Vineyard Church | Weekly Update May 8, 2024

Holy discontentment.… That phrase has met me each time my mind has gone idle since this weekend. When the tasks of the day or the conversation in front of me is not taking up my available disk space, holy discontentment has been resonating. Last Sunday, we got to hear a message from a national Vineyard Leader, John Elmer, and he unpacked a phrase that is a part of the rich history of the Vineyard movement. If you haven’t had a chance to catch that message, head over to the website and check it out. I will wait so we are all on the same page.…

So…everybody gets to play…a concept that reflected the heart of the founder of the Vineyard movement, John Wimber, but also a concept that can be misappropriated, misapplied, or weaponized as leverage to get people to do or not do. John Elmer was helpful in putting this concept into the context of holy discontentment that reflects the unfolding plan of God.

When we understand that one way the Holy Spirit speaks to us is through this holy discontentment, we have a clearer picture of what it means to follow Jesus. Holy discontentment testifies to the central role of the church in the present age. Holy discontentment beckons us outward; it moves us from a self-focus to a focus on another as we wrestle with the dilemma that the Holy Spirit makes us aware of through our discontentment.

If following Jesus could be encapsulated in isolation, heading to the woods to worship on our own, or in pursuing a path of perfection that would result in inner peace, holy discontentment would not be an avenue of communication between us and God. Communication would beckon us to the center of ourselves; it would draw us in for the sake of self, rather than drawing us in in order to turn us out to serve.

As we travel through the book of Galatians, we see a letter from Paul that demonstrates his holy discontentment, leaders with bad theology forcing bad theology on those wanting to encounter God. As we continue through the letter, we will see a strategy that Paul employs as he combats this object of holy discontentment, one that relies upon the relationships built into a church. Resources, encouragement, accountability, but also partners for the journey that have similar and mutually supporting discontent enhance our effectiveness and ensure we are never alone in the journey.

As we continue through our study and prepare for summer small group and outreach activities, have you identified your Holy Discontentment? Have you told anyone? I would love to hear about what moves your heart, and I look forward to seeing a church driven outward as we respond to our Holy Discontentment together.

 
Adam Greenwell
Pastor | Billings Vineyard Church
www.BillingsVineyard.org