Reset

Reset: Living a Grace-Paced Life in a Burnout Culture by David P. Murray

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An immensely helpful book specifically for burned out, middle-aged pastors, but kept general enough to be useful to anyone stressed out. There is a companion book for women, called Refresh.

Don’t be fooled by the gimmicky-appearing alliteration on the surface (10 chapters starting with “re”) – there is a great deal of wisdom here. The simple structure and shorter chapters is an essential format for the burned out, so there’s a method to Murray’s marketeering.

The foundation of grace at the beginning is key, and distinguishes this book from others addressing the same topic. The keynote is that grace provides space to slow down, take stock, and make wiser decisions about your priorities, health, time, etc.

And there are lots of zingers throughout:

“What I do instead of sleep shines a spotlight on my idols” (pg. 55).

[Muting phone notifications] “produces a totally different mindset and mind depth than the one that’s sub-consciously waiting for the next beep or ding” (93).

“It’s not ‘Rest when you have nothing to do,’ but ‘Rest because we will never be done.’” (101).

Murray tackles root issues, like letting your work or past failures be your identity, instead of Christ and His grace. And he does so in very practical ways, touching you where you live your life.

Highly recommended.



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