Book Study: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry
Every Tuesday, the AgG team gathers to either pray or discuss a book together.
For our most recently-finished book study, we read through The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer, facilitated by our board chaplain, David Goodyear.
The book is a challenge to slow down, practice simplicity, and create space in our lives for God's voice and for meaningful opportunities to love and connect with others.
David Goodyear’s response to the book: "My take away from Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: I find the slower I go, the more I observe, the more I observe, and the deeper I perceive. The deeper I perceive, the richer my prayers."
If hearing and responding to the voice of God is at the core of what it means to faithfully follow, how do we do that? Speeding up and doing more and embracing a frenetic pace of life just won’t cut it. There’s something counter-intuitive to our western thinking that says “hustle up, pick up the pace, and you’ll get more done."
Justin Carney, our Executive Director, reflected on this idea: "It was a great reminder to slow down and work for clear perspective. It's just too easy to speed along and miss out on what God wants to show us... the more I slow down, the more I'm open to God's Kingdom."
A lot can be made more efficient, but the most important things in life actually require us to be less efficient, in a sense. We slow down, block out noise, and choose to be still long enough to draw near to God and others…but that process can feel really impractical. There’s a lot to get done!
And the practical emphasis of the book was refreshing for several of our team.
"The recommendations around dumbing down phones and just slowing down and being more present were really helpful,” Matt Willingham shared. “I’ve put several into practice and was a little shocked at how quickly my kids noticed, they even noticed I've been on my phone less!"
Overall, the book encouraged us to evaluate our pace of life and consider what we might be missing in the rush. Prioritizing spiritual depth and genuine connections, we’re motivated to slow down and listen more closely for God's guiding voice.
On to the next book! We’re just getting into The Unseen Realm by Michael Heiser and are open to suggestions for the future. Anything we should consider reading through together that might encourage our faith and work together? Let us know!