Books

“In an age of disillusionment and disenchantment, we need wise pastoral voices who bring a curious mind, an awakened heart, and a lively, compassionate pen to our many perplexing questions. We need voices like Jared Ayers's..”

WINN COLLIER

author and director, The Eugene Peterson Center

You Can Trust a God with Scars: Faith (and Doubt) for the Searching Soul

Can you really trust God, considering the suffering, injustice, and hypocrisy you see in the news (and in your own life)? Can the Christian faith resolve your deepest longings? You are not alone if you feel spiritually adrift and directionless. Questions about God, faith, life, and the disillusionment toward church and religious leaders are widespread.

You Can Trust a God with Scars invites you to experience the broader Christian story. In these pages, the yearning and questions of your own story become grounded with a God who does not avoid pain but enters into it, bearing wounds of His own.

In this timely book, Rev. Dr. Jared Ayers offers a guided tour of the Christian Story for you who may be unfamiliar, skeptical, hurting, and disillusioned, lingering in the borderlands between faith and doubt. With a fascinating mix of theology, art, Scripture, music, and literature, he invites you into a conversation about a Christianity that embraces doubt, mystery, and a God who understands suffering intimately.

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Reviews

  • "Every now and then a book comes along that takes my breath away. That just seems so right, so useful, so interesting, so helpful, that I want to shout. Or pray a prayer of thanks. I actually feel it in my body. You Can Trust a God with Scars is this kind of book..."

    Byron Borger, Hearts & Minds

  • "Jared Ayers breathes fresh air into the fathomless mystery of what it means to have a wounded healer God on our side... this pastoral, humble, persuasive voice is a giant step forward in the journey of faith seeking understanding."

    Eric Peterson,

  • "Jared Ayers offers a fresh telling of the Christian story and connects it at every turn with real people's lives. It is a book for people who believe, who doubt, who question, and who yearn."

    Leanne Van Dyk, president emerita, Columbia Theological Seminary

  • "Jared's exceptional writing, engaging storytelling, and deep experience as a pastor offer connection and credibility to readers."

    Chuck DeGroat, author & professor, Western Theological Seminary