Holy Roller - Finding Redemption and the Holy Ghost in a Forgotten Texas Church

Holy Roller – Finding Redemption and the Holy Ghost in a Forgotten Texas Church
By Julie Lyons
Published at Waterbrook Press

About the book
Julie Lyons was working as a crime reporter when she followed a hunch into the South Dallas ghetto. She wasn’t hunting drug dealers, but drug addicts who had been supernaturally healed of their addictions. Was there a church in the most violent part of the city that prayed for addicts and got results?

At The Body of Christ Assembly, a rundown church on an out-of-the-way street, Lyons found the story she was looking for. The minister welcomed criminals, prostitutes, and street people–anyone who needed God. He prayed for the sick, the addicted, and the demon-possessed, and people were supernaturally healed.

Lyons’s story landed on the front page of the Dallas Times Herald. But she got much more than just a great story, she found an unlikely spiritual home. Though the parishioners at The Body of Christ Assembly are black and Pentecostal, and Lyons is white and from a traditional church background, she embraced their spirituality–that of “the Holy Ghost and fire.”

It’s all here in Holy Roller–the stories of people desperate for God’s help. And the actions of a God who doesn’t forget the people who need His power.

Who is Julie Lyons?
Julie Lyons is an award-winning writer, editor and investigative reporter who for more than 11 years served as editor-in-chief of the Dallas Observer, an alternative weekly newspaper owned by Village Voice Media. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a B.A. in English from Seattle Pacific University. She and her husband, Larry Lyons Jr., live in Dallas with their son.

My Thoughts
I always think it’s important to know other people story – especially with brothers and sisters in Christ. This book is about a special church in South Dallas – a church found by a crime reporter who was trying to find a place where healing of addicts where happening. Julie Lyons found more than that while visiting this church and talking to its pastor. She found her church family.

In this book, you will read not only the ups and downs of The Body of Christ Assembly but also the stories of the pastor, his wife, the author herself and her husband as well as some members of the church.

We are also planting a church with little support or guiding. Consequently, reading about how Pastor Eddington continues to pursue what God had put in his heart is refreshing and inspiring. While travelling to our camping site, I read bits and pieces of the book to my husband and he also thought that it was encouraging and interesting.

Their stories are not all pink and you can see how God worked in their lives. It is encouraging to see that our Lord can use anyone to minister and speak to others. Chapter after chapter, you read about healing and experiencing God’s presence. And at the end, you learn where are the various people from the book are today.

I really enjoyed reading Holy Roller and I personally think it’s important to experience a different kind of church. I’m not used to Pentecostal churches and even less of Black Pentecostal churches. It was an interesting read for sure. Amidst of reading this book, I think my own faith has grown and I know that God can do marvelous miracles still today.

What I also like about this book is the fact that it was written by a white woman who has made herself comfortable in a black church. And she made this church her family and most of her friends are black. Herself, she tends to forget that she is different than the rest of the bunch of attendees. For her, it’s her church family plain and simple. And I like that. A few years ago, we attended a black church in Toronto and there was two white couples attending that day – us being one of them. But you know what, we felt accepted right away and they were really friendly to us – one man going to the point of lending us his bible during the service so we could follow. We had a great experience with this congregation. If we ever go through South Dallas one day, I sure hope that we can attend The Body of Christ Assembly and visit this family of believers. I am 100% sure that we will be accepted by them. Besides, I wouldn’t mind experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit and seeing what God is doing in this church.

If you want to know more about The Body of Christ Assembly and how God is changing lives in this church, I strongly recommend that your read Holy Roller. You will see and read about changed lives and how God is still working in our midst even in this century. God is always present in our lives. We just need to be willing to let Him do whatever He wants to do. Plain and simple.

Holy Roller is available everywhere even at amazon.ca and indigo.ca.