Surprised by the Power of the Spirit

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Summary: The book written with the love to God
Review: "Remind your people of this, and give them a solemn warning in God's presence not to fight over words. It does no good, but only ruins the people who listen". (2 Timothy, 2:14). God does not need any of our arguments to prove or judge His present in our life. Thank you Jesus for brother Jack! "Your wise men are put to shame; they are confused and trapped. They have rejected my words; what wisdom have they got now?" (Jeremiah, 8:9). Let be as children in God!

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Summary: Fantastic!!
Review: A thorough treatment of why God still works miracles in the modern church! Very balanced -- a must-read for any Christian serious about investigating spiritual gifts!

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Summary: Directly addressed my questions
Review: As one questioning my long-held cessationist views of the Holy Spirit's gifts today, I found Deere's work directly focused on my several questions. I am now enjoying his "Surprised by the Voice of God" sequel.

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Summary: A good book with some rhetorical flaws.
Review: Deere challenges the textual claims of Christians opposed to the miraculous operation of the Spirit in the church. Textually, Deere's exegesis exposes some of the weaknesses of evangelical/non-charismatic theology. However, Deere overstretches in his later chapters when he suggests that faith apart from emotional connection is weak faith. Drawing from various Biblical texts, Deere shows the extreme emotional states that some Christians and Jews express through the text. If this is our model, and Deere implies that it is, than are we exhibiting our lack of faith in those moments of our life when we are not at an emotional extreme? Still, this does not impact Deere's central thesis. Deere owes some credit to John Wimber, who played a formative role in Deere's transition from anti-charismatic to believer in the miraculous. For those interested in the opposing view, there is a review of the "Signs and Wonders" movement in the Jan-Mar 1988 issue of BIBLIOTHECA SACRA.

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Summary: Dangerous
Review: Deere has no arguments nor scholarship, he only gives emotional appeals to something which is very dangerous and wrong. For responsible Christians there is instead a response to this book: Thomas Edgar's Satisfied by the Promise of the Spirit, a well-resaoned and researched book (and more difficult), truly inspired by the Holy Spirit, not by the power of some deceiving Spirit .

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Summary: Another Paul Cain
Review: Deere is an awesome christian, a powerful prophet, and a wonderful author. He is well read, articulate, bright, and biblically sound. He has been touched by some of the powerful prophetic voices in the country and has affected some of them himself. I recomend with no reservations.

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Summary: A rock solid Biblical approach to work of the Spirit today.
Review: Deere sets forth, in a way only a former skeptic can, the pitfalls and snares that have prevented Christians from living in the miraculous and relvelatory power of the Holy Spirit. He deals with questions of Biblical doctrine and contemporary practice, acknowledging and providing suggestions for dealing with abuses in both charismatic and non-charismatic wings of the church. This is a book that will change your life.

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Summary: Emotional nonsense
Review: Deere's arguments are appeals to emotions, all are far from being sound. They are refuted, along with other issues (freemasonery, etc.) in a book edited by Robert Thomas: The Master's Perspective on Difficult Passages (Master's Perspective Series, Vol 1). Thomas's books are rational, buy them instead!

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Summary: Read and re-read
Review: Dr Deere is one of my mentors (not that he would likely remember ever teaching me). I highly recommend his books, which provide balanced theological support for a life in imitation of Christ. He teaches how to guard against excess and how to keep your focus on your relationship rather than your ministry.

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Summary: Should not be dismissed.
Review: I am a student at DTS and was asked to read this book for a class. I found it to be extremely readable and quite powerful in some of its points. However, the fact that it was written to a layman audience should not be ignored as some have attempted to critique it like it was a theological treatise. It is mainly a sound critique of some of the more rehearsed cessationist arguments (believe me I am very familiar with them!) without becoming extremely technical. The response of my class to the book was extraordinary and ran the gamut from extremely positive (me) to very negative. However, many people were quite open to its content and found it to be quite a lively response to our school's dogmatic stance on this theological issue. I would encourage people to read it and then see Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology for a more technical theological discussion dealing with the same issues. God bless you in your journey.