A Father's Perspective On The Theology of Suffering

As a pastor, Dr. Connor Bales has tackled tough questions about suffering for years. Using the Bible as a guide, he’s answered questions like: 

• How should Christ-followers respond to suffering?

• What if our calling is to suffer?

• How do we respond when our loved ones suffer?

But, it's his own experience as a father and fellow sufferer that has equipped him to pen a poignant new book, In Counted Worthy: A Father’s Perspective on the Theology of Suffering.

Connor Bales shares the unique calling he and his wife, Mary, have been counted worthy of stewarding in raising two children with a rare genetic disorder. From the initial confusion and questions of "why" to the practical exhaustion resulting from endless tests, treatments, and visits to the emergency room-to the emotional, physical and spiritual toll they've experienced as a family, Bales leaves nothing off the table.

But, standing tall above the brokenness, disappointment, and hurt, In Counted Worthy: A Father’s Perspective on the Theology of Suffering, illuminates a practical theology promising hope, supernatural comfort, and a closeness to God that Connor and Mary have experienced first-hand. Readers will grow close to the Bales family, but more importantly, they will draw closer to their Savior through their life's story. 

This compelling read offers a deeply empathetic and unique resource on suffering that can help you navigate theological pitfalls and challenges when faced with trial and tragedy. Bales’s clear biblical teaching regarding the sovereignty of God over suffering is thoughtfully shared, while highlighting his own personal examples as the proving ground for this truth. 

This work aims to help equip the Church with a more robust theology of suffering, but as given from the raw perspective of a fellow sufferer. Bales writes, “I want to lovingly and honestly challenge sufferers to assess their own conviction regarding how their personal suffering has affected the presence of God in their life.” This book is ultimately given as an encouragement and source of strength for sufferers who might find the authenticity of the Bales family’s story a validation of the convictions shared, as founded upon the truth of God’s eternal word.” 

Joni Eareckson Tada writes in the Foreword to In Counted Worthy: A Father’s Perspective on the Theology of Suffering,” This (book) is such an unusual treatment on the subject of suffering because the author approaches it obliquely... on the tangent... not always head-on. He understands that an approach to suffering is shaped by the heart. Responses to gut-wrenching situations are always more determined by what is inside of a person than by the difficult things he is facing. While Counted Worthy may be filled with solid principles from the Bible, it is mostly filled with heart.” 

In Counted Worthy: A Father’s Perspective on the Theology of Suffering is now available wherever books are sold, and is published by Vide Press.