Good news typically doesn’t sell on television, but Grammy-winning artist Chris Tomlin hopes to change that with a new television series that spotlights uplifting stories from the lives of people of faith.
The series, Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith, is based on the bestselling devotional book of the same name (Thomas Nelson) and includes interviews with individuals such as Sonya Curry, Tim Tebow, Trent Dilfer, David and Tamela Mann, Travis Tritt and Tabitha Brown, who talk of success, loss, heartbreak and redemption. Season 3 launched on UPtv and UP Faith & Family.
Tomlin, the host, told Christian Headlines he was “honored” to be asked to be a part of it.
“Good stories, for some reason, don’t sell. So TV doesn’t use it,” Tomlin told Christian Headlines. “And I think [the series is an] amazing opportunity to say: There’s so many good things, there’s so much light in this dark world. There’s so much light. And that’s what is highlighted in this. I feel like we need more and more and more of that. So just to be a little part of it is quite special.”
Tomlin said he’s naturally drawn to inspiring stories.
“That’s the kind of books I read,” he said. “I love reading things about real people, real stories, people [who have] had amazing things happen in their life and have done incredible things and the way God has used them.”
He added, “I’ve never done anything like that. So it’s exciting to do something different than just playing music and recording and singing songs.”
Meanwhile, Tomlin recently concluded his Songs of Worship Tour, which included music from his 2022 album Always.
“I don’t enjoy all the travel and being away from family and all the things that it takes to get to that moment [of touring], but I love that moment of playing music with people,” Tomlin told Christian Headlines. “And I’ve been doing it for a long time now. If I didn’t love it, I would have stopped a long time ago. … It just means a lot to me to connect with people with my music.”
Photo courtesy: ©C Robby Klein, used with permission.
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.