Holy Discontent!

What a week this has been with all the celebrity news and of course, the Jon and Kate+8 drama (I do not follow the show but have heard so much about it on Facebook and in the news that it just leaves me appalled the way they are dragging their children through this media circus)! Today while I was at Church we had the treat of taking a break from our regular message series and got to watch a message from Willow Creek Chuch and got to watch the message from their annual leadership conference which inspired the book "Holy Discontent: Fueling the Fire that Ignites your personal Vision."

I found a review on Amazon.com that really illustrates what the message of the book is about. Here is a Snippet of it "Hybels doesn't come across as an expert but rather as a fellow traveler cheering us on to find our holy discontent, develop it, and keep it alive. If you find yourself frustrated by injustices in this world and wanting to do more than just complain about it, Hybels encourages: 'Figure out what you can't stand. Channel your holy discontent energy into helping to fix what's broken in this life."


The teaser for the book asks this question: What is the one aspect of this broken world that, when you see it, touch it, get near it, you just can't stand? Very likely, that firestorm of frustration reflects your holy discontent, a reality so troubling that you are thrust off the couch and into the game. This is what inspired me to write this post today. I have had the moments in my life where I got to this point and these inspired me in my life. Here are the areas in my life where I have had that Holy Discontentment put on my heart.

1) Fighting Legalism in Churches--As someone who has been rejected by a Church in the past because of Legalistic issues, I find it very important for Churches to reach out and be supportive of people, not judgemental. When I say this I mean political or otherwise. As a Christian I do not believe I have to be a cookie cutter image identical to everyone else. I am not perfect but I also do not feel shaming people for their faults is going to convince them to walk into your church door. It's judgement and non-caring attitudes I feel that have causes a lot of churches to close their doors. Today only 30% of Americans attend Church. I am doing my part to help my Church reach out to others in the community.

2) Mental Health& The Disabled--I get so tired of people telling others who suffer from depression or other mental health issues or physical disabilities to "Snap Out of it". You would not say that to someone who has diabetes or Parkinsons. I also get frustrated when politicians go and cut funding in these areas but open entertainment halls or baseball stadiums. This area is one I focus on through my career but I believe my career has a dual purpose. It's not just a paycheck for me, it's to help others but to have someone who cares out them and is willing to take the time to sit with them and listen.

There are more but these are the big two in my life. I already asked the library to purchase the book for me so I can dive in and learn more about this issue. I know this is not your average, "New Things" post but it has been an important new thing for me.

-Jackie