Now Featured at the Patheos Book Club
Glorious Ruin
How Suffering Makes You Free
By Tullian Tchividjian
Endorsements for Glorious Ruin
"Like you, I'm a sufferer. For the last 3 years I have watched my 8-year-old daughter suffer with cancer. As I write this, there is a very good chance that she won't be around when you read it. This book helped me face that hard reality. The Why and How of suffering have been of little value to my family and me over the last few years. The truth of the Who and grace, so wonderfully presented in this book, has been our life and only hope. Tullian, thank you dear brother for both your insight and honesty. Reader, enjoy Jesus and grace as you suffer and read -- they're there."
—Britt Merrick, Founder of the Reality Family of Churches, Pastor at Reality Santa Barbara, and Author of Godspeed
"As a pastor and as a man who has sat under immense difficulty I couldn't be more pleased and excited about what Tullian has done here. This is a book on suffering with the rare combination of truth and compassion; honesty and empathy. Suffering is a reality at some level for all of us and whether you are currently in a storm or need to understand what our great God and King is accomplishing in and through suffering this book will serve you well. Biblically saturated and faithful Glorious Ruin is a gift to the hurting, confused, and curious and will prepare many to marvel at the goodness and grace of God in all circumstances."
—Matt Chandler, Lead Pastor, The Village Church and President -- Acts 29 Church Planting Network
"Tullian Tchividjian's Glorious Ruin is a gospel-driven tour de force. This book comes at you like a torrent of rain on a hot day -- if you're suffering or feeling that dull kind of pain we all feel in our lives from time to time, you must read Glorious Ruin. Tullian shows how no matter what you're going through, God stands with you in your suffering and is everything we'll ever need. I couldn't recommend this book more highly!"
—Mark Batterson, Pastor of National Community Church and Author of The Circle Maker
"Tullian's fresh approach to suffering is theologically rich, pastorally sensitive, and prophetically challenging. He has redirected the pain of suffering from the one suffering to where it belongs -- to the God who was crucified on our behalf. Suffering can only be understood through the lens of Calvary. Thank you, Tullian, for yet another Christ-centered book!"
—Preston M. Sprinkle, Associate Professor, Eternity Bible College and New York Times best-selling co-author of Erasing Hell
"Glorious Ruin is set apart by its depth of human understanding -- the pastoral facts-on-the-ground of how people actually experience suffering -- and by its depth of appropriation of the deepest Christian resources for helping people in their suffering. Tullian unmasks the un-helpful diagnoses that the world and the Church often offers sufferers. But then Tullian offers a way forward! It is a deep and wide way, built upon the Cross of Christ. There is another absolutely terrific thing about this book: it is filled to the brim with memorable stories and quotations. Some of them are laugh-out-loud funny, and some of them are 'Here-Comes-Your-19th-Nervous-Breakdown' serious. Glorious Ruin is a treasure-chest from the Red Cross, designed perfectly for persons living in the midst of pain."
—Paul F.M. Zahl, author of Grace in Practice
"Nothing is as certain for your life and mine as suffering -- and eventual death. Heartache and pain come in all sorts of packages. So the only mature thing to do is to prepare for it. In a culture that seems pathologically upbeat, living "in the moment" and in denial of any blue notes, the message of this book desperately needs to be heard far and wide. Read it while you can."
—Michael Horton, Professor of Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California, & President of The White Horse Inn
"Having lived with quadriplegia for over 45 years, I know how critical it is to think 'rightly' about suffering -- indeed, the jaws of pain will rip your faith to shreds if you don't have a solid view of what Scripture has to say on the subject. It's why I applaud men of God like Tullian; men who've dug deep into God's Word to help us grasp the mysterious connection between Christ, His cross, and the crucible of our afflictions. That's what makes Glorious Ruin a blessing!"
—Joni Eareckson Tada, Joni and Friends International Disability Center