Foreword by John Ortberg

Prologue: Autobiography of an epidemic

Part 1: The problem

Hurry: the great enemy of spiritual life

A brief history of speed

Something is deeply wrong

Part 2: The solution

Hint: the solution isn’t more time

The secret of the easy yoke

What we’re really talking about is a rule of life

Intermission: Wait, what are the spiritual disciplines again?

Part 3: Four practices for unhurrying your life

Silence and solitude

Sabbath

Simplicity

Slowing

Epilogue: A quiet life

Thanks

Exercises

Notes

A little about me

“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

Dallas Willard once called hurry “the great enemy of spiritual life in our day.”

I live in one of the most secular, post-Christian cities in our nation, and the longer I’m here, the more convinced I become that he’s right: hurry is the issue under all the other issues. The root cause beneath so much of the anger and anxiety of our cultural moment. And followers of Jesus are not immune to culture’s pain. Many of us live with a low-grade fatigue and chronic anxiety that rarely, if ever, goes away. We careen through our days at breakneck speed, and wonder where God is in the fray.

The reality is, most of us are just too busy to live an emotionally healthy and spirituality vibrant life. Hurry is incompatible with the way of Jesus. The love, joy, and peace that form the nucleus of Jesus’ kingdom are all impossible in a life of speed. We must, as Willard went on to say, “Ruthlessly eliminate hurry.”

So here it is: my manifesto for a slower, simpler way of life.

This is my first foray into writing about spiritual formation, and, personally, I think it’s my best book to date. Honestly, it’s for me as much as you. But I hope you find it helpful.