The Lost Art of Lament
Grief.
Loss.
Suffering.
Pain.
We live in a fallen world and it often falls on us.
How can our soul respond?
With lament.
Lament is a lost soul-art in the Western Church. Pastor and author, Mark Vroegop, longs to see a rebirth of biblical lament. His new book, Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament is a personal and pastoral exploration of lament through various Psalms and the book of Lamentations. Mark wrote it after a ten-year journey following the stillbirth of their daughter and the discovery of the grace of lament in his life and ministry.
A Summary from Pastor Mark
“Where do you turn when the dark clouds of pain, suffering, and loss roll into your life? In a broken world, difficult trials can lead quickly to discouragement and despair—even for Christians. But the Bible sets forth an oft-neglected practice for dealing with such trials: lament.”
“To lament is to turn to God in honest, desperate prayer, giving voice to the reality of our emotions—as intense and tumultuous as they may be. Ultimately, lament is an expression of faith in the God who hears our cries and responds with mercy and grace. Drawing on examples from the Bible and my own story of loss, this book walks through the steps of lament (Turn, Complain, Ask, and Trust) to show what lament is, why it is important, and how to enter into it—helping you learn to live between the poles of God’s goodness and a hard life.”
Highly Recommended
I was honored to be asked to write a recommendation. Here is what I sent Pastor Mark and the team at Crossway.
“Pastor Mark Vroegop is a kindred spirit—to me and to all Christians who want to face grief face-to-face with Christ. In one sentence, Pastor Mark captures the heart of Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy: Discovering the Grace of Lament:
‘Lament is a prayer in pain that leads to trust.’
Lament is not just tears or pain in our soul; lament is inviting Christ into our casket of loss. Lament is not just a prayer; it is a prayer expressing our pain in our loss in our fallen world. Lament does not stop at pain; through Christ’s comforting presence lament enriches our trust in our Father of compassion. Anyone who wants to learn biblically and experientially how to candidly call out to our comforting Father would benefit greatly from Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy.”
Learn More About Pastor Mark and Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy
Mark Vroegop (MDiv, Grand Rapids Theological Seminary) is the lead pastor of College Park Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a conference speaker, a council member with the Gospel Coalition, a trustee of Cedarville University, and the author of Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy. Mark blogs at http://markvroegop.com/
Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy is available at Amazon here.
Pastor Brian Croft adds these words of recommendation and endorsement.
“Too often Christians feel the pressure to pretend the gospel diminishes pain, while others lament their pain void of biblical truth and hope. I have longed for years for a book to demonstrate a balance on this issue. Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy captures beautifully the unique and powerful grace of the gospel in Christian lament. The book is well written, winsome, and refreshingly transparent. I wept as I read it.”
―Brian Croft, Senior Pastor, Auburndale Baptist Church, Louisville; Founder, Practical Shepherding; Senior Fellow, Church Revitalization, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
