Scarred Faith This is a story about how Honesty, Grief, a Cursing Toddler, Risk-Taking, AIDS, Hope, Brokenness, Doubts, and Memphis Ignited Adventurous Faith

In an original and thought-provoking work, Pastor Josh Ross invites us to enter into the suffering around usand to embrace our scars and God's restoring work. While many books declare God a great liberator, Pastor Josh Ross reminds us that He is also a God who enters into the sufferings of the world, bringing the message of hope that many need in their darkest hours. Scarred Faithmeditates on this profound idea, showing how the doubts and pain within us can actually aiddeep faith. Faith can be stirred within the walls of church buildings, but it is formed and nourished in the waiting rooms of hospitals, while holding kids affected by AIDS, and when being forced to venture outside one's social comforts. Deep faith is scarred faiththe story of scripture depicts a rended world in which God works to repair our brokenness. As Pastor Ross reminds us, often what we need isn't a God who will deliver us from a pit as much as a God who will get down into a pit with us. In Scarred Faith, he offers an unforgettable message: Grief opens us up to the greater suffering around us, allowing participation in God's story of restoration. It is this partnership that makes our doubts and pain allies of deep faith, opening our hearts to allow redemption in spite of all the questioning. Reflective and heartfelt, this contemplation of social justice and the opportunity offered by suffering will change the way many Christians view themselves and their world.

Josh Ross is the Lead Minister for the Sycamore View Church in Memphis, Tennessee. In addition to speaking regularly around the country, he has been published in New Wineskins, At Home Tennessee, The Christian Chronicle, and other publications.