Chad Norris

The night Chad Norris and his friends held their first healing service, this Baptist pastor, who had become dissatisfied with his ministry and how little it resembled the ministry of Jesus, was as nervous as anyone. When a blind woman came up for prayer and left seeing, they were all thrilled—and not a little shocked. Norris writes about that night:

“Until that moment I had never thought I could pray and see someone get better …. But then I began to consider, why don’t we see more things like this?” (Kindle Location 169).

Signs, Wonders and a Baptist Preacher—How Jesus Flipped My World Upside Down is Norris’s first-person account of how he went from that tentative prayer service to regularly seeing people touched by God in miraculous ways. His hope is that others will be challenged by his experience, reassured by his regular-guy image, and inspired to step out in faith to do the things Jesus told us we could do:

“I simply want to explore whether or not it is possible to operate on this planet in the way Jesus commanded His disciples to operate …. Actions we consider abnormal are really quite normal to the One who spoke the world out of nothing. I want my normal to match Jesus’ normal” – (Kindle Location 143).

There is much to like in this book. Norris’s enthusiasm and love for Jesus are on every page. He gives God, not himself, the credit for the miraculous phenomenon he reports, and stresses it’s not the eloquent prayers or showy actions of the messenger but the power of God that performs these miracles.

As a story it takes him a while to get into it. It isn’t until about a third of the way through the book that he stops preaching and begins to deliver on the promise of the promotional blurb: “recounting his own history of depression and panic attacks …” That story is delivered piecemeal, along with more explanation and defense.

His writing style is folksy. He often anticipates the objections readers will throw at him and meets those with humor and hyperbole.

One idea he brings up often though, troubles me. It is the thought that God is not glorified in our sicknesses and therefore we are justified in insisting on and expecting healing. He acknowledges that healing doesn’t always follow our requests, though, and offers this (to me unsatisfactory) response: “… they (the person doing the praying) empathize with the person, acknowledging that though Jesus never caused any physical, mental or emotional pain, this situation is still not yet changing. Sometimes the deepest thing you can do is weep with someone and say, ‘I am so sorry’” (Kindle Location 550). Perhaps he is not familiar with 2 Corinthians 12:7-10?

All in all, though, Norris’s is an inspiring story—one that challenges leaders and lay folks alike to pray: “Jesus, I’m all yours. Show me what You want me to see—even if it ruins my life” – (Kindle Location 203) and then to hang on for what will happen next.

I received this book as a gift from the publisher for the purpose of writing a review.

… (lisätietoja)

To some people this book will seem controversial, or strange or “off” or bad doctrine. I don’t think so and I appreciated the easy-to-read-and-understand way of speaking it contains. Not only that I found it refreshing. This author actually believes that we can do the things that Jesus and the disciples did in the gospels and Acts.

This book is about how God can use an ordinary, common, even “messy” person to work miracles and how He can use you, too. One theme seems to be, “if Chad can do it, you can, too”.

The author tries to make every story of God’s intervention sound completely “normal”, natural, as in “naturally supernatural”.

The stories and information in this book are born out of experience, that is real experience and real intimacy with the living God, whom he likes to call simply, “Father”. (and encourages the reader to do the same)

What is also included are “dares” here and there—challenges to take your relationship with God to a new level.

If you want to read about an ordinary fellow being used of God to heal the sick and other types of miracles and join the author in his quest to know, really know God, then this book is for you.

To purchase your own copy of this book go here: Signs, Wonders and a Baptist Preacher: How Jesus Flipped My World Upside Down

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Chosen Publishers as part of their blogging for books program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

(c) 2013 Cheryl Cope… (lisätietoja)

No book so far has left me more incredulous than this one. Chad Norris, a plain-spoken Baptist minister from Simpsonville, South Carolina loves his flock, his neighbors, and his Savior. He offers varied programs for all manner of the faithful at his church and even travels abroad to help the less fortunate through both good deeds and prayer services. Here’s the kicker: he also claims that through his touch and prayer, Jesus Christ actually unleashes the power of God’s love to transform the lives of others, often curing ailments (i.e., blindness and cancer), healing wounds, and casting out evils. Yeah, he’s one of those people. In Signs, Wonders, and a Baptist Preacher, Norris recounts his early years and his journey to become the leader and healer he is today.

To be fair, Norris seems like a regular person with a regular life and regular faults. He overindulges in Mexican food, loves his children unconditionally, makes impulse purchases, is compassionate towards his fellow man, and occasionally acts haphazardly at golf courses. But in his ministry, he is anything but regular. His belief in God and Jesus apparently embolden him with the ability to hear their voices and carry out their commands. Jesus, all things considered, seems to be a very helpful presence in Norris’s life. He guides him through tough battles, enables him to love others more, and even helps with everyday tasks such as locating his child’s lost pacifier and unsuccessfully stopping him from writing a duplicate mortgage payment.

Norris’s theology is gentler than most; he moves away from the traditional fire-and-brimstone, fear-based faith and preaches to folks about the loving presence of his Lord. He sees religion and living as a Christian as a lifelong quest to live much like Jesus Christ and his apostles. He continually mines the Bible (in both its original and translated forms) to understand how the first Christians interacted with those around them and how he can use their examples to spread the message of his faith. He is, thankfully, more focused on improvement than damnation.

Now, to my assessment of the book: it is well-written, humble, and even a little funny in places. My opinion on his religion aside, Norris is very charismatic and even affable at times. His skepticism concerning his own experiences and beliefs is good to see. A lesser man would believe that he alone was actually healing people. I had to be very patient with this one. I believe that he believes, and no will ever be able to take that away from him. This book will not move anyone across the spiritual divide; the faithful will gain a new appreciation for the possibilities and the wonder of their Lord and the skeptics will continue to scoff. But, if you’ve got a free afternoon and an open mind, then Norris’s humble tale will be at the very least amusing and startling to sit through.… (lisätietoja)