Glenn Packiam on Drawing From Different Church Expressions & Becoming Brokers of Hope in the World
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In this interview Jason discusses a wide-range of topics with Glenn Packiam. Highlighted consistently through this conversation is Packiam’s doctoral work on worship and eschatological hope.
They explore together the sense of resilient hope that permeates congregational worship, even when the song lyrics are a little thin. More specifically, Packiam anchors our hope in the resurrection of Jesus. As he points out, when the innocent Son of God was crucified the worst day of history occurred. But when God raised Jesus from the dead, our Creator planted a flag of unshakeable hope in the middle of every bad day since.
This hope doesn’t silence the voice of the suffering, or mute the misery of the oppressed.
Instead it creates space for genuine lament, while also insisting that the lament will not last forever. This eschatological hope is not only the center of this conversation; it must be, as Packiam insists, the center of all our worship. Different paradigms of worship are dissected and analyzed. The potential weaknesses in each are identified, as are the various strengths of each expression — all leading to a more robust understanding of worship in the modern church.
The conversation shifts to discuss the public moral failing of the senior pastor at Packiam’s church and how, as a young leader, he recovered from the disappointment, what he learned as a result and why he stayed to pick up the broken pieces. Enduring this crisis of leadership launched him on his own personal journey to discover the core of sustainable ministry, while also realizing there is no ideal context in which to be a pastor.
In the end, this interview is a must listen for every church leader exploring the formative potential of liturgical rhythms and the power of corporate worship. More than that, this conversation is a gift for any leader who is looking for a strong reminder of the hope we have in Jesus during difficult and tiring times.
Glenn Packiam
Glenn is the Associate Senior Pastor of New Life Church, and Lead Pastor of New Life Downtown, which is one of seven New Life congregations in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He has earned a Doctorate of Theology and Ministry from Durham University (UK) and is a visiting Fellow at St. John's College at Durham. He is the author of 6 books, including "Blessed Broken Given" and "Worship and the World to Come" as well as the worship songwriter of 65+ songs including "Your Name" (co-written with Paul Baloche).
“Jesus asks us, not ‘do you love the cause, the church, the sheep?’ but ‘do you love Me?’”
Order Glenn’s Newest Book Today
Worship & the World to Come - Hope is a theological virtue. Hope is central to the Christian experience. We face the future without fear because we are a people of hope. Christians sing because we have a “living hope.” Our hope is uniquely anchored in the resurrection of Jesus and the promise of our own resurrection body and a renewed world.
This book explores how this hope is both expressed and experienced in Christian worship. Through Packiam’s thorough research, reflection and in-depth analysis, he highlights the crucial importance of congregational worship in the proclamation and formation of our Christian hope. This book is a must-read for any person who is curious about the formational impact of what we sing when we gather as believers.
“There is no ideal context in which to be a pastor.”
Youtube Links
We have also posted some of our favourite sections of this interview on our Youtube Channel - here is one of them:
This episode was brought to you by Alpha Canada.
In the midst of the global pandemic, Alpha has shifted their highly effective evangelistic tool online. Nicky Gumbel, the pioneer of Alpha says that this is “ … the greatest evangelical opportunity of our lifetime.” And it’s true. This crisis has brought about a certain degree of openness to conversations about spirituality, faith & God that wasn’t as present before. Churches all around Canada have used Alpha Online to seize this moment to reach the de-churched and unchurched like never before. If your church is still considering what outreach to your community & neighbours could look like in the coming months, consider running Alpha Online.
Coming Up Next
Larry Osborne
Larry Osborne is a pastor at North Coast Church in Vista CA. Under his leadership the church has grown from 128 to over 13,000 on a weekend. North Coast Church has been acclaimed as one of the most influential and innovative churches in America. Known for pioneering the concepts of sermon-based small groups, pastoral teaching teams, and video venues, its fingerprints are found on churches throughout the world. Larry has a passion for leadership, spiritual formation and discipleship. Larry holds both a Master of Divinity and Doctorate degree from Talbot Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Nancy, live in Oceanside, CA. They have three married children and an increasing number of grandchildren.