St Saviours church, part of the London diocese of the Church of England. At the age of twenty-four, while teaching English at a mission in Tanzania, Chris completed a distance learning degree to become a priest and was ordained a deacon in the diocese of Mt Kilimanjaro. Upon returning to England, he trained for ordained ministry at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. Chris now shares his uplifting sixty-second sermons with over 150k Instagram followers every day, and his videos have amassed over 400 million of views on YouTube. He lives in west London with his wife and their two young daughters.

To my extraordinary wife Jenny, my life and silly-dance partner

A couple of years ago, I began recording a series of short videos, sixty seconds or so long, and posted them to Instagram. I wanted to offer people a meaningful message of love and hope, and try to encourage anyone watching that they are of great value, and theyre loved, and that there is always hope for them. I was overwhelmed by the positive responses I received, as people from all walks of life and religious beliefs found moments of connection and hope in these small sermons. I realised that I had this amazing opportunity: I was able to reach out and speak to thousands of people who wouldnt dream of setting foot inside a church building. I could speak life and light into the world through social media, which is often seen as its own superficial bubble.

My 60-second sermons, as they became known, are often inspired by quotes, stories, and lessons from Christianity and the Bible and, through them, I share my thoughts and try to uplift others in their day-to-day lives. 60-second sermons are not big, in-depth theological discussions, and I think that is part of their appeal. In them, I aim to talk about faith and God in an approachable, accessible and, hopefully, inspiring way. I want to tell people that they are loved, and to spread a message of positivity online that helps people to lead fuller lives offline, too.

Each chapter in this book begins with a 60-second sermon. It sets the tone for the chapter that follows, and is a digestible thought to take with you and think on as you read. This book is also made up of stories from my life, and my thoughts on the lessons in faith than can be learned from moments of hardship, sadness and joy. I am by no means perfect I still get things wrong sometimes and I make mistakes; I sin, I stumble, I fall but I hope that, just like with my 60-second sermons on Instagram, you can take a message of light, love, forgiveness and hope from these pages, and lead a fuller life, filled with kindness and hope.

Bless you, youre loved.

I believe that God is everywhere, at all times, in and throughout his creation, which is to say that he is able to speak to us through all things; all God requires is for us to listen out for him. I often connect with God and my faith through art, whether that be a painting, music or a film. It doesnt have to be particularly religious often it can help if it isnt, as my personal interpretation and response to it makes the sense of connection all the more special. Often a song comes on the radio which affects me in a deeper way than the others before or after it. Its as if God has dipped the music or lyrics in his spirit and sent them flying into my soul. In just a few seconds it can shake me awake and give me a profound sense of being heard and also spoken to. Sometimes I listen to music with a God filter, meaning I listen out for moments when God speaks to me through the words of the song.

So I thought it would be fun to give every chapter a kind of theme tune, and let you in on some of the songs that particularly resonated with me as I wrote this book and thought on what it means to live a full life. Ive chosen songs that I have personally felt the presence of God through, and each one is in some way related to their respective chapter. In what is probably an act of nostalgia for my old (and now sadly defunct) iPod, I call it my God Pod Playlist! Interpret the songs on this spiritual soundtrack however you wish a sense of something bigger than you, of being connected to the universe or however you prefer to think about it but for me these songs feel like they create moments when God puts an arm around us, or reminds us hes here with us, or gives us a sort of spiritual high-five to uplift and re-energise us! I hope you enjoy the music and the chapters that follow.

While I was training to become a priest, I lived in Africa for a time. The continent forms a bedrock of my faith as so many memorable things happened there. In Zanzibar, where I spent my first-ever Christmas away from my family, I stayed at a Rastafarian-run guesthouse that consisted of a few huts on stilts on the beach. Aside from me, the guests included a Buddhist and a Muslim. Together with the Rastafarian, we sat by a fire on the beach under the Milky Way and discussed the divine. It was a magical evening and one where I learned a great deal, as we respectfully listened to one another and swapped stories, like travellers of old meeting on the Spice Trail.

Many of the insights gathered in this book borrow from my own experiences and the Bible, and I make references to and draw upon atheists, poets, people of faith and pre-Christian thinkers alike. In the chapters that follow, well explore death, grief, self-worth and identity; mental health and finding stillness in ourselves however noisy the world around us may be as well as learning how to forgive, seeing ourselves in a more positive light, improving relationships, practising positivity and finding our calling and purpose.

Working as a missionary in Tanzania, just after I had been ordained in the Diocese of Mount Kilimanjaro, I was asked to baptise a baby who was just a few hours old. I remember my sense of awe and privilege at my new job. The baby and mum were still inside their banda, a low-ceilinged mud hut which is accessed through a single entrance and loops back into itself like a spiralling seashell. It was dark, warm and musty, lit only by the glowing embers of a dying fire on the floor in the middle of the room. My eyes needed a few moments to adjust, as I had just stepped out of the blazing sun. To one side of the room was the bed, made of sticks and mud and carefully laid with cowhide. The mother lay upon it holding her tiny baby. I was given a small metal bowl with water in it, and she gently placed the baby in my arms. The baby had not yet been outside, nor seen the sky or felt the sun, but there and then I prayed for the mother and baby and pronounced the words, In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. It was quite amazing. I have baptised hundreds of children and everyone is special, but I will always remember this one.

My spiritual formation was founded in Tanzania, and with it a sense of being connected with everything around me. Here in the developed world we may have more materially better healthcare, transport, technology and education but for all of this we are less connected with each other and with nature. People need some kind of spiritual scaffolding to support them, a structure to help them uncover the mysteries of life and an assurance that they are not here by accident, and nor are they alone. The large following I have on Instagram which still baffles me allows me to channel my faith and spread warmth and, I hope, understanding into the cyber world, a place that can often be superficial and cruel.