Actually, my blog has had a new home for about a year but I realize I've never posted that update here! I have migrated some of the better posts from this blog over to the new site, and there have been plenty of new posts as well. I will not be posting here anymore, so feel free to unfollow this blog and sign on to follow this one instead: www.mysteryoffaithblog.com Continue reading

How wonderful is it that we are entering into the season of Thanksgiving? During the month of November we have the opportunity to give to our city through a project led by our NLD Kids Ministry. I would like to personally invite you to participate in leading our kids towards... Continue reading

BELOVED, Pt. 2: “Do Not Love the World” What do we do with the reality of sin? With the pitfalls of behavioristic moralism on one side and a grace that makes no claims on us on the other, Pastor Glenn Packiam helps us see see sin as disordered desire which... Continue reading

Beloved, Pt. 1: "Coming Into the Light" Pastor Glenn Packiam begins a new series on 1 John, helping us see what it means to live in the light. We fear that being in the light means being exposed. But John understood that the Lord is our Light and our salvation,... Continue reading

Addicted to Busy, Pt. 2: “Finding Rest” In our fast-pace world where busyness is a badge of importance, we rarely ever truly stop. Yet the sabbath is, at its core, a call to cease from labor. Pastor Glenn Packiam explains how the sabbath is rooted in both creation and salvation.... Continue reading

Listen to the Sunday School Podcast Here Master Mentor Wes Roberts joined us for 3 consecutive weeks to teach his beginning philosophies and steps to take when it comes to mentoring. As we desire to be a people of God who know and pursue one another across the generations, these... Continue reading

As church leaders, many of us don't have the time to stop and reflect on what we're doing. And even if we did, our reflections are often not enough. We are too close to situations, too immersed in real time ministry, to properly evaluate it or to ask the right questions. We need perspectives outside the pastorate. Yet, some pastors are reluctant to learn from non-pastors, routinely dismissing anything from an academic simply because he or she is not a pastor. But researchers may offer a better picture of our ministry than we have as pastors. They can spot trends or patterns that we can't see because we're so close to the trees that we miss the proverbial forest. Conversely, pastors can help add more nuance and colors to 'data' that a researcher may be struggling to interpret. They may map the forest, but the miss the subtle differentiation from tree to tree. Small groups are a perfect example of how pastors may learn from researchers. At many church conferences, pastors speak confidently of their latest, greatest small group model, sure that it is the new breakthrough in discipleship. But their only 'sample size' is their own congregation, and they all-too-often have no metric for its effectiveness-- except for the number of people in groups. Oh, and they may just be a little biased about their model. :) (I know: I've done this.) Enter the researcher. Below are the results of a study done by Dr. Roger Walton, a theologian (former faculty at Durham University, England) and the District Chair at West Yorkshire District of the Methodist Church in England. ------------------------- Walton conducted his research in 2011, working exclusively with church small groups. The study involved 700 people. This was a closed survey; people answered questions that they were asked.... Continue reading

Every once awhile, I am asked what our liturgy is at New Life Downtown. Our service flow (in general) can be found HERE. But the most 'liturgical' part of the service-- i.e. the part that uses the ancient prayers, practices and sequence-- is when we come to the Lord's Table. While I am an ordained Anglican priest, I serve as a pastor at New Life Church, a non-denominational, charismatic church, where I have been on staff for over 14 years. Fortunately, a trademark of Anglican worship is its adaptability to different contexts. Almost all these words are from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. The only tweak I've made is in the way I announce forgiveness in the 'absolution' section. We have the band on stage during all of the below, providing a soft, worshipful bed of music. Once the invitation is given (the last section of the communion liturgy), the worship leader begins the song she has chosen for that week. From Easter to Advent, this is the longer section of musical worship, where we sing 4 songs. Below, the bold are the 'movements' or sections of the Eucharist liturgy; the italics are an abbreviated version of the instructions I give. ------------------------- CONFESSION (All): Take a moment and let the Holy Spirit nudge you about ways that you can surrender, ways that you can turn away from self-reliance and toward a dependence on God. Now, let us pray this prayer together: Most merciful God, We confess that we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole heart; We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of Your... Continue reading

Addicted to Busy, Pt. 1: Diagnosing the Problem Have we become so used to the noise and the pace that we find it hard to sit alone with our thoughts? While not all busyness is a sign of unhealthy, many times busyness can mask a deeper brokenness that God wants... Continue reading

Being Visible - Pastor Evan Reedall Pastor Evan Reedall shares about the church becoming the light...and the fact that it requires our darkness to be exposed and us to become visible (Ephesians 5). Through personal story and biblical insight, Evan delves into the tension between darkness and light, fear and... Continue reading

WARNING: This is a post for nerds like me. :) In all seriousness, this won't be of interest to everyone, but several of you have asked why I'm doing a doctorate and why I've chosen Durham University, England. I've answered these questions before, but I realize that my answers have been inadequate. For one, I am still learning to understand my own heart and motivattions. And, what's more, I had some incorrect information about this particular program at Durham. So, in order to understand myself and to communicate more clearly for those interested in post-graduate studies, I thought I'd write about it. (Actually, this is always why I write: to help me understand my own thoughts, and to be of some help to others.) ------------------------- Why a Doctorate? As best as I can know my own heart-- and this is tricky business-- this is what I would say: To make the most of the gifts which have been entrusted to me for the glory of God and the good of the Church. This is not Christianese to me. When I was a little boy, my mum used to say to me, "Glenn, if you can achieve (x), then don't settle for (y)." This wasn't said in a performance-ish, pressured sort of way. This was said with utmost love. It came out of her deep belief in who God had made me to be. And it wasn't unrealistic stuff. (She never said this about my dreams of being the next Michael Jordan, for example.) She-- and my dad-- saw things in my sister and me as they prayed over us and talked with us. And they wouldn't let us stop short because of laziness or apathy. I'm reminded of this quote from the late John Stott about ambition: Ambitions for God,... Continue reading

"Let's Talk About It, Pt. 3" - Steven Todd Probably the most difficult 'question' that is asked - why would a loving God allow such suffering and tragedy in the world. Dr. Steven Todd talks about the 'problem' of calling it the 'problem of evil.' This "problem" language often propels... Continue reading

If you are looking for more connectedness within this community (knitting together - Ephesians 4), meal groups are how we express and engage that being knit together as the body. Here is where you can Download Fall 2014 Meal Groups and view all the listed groups this Fall. Take some... Continue reading

I hear often that people are spiritual but not religious, or that they love Jesus but don't like the Church. I get it. But the antidote to a thing that has been misused or abused-- like religion and church-- is not no use, but good and proper use. So, the question worth asking might be, "What is the good and proper use of religion?" Or simply, "What good is organized religion, specifically Christianity, and, to be even more precise, the Church?" Some Christian writers are convinced that the best thing to do is to stop talking about Christianity and to emphasize following Jesus and not any sort of organized religion. But this won't do because there is no unscrambling this egg: Christianity as an organized Way of following Jesus exists, and has existed for a couple of millenia. (Arguably, those Christian writers are 'following Jesus' today because Christianity has existed-- as the preserver and proclaimer of the faith!) Others say, just leave out 'the Church', because, after all, Jesus didn't come to start an institution. Other than a re-reading of a key speech Jesus gave to Peter, this view ignores (either out of ignorance or otherwise) that the four Gospels came to us out of early Christian communities. They were some of the last New Testament books to be written, and the stories in it were preserved by...wait for it...churches. So if the Gospels contain some sort of anti-Church or anti-organized religion message, it would be news to the writers! I have recently been reading James Martin's (S. J.) marvelous book, 'The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything' and came across his warm and winsome discussion of being 'spiritual but not religious'. I've highlighted the parts that really stood out to me: The thinking goes like this: being “religious” means abiding... Continue reading

"Let's Talk About It, Pt. 2" In this ‘Family Sunday’ sermon, Pastor Glenn Packiam responds to questions on how to know what issues to ‘agree to disagree’ on in order to preserve Christian unity, what it means when we say the New Life is a charismatic church and where the... Continue reading

“Let’s Talk About It”, Pt. 1 Pastor Glenn Packiam responds to specific questions emailed from the congregation. This week he discusses going to two services, suffering and the book of Job, healing and the 'now but not yet', and homosexuality. OT Reading: Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NIV) NT Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-7... Continue reading

"God In My Everything" What is the goal of the Christian life? We are tempted to say, ‘Becoming like Jesus’; but that is a result, not a goal. The goal, as Pastor Glenn Packiam points out, is abiding in Christ. But what does that look like? With the help of... Continue reading

GIVEN, Pt. 3: “For the World” It seems to be ubiquitous: everyone cares about justice and global engagement. But what fuels our work for the good of the world? Is it human dignity? A focus on results? In the third and final part of this series, Pastor Glenn Packiam explores... Continue reading

New things are in store for our Children’s Ministry this fall! It is a joy for our team to serve your kids each week and to partner with you in their spiritual formation. We have been intentional on selecting a curriculum and a schedule that provides an environment of wonder... Continue reading

GIVEN, Pt. 2: “For the City” We look at the last 'Table story' in Luke's gospel, the meal with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Pastor Glenn Packiam shows how Jesus focuses on a few and takes his time with time, letting them give voice to their pain. This... Continue reading

GIVEN, Pt. 1: “For the Good of the Church” We long for meaning in our lives, yet we insist on a guarded existence. The result is that we only give ourselves to things within our reach. But the Kingdom awakens us to a greater Story and invites us to surrender... Continue reading

Last Sunday, Pastor Glenn shared about what it means to be 'given', and specifically encouraged us to find ways to prepare to care for the people Jesus is welcoming in our church. Here is a list of all our Sunday teams that serve at New Life Downtown: To begin your... Continue reading