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Night Driving: Notes from a Prodigal Soul
Journeys that begin in brokenness rarely follow a straight road to healing. There are twists and turns - and setbacks - on the path of repentance.
Night Driving tells the story of a pastor and seminary professor whose moral failures destroyed his marriage and career, left his life in ruins, and sent him spiraling into a decade-long struggle against God. Forced to fight the demons of his past in the cab of the semi-truck he drove at night through the Texas oil fields, Chad Bird slowly began to limp toward grace and healing.
Drawing on his expertise as an Old Testament scholar, Bird weaves together his own story, the biblical story, and the stories of fellow prodigals as he peels back the layers of denial, anger, addiction, and grief to help listeners come face-to-face both with their own identities and with the God who alone can heal them.
Night Driving tells the story of a pastor and seminary professor whose moral failures destroyed his marriage and career, left his life in ruins, and sent him spiraling into a decade-long struggle against God. Forced to fight the demons of his past in the cab of the semi-truck he drove at night through the Texas oil fields, Chad Bird slowly began to limp toward grace and healing.
Drawing on his expertise as an Old Testament scholar, Bird weaves together his own story, the biblical story, and the stories of fellow prodigals as he peels back the layers of denial, anger, addiction, and grief to help listeners come face-to-face both with their own identities and with the God who alone can heal them.
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First published October 1, 2017
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About the author
Chad Bird
35 books566 followersChad Bird is a Scholar in Residence at 1517. He has served as a pastor, professor, and guest lecturer in Old Testament and Hebrew. He holds master’s degrees from Concordia Theological Seminary and Hebrew Union College. He has contributed articles to Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, Modern Reformation, The Federalist, Lutheran Forum, and other journals and websites. He is also the author of several books, including Night Driving: Notes from a Prodigal Soul, Your God Is Too Glorious: Finding God in the Most Unexpected Places, Upside-Down Spirituality: The 9 Essential Failures of a Faithful Life, and Unveiling Mercy: 365 Daily Devotions Based on Insights from Old Testament Hebrew. He cohosts two popular podcasts: “40 Minutes in the OT” and “Hidden Streams.” Chad and his wife Stacy have four children and three grandchildren. They enjoy life together in the Texas Hill Country.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
November 7, 2017
I met Chad when I arrived at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana in December of 2003. I didn't have Chad as a Professor until the Summer of 2005 when I took Hebrew I & II. I talked with Chad on various occasions. He was, is, and always will be my friend, my brother, and my teacher.
Night Driving: Notes from a Prodigal Soul is an outstanding book. I cried throughout most of it. I did not know my brother's pain until now. I still have questions about the whole ordeal which will probably go unanswered. I'm alright with that.
The one thing that saddens me is all the hate and bigotry Chad suffered at the mouths and hands of "so-called" friends. I always ask myself, where is God's grace in their actions and words? Where is the love they claim to have in the crucified Christ? Again, more questions I will never know the answer too.
What I learned from this book is that God loves me, little old me, for the sake of His only-begotten Son, Jesus, the Christ. I also know that He loves Chad too. I learned, as I learn every time I study the Scriptures, that no matter how bad I've been, no matter what sin I've committed, the Blood of Christ covers all my ugliness just as Chad's ugliness is covered too.
You see, in this book, Chad teaches us, from the cross of Christ, that we are now SAINTS in the eyes of God our Father because Jesus stood in our place, died our death, and atoned for our sins. To that, I say, thank you for the reminder my friend, my brother, and my teacher!
God's peace is yours now and always.
Night Driving: Notes from a Prodigal Soul is an outstanding book. I cried throughout most of it. I did not know my brother's pain until now. I still have questions about the whole ordeal which will probably go unanswered. I'm alright with that.
The one thing that saddens me is all the hate and bigotry Chad suffered at the mouths and hands of "so-called" friends. I always ask myself, where is God's grace in their actions and words? Where is the love they claim to have in the crucified Christ? Again, more questions I will never know the answer too.
What I learned from this book is that God loves me, little old me, for the sake of His only-begotten Son, Jesus, the Christ. I also know that He loves Chad too. I learned, as I learn every time I study the Scriptures, that no matter how bad I've been, no matter what sin I've committed, the Blood of Christ covers all my ugliness just as Chad's ugliness is covered too.
You see, in this book, Chad teaches us, from the cross of Christ, that we are now SAINTS in the eyes of God our Father because Jesus stood in our place, died our death, and atoned for our sins. To that, I say, thank you for the reminder my friend, my brother, and my teacher!
God's peace is yours now and always.
November 5, 2017
This is one of the best books I've ever read. I can't recommend this enough. The author uses a clear message of the gospel, his personal history (mostly of failure), and beautiful language (it feels poetic at times) to discuss topics such as repentance, the church, doubt and vulnerability. I can't wait to read his next book coming out in January.
December 17, 2017
200 proof Gospel
December 30, 2017
Thought provoking book. Difficult to read more than a chapter at a time because of the necessity to reflect on what he says.
January 23, 2023
This book was short, but excellent. The chapter on repenting will stick with me a long time. Also I loved his thoughts about the church in chapter 8- I feel like he really clarified and gave voice to some of the things I have pondered about how we talk about the church in modern culture. My only critique is I wish he would have talked more about how he came back into fellowshipping with other believers and what that looked like for him.
“…how bad we feel for what we’ve done, what mixed motives caused us to confess, just how broken our hearts may (or may not) be: all of this is spiritual quicksand. The Lord’s own words - ‘You are mine. I forgive you’ - are solid rock, the foundation of our hope and peace. The Lord’s words of forgiveness are true no matter how untrue we feel.”
“…how bad we feel for what we’ve done, what mixed motives caused us to confess, just how broken our hearts may (or may not) be: all of this is spiritual quicksand. The Lord’s own words - ‘You are mine. I forgive you’ - are solid rock, the foundation of our hope and peace. The Lord’s words of forgiveness are true no matter how untrue we feel.”
September 30, 2021
Chad Bird walks with a limp. And he's ok with that.
In a powerful and deeply moving memoir of his motivated rise to a respectable life, replete with a loving wife and kids, the respect and esteem of hundreds within his chosen career, Chad exposes his failures and his precipitous fall from grace ... and then into grace in this excellent book, Night Driving: Notes From a Prodigal Soul
Chad writes with candor and vulnerability, laying bare his failings in all of their raw and ugly selfishness. They sent him fishtailing across the lanes of life and left him upside down in a ditch of his own making.
It would be out on the rutted roads of west Texas oilfields while driving a big rig in the graveyard hours of the night that he came face to face with the ravages of sin and the grace of God. "God specializes in broken people ... No matter how badly we have wrecked our lives, our Father is in the thick of that disaster to begin the work of making us whole again." he writes (15). It took a painful path for Bird to realize this.
The journey from brokenness to wholeness through the Gospel of Jesus Christ is often a slow and arduous one with peaks and valleys; successes and sins rearing their ugly heads yet again. Bird speaks candidly of this undulating trail he trod and does so in language and prose that is both gripping and beautiful. The expanse of his writing talent doesn't obscure the reality of the tale he weaves; broken stories are ugly even when beautifully told.
But what is clearly most beautiful of all in this work is the grace of God that never departs the narrative. Bird isn't telling his story to gain sympathy, the scandalous isn't employed for gratuity. One doesn't have to read far into the book to discover that this story is less about Bird and more about a prodigious God. He writes, "The message woven through these chapters is this: Every step of the way we are accompanied by the God who, in Jesus Christ, will never un-love us, un-adopt us, un-redeem us, no matter what we've done..." (page 16)
It took awhile for Bird to grasp that himself, but he doesn't drag the reader through the muck of his making without reminding us of what God was doing in him and through his circumstances. God "made use" of the messes Bird made. "He doesn't lend us a hand as we fight free from the clutches of idolatry." he writes. "He doesn't show us the way to refine our hearts so we might love him alone. Jesus accomplishes for us everything the Father desires, despite our selfish attempts to thwart his work every step of the way." (79).
"Thwarting God" is a wrestling match that Bird unpacks throughout the book, but most poignantly in his final chapter, the heaviest and lightest of the book. He retells the story from Genesis when Jacob wrestles with God on the banks of the Jabbok river. "In a Bible full of bizarre stories with bizarre endings, this one, perhaps more than any other narrative in Scripture reveals what beats deep within the heart of God for us, his children" (127-28) he writes. That story is a mirror of Chad's. His match with the Almighty also takes place in the dark, but "during the small hours of the night, the Lord looms large, filling those nocturnal hours with a violent love. Time ceases to be measured by seconds and minutes. Instead, it is counted by blows and falls and bruises in the night. And the fight will go on until the dawn of defeat or victory." (131).
But the thing is, Chad’s defeat is his victory. You, me, Chad ... we don't beat God. He lets us win, or, God chooses to lose. This victory doesn't call for gloating. The win is found in a recognition that God and God alone is God. We are not.
The "joy of Jesus is the victory of those who have no chance to win," Chad writes. His decade-long struggle with God, flailing wildly to win on his own proved fruitless, as it will for me and you.
And that's the point. Sinners like Chad and sinners like me win by losing. Jesus loses so we can win.
Chad Bird walks with a limp, but that’s the price he had to pay to be conformed into the image of Christ. It’s a gait he’s grateful to have.
In a powerful and deeply moving memoir of his motivated rise to a respectable life, replete with a loving wife and kids, the respect and esteem of hundreds within his chosen career, Chad exposes his failures and his precipitous fall from grace ... and then into grace in this excellent book, Night Driving: Notes From a Prodigal Soul
Chad writes with candor and vulnerability, laying bare his failings in all of their raw and ugly selfishness. They sent him fishtailing across the lanes of life and left him upside down in a ditch of his own making.
It would be out on the rutted roads of west Texas oilfields while driving a big rig in the graveyard hours of the night that he came face to face with the ravages of sin and the grace of God. "God specializes in broken people ... No matter how badly we have wrecked our lives, our Father is in the thick of that disaster to begin the work of making us whole again." he writes (15). It took a painful path for Bird to realize this.
The journey from brokenness to wholeness through the Gospel of Jesus Christ is often a slow and arduous one with peaks and valleys; successes and sins rearing their ugly heads yet again. Bird speaks candidly of this undulating trail he trod and does so in language and prose that is both gripping and beautiful. The expanse of his writing talent doesn't obscure the reality of the tale he weaves; broken stories are ugly even when beautifully told.
But what is clearly most beautiful of all in this work is the grace of God that never departs the narrative. Bird isn't telling his story to gain sympathy, the scandalous isn't employed for gratuity. One doesn't have to read far into the book to discover that this story is less about Bird and more about a prodigious God. He writes, "The message woven through these chapters is this: Every step of the way we are accompanied by the God who, in Jesus Christ, will never un-love us, un-adopt us, un-redeem us, no matter what we've done..." (page 16)
It took awhile for Bird to grasp that himself, but he doesn't drag the reader through the muck of his making without reminding us of what God was doing in him and through his circumstances. God "made use" of the messes Bird made. "He doesn't lend us a hand as we fight free from the clutches of idolatry." he writes. "He doesn't show us the way to refine our hearts so we might love him alone. Jesus accomplishes for us everything the Father desires, despite our selfish attempts to thwart his work every step of the way." (79).
"Thwarting God" is a wrestling match that Bird unpacks throughout the book, but most poignantly in his final chapter, the heaviest and lightest of the book. He retells the story from Genesis when Jacob wrestles with God on the banks of the Jabbok river. "In a Bible full of bizarre stories with bizarre endings, this one, perhaps more than any other narrative in Scripture reveals what beats deep within the heart of God for us, his children" (127-28) he writes. That story is a mirror of Chad's. His match with the Almighty also takes place in the dark, but "during the small hours of the night, the Lord looms large, filling those nocturnal hours with a violent love. Time ceases to be measured by seconds and minutes. Instead, it is counted by blows and falls and bruises in the night. And the fight will go on until the dawn of defeat or victory." (131).
But the thing is, Chad’s defeat is his victory. You, me, Chad ... we don't beat God. He lets us win, or, God chooses to lose. This victory doesn't call for gloating. The win is found in a recognition that God and God alone is God. We are not.
The "joy of Jesus is the victory of those who have no chance to win," Chad writes. His decade-long struggle with God, flailing wildly to win on his own proved fruitless, as it will for me and you.
And that's the point. Sinners like Chad and sinners like me win by losing. Jesus loses so we can win.
Chad Bird walks with a limp, but that’s the price he had to pay to be conformed into the image of Christ. It’s a gait he’s grateful to have.
December 31, 2017
This is a brutal, devastating, and honest account of the author's personal, far-reaching sins and failures. Ultimately, however, it a beautiful, Gospel-soaked, and spiritually refreshing account of the limitless grace of God in Christ. It's a brief book, and well worth the time for anyone who struggles with sin and a seemingly less than "victorious" spiritual life. It is medicine for the stricken soul, applied by one sinner to another.
December 11, 2025
So gut.
Chad Bird ist aufstrebender junger AT-Professor, Pfarrer und Vater. Eigentlich läuft alles, doch nach einem begangenen Ehebruch verliert er all das und fällt in ein tiefes Loch.
In "Night Driving" erzählt Bird wie Gott ihm in diesem Loch über Jahre hinweg begegnet ist. Gerade vor dem dunklen Hintergrund der Schuld strahlt das kontraintuitive Wirken Gottes auf, der eben nicht an der menschlichen Fassade interessiert ist. Vielmehr preist Bird die eigene Schwäche, das Angewiesensein auf Gott, den Wert von tiefer Verletzlichkeit und Schuldbekenntnis an.
All das verwebt er, als AT-Professor, mit Geschichten gefallener und wieder-aufgerichteter Gläubiger aus dem Alten Testament und lässt, als Lutheraner, das Evangelium in seinen schönsten Farben leuchten.
Ich muss gestehen, dass sich das Buch in der Mitte teils etwas gezogen hat. Aber das wird durch die Nuggets auf dem Weg und gerade auch in den letzten Kapiteln wieder gut gemacht.
Eignet sich gut als Hörbuch (auch wenn man ständig etwas anstreichen will).
Chad Bird ist aufstrebender junger AT-Professor, Pfarrer und Vater. Eigentlich läuft alles, doch nach einem begangenen Ehebruch verliert er all das und fällt in ein tiefes Loch.
In "Night Driving" erzählt Bird wie Gott ihm in diesem Loch über Jahre hinweg begegnet ist. Gerade vor dem dunklen Hintergrund der Schuld strahlt das kontraintuitive Wirken Gottes auf, der eben nicht an der menschlichen Fassade interessiert ist. Vielmehr preist Bird die eigene Schwäche, das Angewiesensein auf Gott, den Wert von tiefer Verletzlichkeit und Schuldbekenntnis an.
All das verwebt er, als AT-Professor, mit Geschichten gefallener und wieder-aufgerichteter Gläubiger aus dem Alten Testament und lässt, als Lutheraner, das Evangelium in seinen schönsten Farben leuchten.
Ich muss gestehen, dass sich das Buch in der Mitte teils etwas gezogen hat. Aber das wird durch die Nuggets auf dem Weg und gerade auch in den letzten Kapiteln wieder gut gemacht.
Eignet sich gut als Hörbuch (auch wenn man ständig etwas anstreichen will).
April 8, 2022
I love Chad Birds ministry man, I’ve learned to love Gods word even more and read it more carefully from listening to his podcast and reading his articles. I didn’t know about his past until reading this book. I might never have known if he hadn’t written this book. There are a lot of people who have fallen in ministry that would never do what he did in this book- air his sin out in explicit detail, show how he ruined his life, and recount how Christ ran after him. I’m thankful he did. It was a painful read. I was convicted and praised God and rejoiced in the gospel of grace. Jesus Christ is the gospel. Not our efforts at measuring up. That’s good news, this book is full of it. Every person in ministry or seminary should read this book.
My only caveat is that, while I know him and I know 1517’s ministry- I wonder if someone who isn’t familiar with the law/gospel distinction would read certain sections of this text would think it sounds like antinomianism. Not saying that it is, just wish the third use of the law was a little more explicit in this book.
My only caveat is that, while I know him and I know 1517’s ministry- I wonder if someone who isn’t familiar with the law/gospel distinction would read certain sections of this text would think it sounds like antinomianism. Not saying that it is, just wish the third use of the law was a little more explicit in this book.
October 21, 2018
Chock full of gospel. Only complaint I have is that it’s too short. I also would have liked to hear more details about the timeline of Chad Bird’s life, but that’s no cause for complaint. This is not a tell-all testimonial book used to make readers feel guilty. It’s gospel.
Bought at the 2018 Here We Still Stand conference in San Diego, CA.
Bought at the 2018 Here We Still Stand conference in San Diego, CA.
March 6, 2018
If this book by Chad Bird is not in your top 10 "Want to Read" list you are wrong.
March 8, 2024
Theres honesty and hope on every page. Chads story fights off the common lie that we’re ever too far gone to be loved and held by God. Im grateful for this story of redemption. Im also grateful for the call to be honest with ourselves about who we are as humans and that our humanity and brokenness deeply connects us with Jesus.
This will definitely be placed in the “re-read” pile!
A couple of favorite quotes:
“The problem is, we're hardwired to demand answers to questions which, if provided, would do nothing more than perplex us and plunge us further into disappointment. We would be like eight-year-olds trying to understand Einstein lecturing on the theory of relativity. Here's the simple truth: The undisclosed ways of God remain locked in a vault to which we don't have the combination. "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children." As much as we want to pry into these secret things, they're not really what we
need.”
“God, however, is not here to help us. He is not our assistant, our coach, or our motivator. He is here to do for us what we cannot, and will not, do for ourselves. Part of how he does this is by launching a full-scale assault against the temple of our hearts. The exact form of this at-
tack varies from person to person. But rest assured of one thing: it will hurt. God's destruction of our false deities will leave us bitter, likely bewildered, and always ready
to fight God to get our god(s) back. This is no playground spat between two rivals. This is the Lord of heaven and earth warring with the deeply entrenched evil within us.”
“I HAVE ZERO EXPERIENCE with what many Christians call "the victorious Christian life." I've never made huge strides in holiness, never seen my sanctification level skyrocket, never trampled sin after sin underfoot. If such triumphant believers exist, they're a breed of
Christian unicorn we'll never discover because they don't go around bragging about it. Swaggering about growth in sanctification is like boasting of humility.”
This will definitely be placed in the “re-read” pile!
A couple of favorite quotes:
“The problem is, we're hardwired to demand answers to questions which, if provided, would do nothing more than perplex us and plunge us further into disappointment. We would be like eight-year-olds trying to understand Einstein lecturing on the theory of relativity. Here's the simple truth: The undisclosed ways of God remain locked in a vault to which we don't have the combination. "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children." As much as we want to pry into these secret things, they're not really what we
need.”
“God, however, is not here to help us. He is not our assistant, our coach, or our motivator. He is here to do for us what we cannot, and will not, do for ourselves. Part of how he does this is by launching a full-scale assault against the temple of our hearts. The exact form of this at-
tack varies from person to person. But rest assured of one thing: it will hurt. God's destruction of our false deities will leave us bitter, likely bewildered, and always ready
to fight God to get our god(s) back. This is no playground spat between two rivals. This is the Lord of heaven and earth warring with the deeply entrenched evil within us.”
“I HAVE ZERO EXPERIENCE with what many Christians call "the victorious Christian life." I've never made huge strides in holiness, never seen my sanctification level skyrocket, never trampled sin after sin underfoot. If such triumphant believers exist, they're a breed of
Christian unicorn we'll never discover because they don't go around bragging about it. Swaggering about growth in sanctification is like boasting of humility.”
April 3, 2018
Profound and brutally honest book on Chad Bird’s life/spiritual journey. One of the strongest gospel books I have read in a long time. At times so painful to read and other ways glorious as Chad clearly lands so firmly in the unrelenting grace of God. Chad’s unfiltered confession and honesty reminds me much of Brennan Manning. Yes - it’s that good of a book. Just might order me a case to pass out to others needing a reminder of just how deep and wide and relentless is the love of the Father to His Beloved.
September 7, 2017
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
In Night Driving, Bird writes about his own moral failure and his journey back to God. Wow. I was blown away by this book. The writing is so raw and real, to a point of making you uncomfortable at times. Bird takes you into the heart and mind of a prodigal. All of the dark corners that we like to ignore. If you are in ministry, you need to read this book. I cannot recommend it enough.
In Night Driving, Bird writes about his own moral failure and his journey back to God. Wow. I was blown away by this book. The writing is so raw and real, to a point of making you uncomfortable at times. Bird takes you into the heart and mind of a prodigal. All of the dark corners that we like to ignore. If you are in ministry, you need to read this book. I cannot recommend it enough.
January 20, 2025
Nightdriving is the story/thoughts of a former pastor and seminary professor whose life falls apart due to sin. On my first time listening through this short book, I wasn't terribly engaged until the end. Then some thought-provoking excerpts caused me to go back and relisten to it and I more clearly saw (heard) the thread that had been woven together throughout the book. There were some parts that were deeply impactful to me and the Lord used them to speak words of comfort and forgiveness to me.
Chad Bird points out the futility of trying to hide our weaknesses and the scars from our sins and the freedom that comes from bringing them into the light.
"Over time I came to discover that the real victorious life is found in a place that looks like defeat."
He showed how accepting his story of humiliation and regret allowed God to use it and replace it with a better one.
"Our father rewrites our life stories with the ink of the cross. He takes our batched narratives full of self and rewrites them with Jesus. … Jesus has stolen away our old identity and given us a new one."
There's no need to pretend we are something we are not.
"Freedom comes not from pretending I am someone I’m not but from a loving welcome from One who accepts me as I am....In Him we discover a freedom that is found nowhere else. If the only true God has adopted me as his child, given me his name in baptism and stands beside me to claim me as his beloved, then why would I need to pretend I am something else? In Christ the masks are gone. The pretending is over."
He related his story of struggling to prove to God that he was truly sorry for his former sins.
"Repentance is not a work that we perform but a gift that Christ gives. It's not an emotion that we stir up within ourselves but a motion that Christ's enacts within us. This motion is always away from us, away from guilt, away from self-devised methods of atonement....Repentance is the divine work of compassionate restoration...A gift we receive, not a work we do."
He highlighted the multitude of Bible characters who completely botched their lives, but God called them "righteous". Not only can we relate better to these sinful people, but we can be assured that the Lord sees us in the same way, covered by Christ's sacrifice on our behalf.
"Christ's forgiveness of us lacks nothing. It is the declaration of the unalterable love of the father for us, how weak or strong our faith is, how pure or impure our confession is, how sincere or insincere our repentance may be. All of this is beside the point. Christ didn't die and rise potentially for us, if we believe enough, repent enough, improve enough. The only enough is Christ. His assurance of "I forgive you" is as sure as his declaration from the cross, "It is finished".
My biggest take-away from the book: God has done beautiful things with the scars of my sins. I don't need to try to cover them or wonder if I have repented enough. Sharing them brings Him glory and me freedom.
"Some scars ...are too important to be erased. These blemishes are storytellers. They keep alive the memories that while punctuated with pain and regret, are also full of grace and healing...The last thing we need to lose is our scars. The gracious favor of God makes sacred these marks of our old sins....Our scars are God's gifts to us. They are the means Jesus uses, not to anchor us to the past, but to propel us into the future as those who know the wounding power and healing grace of God."
Chad Bird points out the futility of trying to hide our weaknesses and the scars from our sins and the freedom that comes from bringing them into the light.
"Over time I came to discover that the real victorious life is found in a place that looks like defeat."
He showed how accepting his story of humiliation and regret allowed God to use it and replace it with a better one.
"Our father rewrites our life stories with the ink of the cross. He takes our batched narratives full of self and rewrites them with Jesus. … Jesus has stolen away our old identity and given us a new one."
There's no need to pretend we are something we are not.
"Freedom comes not from pretending I am someone I’m not but from a loving welcome from One who accepts me as I am....In Him we discover a freedom that is found nowhere else. If the only true God has adopted me as his child, given me his name in baptism and stands beside me to claim me as his beloved, then why would I need to pretend I am something else? In Christ the masks are gone. The pretending is over."
He related his story of struggling to prove to God that he was truly sorry for his former sins.
"Repentance is not a work that we perform but a gift that Christ gives. It's not an emotion that we stir up within ourselves but a motion that Christ's enacts within us. This motion is always away from us, away from guilt, away from self-devised methods of atonement....Repentance is the divine work of compassionate restoration...A gift we receive, not a work we do."
He highlighted the multitude of Bible characters who completely botched their lives, but God called them "righteous". Not only can we relate better to these sinful people, but we can be assured that the Lord sees us in the same way, covered by Christ's sacrifice on our behalf.
"Christ's forgiveness of us lacks nothing. It is the declaration of the unalterable love of the father for us, how weak or strong our faith is, how pure or impure our confession is, how sincere or insincere our repentance may be. All of this is beside the point. Christ didn't die and rise potentially for us, if we believe enough, repent enough, improve enough. The only enough is Christ. His assurance of "I forgive you" is as sure as his declaration from the cross, "It is finished".
My biggest take-away from the book: God has done beautiful things with the scars of my sins. I don't need to try to cover them or wonder if I have repented enough. Sharing them brings Him glory and me freedom.
"Some scars ...are too important to be erased. These blemishes are storytellers. They keep alive the memories that while punctuated with pain and regret, are also full of grace and healing...The last thing we need to lose is our scars. The gracious favor of God makes sacred these marks of our old sins....Our scars are God's gifts to us. They are the means Jesus uses, not to anchor us to the past, but to propel us into the future as those who know the wounding power and healing grace of God."
March 18, 2020
Short read but packs a punch. It seems this book came to me at the perfect moment in my life and I'm grateful for Chad Bird's realness. He had made a mess of his life and it's clear from reading his story that there's no way he would have been able to pull himself out by his own strength. I'm grateful the Lord worked in his life the way He did so I could read about it, be encouraged, and be pointed to Christ.
These are some of my favorite lines:
...great paradoxes of the gospel. It's all about us and our comfort. And it's not about us at all.
One of the ironies of life is that the things we want most are often the very things that destroy us.
Sin: predictable in its destructive power while unpredictable in its messiness.
God specializes in broken people.
God sees us most clearly when we feel most invisible.
...the farther one is beneath Him, the better does He see him. He is a far-sighted God.
"Therefore sinners are attractive because they are loved; they are not loved because they are attractive."
...the death of self we fear most gives way to the life we need most.
The Psalms place words on our lips so critical of God they border on blasphemy.
...we're hardwired to demand answers to questions which, if provided, would do nothing more than perplex us and plunge us further into disappointment.
How God is controlling the details of our lives is beyond our concern as well as our comprehension.
...we and David pray in the voice of Jesus, for this psalm, like all other psalms, belongs to Him.
"God's love doesn't fluctuate from day-to-day. It was settled the moment He set it upon you before the foundation of the world."
[the Prodigal Son] believed the lie that the father's forgiveness - God's forgiveness - is contingent upon pre- and post-conditions.
Only when we forgive ourselves will this haunting ghost of guilt finally vanish for good.
...no strings are attached to the forgiveness God gives us in His son. We can't "buy" it by being sorry. We can't guarantee ongoing forgiveness by living obediently. And we can't sin our way out of forgiveness once God has bestowed it. Forgiveness is taken entirely out of our hands and placed in the hands of a Savior whose scars tell the story of unconditional love.
Christ's forgiveness precedes our repentance - and calls it forth.
Those who sin against us don't owe us an apology. They don't owe us repentance, tears, promises of improvement, vows never to repeat what they've done. Nothing is what they owe. When we forgive, we are pressing into the palm of a fellow transgressor the coin of freedom with which Christ has enriched us. We give only what we first received.
They all boil down to one [wrong] assumption: we are capable of redeeming our lives, no matter how bad things become.
[idols]...some of them may be good. It's the adoration we pay them, the trust we have in them, that transforms them into self-made gods.
Jesus accomplishes for us everything the Father desires, despite our selfish attempts to thwart His work every step of the way.
* Outward circumstances do not alter our inner dispositions.
We don't glory in sin; we confess it.
Our weakness becomes the testimony of Christ's work in our lives.
[a picture of the church] Perhaps it's simply a quiet place where, even for a few moments, the accusations of your conscience are hushed, the fog in your mind clears. You may be alone or surrounded by others. But here is respite, however brief, from the burdens you bear.
We expect God to forgive us for the purity of our confession. As always, we bring things back to ourselves.
Repentance is not a work that we perform, but a gift that Christ gives. It's not an emotion that we stir up within ourselves, but a motion that Christ enacts within us...He repents us.
...where sinners congregate, there will be no shortage of disappointments.
...the church finds me just as unattractive as I find her.
The ugliness we see exhibited in congregations is a reflection of the ugliness we find in our own hearts, too.
...this community of the broken, the undesirable, is precisely the community where Christ is at work to love and to forgive.
...this "solo Christianity" is self-serving, self-protecting, and ultimately self-destructive.
Like the Red Sea, baptism is a body of water we pass through to get to where the Lord wants us to be. In it He drowns the Egyptian army of sins and shame that hounds us.
Alone, however, is sometimes where we need to be, where we must be. Sometimes the truth can only get to us when we're cut off from others. Without friends or coworkers to distract us. Without a spouse to comfort us. Without children tugging at our sleeves. It's the ideal time for God to work on us. Not like mechanic works on a vehicle or an artist works on a painting. It feels more like God is working us over. Because He is.
This is Christian growth: to become in our weakness more and more dependent on His strength, to seek in our woundedness more and more of His healing.
There is no escaping the God who fills even the deepest, darkest cracks into which we fall.
"If you manage to put behind you the painful things that happen to you as if they never really happened or didn't really matter all that much when they did, then the deepest and most human things you have in you to become are not apt to happen either."
These are some of my favorite lines:
...great paradoxes of the gospel. It's all about us and our comfort. And it's not about us at all.
One of the ironies of life is that the things we want most are often the very things that destroy us.
Sin: predictable in its destructive power while unpredictable in its messiness.
God specializes in broken people.
God sees us most clearly when we feel most invisible.
...the farther one is beneath Him, the better does He see him. He is a far-sighted God.
"Therefore sinners are attractive because they are loved; they are not loved because they are attractive."
...the death of self we fear most gives way to the life we need most.
The Psalms place words on our lips so critical of God they border on blasphemy.
...we're hardwired to demand answers to questions which, if provided, would do nothing more than perplex us and plunge us further into disappointment.
How God is controlling the details of our lives is beyond our concern as well as our comprehension.
...we and David pray in the voice of Jesus, for this psalm, like all other psalms, belongs to Him.
"God's love doesn't fluctuate from day-to-day. It was settled the moment He set it upon you before the foundation of the world."
[the Prodigal Son] believed the lie that the father's forgiveness - God's forgiveness - is contingent upon pre- and post-conditions.
Only when we forgive ourselves will this haunting ghost of guilt finally vanish for good.
...no strings are attached to the forgiveness God gives us in His son. We can't "buy" it by being sorry. We can't guarantee ongoing forgiveness by living obediently. And we can't sin our way out of forgiveness once God has bestowed it. Forgiveness is taken entirely out of our hands and placed in the hands of a Savior whose scars tell the story of unconditional love.
Christ's forgiveness precedes our repentance - and calls it forth.
Those who sin against us don't owe us an apology. They don't owe us repentance, tears, promises of improvement, vows never to repeat what they've done. Nothing is what they owe. When we forgive, we are pressing into the palm of a fellow transgressor the coin of freedom with which Christ has enriched us. We give only what we first received.
They all boil down to one [wrong] assumption: we are capable of redeeming our lives, no matter how bad things become.
[idols]...some of them may be good. It's the adoration we pay them, the trust we have in them, that transforms them into self-made gods.
Jesus accomplishes for us everything the Father desires, despite our selfish attempts to thwart His work every step of the way.
* Outward circumstances do not alter our inner dispositions.
We don't glory in sin; we confess it.
Our weakness becomes the testimony of Christ's work in our lives.
[a picture of the church] Perhaps it's simply a quiet place where, even for a few moments, the accusations of your conscience are hushed, the fog in your mind clears. You may be alone or surrounded by others. But here is respite, however brief, from the burdens you bear.
We expect God to forgive us for the purity of our confession. As always, we bring things back to ourselves.
Repentance is not a work that we perform, but a gift that Christ gives. It's not an emotion that we stir up within ourselves, but a motion that Christ enacts within us...He repents us.
...where sinners congregate, there will be no shortage of disappointments.
...the church finds me just as unattractive as I find her.
The ugliness we see exhibited in congregations is a reflection of the ugliness we find in our own hearts, too.
...this community of the broken, the undesirable, is precisely the community where Christ is at work to love and to forgive.
...this "solo Christianity" is self-serving, self-protecting, and ultimately self-destructive.
Like the Red Sea, baptism is a body of water we pass through to get to where the Lord wants us to be. In it He drowns the Egyptian army of sins and shame that hounds us.
Alone, however, is sometimes where we need to be, where we must be. Sometimes the truth can only get to us when we're cut off from others. Without friends or coworkers to distract us. Without a spouse to comfort us. Without children tugging at our sleeves. It's the ideal time for God to work on us. Not like mechanic works on a vehicle or an artist works on a painting. It feels more like God is working us over. Because He is.
This is Christian growth: to become in our weakness more and more dependent on His strength, to seek in our woundedness more and more of His healing.
There is no escaping the God who fills even the deepest, darkest cracks into which we fall.
"If you manage to put behind you the painful things that happen to you as if they never really happened or didn't really matter all that much when they did, then the deepest and most human things you have in you to become are not apt to happen either."
May 17, 2018
I appreciate that Chad Bird shared all the stories from his personal life. His mistakes were lessons we can benefit from. However, it didn’t read as such. The personal stories were all over the place in no particular order. The presentation of each lesson understood as just that, a lesson. I wasn’t able to feel with, or for the writer. Chad shared a little emotion, but just not enough to make him relatable to me, as a reader. The scriptures read were relevant to each lesson, but there were too many scriptures. There’s nothing I love more than hearing the right scripture at the right time, but in this case, there was overkill. At some points, it sounded more like a church sermon than a personal story.
Overall, Chad Bird is an excellent writer; everything is written in a professional and easy to understand manner. Unfortunately, the lack of emotion was a massive barrier for turning his experiences into a book the average reader can relate to. To give my honest opinion, I have to rate this with two stars. It was ok, but it could have been better.
Trevor Thompson narrated this book, and I enjoyed his presentation of the book.
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Overall, Chad Bird is an excellent writer; everything is written in a professional and easy to understand manner. Unfortunately, the lack of emotion was a massive barrier for turning his experiences into a book the average reader can relate to. To give my honest opinion, I have to rate this with two stars. It was ok, but it could have been better.
Trevor Thompson narrated this book, and I enjoyed his presentation of the book.
http://www.boundlessbookreviews.com
https://www.facebook.com/BBReviews
March 2, 2023
This was a sobering, heart-wrenching read, and yet, was filled with tremendous hope as one chapter after another points the reader to the sufficiency of Jesus Christ and His finished work. I praise God for this book. It's not just a cautionary tale, it's a grace-filled warning and balm for the soul. Please read it.
March 27, 2022
Achingly honest, amazingly beautiful!
All glory be to God but thanks all the same for this gem of book, mr. Bird!
All glory be to God but thanks all the same for this gem of book, mr. Bird!
January 27, 2019
As I've recently been reading through Genesis, I've been struck by how the lives of people we paint as biblical 'heroes' in Sunday School stories lived lives full of sin: drunkenness, deceit, sexual immorality, and more. Their lives are not recorded there as examples of "upright living", they are instead examples of failures that we all face, to show us the grace of God, who works in the middle of the muck and mire we get ourselves into for his glory and for the good of those who trust him through the struggle.
Chad Bird shares many of these same stories while also sharing his own. He shares how his story of "upright living" turned into a story like these biblical ones, revealing the same flaws and sin that we all share. His life goes to a dark place, but God goes with him and Bird learns more about the true character of God and his grace than he ever could without these 'scars'.
I appreciated his sharing of his story and I think anyone who reads this book will also. Even if your life doesn't follow the same path, you will be able to relate to his story, just as we can better relate to the fallenness of the biblical 'heroes' than we can to false narratives of 'perfect' lives.
Chad Bird shares many of these same stories while also sharing his own. He shares how his story of "upright living" turned into a story like these biblical ones, revealing the same flaws and sin that we all share. His life goes to a dark place, but God goes with him and Bird learns more about the true character of God and his grace than he ever could without these 'scars'.
I appreciated his sharing of his story and I think anyone who reads this book will also. Even if your life doesn't follow the same path, you will be able to relate to his story, just as we can better relate to the fallenness of the biblical 'heroes' than we can to false narratives of 'perfect' lives.
December 11, 2020
Raw and readable. Some beautiful writing, with some poignant and pointed insights into temptation, sin and self justification. Also a good reminder that Grace is not based on anything we have done, and that the gospel really is good news no matter how far we have fallen. This book reminded me of the beauty of the grace of God in Christ Jesus, and for that I am grateful.
I do, however, have some reservations about his statements regarding repentance, and bits of the book could be interpreted as at least heading in the direction of antinomianism.
I also wonder, now knowing his story, at the wisdom of someone who has committed serious moral failure in Christian leadership in the past being given a Christian publishing contract. There is certainly forgiveness for all who look to Christ no matter what they have done, and there is I think value in this story being shared as a deterrent for others, but giving someone with this history a position of authority and influence in the lives of Christians again, even if it is not in a local church, seems to me potentially unwise. This, however, probably applies more to his other books and the other organisations he writes for than this book which is more autobiographical.
Overall, mixed feelings.
I do, however, have some reservations about his statements regarding repentance, and bits of the book could be interpreted as at least heading in the direction of antinomianism.
I also wonder, now knowing his story, at the wisdom of someone who has committed serious moral failure in Christian leadership in the past being given a Christian publishing contract. There is certainly forgiveness for all who look to Christ no matter what they have done, and there is I think value in this story being shared as a deterrent for others, but giving someone with this history a position of authority and influence in the lives of Christians again, even if it is not in a local church, seems to me potentially unwise. This, however, probably applies more to his other books and the other organisations he writes for than this book which is more autobiographical.
Overall, mixed feelings.
August 8, 2021
Stunning
Outside of the Bible, I have not had an author’s words hit me with so much impact. Chad has known the depths of self-created despair yet the grace and love of God was always present with him. I’ve never had an author so clearly put into words specific thoughts and beliefs I’ve had about myself. If you’ve ever stumbled and fallen so badly that you think God no longer loves you or wants to be with you, this is the book for you.
Outside of the Bible, I have not had an author’s words hit me with so much impact. Chad has known the depths of self-created despair yet the grace and love of God was always present with him. I’ve never had an author so clearly put into words specific thoughts and beliefs I’ve had about myself. If you’ve ever stumbled and fallen so badly that you think God no longer loves you or wants to be with you, this is the book for you.
October 30, 2018
Exactly the book I needed to read - particularly the chapter "The Community of the Broken" - after a rocky decade within my very broken (but very loved) congregation and spending too much time following the social media infighting within my denomination. I especially loved the beautiful and apt description of Holy Communion on pp 124-25. I checked this out of my library, but will purchase it.
December 11, 2018
There were some good parts in this book - passages that I highlighted and reread several times because they spoke so much truth. Or maybe just what I needed to hear at that moment. Other parts not so much. The whole of the book wasn't as good as the sum of the parts could have been.
Chad's story is raw and vulnerable and will certainly speak to some.
Chad's story is raw and vulnerable and will certainly speak to some.
September 1, 2022
This is a must-read for anyone struggling with their own self-worth and if they are worthy of God's love.
June 20, 2023
So stoked I stumbled across this book. This is my favorite form of christian literature- memoir/ theological reflection. I found myself in Bird’s experience. If you’ve burned your life down, multiple times and felt unforgiven.. read this book. If you’ve been legalistic with yourself, criticizing your every move with god… read this book.
August 1, 2017
Chad Bird, Night Driving: Notes From a Prodigal Soul. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017). $16.99.
In Night Driving: Notes From a Prodigal Soul, Chad Bird tells his own story as a husband, father, pastor, and seminary professor as his moral failures tore apart his life. Without going into great detail, he explains his struggles against God and ties his own story to that of the prodigal son. If you want to see what it is like to open up and peel back layers of denial, anger, addiction, and grief, then keep reading. Bird walks the reader through his story while at the same time showing how it is similar to all of the stories to some degree. However, he does not stop there, as he demonstrates how the Old Testament, especially Genesis, provides similar examples. In the end, the author brings us back to the author of all things and directs us to the one who can forgive.
Bird's book is a caution and warning to all of us on various levels. First, it is a warning to all people, but most relatable to pastors and seminarians, to never find our identity, purpose, or end goal in anything other than Christ. The roles of pastor and seminary professor generate respect and admiration; it is easy to turn from the heavenly things and deceive ourselves as though we are a cut above the rest. Secondly, Bird's book cautions those Christians who are ready to pounce on the failures of others. There is a proper way to approach the sins of others, and we must be careful to speak the truth in love.
One of the things I appreciated most about Night Driving is Bird's description of the constructed image of ourselves. He begins his book with this concept and describes how he used all the things around him as tools to obtain his personal goal. Through the course of time, Bird admits to pride ballooning and attempts to conceal it outwardly. This image is how we wish to be perceived. It is how we try to cover up our fears and redirect the attention of others. It is vital for Christians to realize that we all tend to fear man rather than God, and because of this we will build various images and work tirelessly to protect them, keeping people from realizing our true nature. In light of this, I appreciated chapter 6, "The Glorious Freedom of Vulnerability." I also liked Bird calling people back to corporate worship as they have avoided the church due to its blemishes.
I do wish Bird would have included a chapter on the process of sanctification. What does it mean for John to state, "And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commands" (1 John 2:3 ESV)? The process of sanctification and putting to death of sin which John and the other New Testament authors describe can be challenging and we've missed out on an excellent opportunity to call Christians to holiness as they have walked the road of repentance.
Whether or not you pick up a copy of Night Driving, remember, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9 ESV).
*I received a temporary, pre-published digital copy for review from Eerdmans via NetGalley
In Night Driving: Notes From a Prodigal Soul, Chad Bird tells his own story as a husband, father, pastor, and seminary professor as his moral failures tore apart his life. Without going into great detail, he explains his struggles against God and ties his own story to that of the prodigal son. If you want to see what it is like to open up and peel back layers of denial, anger, addiction, and grief, then keep reading. Bird walks the reader through his story while at the same time showing how it is similar to all of the stories to some degree. However, he does not stop there, as he demonstrates how the Old Testament, especially Genesis, provides similar examples. In the end, the author brings us back to the author of all things and directs us to the one who can forgive.
Bird's book is a caution and warning to all of us on various levels. First, it is a warning to all people, but most relatable to pastors and seminarians, to never find our identity, purpose, or end goal in anything other than Christ. The roles of pastor and seminary professor generate respect and admiration; it is easy to turn from the heavenly things and deceive ourselves as though we are a cut above the rest. Secondly, Bird's book cautions those Christians who are ready to pounce on the failures of others. There is a proper way to approach the sins of others, and we must be careful to speak the truth in love.
One of the things I appreciated most about Night Driving is Bird's description of the constructed image of ourselves. He begins his book with this concept and describes how he used all the things around him as tools to obtain his personal goal. Through the course of time, Bird admits to pride ballooning and attempts to conceal it outwardly. This image is how we wish to be perceived. It is how we try to cover up our fears and redirect the attention of others. It is vital for Christians to realize that we all tend to fear man rather than God, and because of this we will build various images and work tirelessly to protect them, keeping people from realizing our true nature. In light of this, I appreciated chapter 6, "The Glorious Freedom of Vulnerability." I also liked Bird calling people back to corporate worship as they have avoided the church due to its blemishes.
I do wish Bird would have included a chapter on the process of sanctification. What does it mean for John to state, "And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commands" (1 John 2:3 ESV)? The process of sanctification and putting to death of sin which John and the other New Testament authors describe can be challenging and we've missed out on an excellent opportunity to call Christians to holiness as they have walked the road of repentance.
Whether or not you pick up a copy of Night Driving, remember, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9 ESV).
*I received a temporary, pre-published digital copy for review from Eerdmans via NetGalley
November 1, 2020
I received this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
Night Driving: Notes from a Prodigal Soul is a spiritual self-help book written by Chad Bird. It provides a short look into Chad's troubled past, and it reveals how the Father draws His children back to Him. Trevor Thompson provides the narration, and he delivers a touching, emotional performance. Anyone with a past full of brokenness and pain (so everyone) will find something to appreciate in this work.
Chad Bird was a pastor and seminary professor. He gained great success in the spiritual world through teaching, leading and mentoring. What his facade didn't reveal were his broken, sinful actions. Among other moral failings, Chad had an affair. When all was finally revealed, he lost his position, friends and even his wife. He resorted to driving trucks, drinking and pondering his relationship with God. It's only at the end of himself that the value of vulnerability and openness is revealed. We all have a broken past; the Scriptures are full of broken people. God uses those same messed up people in His story. Chad encourages the reader to embrace their scars for the glory of God.
This book provides an impactful look into Chad's past. Unfortunately, it's very short, and it only gives a brief synopsis of Chad's life. It would've been great to read more about his past and the thoughts and actions that led to his transformation. As it stands, his radical change seems sudden and truncated. Other aspects of the book could've benefited from expansion as well, It would've been great to hear where Chad is now and how his relationships have changed. Nonetheless, this is a meaningful book that shares Chad's passion for God and for broken people.
Trevor Thompson gives a clear, consistent and passionate performance. He sounds like a truck driver, and his voice is both smooth and consistent. His diction is easily understood, and he never stumbles over words or phrases. Without raising his voice, he provides a believable level of emotion and passion. It's clear that he cares about the subject as he strives to communicate the author's intentions.
Night Driving is an eye-opening examination of Chad's brokenness and Christ's healing power. Chad is vulnerable, and he encourages the reader to be vulnerable, too. His work is inspiring and encouraging, albeit a bit short. Trevor provides excellent narration that brings Chad's story and teachings to life. This book is easy to recommend to anyone interested in spiritual improvement.
Night Driving: Notes from a Prodigal Soul is a spiritual self-help book written by Chad Bird. It provides a short look into Chad's troubled past, and it reveals how the Father draws His children back to Him. Trevor Thompson provides the narration, and he delivers a touching, emotional performance. Anyone with a past full of brokenness and pain (so everyone) will find something to appreciate in this work.
Chad Bird was a pastor and seminary professor. He gained great success in the spiritual world through teaching, leading and mentoring. What his facade didn't reveal were his broken, sinful actions. Among other moral failings, Chad had an affair. When all was finally revealed, he lost his position, friends and even his wife. He resorted to driving trucks, drinking and pondering his relationship with God. It's only at the end of himself that the value of vulnerability and openness is revealed. We all have a broken past; the Scriptures are full of broken people. God uses those same messed up people in His story. Chad encourages the reader to embrace their scars for the glory of God.
This book provides an impactful look into Chad's past. Unfortunately, it's very short, and it only gives a brief synopsis of Chad's life. It would've been great to read more about his past and the thoughts and actions that led to his transformation. As it stands, his radical change seems sudden and truncated. Other aspects of the book could've benefited from expansion as well, It would've been great to hear where Chad is now and how his relationships have changed. Nonetheless, this is a meaningful book that shares Chad's passion for God and for broken people.
Trevor Thompson gives a clear, consistent and passionate performance. He sounds like a truck driver, and his voice is both smooth and consistent. His diction is easily understood, and he never stumbles over words or phrases. Without raising his voice, he provides a believable level of emotion and passion. It's clear that he cares about the subject as he strives to communicate the author's intentions.
Night Driving is an eye-opening examination of Chad's brokenness and Christ's healing power. Chad is vulnerable, and he encourages the reader to be vulnerable, too. His work is inspiring and encouraging, albeit a bit short. Trevor provides excellent narration that brings Chad's story and teachings to life. This book is easy to recommend to anyone interested in spiritual improvement.
April 3, 2021
Enjoyed being refreshed with the picture that God does not require "perfect repentance" from us. The insights on Jacob and his limp close to the end of the book is gold. Here are a few quotes I highlighted:
There comes a time in almost everyone's life when they feel like Adam must have felt the first time he watched the sun set. -1
One of the ironies in life is that the things we want most are often the very things that destroy us. -6
Rituals of regret are pervaded by the "I." I will do this, I will do that, and I will be okay again. In these liturgies, bot the worshipper and the worshiped are the same: ego. -23
Those whom the world overlooks, God looks over with tender care. Those who lift themselves heavenward, as it were, are far from God, while those who sink low are near t him. -28
The death of self we fear most gives way to the life we need most. -31
If there is any forgiving to be done, we want to earn it, grant it to others, and self-give it. So twisted is the self upon the self it even hijacks forgiveness from the Father to force it to serve its own ends. -61
Christ's forgiveness precedes our repentance - and calls it forth. -64
We're seeking relief from our guilt in the last place we should be looking for: ourselves. Forgiveness, like medicine, comes from outside of you, from the hand of a healer. When God forgives us in Christ, he forgives us completely. There is no deficiency. -65
The real victorious life is found in a place that looks like defeat. -79
To cover our weakness, we wear the mask of strength. To cover our unfaithfulness, we wear the mask of fidelity. To cover our doubts, we wear the mask of bold assertions. To cover our pride, we wear the mask of humility. -85
The quest for perfect repentance is a foolish pursuit, driving us back to ourselves, but not to Christ. -106
Life in the church is life among fellow sinners. -118
This is Christian growth: to become in our weakness more and more dependent on is strength, to seek in our woundedness more and more of his healing. -133
There comes a time in almost everyone's life when they feel like Adam must have felt the first time he watched the sun set. -1
One of the ironies in life is that the things we want most are often the very things that destroy us. -6
Rituals of regret are pervaded by the "I." I will do this, I will do that, and I will be okay again. In these liturgies, bot the worshipper and the worshiped are the same: ego. -23
Those whom the world overlooks, God looks over with tender care. Those who lift themselves heavenward, as it were, are far from God, while those who sink low are near t him. -28
The death of self we fear most gives way to the life we need most. -31
If there is any forgiving to be done, we want to earn it, grant it to others, and self-give it. So twisted is the self upon the self it even hijacks forgiveness from the Father to force it to serve its own ends. -61
Christ's forgiveness precedes our repentance - and calls it forth. -64
We're seeking relief from our guilt in the last place we should be looking for: ourselves. Forgiveness, like medicine, comes from outside of you, from the hand of a healer. When God forgives us in Christ, he forgives us completely. There is no deficiency. -65
The real victorious life is found in a place that looks like defeat. -79
To cover our weakness, we wear the mask of strength. To cover our unfaithfulness, we wear the mask of fidelity. To cover our doubts, we wear the mask of bold assertions. To cover our pride, we wear the mask of humility. -85
The quest for perfect repentance is a foolish pursuit, driving us back to ourselves, but not to Christ. -106
Life in the church is life among fellow sinners. -118
This is Christian growth: to become in our weakness more and more dependent on is strength, to seek in our woundedness more and more of his healing. -133
July 3, 2022
I ran across Chad Bird on TikTok where he does short, fascinating videos related to the Bible—he's an Old Testament scholar. I'd never heard of him and wondered about him.
Leave it to an actual prodigal to write perhaps the best book on prodigals. Chad Bird was a seminary professor at a pretty young age, when, due to his own actions (read the book), it all comes crashing down around him and he ends up driving a truck on the graveyard shift in the West Texas oil fields. It's about as far a fall as one could make and fast too.
The writing is excellent with passage after passage being quotable. Some examples:
"ONE OF THE IRONIES OF LIFE is that the things we want most are often the very things that destroy us."
"Infidelity as a husband, selfishness as a father, betrayal of trust as a pastor and professor and friend—it was all surreal, as if someone else had done these things while inhabiting my skin. I didn’t want to own up to any of them. These were the kinds of things other people did."
"Years later, after my sins had finally and fully exploded, I was still finding broken shards scattered in the recesses of my life."
"Every step of the way we are accompanied by the God who, in Jesus Christ, will never un-love us, un-adopt us, un-redeem us. No matter what we’ve done, no matter what fallout from our actions has decimated our lives, no matter how much spite or malice, grief or pain, bitterness or despair we feel, we have a God who is on our side. He’s walked this path with countless people before us. Now he walks it with us. And there’s no better companion than the God who was once called the friend of sinners."
Throughout the book, as Mr. Bird frankly recounts his sins and descent into what he calls "the darkness," he points us to Jesus, friend of sinners, and ever present One. Even when—especially when—we are trying as best we can to get away from him.
Leave it to an actual prodigal to write perhaps the best book on prodigals. Chad Bird was a seminary professor at a pretty young age, when, due to his own actions (read the book), it all comes crashing down around him and he ends up driving a truck on the graveyard shift in the West Texas oil fields. It's about as far a fall as one could make and fast too.
The writing is excellent with passage after passage being quotable. Some examples:
"ONE OF THE IRONIES OF LIFE is that the things we want most are often the very things that destroy us."
"Infidelity as a husband, selfishness as a father, betrayal of trust as a pastor and professor and friend—it was all surreal, as if someone else had done these things while inhabiting my skin. I didn’t want to own up to any of them. These were the kinds of things other people did."
"Years later, after my sins had finally and fully exploded, I was still finding broken shards scattered in the recesses of my life."
"Every step of the way we are accompanied by the God who, in Jesus Christ, will never un-love us, un-adopt us, un-redeem us. No matter what we’ve done, no matter what fallout from our actions has decimated our lives, no matter how much spite or malice, grief or pain, bitterness or despair we feel, we have a God who is on our side. He’s walked this path with countless people before us. Now he walks it with us. And there’s no better companion than the God who was once called the friend of sinners."
Throughout the book, as Mr. Bird frankly recounts his sins and descent into what he calls "the darkness," he points us to Jesus, friend of sinners, and ever present One. Even when—especially when—we are trying as best we can to get away from him.
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