New Book Helps Readers Experience a Faith Full of Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Fervor
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (October 2026) – Joshua Shaw, Lead Pastor of Vineyard Church Los Angeles, the originating church of the global signs-and-wonders movement, helps readers experience a holy collision and move from the mundane to the miraculous in his debut book, Practicing the Supernatural: How Ordinary Spiritual Practices Lead to Extraordinary Encounters with God (Zondervan, February 2027).
“For too long Christianity has forced us to choose between two completely different versions of faith,” said Shaw. “We are told to choose between spiritual formation and spiritual fervor. We drift toward a faith that is safe, structured and intellectual, or we swing toward a faith that is wild, unpredictable and miraculous. We pit the practices against the power, assuming they are mutually exclusive. But Jesus never forced us to choose. Jesus showed us that the ordinary practices of our lives are the delivery for the miraculous.”
Practicing the Supernatural is a response to both Gen Z’s hunger for spiritual signs and wonders and the older generations’ exhaustion from living up to the perfection of today’s modern Christian spiritual formation practices. Proving the supernatural life is not reserved for the few, Shaw’s message is for the reader who has faithfully practiced spiritual formations but is desperate for the power and the individual who has experienced the fire and zeal of the Holy Spirit but has no structure to sustain it.
“Spiritual formation in and of itself isn’t sufficient. And the free, unpredictable breeze of the Spirit, without an anchor, isn’t enough to hold you in a storm,” Shaw said. “Our ordinary spiritual practices—reading Scripture, keeping the Sabbath, sitting in solitude—are the structure. They feel mundane, but they are absolutely essential. When those practices are properly laid down, they create the exact environment for the Holy Spirit. The structure invites the freedom.”
To help readers understand how to practice the supernatural, Shaw points to Jesus’ first public miracle of turning ordinary water into extraordinary wine at a wedding feast in Cana. Modeling Jesus’ example of building a holistic, sacramental way of life, Shaw divides the book into three distinct movements:
- The Wine – learn to drink deeply of the wild, uncontainable power of the Holy Spirit through the sacraments of the body, exorcism, touch, tears and the towel
- The Water Jars – learn to build sturdy, foundational habits around the sacraments of the sword, ruling, solitude and tarrying to allow us to carry the Holy Spirit’s power without cracking the vessel of our own lives
- The Wedding Feast – learn to explore what it means to create a landing pad for the miraculous through the sacraments of covenant and hospitality with those we love
An openly neurodivergent (AuDHD) Millennial, Shaw writes from a place of personal tragedy and spiritual authority. He infuses liturgy with examples of signs and wonders, including riveting stories of demonic battles and profound encounters with the Holy Spirit. He provides practical practices for bringing together the quiet rhythms of faith with explosive power of exorcisms, healings, and more.
“Jesus is not intimidated by your empty cup. He is not offended by your exhaustion. He is standing right in the middle of your mess. He sees the heavy jars you have been building, and he honors the zeal you carry,” said Shaw. “If we are willing to practice the supernatural together—if we are willing to offer him our ordinary obedience—he promises to infuse it with his explosive, miraculous presence.”
More information about Practicing the Supernatural, which releases February 23, 2027, is available at www.joshuashaw.co.
About Joshua Shaw
Joshua Shaw is Lead Pastor of Vineyard Church Los Angeles, the originating church of the global signs-and-wonders movement, founded on the beaches of Southern California in 1974. Before Los Angeles he planted a church in Denver and has spent 12 years in senior pastoral leadership across the renewal movement. His heart is to ignite the supernatural amidst the everyday sacramental, convinced that liturgical formation and Spirit-led renewal belong together. Openly neurodivergent (AuDHD), he does not preach around suffering; he preaches through it.
About Zondervan Books
Zondervan is a HarperCollins company and part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing. Zondervan is a world leading publisher and provider of Christian communications. The company’s products are sold worldwide and translated into nearly 200 languages. Zondervan offices are located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. For additional information, please visit www.zondervan.com.
CONTACT:
Kristin U. Cole, 615-289-6701, kristin@kccommunications.co
