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!
In this made-for-use guidebook, Bill Hybels provides the exact steps needed for ministry leaders to translate the principles described in his book Holy Discontent into practical and effective action. What is the one aspect of this broken world that, when you see it, touch it, or get near it, you just can’t stand? What reality is so troubling that it thrusts you off the couch and into action? This is what Bill Hybels refers to as a holy discontent: a personal “firestorm of frustration” that, although sparked by that which is terribly wrong, can catalyze fierce determination to set things right. It is often during these eye-opening, heart-hungering moments of engagement when you will hear God whisper, “I feel the exact same way about this situation. Now, let’s go solve it together!” Here are the steps and the guidance you need to make that happen. This companion to Holy Discontent includes: • Interactive processing exercises that encourage you to ask the tough questions of your ministry strategy, your supporting organizational structure, and the key people with whom you collaborate • Sidebar stories of ministry leaders who are living and leading from their holy discontent in a variety of contexts • Insightful prompts to help you act on what you learn • Space for personal reflection
Do you feel like you're just waiting to find your purpose? Do you want to live like you were made for more? Many of us feel restless, and that might not be a bad thing. . . When our restlessness awakens our longing to be woven into God's story, it can launch us into living the life of purpose God designed for us. In this video-based small group Bible study (DVD/video streaming sold separately), Bible study teacher and author of Get Out of Your Head Jennie Allen helps you discover a practical plan to identify the loose threads of your life and how to weave them together for God's glory and purposes. Jennie uses the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis to explain how his suffering, gifts, story, and relationships fit into the greater tapestry of God’s narrative—and how our story can do the same. In this study you will: Explore practical ways to identify the threads of your life. Learn how to intentionally weave those threads together. Discover how your gifts, passions, places, and relationships aren’t random; they’re deliberate and meaningful. Speak the truth about your suffering: it’s possible it has produced the very thing you want to give back to the world. The Restless Study Guide engages the mind and heart through stories, Bible study from the life of Joseph, and Threads—a tool to help you see your own personal story and to uncover and understand the raw materials God has given you to use for his glory and purpose. What would happen if you spent the rest of your life running without reservation after His purposes for you? Designed for use with the Restless Video Study (9780879922374), sold separately
In The Second Half of the Gospel, pastor and author J.D. Walt explains why the overwhelming majority of Jesus followers are arrested in their discipleship development, going only half way with the gospel. He explores the full intent of God's gospel promise, articulating an ancient, long neglected strategy for awakening to the greater things of God.
We are all called to be change-makers in the world, and yet many of us don't know how to answer the call. Jesus Culture founder and pastor Banning Liebscher reveals the three key moves that will awaken your heart and propel you into a life of divine purpose. You were made for more than a life of holy discontent--more than the frustrating sense of sitting on the sidelines of your own life's purpose. From the beginning, Jesus has beckoned us out of passivity and into a high-stakes adventure with hearts fully alive, lives fully engaged, and the courage needed for both. With a heart-stirring message and compelling stories, founder of Jesus Culture and pastor Banning Liebscher will equip you with practical guidance to be and do all that God has called you to. The Three-Mile Walk draws from the biblical story of Jonathan, who, after a treacherous three-mile hike, boldly stepped into battle and watched God work a stunning victory in the midst of impossible odds. Likewise, Liebscher presents the three key attributes you need to fully engage your mission--courage, holiness, and faith. In his power-packed, memorable style, Liebscher offers fresh insight and instruction for answering your calling with a courageous "yes," and setting out on the journey of a lifetime. You are meant to change the world. It's going to be tough, surprising, and more fulfilling than you can imagine. You just need the courage to rise up and walk it out.
Bestselling author and pastor Bill Hybels helps equip leaders with five key skills that everyone needs in order to grow their leadership ability. Each of the video sessions will feature Hybels sharing the wisdom and experience that he has learned in nearly 40 years of leadership at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. In this five-session teaching video (DVD/digital video sold separately), Hybels will help leaders discover what kind of leader they are, how to gain self-awareness and relational awareness, how to build an effective team, how to form and declare a vision, and discovering each leader's holy discontent. Sessions include: The Power of Vision The Toughest Person You Lead Mastering 360-Degree Leadership Building a Fantastic Culture Pursue Your Unique Calling Designed for use with the Leading from Here to There Video Study 9780310884606 (sold separately).
On first publication in the 1960s, "Honest to God" did more than instigate a passionate debate about the nature of Christian belief in a secular revolution. It epitomised the revolutionary mood of the era and articulated the anxieties of a generation.
'I have learned to be content in whatever state] I am'' (Phil. 4:11) Anyone who lacks true contentment may find it in this book. If not, it will be because that one would not follow the very clear and simple instructions given. The teaching is from the Bible, yet it must be described as unique. Nowhere else will you find such unusual, but Biblically authenticated thoughts: He will teach you that contentment lies in subtraction, not in addition; that the ABC's of Christianity are nothing like what you thought them to be; that there is a mystery of contentment, but that once you have learned the way from Christ's word, you will be able to attain such a depth of contentment as you never before dreamed existed. This is a key book for building up Christian maturity. Christian Contentment, what is it? ''It is a sweet, inward heart thing. It is a work of the Spirit indoors. It is a box of precious ointment, very comforting and useful for troubled hearts in times of troubled conditions.
The book you hold resonates with this conviction: that leaders such as you have the potential to be the most influential forces on planet Earth. Yours is the staggering responsibility and the matchless privilege of rallying believers and mobilizing their spiritual gifts in order to help people who are far from God become fully devoted followers of Christ. Life transformation and the eternal destinies of real people depend on the redemptive message entrusted to the local church. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to lead your church effectively so God’s message of hope can change the world? Then this book is for you. Courageous Leadership is Bill Hybels’ magnum opus, a book far too important to be written before its time. Only now, after nearly thirty years leading his own church from a handful of people with a burning vision into a globe-spanning kingdom force—only after almost three decades of victories and setbacks, of praying hard and risking big—is Hybels ready at last to share the lessons he has learned, and continues to learn, about Christian leadership. Too much is at stake for you not to maximize your spiritual gift of leadership, insists Hybels. In this passionate, powerful book, he unpacks the tools, tasks, and challenges of your calling. You’ll discover the power of vision and how to turn it into action. You’ll gain frontline insights for developing a kingdom dream team, discovering your leadership style, developing other leaders, making decisions, walking with God, embracing change, staying your God-given course, and much, much more. Drawing on his own richly varied life experiences, Hybels fleshes out vital principles with riveting firsthand stories. This is far more than another book on leadership strategies and techniques. You’ll find those topics in here, to be sure. But beyond them, you’ll find the very essence of one of today’s foremost Christian leaders—his fervent commitment to evangelism and discipleship and his zeal to inspire fellow church leaders even as he seeks to keep growing as a leader himself. If unchurched people matter to you . . . if you love seeing believers serve passionately with their spiritual gifts . . . if God’s heartbeat for the church is your heartbeat as well . . . then this book is a must. Courageous Leadership will convince you to lead with all your might, all your skill, and all your faith. And it will give you the tools to do just that.
