Finding God in the Ruins

How God Redeems Pain

Screen Shot 2016-02-25 at 12.11.50 PM

*Book Trailer/Music Video for FINDING GOD IN THE RUINS

PRE-ORDER NOW

Amazon-Book-Stores-300x83      Barnes-and-Noble-Bookstores-300x83         iBooks           Christian-Book-Stores-300x83           Indy              logo-footer

Parable-Christian-Stores-300x83
           fc-logo

ABOUT THE BOOK: In the tradition of Donald Miller comes the fresh voice of Matt Bays, offering hope to those who have experienced deep loss or pain and crave more than trite answers about God and suffering.

Book Cover (3D)

If God is Love
Why Do We Hurt So Much?

When the reality of your pain doesn’t line up with what you’ve been taught in church, then what? While many abandon their faith or embrace hopelessness, it is possible to discover the God who heals your heart in the midst of the pain.

Matt Bays has been where you are. His unforgettable stories of loss and healing will usher you into a life where gratitude overpowers anger, hope overcomes despair, and hunger for God replaces indifference to God. With a fresh and original writing style, Bays demonstrates that true redemption is far more powerful than the temporary fixes of sanitized Christianity.

Screen Shot 2016-02-25 at 12.11.50 PM

A Few Endorsements

Screen Shot 2016-02-16 at 8.43.45 AM

“In Finding God in the Ruins we are given a unique gift, a rare invitation to listen to a hauntingly beautiful story where the darkest experiences of a person’s life are redeemed. While he wields the sensibilities of an artist and the words of a poet, Matt bluntly exposes the beauty buried in the brokenness of the world. Be prepared. This isn’t a book about clichés, easy answers, or simple faith. Finding God in the Ruins is a tenacious, relentless, and courageous pursuit of redemption that doesn’t go around the pain, hoping to get by with less heartache by tenderly skirting the edges of a wound. Rather, Matt takes us on a deep dive right into the heart of pain where, surprisingly, we find ourselves in the heart of God.”

Nate Pyle, pastor, blogger, and author of Man Enough: How Jesus Redefines Manhood

Screen Shot 2016-02-16 at 8.44.29 AMFinding God in the Ruins will make some readers shift in their chairs. I expect some will be tempted to scoot back from the table and leave just as the conversation gets going. I think that’s a good sign. This book is for people who have been afraid to tell the truth, afraid to look a painful past in the eye, afraid to speak uncertainties about God, and afraid they might be right about their unworthiness. By laying his own painful story plainly in the light, Matt is going first and making space for us to lay our own stories right there beside his. His writing is both powerfully poetic and accessible, and will make you laugh and cry in succession. Finding God in the Ruins is the start of a desperately needed conversation, giving believers and unbelievers alike permission to be real and to be on the lookout for hope and redemption in unlikely places.”

Christa Wells, GMA Dove Award– winning songwriter of the year

Screen Shot 2016-02-16 at 8.49.05 AM

 

“A father with a sick son in need of healing said to Jesus, ‘I do believe, help me with my unbelief.’ Often the journey to believe begins with an honest confession of unbelief. Honest, not fake. If you struggle with God, have a ton of questions, have no time for cliché answers, but still long for hope, you are going to thoroughly enjoy the journey Matt Bays is taking you on through his own story. If you like things neat, tidy, and orderly, don’t you dare turn to the next page.”

Randy Frazee, author of Think, Act, Be Like Jesus and The Heart of the Story

Screen Shot 2016-02-16 at 8.49.31 AM

“Gritty, raw, vulnerable, and even at times uncomfortable, Finding God in the Ruins tackles the pain and brokenness of this world with the kind of compassion that lifts the veil of shame, allowing God to expose himself to the heart of humanity. Matt Bays is a brave soul who isn’t afraid to search, to question God, and to sit with you in your pain as you slowly, gently, find yourself wrapped in the arms of a God who loves you beyond what you ever thought possible.”

Logan Wolfram, author of Curious Faith, speaker, CEO of Allume

Screen Shot 2016-02-16 at 8.50.05 AM

 

“Finding God in the Ruins is raw, honest, and hopeful. A heartbreakingly beautiful story that shows us a new and interesting perspective on elements of faith and our relationship with Jesus.”

Jon McLaughlin, songwriter/recording artist

Screen Shot 2016-02-16 at 8.54.26 AM

 

“Chock-full of wisdom and insight, Matt Bays delivers a deeply moving account of pain, doubt, and ultimately hope. Bays delivers his powerful message with wisdom, humility, and heart. I am certain his stories will stay with me long after I’ve turned the last page. Powerful. Deeply human. Unforgettable.”

Lori Nelson Spielman, bestselling author of The Life List and Sweet Forgiveness

Screen Shot 2016-02-16 at 8.53.41 AM

“Matt Bays knows about pain and suffering, and writes about it with the raw transparency of someone who has experienced deep loss. But this book exhales genuine hope on every page, pointing to the expansive God who sits with us when we are lost, weeping with us and helping us to finally find our feet again. If you are sitting in the midst of failure and loss, pick up this book and find the God who is already there with you.”

Steve Wiens, author of Beginnings

Screen Shot 2016-02-16 at 8.54.57 AM

 

“With rare vulnerability, wounded healer Matt Bays offers compelling evidence of the importance of reclaiming our stories. Heartrending vignettes offer insight into the certainty that although we may never find answers to the ‘whys’ of our wretchedness, we will find God there in the ruins.”

Amy K. Sorrells, survivor advocate and award- winning author of the novels How Sweet the Sound, Then Sings My Soul, and Lead Me Home

Screen Shot 2016-02-16 at 8.52.38 AM

“Matt Bays has written an insightful narrative that explores the biblical metaphor of redemption. While rejecting a simplistic salvation that promises peace and prosperity to all who believe, the author explores human suffering from the biblical idea that the God who took on flesh enters into human suffering and redeems it. Through personal stories, Matt Bays invites the reader to explore a theodicy that is critical but compassionate. His is a real and refreshing invitation to allow our stories to speak words of hope to fellow strugglers. I recommend this book for both personal and group study.”

David Sebastian, dean emeritus at Anderson University School of Theology

National Release March 2016, David C. Cook along with eBook and audio version.