“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31).

At some point in their lives, everyone will go through suffering and troubled times.

Scripture calls these trials “sifting” and makes it clear that God’s people will be sifted. How we respond to this universal experience is crucial to who we become as people and leaders. In Stories of Sifted, authors Eric Reiss and Todd Wilson explore these difficult seasons in a new way by looking at what Scripture teaches about being sifted and the potential it brings for our increased faithfulness and multiplied impact.

Stories of Sifted offers 30 familiar accounts of prominent biblical leaders, told from their point of view. From Adam to the apostle Paul, these stories of sifting remind us that God calls and refines messed up people to accomplish His grand purposes. Walking with these leaders through their sifting and refining process, we see how God uses suffering to accelerate our spiritual growth through our surrender to Him.

Stories of Sifted is for all Christian leaders.

This book is an important resource for men and women of all ages in all church contexts. By thinking about suffering as a process to participate in and actively embrace instead of a season to avoid, we can learn to recognize God’s hand in our lives, moving from discouragement to joy and peace that transcends adversity.

What are others saying?

“Planting a church is possibly the loneliest, hardest thing on the planet. No pastor should do it alone. Stories of Sifted provides inspiration and encouragement for the journey.”–Rick Warren, Saddleback Church

“Stories of Sifted is a tremendously encouraging resource for you and others on your team. It reminds us that God has always, and continues to use the troubles and hardships of his people to increase our surrender to him. Increased surrender is the seed that produces 100X fruitful multiplication through us. Jesus promised the troubles AND he promised that our resulting faithfulness would produce 100X impact and fruitfulness. We are sifted for multiplication. Read this book and grow through times of sifting to become a healthier reproducing leader for many years to come!”–Dave Ferguson

“I’m so encouraged that these real-world stories of increased surrender during times of trouble are now available in e-book form. They will challenge and inspire you in the real work of church planting!”–Ed Stetzer

“My first church plant closed its doors as quickly as we began. As painful and difficult as that experience was for my wife and I, we were sifted in a way that prepared us for even greater fruit in the future. Stories of Sifted is filled with inspiring and encouraging stories of how God uses our faithfulness and increased surrender through troubles for his glory. This resource will give you a new paradigm for our worldly troubles.”–Mark Batterson