Butterfly in Brazil: How Your Life Can Make a World of Difference [Paperback]

Glenn Packiam (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2007

You want to be part of something extraordinary—something bigger than yourself. But how? Everyday life can seem so ordinary and small. Is it possible to live in a way that matters? Can we really change the world? According to the butterfly effect, small things can make a big impact. One life—your life—can make a world of difference. You can create lasting change when you begin small, act where you are, and stay faithful over the long haul. Glenn Packiam uses time-tested principles from Scripture and history to form a roadmap for changing your world, forever. Butterfly in Brazil is an empowering call for action—right here and right now.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lots of folks dream of dramatically changing the world for God, but many don't really try to do it. Desperation Band member Packiam clues readers in on why so many fall short and offers wonderful insight into how to start. Instead of waiting for great things to happen, we should be asking God, 'What do I do about this idea now?'... Everything that God has put inside us must be expressed and acted on here and now—or it will never multiply and grow. The little things we do now, he says, can be transformed into big things for God. Packiam uses the biblical story of Nehemiah as a backdrop for his discussion of the secrets of creating lasting change, which he says is small, local and gradual. Packiam calls readers to stay focused, recognizing that change must be accompanied by love and that it will ultimately cost something. This is a clear and necessary call to change Christians' thinking about how to best live for God. Packiam's writing and message are strong: When everyone is faithful with what they have to do, right where they are, over long periods of time, together we make an impact large enough to change the world. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. (July 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1414313292
• ISBN-13: 978-1414313290
• Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 5.5 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,316,350 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Glenn Packiam is a the lead pastor of new life DOWNTOWN, an extension of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he also serves on the Executive Team. Having earned a BA in Theological/Historical Studies and a Masters in Management, Glenn is now in the process of completing a Masters of Arts in Theology/Biblical Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary.

Glenn is the author of LUCKY: How the Kingdom Comes to Unlikely Peopel (David C. Cook, 2011), Secondhand Jesus: Trading Rumors of God for a Firsthand Faith (David C. Cook, 2009), and Butterfly in Brazil: How Your Life Can Make a World of Difference (Tyndale, 2007). Glenn was also one of the founding leaders and songwriters for the Desperation Band and has been featured on several Desperation Band and NewLifeWorship recordings. Having written a few well-loved worship songs like "Your Name", "Everyone (Praises)", and "My Savior Lives," Glenn finally released a full-length solo album, Rumors and Revelations in 2009, and followed it up with an EP called, The Kingdom Comes in 2011, both with Integrity Music.

What all this means is that Glenn talks with a lot of people, reads lots of books, plays some music, and drinks a lot of coffee. And all of that makes for a wonderful life. Glenn, his wife, Holly, their two daughters, Sophia and Norah, and their son, Jonas, are enjoying life in the shadow of the mighty Rocky Mountains.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sage Advice to Those Set on Changing the World! July 29, 2007

By C. J. Schaefer

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

History is full of the narrative fallacy, our desire as humans to package well-known events and people into pithy, oversimplified stories. It makes sense for us to think that great things happen due to great people rather than ordinary people doing nothing more heroic than showing up to work every Monday; or that events are shaped by a few moments of incredible magnitude rather than a series of seemingly insignificant and otherwise dull sub steps. It is this weakness in human logic that Glenn Packiam takes aim at in his book "Butterfly in Brazil," stressing that greatness is not achieved by that "one moment in time," but rather over years of faithfulness in the small things...an idea not too attractive in today's culture of instant success.

Packiam delves into this idea with precision, using the story of Nehemiah as an example of, "an ordinary man who ended up making an extraordinary difference." Showing how God has chosen to intertwine himself and His supernatural nature into our mannish and gritty lives, Packiam paints a clear picture of how we should go about living a life of lasting impact...as participants in a divine improv, not chained to a script, but nonetheless completely ineffective and awkward outside the director's basic framework.

Most of all this is a book about creating lasting change. His main points: 1) change is small 2) change is local 3) change is gradual 4) change is costly. He explains that while Christian culture often encourages its youth to change the world, "Trying to change the world is the surest way to guarantee that we won't." Instead Packiam encourages us to be faithful in the small things over a long period of time and as Jim Elliot so simply, but profoundly put it, "Wherever you are, be all there."

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Dream, and change the world! August 18, 2008

By FaithfulReader.com

Format:Paperback

A lot of kids grow up with a dream to change the world, but somewhere along the way they begin doubting that they really can make a big difference. Glenn Packiam believes that changing the world isn't just a dream but can become reality. In BUTTERFLY IN BRAZIL, he reminds readers that the little things we do can have an impact beyond our wildest imaginations.

Packiam shares from his own life growing up. The son of a Hindu who later converted to Christianity, he talks about the awkwardness that comes in crossing cultures. His self-deprecating style is funny and endearing. A graduate of Oral Roberts University, Packiam spent several years around students who felt they had a great destiny on their lives. Yet with the promise of greatness, he writes, "If we live each life as if it's a stepping-stone to greatness, we will find ourselves living each moment at half-speed." He argues that God wants us to act on our hearts today in the here and now and not wait for what may come. Significance doesn't happen somewhere else but here in the now.

Using the story of Nehemiah as a Biblical backbone for the book, Packiam points to an ordinary man who made an extraordinary difference through his leadership and commitment to rebuilding a wall. He highlights the struggles and triumphs of Nehemiah's journey and draws timeless inspiration from the classic Bible story.

Throughout the book, Packiam draws on oft-told stories from Christian history. He retells or shares lessons and famous quotes from the stories of Polycarp, Nate Saint and David Livingston, to name just a few. But his best writing and most engaging chapters come from his own life and the people he's known personally.

In a memorable chapter called "Testing Your Wings," Packiam recounts the story of Ben, a young man who was part of his church. The author talks about Ben's passion for the people of Nepal and how he eventually moved overseas to share the hope of God with those who didn't know him. He traveled to homes and schools, teaching English, music and theology to the Tibetan Christians. The journey was not easy. Several excerpts from Ben's journal reveal bouts with loneliness, sickness and isolation. Still, Ben was committed to loving people and fulfilling his calling. His life was cut short due to a motorcycle accident on the way back from visiting a remote group of people in the mountains. In response to Ben's commitment and sacrifice, a team of five young men and women followed in his footsteps and committed to going to Nepal and reaching that same group.

The core message of BUTTERFLY IN BRAZIL is simple: Be faithful with what you have. Be significant where you are. Don't give up. Love deeply, passionately and personally. But these are messages that we all need to be reminded of. And as demonstration of these principles, a portion of the proceeds of the book is being donated to World Relief, an organization that helps those in need around the world. So go ahead and dream. Yes, you still can change the world.

--- Reviewed by Margaret Oines

4.0 out of 5 stars Want to make a difference? Start small. November 13, 2012

By bpeninger

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Glenn Packiam calls out the church on their unrealistic visions of grandiose acts of service. I especially loved, and highlighted, the chapter in which Packiam addresses the church about "storing up greatness" and letting it go to waste while waiting for the grand stage. He contends, and I agree, that greatness is for today - in the mundane and ordinary. And it is, it really really is. In fact I think I wrote a blog about that myself. We need to let go of our illusions of greatness and be faithful to what is set before us today. If we can't be faithful for what we perceive to be insignificant then God is not going to entrust to us anything bigger. The whole premise of the book is that it is the small acts that lead to the biggest changes that are lasting. He's right on.
Some of the book got a bit repetitive but that's to be expected I think. He was trying to drive his point home using multiple examples and ways.
Want to make a difference? Start small.