Signs, Wonders, and a Baptist Preacher, by Chad Norris

I grew up in a strong, traditional Southern Baptist church.  Like most Baptists, we rarely talked about the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit.  I used to joke that the reason the music minister would sometimes have us sing the first, second, and fourth verses of a hymn is that the third person of the trinity was barred from our services.  In college I attended a Southern Baptist church which practiced healing, prophecy, and tongues, and it rocked my religious world, opening my Christian life up to a dimension I had not experienced before.

Chad Norris, like me, grew up in a traditional Southern Baptist church, became a Southern Baptist pastor, and began to experience the power of the Holy Spirit in ways that challenged what he thought he knew about Christian theology and practice.  In his refreshing book, Signs, Wonders, and a Baptist Preacher: How Jesus Flipped My World Upside Down, Norris tells his story.

Norris asks the provocative question, Why do churches in America so rarely practice the three things Jesus did while he was here: "he preached the Kingdom, healed the sick and cast demons out of people." We are quite comfortable without the supernatural. Sure, Jesus has been misrepresented by many in the church whose flashy and sometimes deceptive ministries exploit the gospel rather than preach it, but that doesn't change the fact of who Jesus is. As we walk in intimacy with Jesus, we can share experiences with him, including the supernatural gifts. Chad concludes that "If my life is not supernatural to some degree, then it is superficial to a great degree."

This is not a book of theology. Chad doesn't tackle the cessation argument or set out to prove anything. Instead, he relates his experiences and invites the reader to a deeper relationship with Jesus. Reading his book gave me a thirst for a renewed life of intimacy with Jesus, a fresh friendship with him. Norris reminds us that "it is amazing what happens web we act in faith and try to hear" God's voice. God loves us--and likes us--and wants us to enjoy friendship with him.

Jack Deere, who is teaching pastor at my church, wrote the foreword to Norris's book and played a role in his formation in experiencing the supernatural, as he has for many other pastors and lay people. Chad's book can do what Jack's book Surprised by the Power of the Spirit has done for so many: introduce them to the third person of the trinity and invite them into a more intimate friendship with God.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!