Suffering, Soul Care, and Community

“Ann Ahrens has exquisitely articulated one of the greatest mysteries of the faith: that opening one’s soul to faithful lament leads to hope, spiritual intimacy, and paradoxically, even joy. If you want to remember what it was like to be awed by the beauty and majesty of a loving God who knows you in your darkest hours, read this book and weep.”


—Brent Roam, lead pastor, One Family Church





“Ann Ahrens writes with the heart of an artist who helps us to see things in Scripture and in corporate worship that have been missed by most evangelical churches. Take the time to look and listen to what she says about the psalms of lament, soul care, and the community of worshipers as she articulates a beautifully crafted apologetic for the weekly gathering that goes far beyond a pep rally for Jesus.”


—Joseph R. Crider, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary





“This book provides a much-needed resource for today’s faith communities. The contemporary news and social media saturated world shares pain and suffering without guiding a way forward other than nihilistic despair or perpetuation of violence. Ahrens’ research breathes life into the chaos through her biblical and theological examination of lament in a way that local leaders can honestly apply.”


— James A. Littles Jr., Urshan Graduate School of Theology, emeritus





“As I’ve followed Ann Ahrens’ writing over the last several years, I’ve found that lament passages are now jumping off the page for me. I’m very pleased that she’s ministering similarly to others through this book. The seventeenth-century Bay Psalm congregants sang, ‘Thy countenance away from us o wherefore dost thou hide?’ I trust her scholarship will prompt fresh, biblical, hymnic expression in this vein for our own voices.”


—Mark Coppenger, co-editor of Apologetical Aesthetics





“One constant in the lives of God’s people is that we will experience sadness and suffering. The only question is whether or not we are equipped to cope with it. In this insightful book we discover powerful ways of reclaiming the language of sadness in a way that is thoughtful, biblical, and ultimately healing. This is an important contribution to an area of theology that is fundamental for the life of the church.”


—John Swinton, University of Aberdeen





“With sensitivity and clarity, Ann Ahrens writes a groundbreaking biblical foundation and praxis for the church’s use of lament in corporate worship. Rooting her study in the Psalms and the life of Jesus, she draws on multiple disciplines and the voices of scholars, pastors, and artists to show why the gathered church needs to lament and how lament rooted in Scriptures fuels genuine praise. Every church staff team needs to read and absorb this book together.”


—Esther R. Crookshank, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary