The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

Who are you becoming? That was the question nagging pastor and author John Mark Comer. By outward metrics, everything appeared successful. But inwardly, things weren't pretty. So he turned to a trusted mentor for guidance and heard these words: "Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life." It wasn't the response he expected, but it continues to be the answer he needs. Too often we treat the symptoms of toxicity in our modern world instead of trying to pinpoint the cause. A growing number of voices are pointing at hurry, or busyness as a root of much evil. Within the pages of this book, you'll find a compelling emotional and spiritual case against hurry and in favor of a slower, simpler way of life.

“As someone all too familiar with ‘hurry sickness,’ I desperately needed this book.”—Scott Harrison, New York Times best-selling author of Thirst

“John Mark Comer is a hugely talented leader, speaker, and writer. You will find lots of wise advice here.”—Nicky Gumbel, vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton, London

“Necessary. Freeing.”—Annie F. Downs, best-selling author of 100 Days to Brave and Remember God

“Never has a generation needed a book as much as this. John Mark has beautifully written a remedy for our overworked and tired souls.”—Jeremy and Audrey Roloff, New York Times best-selling authors of A Love Letter Life

“Great guy; even better book!”—Bob Goff, author of the New York Times bestsellers Love Does and Everybody, Always

“Like a tall glass of ice cold water on the hottest day of the year, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry is refreshing, revitalizing, and a shock to the system. Beautifully and compellingly written by one of our foremost thinkers, it is a prophetic message for our time.”—Pete Greig, founder of the 24-7 Prayer movement and senior pastor of Emmaus Rd, Guildford, UK

“There are those rare books that every single waking person needs to immediately go read. This is that book. We’ve found no better conversation or a more much-needed antidote to our culture’s problem of busyness and hurry than John Mark’s words in this book. Beyond helpful and encouraging and insightful to us!”—Alyssa and Jefferson Bethke, New York Times best-selling authors of Jesus > Religion and Love That Lasts

“John Mark Comer has given a gift to the church. This book is prophetic, practical, and profoundly life giving. He confronts the idolatry of speed that is causing so much emotional and relational trauma, and he provides a way forward that creates hope, hunger, and a vision of a beautiful life. I consider this required reading.”—Jon Tyson, lead pastor of the Church of the City New York and author of *The Burden Is Light*

“John Mark Comer’s transparency invites us to reconsider how we live our lives by getting straight to the point: if we don’t eliminate our busyness, we just may eliminate our souls. The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry will inspire you to make the hard but practical choices that will utterly change your trajectory for the better.”—Gabe Lyons, president of Q Ideas and author of *Good Faith*

“Living as a spiritually and mentally healthy follower of Jesus in our technological, calendar-driven culture is, it turns out, quite difficult. In this book John Mark Comer shares his story of discovering a different way of life that’s inspired by the way and wisdom of Jesus. This is a practical, personal, and challenging call to imagine new ways that our lives can imitate Jesus.”—Tim Mackie, cofounder of the Bible Project

Auteur
John Mark Comer is the founding pastor of Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon, a teacher and writer with Practicing the Way, and the New York Times *bestselling author of multiple books, including *Practicing the Way, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, *and *Live No Lies.

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ECPA BESTSELLER • A compelling emotional and spiritual case against hurry and in favor of a slower, simpler way of life

"As someone all too familiar with 'hurry sickness,' I desperately needed this book."-Scott Harrison, New York Times best-selling author of Thirst

"Who am I becoming?"

That was the question nagging pastor and author John Mark Comer. Outwardly, he appeared successful. But inwardly, things weren't pretty. So he turned to a trusted mentor for guidance and heard these words:

"Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life."

It wasn't the response he expected, but it was-and continues to be-the answer he needs. Too often we treat the symptoms of toxicity in our modern world instead of trying to pinpoint the cause. A growing number of voices are pointing at hurry, or busyness, as a root of much evil.

Within the pages of this book, you'll find a fascinating roadmap to staying emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world.

Échantillon de lecture

**Prologue: Autobiography of an epidemic

It’s a Sunday night, 10:00 p.m. Head up against the glass of an Uber, too tired to even sit up straight. I taught six times today—yes, six. The church I pastor just added another gathering. That’s what you do, right? Make room for people? I made it until about talk number four; I don’t remember anything after that. I’m well beyond tired—emotionally, mentally, even spiritually.

When we first went to six, I called up this megachurch pastor in California who’d been doing six for a while.

“How do you do it?” I asked.

“Easy,” he said. “It’s just like running a marathon once a week.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Click.

Wait…isn’t a marathon really hard?

I take up long-distance running.

He has an affair and drops out of church.

That does not bode well for my future.

Home now, late dinner. Can’t sleep; that dead-tired-but-wired feeling. Crack open a beer. On the couch, watching an obscure kung fu movie nobody’s ever heard of. Chinese, with subtitles. Keanu Reeves is the bad guy. Love Keanu. I sigh; lately, I’m ending most nights this way, on the couch, long after the family has gone to bed. Never been remotely into kung fu before; it makes me nervous. Is this the harbinger of mental illness on the horizon?

“It all started when he got obsessed with indie marital arts movies…”

But the thing is, I feel like a ghost. Half alive, half dead. More numb than anything else; flat, one dimensional. Emotionally I live with an undercurrent of a nonstop anxiety that rarely goes away, and a tinge of sadness, but mostly I just feel blaaah, spiritually… empty. It’s like my soul is hollow.

My life is so fast. And I like fast. I’m type A. Driven. A get-crap-done kind of guy. But we’re well past that now. I work six days a week, early to late, and it’s still not enough time to get it all done. Worse, I feel hurried. Like I’m tearing through each day, so busy with life that I’m missing out on the moment. And what is life but a series of moments?

Anybody? I can’t be the only one…

Monday morning. Up early. In a hurry to get to the office. Always in a hurry. Another day of meetings. I freaking hate meetings. I’m introverted and creative, and like most millennials I get bored way too easily. Me in a lot of meetings is a terrible idea …