Review of Secondhand Jesus by Glen Packiam

Mike Leake

Author: Glen Packiam

Pages: 224 pages

Publisher: David C. Cook

Price: 10.37

Genre: Christian Living

Quick Summary:

In November of 2006 Glen Packiam’s world was rocked when his pastor Ted Haggard confessed to accusations of sexual immorality and drug abuse. This book, although not directly related, is Packiam’s response to that occasion. Since that Thursday in November Packiam was set on a spiritual journey in which he discovered much of his relationship with Jesus was only secondhand.

This book follows the biblical journey of the Ark of the Covenant. Throughout the journey our author looks at four rumors about God: God will give me what I want; God can be added to my list of loyalties; God is pleased with my goodness; God prefers specialists. Packiam’s hope in this book is easily laid out: that believers might no longer settle for a secondhand experience with God but might worship him personally.

What I Liked:

If I am being completely honest, my expectations of this book were not very high. I knew the book looked catchy and by its marketing I figured it would be pretty surface. I have to say that by chapter four I was convinced that there is more to this book than your typical watered-down Christian sub-culture book. Packiam is very honest and highly readable. He also tells a great story and conveys a passion for the God he writes about. I was able to read the book very quickly and none of the chapters felt laborious.

For your typical mainstream mega-churched, Christianized, or gospel-depleted person this book will serve as a wakeup call. (I realize nobody would call themselves that, but read Packiam’s story and you will see just how easy we can fall into that trap).

What I Disliked:

In my opinion Packiam does a great job of defining the problem and identifying a gaping hole in our relationship with Jesus. He is right, we do often run off of rumors of God instead of an actual relationship. However, he is a little shallow in the solutions offered. The message of this book is basically this, “stop having a secondhand relationship with Jesus and start living on firsthand knowledge”. That is all well and good; but how do we break away from these rumors? What cause us to keep God at a distance? Why do we settle for crumbs? Joy comes from having a deep relationship with Jesus—but why can I not seem to desire what I ought to desire? The only answer to these questions is to live gospel-saturated lives (and yes I realize that would take books to explore such a topic). The gospel is in this book but in my opinion it does not flow all throughout.

Should You Buy This Book?

Even though Secondhand Jesus may not thrive in the answers department it does ask very thought provoking questions. For some this book may serve as a much needed wake-up call and the beginning of a journey of faithfully pursuing Jesus. For others this book might bring conviction in some areas and spark passion in yet others. I would heartily suggest reading this book, but be sure to read a companion book with it. Perhaps this book would be good with a Jerry Bridges book like Transforming Grace or The Gospel for Real Life. You really may want to check this book out ; it may not change your life, but who knows it might rock your world.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Hump Day Humor: Thrown Together Quickly Because I’m in Colorado Version

Mike Leake

I’m with Zach Nielsen; I hope this sweeps the nation:

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Thanks to my friend Brian for pointing this one out:

Monday’s Ministry Musing: What Constitutes Blessing?

Mike Leake 1 Comment

I hear the statement all the time: “The Lord really blessed us with ______”.  Here is my question; can I buy a yacht and say that it is a blessing from the Lord?  Is this the formula; make a wish, get what you wished for, then make it spiritual and okay by saying that it is a blessing from the Lord? 

mansion Well what about Deuteronomy 28?  Doesn’t that seem to be the formula in that text?  You do good you get blessing, you do bad you get cursed.  So, can we transfer this to our day?  Is my extravagant home, luxurious car, and our yacht a sign of blessing?  Or is it a sign of disobedience. 

Here is my take.  Look at the reason why God blessed Israel.  God’s blessing of Israel was not for the sake of Israel alone.  God’s blessing of Israel was so that they could in turn be a blessing to the nations.  What I am saying is similar to what Piper has said previously:

“Does not the OT promise that God will prosper the faithful? Indeed! God increases our yield so that by giving we can prove that our yield is not our God. God does not prosper a man’s business so that man can move from a Buick to a BMW. God prospers a business so that hundreds of unreached peoples can be reached with the gospel. He prospers a business so that 20 percent of the worlds’ population can move a step back from the [brink] of starvation…Too many people are shaped by the consumer culture than by the economics of Christ. They still operate on the simple rule: If you earned it, you deserve it. It’s yours; use it for your own material comfort.

”The evidence that many of our people are not rich toward God is how little they give and how much they own. Over the years God has prospered them. And by an almost irresistible law of consumer culture, they have bought bigger (and more) houses, newer (and more) cars, fancier (and more) clothes, and all manner of trinkets and gadgets and containers and devices and equipment to make life more fun”.

“The problem is not earning a lot. The problem is the constant accumulation of luxuries that are soon felt to be needs. If you want to be a conduit of God’s grace, you don’t have to be lined with gold. Copper will do.”

Living with gold-lined lives is not necessarily a sign of God’s unstipulated blessing, it may be a sign of your disobedience.  God may have blessed you with a six-figure salary, but he did not do it so you could have a six-figured salary life. 

What does this have to do with ministry?  Pastors can train people to think this way.  When sermons, prayers, and programs are geared around “meeting our needs” it is only natural for the people to find God’s blessing in materialistic prosperity.  It is our duty to preach in such a way that people are gospel-focused and not blessing-focused.  So, pastor preach in such a way that people find the greatest blessing in God Himself.  Furthermore, live in such a way that people see this modeled.

Review of God is the Gospel by John Piper

Mike Leake 6 Comments

Author: John Piper

Publisher: Crossway

Pages: 192 pages

Price: 12.99

Genre: Christian Living

Quick Summary:

This is a Piper book so you should know what you are getting: a healthy dose of the glory of God, radically Christ-centered appeals, and passionate pleas to enjoy God. In this particular offering Piper’s main concern is that we understand that the greatest gift of the gospel is God Himself. “All God’s gifts are loving only to the degree that they lead us to God Himself. That is what God’s love is: his commitment to do everything necessary (most painfully the death of his only Son) to enthrall us with what is most deeply and durably satisfying—namely, himself.”

The first few chapters of this book are given to defining the gospel. Then Piper moves towards what this means for the Christian life. He then moves forward with a little theology. And finally closes out the book by encouraging us to “sacrifice and sing”.

What I Liked:

The first four chapters are worth the cost of the book. Even in the introduction Piper asks perhaps one of the most important questions for modern evangelicals: “could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?” We really need to hear this message. If you do not consider God to be the ultimate good of salvation then something is wrong. Piper makes a passionate biblical defense of this central doctrine to the Christian faith.

In his typical Edwardsean-way Piper absolutely exhausts this topic. He considers the impact of this doctrine on numerous aspects of the Christian life. He writes in a heartfelt and pastoral manner. You will be deeply informed and emotionally stirred.

What I Disliked:

UPDATE: Due to a comment, I have reworded this section. The original did not convey my actual intent.

I absolutely love John Piper and his ministry. Unfortunately, most of the congregation in which I serve do not share that love. A good portion of our church has commented that his writing is too difficult for them. And I think I understand. Piper can use really big words that may be unfamiliar to those that do not read a good deal of theology books. Piper also will have jam-packed sentences. Now, in Piper’s defense I would love to see the somewhat anti-intellectualism in our church context be changed. I would love to see people pursuing God with not only heart but also mind. So, I am torn. I love Piper and his writings and would love to see people labor to read and enjoy him. At the same time I would love for Piper to write books that would appeal to those of a more rural context.

One commenter felt in the orignal that I was holding my church in contempt and not loving them. The truth is I have a ton of compassion for our church. Certainly, that passion can grow because I know I do not love them like Jesus does. Yet, at the same time I also would love to see our church pursue doing hard things…like reading Piper.

Should You Buy It?

There is hardly a Piper book that I would not heartily recommend. The modern church that is so enamored with the gifts of the gospel needs to hear this call. I heartily suggest you buy and read this book. In my opinion, this is one of the Top 5 books written by Piper.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

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