John Mark Comer: Hurry Is the Greatest Enemy to Spiritual Life

John Mark Comer is the teaching and vision pastor of Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon. He is a graduate of Western Seminary and is currently in the midst of doctoral studies at Fuller Seminary and the Dallas Willard Center. John Mark is the author of several best-selling books, including his latest, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. He and his wife, Tammy, have three children: Jude, Moses and Sunday.

Key Questions for John Mark Comer

-In light of the many other challenges Christians face, do you really believe that hurry is the greatest enemy to spiritual life?

-Why is it that pastors are some of the most hurried people in the world?

-How can ministry leaders balance the urgency of ministry with the need for rest?

-What can ministry leaders do if their churches expect them to be extremely busy?

Key Quotes from John Mark Comer

“The longer I have sat with this thesis, both as a pastor…and then just as an apprentice of Jesus, the more I have come around full circle to say with my mind as well now, ‘Yeah, actually I think [being too hurried is] the problem underneath or before, if not all, then so many of the other problems of our day.”

“[The spiritual life] demands time, space and a capacity for attention.”

“I think you can’t live a spiritual life and a life of hurry.” 

“I think people’s lives are less stable than they used to be.”

“There are few jobs on the planet [apart from being a pastor] where it’s easier to do the right thing for all the wrong reasons.” 

“The Sabbath is the one commandment that pastors and Christians brag about breaking.”

“It’s tragic because hurried pastors create hurried congregations.”

“You have to have this underlying base that Jesus had of rhythms of rest, renewal, prayer, quiet contemplation, in order to live an active life in the Kingdom. Otherwise, you just burnout. This is not rocket science. The people that live ‘go go go,’ ninety miles per hour, do not last in ministry.”

“The more leadership and ministry responsibility that is put on you…the more you have to rest and spend time focusing on your interior life with God, which is exactly the opposite of what most leaders do, and that is why so many of them crash and burn.”