Book Review: Night Driving: Notes from a Prodigal Soul by Chad Bird
Book Review: Night Driving: Notes from a Prodigal Soul by Chad Bird
25 November 2017
Drawing on the Psalms, Chad Bird weaves his story of pain and failure into our story of coming face-to-face with the God who restores.
It’s rare to read such an introspective and painfully transparent book. The author, US theologian, pastor and writer Chad Bird, records for all to see his rise, fall, rise, fall and rise again as he lets us into the deep dark corners of his life. 
In 1997, Bird graduated from seminary and became the pastor of a small church in Oklahoma. His professors had advised him that he had a big future in teaching theology and he admits that his eye was on academic fame and renown, not on his small congregation.
The timeline then runs something like this: in 2002 he was offered a teaching role at his old seminary and he soon also had a publishing contract while further study saw him claim a professorship. In 2007, he had an affair, lost his job, lost his marriage, lost his family and became suicidal.
Wow! When he fell, he fell big. Moving to Texas, he began work as a truck driver – a long way from being a theology professor – and turned his back on God, hitting the bottle and hitting the mattress with other women. He admits he was “enslaved to darkness” and was lost as to how God could possibly forgive him and, more importantly for him, how he could forgive himself.
The book captures his rediscovery of the Psalms and also the stories of “pain and failure” that thread throughout the Bible. He comments on lessons from Genesis, the parable of the prodigal son, and the suffering of Christ.
Bird especially focuses on God’s ability to “re-create” someone, the need for and value of forgiveness, and the hope of reconciliation with a God who never ceased to love him.
This is a powerful book. For anyone who feels that God could not possibly love him or her, this is the perfect book to read. Bird uses his biblical knowledge to give a solid foundation to his deeply personal morality tale and a book of woe becomes a book of hope and grace. Well worth reading and, just maybe, even gifting to someone who needs to read it.
Night Driving is available for pre-order at Koorong for $26.
Comments
Hi MAL DAVIES,
Thank you for this book review. I really enjoyed reading it. I love the book " Night Driving " and i was able to buy it recently. However it's not easy to find for sale. I was lucky i found it on http://www.goreadabook.org . I don't know if i can leave a link here but maybe it will help others too. Thank you and keep up the good work making more reviews.