Week 1: Preface & Introduction — The Problem with Hurry

1.Comer opens with a raw confession: he had built a large, "successful" church in Portland and found himself emotionally numb, irritable, and hollow. Have you ever experienced a season where outward success and inward emptiness existed side by side? What did that feel like?

2.He quotes his mentor and spiritual director who gave him a simple diagnosis: "The solution to your problem is to ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life." Why do you think that word *ruthless* was chosen? What would it take to be ruthless about something in your schedule?

3.Comer describes hurry as a "modern problem" deeply tied to technology, capitalism, and the cult of productivity. Do you agree that hurry is a uniquely modern crisis, or do you think it has always been a human struggle? What evidence would you point to?

4.The book's central thesis is that you must "ruthlessly eliminate hurry" not just for your mental health, but as a spiritual and theological necessity. In your own words, why would hurry be a *spiritual* problem and not merely a lifestyle problem?

5.Comer draws heavily on Dallas Willard's famous line: "You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life." What is your first instinct when you hear that? Relief? Resistance? Skepticism? What does your reaction reveal about you?

6.The introduction frames Jesus as the model of unhurried life — someone who was never in a rush, never stressed, never reactive, yet accomplished more than anyone in history. Does that portrait of Jesus feel familiar or surprising to you? How does it compare with how you usually picture Jesus going about his day?

7.Comer writes that "the goal is not to get through Jesus' teachings; it is to become the kind of person who naturally and routinely lives the way he lived." How is that a different goal from typical Bible study or church attendance? What would it actually change?

8.As you begin this study, what is the one area of your life where hurry has done the most damage — to your relationships, your spiritual life, your health, or your sense of self? Name it specifically.