What a helpful reminder this book is. Comer goes into great detail about how living into the practices of silence, solitude, Sabbath, and slowing have changed his life. In the process, he shares great wisdom with us from several other writers, teachers, and followers of the Way. It helps his case that he took the title from a Dallas Willard line. ( )

First -- it's extremely Christian; I wasn't sure how much that'd play into before I read it. I'd be reluctant to recommend it to people who aren't intimately familiar with the culture. It's written as if it were a sermon -- think a long, easy-to-read speech instead of typical book or collection of essays.

Excellent core idea: "hurry" is preventing us from living thoroughly good lives, burning us out, ruining our relationships and spirituality. It's one of those "sticky ideas"; you hear the concept and then start trying to apply it to all aspects of life; the title kinda becomes a mantra. I found myself thinking about this within the context of work (how can I reduce hurry there?) life, relationships, how I organise my day to minimise stress, etc etc etc.

But wow, the author feels a little... tone deaf? Naive? Arrogant? sometimes. The author nods to an article by Anne Helen Petersen and then dunks on it because she proposes "democratic socialism and unions" as a burnout solution, saying "I highly doubt they will be any more effective against burnout than essential oils"; which completely misses the entire theme that weaves through most of Petersen's work -- that burnout is a product of society, not a personal failure, and improving social structures and support networks is a great way to combat that. I think this pissed me off especially because it's got that smug Christian "man, those atheists don't know what they're talking about" vibe, but... like... he could probably learn something by engaging with secular thinkers if he was willing to do more than just read the one article, and then dunk on them.

There's a later section talking about Sabbath as a response to freedom from slavery; where the author promotes maintaining the Sabbath as a way to ensure that the poor also get to rest:

Can you imagine what would happen to society if all commerce stopped once a week? If 24-7 stores went 24-6? Websites stopped receiving orders. Amazon warehouses closed for a day. Restaurants powered off the oven. Can you imagine what this would do for the poor in our cities? Creating space for them to rest and spend time with their loved ones?

None of this stuff works without societal change or advocacy. If everyone took Sundays off with no other changes (to e.g. the living wage) then it's gonna be a whole lot worse for a lot of people.

In this sense, it's a very individualistic book --- solutions and prescribed ideas are things you can change in your own life, which might then have influence on societal settings later if enough people do them -- and a product of the (American evangelical) culture it exists in.

Still some good ideas worth reflecting on. I personally got more from [b:How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy|42771901|How to Do Nothing Resisting the Attention Economy|Jenny Odell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1550724373l/42771901._SY75_.jpg|66525499] (though that is much less practical in terms of concrete advice), but the way this is written is "stickier", I wasn't sure what to take away from "How to do Nothing" but "figure out how to eliminate hurry" is a pretty good guiding principle. Another way of putting it would be "Approach time from a place of abundance, not scarcity.", per Chelsea Scudder. ( )

John Mark Comer wrote a simple book on addressing the issue of hurry and its many facets in our lives, and how that is directly in conflict with the life that Jesus would have us follow if we are to walk in His steps. Comer emphasizes the need to look at the actual life of Jesus (how he took time for solitude, prayer, and slowing down to address the needs before him.
The second part focuses on the four areas that he believes need to be addressed: Silence & Solitude, Sabbath, Simplicity, and Slowing. Most of the things he brings up are not exactly new, but the combined focus on the different areas with practical advice is helpful to allow the reader to examine their own life and figure out ways to put these practices into their lives to walk closer to Jesus. While many of his practical ideas may not work for me (already implementing or disagree with my life style), there is wisdom in what the practical ideas are trying to address in regards to the four areas of focus.
Comer definitely refers to Dallas Willard and John Ortberg enough that I will have to dive into their works. ( )

John Mark Comer was a young pastor who burned himself out early in his career chasing the mega-church model of modern Christianity. He chose to leave that model, move to the city (Portland) and reconstruct his work around the idea of daily rhythms that eliminated hurry and allowed him to rest, even in his work, living a life of constant war against hurry.

The current volume tells that story, along with his identifying the problem of hurry in our society, his solution for following Christ in an "easy yoke", and four practices for living and unhurried life: silence and solitude, sabbath, simplicity and slowing.

There is good wisdom in the book, particularly as it relates to our frenetic American lifestyle. His exhortation toward greater simplicity in our lives is good and needed in our culture. But I found myself a little troubled by two main issues as I read the book.

The first is how he constructs the life we seek to live in following Christ. In my view, it's a life of self-denial and trust, following Christ wherever He leads. Our church now supports a pastor in Syria who is overwhelmed with the endless need of tens of thousands of refugees he ministers to in Lebanon. Likewise, another pastor we support is in constant danger for his life in northern Kenya. Should our main exhortation to these men, serving in these extreme circumstances, be to live a life of silence and solitude? To slow down? Rather, it seems to me, it should be to follow Christ, to trust Him, to live as He calls, to deny myself and follow wherever that path leads.

I'm not saying that Comer's call to eliminate hurry is wrong. Rather, I have the unsettled feeling that he is aiming us at the wrong goal. That there is a risk our yearning for silence and solitude is a reaction to the poor way we have envisioned evangelical Christianity and worship in the last several decades, and that there is great danger it might lead to more self-focus than Christ-focus in how we live out our call.

The second is more a point of curiosity: I do some writing myself and know something of the demands of the life of a pastor. Both can be--are--easily full time jobs. As I read the book, I kept finding myself wondering, "Has he really eliminated hurry in his life if he is leading a church and writing this book at the same time? Is his life really that simple and slow?" I don't know him at all, but do know that the bent toward activity that burnt him out in his early career is not easily cast aside. Praying that he has not exchanged one frenetic life for another.

As my last point, I ask my two "audio books" brothers: do you have the guts to read "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry" at 1.5 or 1.75 speed? ( )

This is a gemstone of a book while it reminds me of a lot of books on rest and spirituality and emotional health regarding Christianity. This book had something different in it. I’ll say that if you find yourself stressed, not sure about boundaries, unsure about culture and technology, trying to figure out Jesus relevance or practical means to our world this book is a step in the right direction.

I know hate hurry, busy, and don’t feel or want that for my own life.

Only criticism I would place is some of it felt like a bit of a hipster vibe and a glamorize piece of the evils of technology. But not enough for me not to give 5 stars. ( )