Should We Fire God?: Finding Hope in God When We Don't Understand - Hardcover

Pace, Jim

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0446546143 ISBN 13: 9780446546140

Publisher: FaithWords, 2010

Synopsis

When the worst school shooting in history occurred, Pastor Jim Pace, a Virginia Tech alumnus, was front and center. Media, students, church members, and strangers asked him the same question: If God is loving, why doesn't He stop disasters before they start? SHOULD WE FIRE GOD is Jim's thoughtful, reasoned response to the idea that God isn't doing His job very well. In conversational, nonpreachy prose, Jim explains why God allows pain and devastation to occur--and what the consequences would be if He didn't. And he leads readers to question: if we fire God--who takes His place--woefully imperfect humans? Jim uses real-life examples and his own battles with faith to develop readers' understanding of God, His true role in their lives, what they should do with doubt and fear, and what He feels when we ache. Richly informative and comforting, SHOULD WE FIRE GOD is a must-read for seekers everywhere.

About this title

About the Author

Jim Pace is copastor at New Life Christian Fellowship at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. He helped found the Ecclesia Network, a group of emerging missional churches that are trying to figure out how to lead communities of faith in Jesus in our culture today. Jim and his wife have been married fourteen years and have three children. This is his first book.

Review

"As one who has at times doubted God, I found the honesty and thoroughness of this book refreshing. Jim Pace tackles the ever-troubling problem of pain with insight, wisdom, and humility, and without conveniently avoiding tough questions. This book will no doubt ease the minds of both believers plagued by doubts and the unconvinced whose doubts have rendered faith impossible." (author of When Answers Aren't Enough: Experiencing God as Good When Life Isn't Matt Rogers)

" Questions and stories--these are some of the honest ways we humans grapple with God and faith. By this count, Jim Pace is a very honest writer, a storyteller with the courage to help us face our deepest questions." (author of Restless Faith, Let God, and Holy Curiosity Winn Collier)

"In a time such as ours we face a great dilemma. On the one hand it seems we and the world need God all the more, and on the other, that the God we need might not be up to the task. Jim Pace provides a thoughtful and honest look at the tension so many people I know (including myself) often face. Steeped in his own story of doubt, disbelief, and tragedy this book is a refreshing look at this apparent impasse." (Chris Backert, directory and organizational architect, The Ecclesia Network 2009-01-00)

"Using painful firsthand experiences, Jim tells gripping stories and asks courageous questions while checking common clichés at the door. Asking good questions of God is better than learning good information about Him. But Jim presents the reader with both. This book made me want to pull up a chair and have a conversation with the author--and with God Himself." (J.R. Briggs, author of When God Says Jump and co-author of The Message//Remix: Solo. 2009-01-00)

Edition details

• Publisher: FaithWords
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0446546143
• ISBN 13: 9780446546140
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 272