Secondhand Jesus: Trading Rumors of God for a Firsthand Faith [Paperback]

Glenn Packiam (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2009

God wants us to know Him deeply and personally.  But there are no shortcuts to God.

"The way to life-to God!-is vigorous and requires total attention."
(Matthew 7:14, The Message)

God has offered us firsthand knowledge of His love, His grace, and His power. Yet so often, we too easily settle for someone else's descriptions, the Cliff notes from another's spiritual journey. We are content for "God-experts" to do the heavy lifting and then give us the bottom line. And like any secondhand information, after enough times through the grapevine, the truth about God deteriorates and crumbs of rumor are all that remain.

But when life derails, and things don't go as we had planned, our thin view of God is challenged. In those critical moments, we can choose to walk away from God, or to let our questions lead us home. When we choose to wrestle with God, to engage Him for ourselves, we-like Jacob and Job and David-will see rumors die and revelation come alive.

It's time to hear the magnificent, Divine Invitation. It's time to take God up on His offer and embrace the mystery and majesty of knowing Him for ourselves.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Digging through the ruins of a `house built on sand,' Glenn Packiam lays bare the shameless lies of a way of religion that is without foundations in Jesus or Scripture. But it is far more than exposé. This is an honest, personal, detailed story of a Christian leader refusing cynicism and embracing forgiveness and hope."
--Eugene H. Peterson, professor emeritus of Spiritual Theology, Regent College, Vancouver, B.C., Canada

“What a great read! Page after page I found myself hooked. Glenn has written a book that not only engaged my mind, but also made my heart beat faster for Jesus.”
--David Nasser, author and speaker

“Glenn Packiam is not only a gifted songwriter and worship leader, penning songs that capture the heart of our generation, but he is also a gifted writer whose textured voice needs to be heard. Secondhand Jesus is a much-needed challenge for every believer to embrace knowing God like they never have before.”
--Margaret Feinberg, popular speaker and author of Scouting the Divine

Review

"Glenn Packiam is not only a gifted songwriter and worship leader, penning songs that capture the heart of our generation, but he is also a gifted writer whose textured voice needs to be heard. Secondhand Jesus is a much-needed challenge for every believer to embrace knowing God like they never have before."

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: David C. Cook; New edition (June 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 143476639X
• ISBN-13: 978-1434766397
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #449,134 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars For those who sense that something is amiss with American Christianity May 5, 2009

By C. J. Schaefer

Format:Paperback

Our culture loves experts. Turn on any morning news show and you will find a cadre of experts to advise you on everything from investing to child rearing. We eagerly lap up their nuggets of wisdom hoping to gain 5 easy steps for each area of our lives so we don't have to go through any struggles ourselves. However, what we often find is that while experts can give us information, nothing replaces a firsthand experience.

As Packiam makes quite clear in his timely and refreshing book, "Secondhand Jesus," we have made a grave mistake in taking this impersonal approach to our walk with God, relying on successful pastors, evangelists and "God-experts" to do the work for us rather than wading into the deep end of His presence ourselves.

Packiam explains, "Far too often, rumors about God originate in church. We hear a preacher say something about God with confident certainty, and we take it to be truth. What we don't know is that he heard another preacher say it, and that preacher heard another preacher say it...and so on.

We could blame them. But we would do better to blame ourselves for turning down God's invitation, for closing our ears and our eyes when he has tried to show himself to us. No technological advancement, no access to information, no invention of convenience has been able to change the strange human impulse to shun God, to cover up and hide, the way the first man and woman did."

With each chapter laying out rumor after rumor bare and exposed before the reader, Packiam's almost uncomfortably honest writing is set to the background of several Old Testament narratives from the story of Job to the battles for the Ark of the Covenant. His ability to weave in biblical text with personal stories makes his writing smooth, but provoking....

Of all the rumors of God Packiam tackles, I found his chapters addressing the prosperity gospel mentality the most necessary reading for the American church today.

Concerning the idea that God is one big blessing genie, ready to give us whatever we want if we say the right words or do the right things he responds,

"God is not a Coke machine. He resists formulas and equations, even the ones he apparently gave. To fully get this picture of a wildly personal, living God, you cannot just read Deuteronomy 28; you have to also wrestle with the Psalmists, lament with Jeremiah, protest with Jonah, and weep with the Son of God himself. To string together our favorite list of verses containing "God's promises for the blessed life" is like living in voluntary ignorance, a Dark Ages by choice. It is simply immature and foolish."

In the end, what this book is all about is a call to experience God for yourself. To put aside the safe arms-length relationship we all are prone to accept and engage with an incredibly good God. Not safe, but good. Read more ›

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars "When God Doesn't Follow the Plan" April 30, 2009

By K. M. VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Glenn Packiam is Associate Worship Pastor at New Life Church. This church had the misfortune of being in the news for scandal (having to do with the widely-known, now former, head pastor) and, later, for a gunman's rampage. Such shattering events could cause anyone to reconsider the foundations of their faith, and Packiam does so disarmingly and boldly in Secondhand Jesus: Trading Rumors of God for a Firsthand Faith.

Packiam uses a refrain of, "What the heck is going on?" often to anchor readers to various points of possible Christian misunderstanding. We all, he notes, experience times of crisis in our lives. The death of a loved one, the loss of a home or a job or investments, the betrayal by a friend -- these and many other happenings can trigger confusion or anger at God. Often, these reactions can be traced to misconceptions about Him. Some churches teach that if we are obedient to God's commandments and the gospel messages, we should be showered with favors, financial and emotional. Packiam admits he got lost in that mind-set for a while. But being shaken up and personally affected by the aforementioned events, he thought, "Something is wrong. There is a discrepancy between our view of God and our experience of life. Our God-concept is so thin it can't handle the weight of unexpected trouble."

Having diagnosed the fundamental problem, Packiam identifies a number of "rumors" about God that need dispelling. Rumor #1: God Will Give Me What I Want. #2: God Can Be Added to My List of Loyalties. #3: God is Pleased with My Goodness. #4: God Prefers Specialists....

Then, the author refers to the Old Testament stories of Job and, more lengthily, of the capture of the Ark of the Covenant by the Philistines to discuss these rumors. He illustrates the Israelites' more complex relationship with God. They, Packiam emphasizes, didn't hold a view of the world or God that blithely assumed God could be button-holed or controlled. They wrestled with God; they challenged Him; they doubted and disobeyed and angered Him. But they knew His place over them.

Packiam's message is not that modern Christians assume an Old Testament view of God. New Testament events irrevocably impede such retrogression. But he is encouraging active, deeper engagement with the Trinity than the superficial one many Christians have been taught. Using simple language and contemporary cultural references too that should appeal to all ages, he urges us to grow up and realize that God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) and His Universe are not at our beck and call. We have to orient ourselves to God and his Mysteries as best we can. We are not going to understand everything that happens. Job confessed this, without expectation of any recompense. We should too.

This accessible, conversational short book offers valuable counseling for Christians -- or those who just want some insight about why the world is "perfect" in a way we human beings (most of us, anyway?) don't judge just and right. Read more ›

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Exceeded my expectations October 12, 2009

By Sandy Kay VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I didn't know what to expect from this book: I was unfamiliar with the author and the cover art gives the impression it is meant for a generation younger than mine. But the subtitle and book description intrigued me, so I took a chance on it and am glad I did. Although the author is relatively young, the book is not limit to "young people" (however you define young). This is a good book to read at any age or whatever stage you may be in your faith journey.

The first chapter describes the life events that ultimately lead to the writing of this book: the author's pastor resigned in a scandal that played out in the national news. In the aftermath, the author's soul searching made him question whether his knowledge of God had become passive and complacent. Even without a scandal, every Christian should ask him or herself that same question. In the next chapter, the author explains what he means by "rumors" of God and the rest of the book cover four main "rumors' of God. Each "rumor" has a related question in the following chapter.

Rumor #1 is "God Will Give Me What I Want" and it discusses the "prosperity gospel" and what happens with unexpected trouble comes. The related question in the next chapter is "Where Has The Glory Gone?"

Rumor #2 is "God Can Be Added to My List of Priorities." That chapter, and the related question "How Can We Get Rid of This God?" are about idolatry and how it can crop up in a Christian's life. These two chapters alone make this book worth reading. Idolatry isn't just worshipping other literal gods. We can elevate the desire for money or success (neither or which is a bad thing) to idol status. The author says "Idolatry can also be taking God and...making him in an image that He is not....a god fashioned after our own image...." This is powerful stuff; I thought they were the best chapters in the book.

Rumor #3 is "God Is Pleased With My Goodness" and the related question is "Who Can Stand Before This God?" These chapters are about God's holiness and grace and our instinct to try to be "good" to prove ourselves worthy of God. These chapters were also quite revealing.

Rumor #4, "God Prefers Specialists," and the related question "How Can God Come to Me?" address the impulse to rely on our pastors and teachers to "do the heavy lifting" when it comes to spiritual matters. These chapters really get to the heart of the concept of firsthand faith - not just in coming to salvation but also in living out life with God.

This book would be good for small group study or a Christian book club. It's also the kind of book you want to re-read periodically to assess the current state of your faith - rumors or first-hand faith. Read more ›