In the late 1980s, he abandoned his earlier theological position, announcing that he had experienced the charismatic gifts for himself through the ministry of John Wimber.
Using biblical and contemporary examples Deere argues that it has always been normal for God to speak to His children both from the Scripture and in their daily experience.
The profound change in him revealed a bent toward scholarship, so he attended Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, where he majored in Philosophy.
In his book "Even in Our Darkness," Deere writes at length about his wife Leesa's struggle with alcoholism and his own personal failures.
More recently, he relinquished all leadership positions to be able to devote himself to full-time care of his wife, and they moved from Colleyville, Texas to Tennessee.
Sermon given January 13, 2012 at the 12th Annual Winter conference of the Anglican Missions in the Americas (AMIA) Morning Worship, Houston TX: "The Three Distinct Phases of My Life With God."