The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to stay emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world

Analyze Comer’s writing style and compare it to the rhetorical style of evangelical Christian preaching. What similarities and differences do you notice? Which rhetorical strategies do you find the most effective or ineffective?

Comer argues that most people have enough time for solitude and the other spiritual disciplines he advocates, presenting the issue as mainly one of time mismanagement and misaligned values. What are some of the socioeconomic factors Comer might have overlooked while making this argument? Can his advice still apply to everyone to a certain degree? Why or why not?

Consider Comer’s use of “apprentice” to refer to a follower of Jesus, rather than a more traditional term like “disciple” or “believer” or “Christian.” How is “apprentice” different from the more commonly used terms? How does the use of “apprentice” reflect some of the book’s key ideas and themes?

Choose one of the four biblical gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John), and survey its description of the lifestyle of Jesus. Does Comer’s analysis strike you as accurate or inaccurate? Is there anything else you would add that Comer doesn’t mention?

Comer prefers the terminology of “practices of Jesus” in place of the usual term, “spiritual disciplines.” Assess this change. What is gained by using Comer’s term, and what might be lost? Which do you prefer, and why?

Which of the four practices that Comer recommends do you think would have the greatest impact on transforming your lifestyle, and why? What changes, if any, would you like to make in your life to eliminate or minimize hurry?

Compare and contrast Comer’s depiction of Jesus’s lifestyle with the represented lifestyle of another major religious figure, such as the Buddha or the Prophet Muhammed. In what ways are their lifestyles and practices different or similar?

Comer stresses the importance of living in the present moment. What does this mean to you? In what ways, if any, can you reconcile focusing on the present while also planning for the future?