Book Review: Holy Discontent

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. It's during these defining times when your eyes open to the needs surrounding you and your heart hungers to respond that you hear God say, "I feel the same way about this problem. Now, let's go solve it together!"

Bill Hybels invites you to consider the dramatic impact your life will have when you allow your holy discontent to fuel instead of frustrate you. Using examples from the Bible, his own life, and the experiences of others, Hybels shows how you can find and feed your personal area of holy discontent, fight for it when things get risky, and follow it when it takes a mid-course turn. As you live from the energy of your holy discontent, you'll fulfill your role in setting what is wrong in this world right!

I found this book to not be entirely dramatic, meaty, or all together thought-provoking. What it did do was to challenge me to name and live that which God has created me for. I breezed through the reading of it as it is filled often with the stories of people who have found their discontent and sought to let it fuel them. There are the stories of ordinary individuals and celebrities such as Bono who are making an impact in the world because of their discontent. One thing is for sure about this book. It is a stated reminder that the church ought not to be concerned about producing like-minded programs and institutional procedures, but be about empowering and equipping believers to discover their "discontent", their passion, their God-given mission and do something about it.