Secondhand Jesus: Trading Rumors of God for a Firsthand Faith

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.