Being There

Caring for someone you love can be overwhelming—but you’re not alone.

In Being There, Dave Furman speaks to the often unseen and exhausting role of caregivers. Whether you’re walking with a spouse through chronic illness, helping a friend through deep emotional pain, or supporting a family member with long-term needs, this book provides gospel hope for every step of the journey.

Writing from personal experience—Dave himself needs help everyday—he shares wise, compassionate insights that are both practical and deeply rooted in Scripture. He offers real encouragement for staying spiritually nourished while helping those who are hurting.

Filled with grace, empathy, and truth, Being There helps you walk with others through hardship while clinging to Christ—your ever-present help.

Originally published by Crossway, this new edition features additional discussion questions.

This book is ideal for:

Spouses caring for a chronically ill partner
Friends and family supporting someone with a disability
Church members offering pastoral care
Anyone feeling the weight of helping a suffering loved one

Title

Being There
Author(s)

Dave Furman
ISBN

9781783974290
Format

Paperback
Publisher

Evangelical Press
Topic

Suffering & Loss
Audience

Adults
Pages

160
Published

10/02/2023

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Dave Furman

Dave Furman (ThM, Dallas Theological Seminary) serves as the senior pastor of Redeemer Church of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The church currently has more than 60 different nationalities gathering weekly from all around the world. In 2006 he developed a nerve disorder in both of his arms that renders both of them nearly disabled. He and his wife, Gloria, have four children.

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"I intend to give Being There to the many people who are daily there for me, a quadriplegic—it’s a must read for any believer who desires to follow Jesus in a life of service to others."

- Joni Eareckson Tada, founder and CEO, Joni and Friends International Disability Center

"Writing from the vantage point of one who daily struggles with pain, Dave gives authoritative counsel to those eager to learn the art of being present and the skill of giving practical care."

- JR Vassar, Lead Pastor, Church at the Cross, Grapevine, Texas; author, Glory Hunger

"This is full of pastoral wisdom, profound theology, and deeply personal experience. It is a beautiful book with a beautiful message."

- Sam Allberry, Associate Pastor, Immanuel Nashville; Canon Theologian, Anglican Church of North America

"Filled with insight that only someone who has walked this road can provide."

- Nancy Guthrie, author and conference speaker

"This is not a book that offers easy solutions, but instead brings Bible-centered counsel to bear on the dark moments of life."

- Mez McConnell, pastor, founder of 20schemes

"Too often, books are written for the hurting, and the person left out is the friend or family member who is helping the hurting. That’s why Dave Furman’s Being There will be an invaluable resource."

- Deepak Reju, Associate Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC; President, Board of Directors, Biblical Counseling Coalition

"For many years Dave Furman has faithfully modeled being there for others while he himself has benefited from those who have been there for him. This gives him a unique perspective and wisdom in crafting a book about helping the hurting. I highly recommend it."

- Tim Challies, blogger, challies.com

"Pastors: you will love chapter 8. It will supply your church with invaluable guidelines for helping others. The rest of us: we will be better friends to those who suffer when we meditate on Dave’s wise counsel."

- Ed Welch, counselor and faculty, The Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation

Overall rating

5.0 based on 1 review

Any eldership or pastoral care team would benefit from reading this together!

Before I had even finished reading Being There, I bought ten more copies to give to both hurting friends and fellow elders. That tells you how helpful I found this book!

For compassionate care-takers
Being There is addressed to “compassionate care-takers”- those who seek to help and support the hurting - particularly aiming to understand how helping the hurting impacts the helper.

It is full of applied, practical, pastoral theology that instructs us in our care for one another in the body of Christ. We are reminded how the glory of God is put on display in local churches as Christians practically show love to one another.

For twenty years, Dave has been unable to use his arms because of a complex and incurable nerve problem. It has impacted every area of daily life and the ministry God has given them in a church in Dubai – for example, he isn’t able to cut up his own food when sharing a meal with his fellow elders.

So, Dave (and his wife, Gloria, who writes a letter to the reader at the end) is able to write from personal experience of his long-term pain and disability.

He writes without self-pity. He helps us to put ourselves in the shoes of those suffering in a multiplicity of ways. Every page has the smell of authenticity.

Persuasively and gently, he illustrates how the good news of our crucified and risen Lord Jesus is life-shaping for both the sufferer and those who seek to help sufferers.

Thinking deeply about how to love
This is not a complex book, but it makes us think deeply about how to truly love one another as Christ loves us, encouraging every believer to be a “care-taker” of those who suffer.

It reminds us that as we grow in our love for our compassionate Lord, we will grow in our active love for the hurting; as we truly walk with God, we will find ourselves walking with the hurting.

Dave does not avoid hard topics. The chapter “Hope for Hard Conversations” shows that suffering does not give a sufferer freedom to sin. From scripture and personal experience, he highlights our need for brothers and sisters who faithfully rebuke us in love.

As for the ouch factor, “The Ten Commandments of What Not to Do for Your Hurting Friend” made me cringe as I thought of times when my well-intentioned attempts to help others may have hurt them even more!

This is a book any eldership or pastoral care team would benefit from reading together.

10 of those

Dave Furman

Being There

Dave Furman

Format

Quantity

Dave Furman

Overall rating

Any eldership or pastoral care team would benefit from reading this together!

Johnny Prime, FIEC

Leave a Review

Being There

Dave Furman

Being There

Dave Furman

Quantity

Format

Quantity

Dave Furman

Overall rating

Any eldership or pastoral care team would benefit from reading this together!

Johnny Prime, FIEC

Leave a Review

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