Stephen Viars: Overcoming Bitterness

Overcoming Bitterness: Moving From Life’s Greatest Hurts to a Life Filled With Joy
(Baker, 2021)

WHO: Stephen Viars, pastor and biblical counselor at Faith Church and Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries in Lafayette, Indiana.

HE SAYS: “Being unable or unwilling to speak in the right way, at the right time, to the right people about the bitter circumstances of life is not an antidote but an accelerant to a bitter heart and life.”

THE BIG IDEA: The goal of this book is to help readers deal with bitterness thoroughly and completely.

THE PROGRESSION:
First, the author first looks at the reality of bitterness and its implications for Christ followers. Next, he explores the sinful and personal responsibility side of bitterness and presents ways to avoid the pitfalls that lead to a bitter heart. The final third of the book examines a case study that puts the principles of the book into practice.

“Finding a way to make your bitterness work is a recipe for disaster.”

Order this book from Amazon.com »
Read an excerpt from this book »

Stephen Viars
Stephen Viars

Stephen Viars has served as a pastor and biblical counselor at Faith Church and Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries in Lafayette, Indiana, since 1987.

Brandon O’Brien’s Top Books on Small Church Ministry

Rather than being a subcategory of American ministry, the small church is the norm. If you take a longer and broader view, most churches throughout history and in most parts of the world are and always have been small.

Megan Fate Marshman: Everyday Grace

While influence tends to want to go upwards and grow to the right, I am fighting to go down to the left, and it takes a lot of intentionality.

Nirup Alphonse: It Starts With Hospitality

The point of hospitality is not to entertain; it is to tell a better story and invite people into the story of God. That's what people need. That's what they're longing for. They want to be a part of that story. And that story is transforming. That story is eternal. That story is enduring. That story is faithful.