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Secondhand Jesus: Trading Rumors of God for a Firsthand Faith

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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.

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.

I appreciate Glenn Packiam's perspective as a pastor, musician, father, and worship leader. He currently lives in the context of western Christianity, and recently weathered one of the biggest church scandals to ever come along, with perhaps the exception of PTL in the late 1980's. He also has a unique perspective of Jesus from outside the Mid-Western church box since he is from Malaysia. In the tradition of Searching for God Knows What and Flashbang: How I Got Over Myself he writes in a memoir story style that is perceptive and easy for the reader to digest.

As a youth pastor in a mega church in the Southwest, I ask questions along the line of Packiam's thinking. I'm grateful for the way he articulated his questions. It wasn't bitter or snobby. I can tell he genuinely loves the Church (with a big C). At our church, we have great volunteers, a supportive pastor, more than adequate meeting space, and a genuine desire to help youth in our community. However we as a youth ministry, feel like we are missing something. Glenn puts his finger on many areas youth ministries need to work on.

Specifically, Glenn highlights Jesus teachings about the "good life" dismissing the rumor that God just wants people to have "easy" lives. Glenn Packiam also observed the propensity for many churches to become a "one-stop spiritual shopping" church. We have groups for everything that you can think of and if we are not careful churches can point people to themselves instead of Jesus.

I'm thankful that Glenn Packiam didn't attempt to wrap everything up in a nice little bow with trite formulas and cheesy slogans. He doesn't set himself up to have all the answers. Instead, he leaves these rumors open for dialog. This is a great book for conversation and to read in community. I look forward to adding this book and its ideas into the curriculum of our ministry to teenagers and young adults and recommend it without reservation.

This volume on developing a closer walk with God is soundly Biblical. The author uses extremely apt contemporary illustrations along with scriptural insight to help the reader discern the difference between good, better, and best in living the Christian life. The book strikes the right note for those of us (and we will all be at this point at sometime) dealing with personal trauma. Into every experience, some "Thursdays" must fall--those times when, in a moment, a negative life-changing event makes one question basic assumptions about the present and future. Its appearance is timely, since lots of us are suffering economic changes, and those have spiritual ramifications, too. When we are seeking "a good word from the Lord," Glenn Packium has done a good job of bringing faith from hearsay to a firsthand encounter.

In this extraordinary book, Packiam takes us on a very difficult and often painful journey from faith in something "like" Jesus, to an understanding that in our brokenness and questioning, He is really there. The real Jesus that preached the sermon on the mount understands when our church is falling apart because of the indiscretions of a leader or because someone walks into our building and opens fire.

Packiam doesn't gloss over the details, and he's pretty good at reminding us that those who tell us that Jesus is simply a vending machine that wants us all "healthy and wealthy and wise" are mistaken.

If your faith journey hasn't been an easy one, if people have let you down, if things have happened around you that are hurtful and painful and just plain terrifying, this book might be for you.

Christians shouldn't ever follow a Jesus that we've heard about "secondhand", but rather the one who has suffered and lost, and the one who was broken and spilled out.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has grown up or has lived in Christian community for any time. Many times we adopt the beliefs of those around us. This is can be a wonderful tool or a horrific set back. Glenn does a great job of shedding light on those things that we have just believed in but maybe have never really known why.

I remember the events that caused Glenn's "what the heck moments." Secondhand Jesus is not a book of ideas that some lofty writer wrote down while hiding away in an office somewhere away from people. These ideas are a result of living life and chasing God when it felt easier to give up.

Glenn Packiam is the Director of the NewLife School of Worship and Associate Worship Pastor at NewLife Church in Colorado Springs. His book, Secondhand Jesus, begins with the Thursday that changed the face of NewLife Church forever. "Thursday" marks the day that allegations of inappropriate conduct surrounding former pastor, Ted Haggard, came out, placing a dark spotlight on the entire NewLife community. If that wasn't enough, a short while later, NewLife was victim to a shooting, killing two of their members, and shaking the faith of an entire community. For someone who has every right to question, scream, and shout in anguish at God, Glenn Packiam has chosen to do the opposite.

Packiam uses these stories to tell of a faith shaken-but a faith renewed. For Packiam and the community of NewLife Church, these events have been tragic yet they have risen above. Through the telling of these stories and lessons learned, Packiam has a way of pastoring his readers with his honesty and vulnerability. The pain of that Thursday and the fear surrounding the shootings are all very real, and he steers clear of the soap box, being transparent in his own struggles, hurts, frustrations and hopes. Through these tragedies, he has learned that there simply are no shortcuts, but we find ourselves in a world where people believe myths about God, taking shortcuts in the Gospel. Packiam believes these myths must be overturned, because these watered down misinterpretations produce a "Secondhand Jesus", stripped of authenticity and drenched in a misunderstood Savior. Packiam refuses to allow himself, and the Church be plagued by such a disease, calling himself and his readers to a much deeper understanding of Christ. Secondhand Jesus explodes with passion and desperation, because we all are in need of the real Jesus--the One who saves, and in Whom we can place our hope.


-Worship Leader Magazine

Glenn Packiam's book is a passionate call for Christians to know Jesus from a first hand experience. The first chapter called "Thursday" exposes the tragic events surrounding our senior pastor's fall from his position. Glenn writes from the perspective of how God used this pain to create a "what the heck" moment. It is in these moments where we can see that we all spend time under the pretext of knowing about God but not truly knowing him. This is a great book with dynamite theology!

This book is for anyone who's been in the church/the faith for any length of time and ever asked themselves "What is this even about and what are we doing here?"

I've found this book to be authentic and raw at it's very core as Packiam deals with some of the major "rumors" about God in our culture today. It's a sobering thing to think you've lived your entire life as a Christian, and yet in the dark and quiet moments, question whether you really know who God is or what He is about.

As we go through life and either experience trying times on our own or witness the tribulation of those dearest to us, we come face to face with those questions. We may even attempt to throw out a few answers, but unless we do the work of seeking Him out, we can never experience true authenticity in our relationship with Christ.

Packiam has presented the challenge to me to find out who God is, independent of what the "experts" have to say, no matter how compelling the song lyrics or how often downloaded the sermon podcast may be. As Paul says in Phillipians 3:8 "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things". Truly knowing Him surpasses all thing and we should not be satisfied with Rumors.

In the aftermath of a church scandal, Glenn Packiam and the church he comes from had to do a lot of spiritual self-examination in their belief about God and the Christian life. It was not a very comfortable task, but in the end, they emerge stronger than before - not because of what any man said, but finding out the truth about God the hard way: through prayer and seeking, not just living through someone's theology, which we are so quick to do.

Second Hand Jesus lovingly nudges you to examine your own spiritual life and dares to examine the popular western Christian culture beliefs in God. Some of it you'll agree and other topics you may find yourself squeamish about the truth exposed. But you'll get thinking as to why you believe you do. Is it because you've discovered the truth for yourself in the Word or just because someone said so?

I loved the parallels Glenn drew about our popular Christian beliefs and even the beliefs of the unbeliever with the story of the Ark of the Covenant as it was captured by the Philistines. Glenn draws of picture of how the Israelites believed God then to how we as Christians believe now. He also draws parallels to the Philistines with the unbeliever. It's good stuff that kept my attention through the book even when I wanted to stop reading it. (I just find it hard to read non-fiction overall.)

The end of the book features the story of the shooting tragedy at Glenn's church that killed two young girls in the parking lot. You realize how much this church has suffered between the scandal of it's former famous pastor and later the tragic shooting, yet still emerge a better people for it. Good stuff!