Secondhand Jesus

So here is a refreshing resource, the second book by theMILL pastor and worship pastor, Glenn Packiam. theMILL is the young adult ministry of the large and influential New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The book is Secondhand Jesus: Trading rumors of God for a firsthand faith.

Starting with what he calls his "what the heck?" moment, he delineates his journey of trading rumors of God for a firsthand faith. Using the story of the Ark of the Covenant as a icon for for the way we engage (or distance ourselves from) the living, vibrant Presence of God in our lives, he constructs four questions meant to confront our possible misunderstandings of the true nature of God. I found the book to be very interesting, personally challenging, engaging, and particularly honest and transparent.

Packiam's "what the heck?" moment occurs when his pastor, the now infamous Ted Haggard, is exposed as having a moral failure while leading not only the church where Packiam is employed, but also the leader and head of the Evangelical Association of America. This moment, and other subsequent events linked to this caused Packiam to stop leaning on his rise to fame based on the popularity of his worship song writing abilities and based on his influence because of the profound influence of the church as a whole, and to begin to go back to his first Love, and get real and vulnerable with the person of Jesus.

Second Hand Jesus is both a journal of these events and Packiam's personal growth while also being a brutally honest look at American Christians as a whole. Some of our problems in the church today are because we have it so easy and have so much available to us. This can cause us to develop a "rumor" of God that makes Him fit into our prosperity mind-frame, instead of causing us to forsake everything stable in our life and pursue the dangerous adventure of personal contact with God.

There is a middle section of the book where Packiam revisits some basic theology. Topics such as God's holiness, and our implausible and impossible ability to please him, and the need for atonement. Yet where in other contexts these topics appear lifeless and rote, here, because of Packiam's experience and resolve to encounter the living God they become topics filled with life. This return to our roots of our faith at their base elements was refreshing and strengthening to me as I read.

"I admit I once lived by rumors of you;

now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears!
I'm sorry—forgive me. I'll never do that again, I promise!
I'll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor." (Job 42:5-6, the Message)

A great book for those that desire to shake themselves out of the rut of life and faith. Also, an encouraging prodding for people going through their own "what the heck?" moments. With the economy where it is, this book is quite timely.