Chad Bird is an author and speaker who is devoted to honest Christianity that addresses the raw realities of life with the Good News of Jesus Christ. Chad Bird is a truck driver, speaker, scholar, and writer who delivers biblical truth to broken people like himself.
He has served as a pastor, professor, and guest lecturer in Old Testament theology and Hebrew. He is a regular contributor to Christ Hold Fast, 1517, and Mockingbird Ministries, and he cohosts the popular podcast, “40 Minutes in the OT.” He holds master’s degrees from Concordia Theological Seminary and Hebrew Union College.
Chad and his wife Stacy have four children and two grandchildren. Chad Bird is in the business of turning on lights.
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, and Upside-Down Spirituality: The 9 Essential Failures of a Faithful Life.
If you crack open one of his books, or listen to his podcasts, don’t be surprised if one of his hands comes out of the book and flips the switch on your Old Testament understanding.
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Chad Bird blew up his life.
His infidelity not only left his marriage in ruins, it also destroyed his career as a pastor and seminary professor. Chad left to struggle with his demons in the cab of his truck as he drove nights through the oil fields of Texas.
Oil Fields, Night Shifts, and God's Process - Chad Bird P4
The Fall and the Road to Redemption
After achieving what he had always hoped to, he soon found his life shattered after his adultery and lies caught up to him. His wife divorced him and moved across the country with their children. He lost his ministry and many of the friends and colleagues with whom he had once been close.
Bird is candid, and at times crude, in his depiction of his spiritual state during the years that followed these events. He was depressed, alcoholic, at times suicidal, and always bitter and angry with himself, others, and God. He found himself trying to atone for what he had done by allowing and even seeking out ways to hurt himself. Looking back he could write, “In performing rituals of regret, we search for an atonement in which we’re the sacrificial victim” (23).
After losing his ministry, Bird became a truck driver in order to live near his children. While driving, a turning point came in his spiritual nightmare as he began reading the book of Psalms. Finding out that God was near him even in his hurt and shame was a critical realization, but it was not the end of the story.
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Bird found himself struggling to accept God’s forgiveness while also struggling to forgive others. He writes, “Lurking behind every reason we don’t forgive is one fundamental impulse: we desire to control the offenders. We might dangle forgiveness in front of them, like a carrot before a horse, until finally they do our will. Or we offer to overlook everything if, and only if, they apologize. Or we decide that the people who’ve hurt us need to see our pain, so they themselves feel remorse. If we forgive them, we’ll send the message that we’re okay.
Bird offers a good insight into forgiveness with his take on the myth of the necessity of forgiving ourselves. He writes, “Only when we forgive ourselves will this haunting ghost of guilt finally vanish for good. I swallowed this myth whole - hook, line, and sinker. God had done his part; now it was up to me to do mine” (60).
Bird’s conclusion to this topic is spot on: “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.
One of the most refreshing aspects of this book was the honest talk about the continuing struggle against sin. This book does not have a whiff of the theology of glory in it. Bird writes, “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” (66).
Bird’s discussion of his struggle to un-love ex-sins will resonate with anyone who is simul iustus et peccator. Bird also includes some good food for thought on losing the masks we try to wear and finding strength in the fellowship of the church. He has some tough things to say to the churches that preach grace but find themselves drawing the line with certain people or certain sins.
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Bird often found himself disappointed with his church as he tried to move forward from his past. The masks people wore in church often would not allow them to be honest about their own struggles and would lead to shocked disappointment when Bird took his own mask off. Yet Bird does not give up on the church. Just the opposite in fact, saying, “How can you learn to love a disappointing church?
This book is remarkable in its punch for such a short volume. Bird presents solid Confessional Lutheran theology as it practically relates to the terrible messes we make because of our sin. There were times where he was cruder in his language and approach than seemed necessary, but given the content and context of his story perhaps this is understandable. At times he pushed the envelope in talking about God’s role in our sin and appropriate ways for us to respond to God in our pain. Rod Rosenbladt, cohost of the White Horse Inn radio show, commented, “Most ‘tell-all’ books have a ‘self-atonement-by-confession’ scent, but not this one.” I found this to hold true.
I would highly recommend this book and believe it would benefit anyone who reads it.
Bird described his ideal audience for this book as, “someone who’s tasted the bitterness of a non-ideal life. Maybe they’re on the other side of a divorce and looking into a black, hopeless future. Maybe they struggle with addiction to pornography, alcohol, or drugs. Or maybe they too have had an affair. Whatever it is, the ideal reader knows what it’s like not to want to look in the mirror, for all they see is a failure” (Eerdman’s blog). This would also be a good book for pastors and church leaders who are working with public ministers and church leaders who fall into sin and disgrace.
We are a synod that preaches unconditional and reckless grace. This book is a reminder to let that grace shine brightly for those who have fallen publicly and fallen hard.
Chad Bird's Books
Here is a list of some of Chad Bird's books:
- 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
- The Christ Key
- Unveiling Mercy
- Hitchhiking with Prophets
- Untamed Prayers (1517 Publishing)
Positions Held
- Scholar in Residence at 1517
- Former LCMS Pastor
- Seminary Professor
Education
- Master’s degrees from Concordia Theological Seminary
- Hebrew Union College
Contributions
- Christ Hold Fast
- 1517
- Mockingbird Ministries
Podcast
- Co-hosts the popular podcast, “40 Minutes in the OT.”
Chad Bird is a Scholar in Residence at 1517, where he brings his deep knowledge of Scripture and theology to readers, listeners, and audiences around the world. A highly sought-after speaker and teacher, Chad combines theological insight with a servant’s heart.
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