That Beautiful Question

• To cry is human. In this beautifully imagined book, the hardest question of history is seriously asked and seriously answered: “Can we know the world, and still love the world?” Born of a pilgrimage of years together as father and son, we are invited to look over their shoulders and through their hearts, learning with them that “to cry is human”—not a response to avoid, but instead a profoundly holy and therefore deeply human way of seeing and hearing the world with its griefs and heartaches and sorrows, longing for what could be, yearning for what someday will be. In That Beautiful Question we are drawn into a deep and unusual kinship born of a long love, listening as they wrestle with the world, even as they choose and choose again to love the world. 

  — Steven Garber, Author, Hints of Hope and The Seamless Life, Senior Fellow, Vocation and the Common Good, M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust

• In a world marked by suffering and immeasurable brokenness, how do we learn to love unconditionally? That Beautiful Question follows a father and son, separated by distance yet united by moral injury, as they seek healing in an unexpected place—Papua New Guinea, the “Land of the Unexpected.” Both raw and adventurous, this biblically grounded journey invites readers to wrestle with one of life’s most difficult and essential questions. Come, read, and explore.

  — Lance Plyler, MD, Chief Medical Officer,  Samaritan’s Purse

• As a former missionary surgeon and field leader at a referral hospital much like Kudjip Nazarene Hospital in PNG, I found That Beautiful Question both deeply resonant and profoundly needed. Few books capture the cost, calling, and quiet courage of medical missions with such honesty. But what makes this work truly extraordinary is the father-son collaboration—two servants of Christ, shaped by different continents, ministry perspectives, and seasons of life, bearing witness together to the beauty and brokenness of our world. Their shared journey reminds us that vocation is never solitary; it is formed in community, refined in suffering, and strengthened across generations.

  — Mike Chupp, MD, CEO, Christian Medical & Dental Associations

• In a world marked by suffering and immeasurable brokenness, how do we learn to love unconditionally? That Beautiful Question follows a father and son, separated by distance yet united by moral injury, as they seek healing in an unexpected place—Papua New Guinea, the “Land of the Unexpected.” Both raw and adventurous, this Biblically grounded journey invites readers to wrestle with one of life’s most difficult and essential questions. Come, read, and explore.

  — Lance Plyer, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Samaritans Purse

• Take this challenging journey, not only to the far reaches of the earth, but into the depth of those crucial questions of heart and soul, where suffering and brokenness demand our response. Does compassion have sufficient strength to survive, despite never ending assault?  A pastor’s wounded heart and his son’s sacrificial service in a faraway place among a fascinating people and culture provide an important window into the challenges of a full and loving embrace of our sisters and brothers with whom we share life’s journey.

  — Bill McCoy, MD, Missionary doctor, Kudjip Nazarene Hospital

Author

• Matt Woodley
  Matt Woodley

  Pastor Matt Woodley is married to Heather and serves as the Interim Dean of the Cathedral of Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton, Illinois. He has also pastored churches in Minnesota and Long Island and worked as the editor of PreachingToday.com at Christianity Today.

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