By Anna Skinner
Matt Bays refers to his childhood as a warzone that included sexual abuse, and now his sister has Stage 4 breast cancer. But instead of letting the bad parts of life get him down, the Westfield resident wrote a book focusing on God and how to understand pain.
“I grew up in a very dysfunctional home, and I started into ministry and was a full time worship leader,” Bays said. “As an adult even when I was in ministry my past pushed its way into my presence. It was moving into recovery and therapy that I really began to understand how to manage the pain and understand that the past doesn’t really go away.”
Bays said that his book, “Finding God in the Ruins: How God Redeems Pain,” is not a memoir or a self-help book but is very story-based.
“It’s narrative spirituality rather than self-help,” he said. “The book is really about understanding how God uses our pain, and it’s also about understanding how to deal with our pain and not sweep it under the rug. For people of faith who do believe in God, it’s sort of understanding how to come to grips with a God who allows for such personal tragedy in our lives and not avoiding that question.”
Bays said his sister is a part of the story because of her ability to always see the silver lining. He said she helped him realize God had not left her to suffer alone.
“Finding God in the Ruins: How God Redeems Pain” will be nationally released March 1 and will be available wherever books are sold.
A free seven-day reading plan for “Finding God in the Ruins: How God Redeems Pain” will be available on the Bible App. The plan includes excerpts from the book and teaching videos from Bays with scripture.
“The book is raw and the stories tend to be raw. I’d say it is PG-13,” Bays said. “It’s very honest. It might make some people feel uncomfortable, and in my opinion I think that is a good thing.”
Book Signing and Q&A
What: Author Matt Bays will conduct a book signing and Q&A.
When: 6:30 p.m. March 19 and 2 p.m. March 20.
Where: Carmel Barnes and Noble, 14790 Greyhound Plaza.
