Claim Now Reset: Living A Grace-Paced Life In A Burnout Culture Formulated By David P. Murray Made Available In Readable Copy
book is specifically geared towards men, especially pastors, For years, I have heard of pastors getting "burned out, " I have not experienced burnout yet, David Murray gives practical advice on how I might avoid ever getting to that point, He discusses how I should take care of myself spiritually and physically, and how those two categories are more related than we might think,
I consider this a mustread for Christian men, especially pastors, His wife is working on a similar book for women that should be released sometime this year, I guess it was good, but man, I don't think I've ever not connected so much with a book,
I feel like I have a very lowstress outlook on life, I work but don't feel like I'm overworked, I'm very happy with how things are going, grateful to God for the position I'm in, and feel energized by the types of situations I've been put in recently, and I don't thing I have a problem with saying "no" when I feel I'm getting too busy.
The types of stress and the symptoms he talks about, . . I just don't have I guess I suppose that's a blessing, hopefully I'm not just fooling myself and suddenly have a crazy breakdown!
Despite that, there were some excellent reminders to make God the focus, to make prayer time priority to email in the morning, and to particularly be able to say no to things.
Even though I'm not in pastoral ministry, in the last year I've learned how to slow down, say no, and learn how to rest well.
Whether to please people, pay the bills, or just because we love the work, it's easy to just add one more spinning plate to the mix, with the illusion that we can do it all.
Like Christopher Ash's 'Zeal without Burnout,' David Murray encourages men to live deliberate not reactionary lives that get us through this marathon not sprint of the Christian life.
I suspect this will be a balm for many weary pastors, Phenomenal book. My wife read Refresh by this authors wife while I read this! Totally changed how we talked and communicated about our relationship and the difficult busy season we find ourselves in.
Amazing!!! Highest recommendation!!! Extremely helpful and practical, When I came across this book on amazon, it helped me to have the courage to admit to myself and others that I am burned out and in need of a new way of living and doing ministry that is sustainable and actually more joyfilled than draining.
I am so grateful for this book, It is very practical, holistic, and downtoearth gracefilled wisdom, Its very sobering but also has great potential to save you from burnout or give you hopeful steps to recover, I so appreciated how he laid out that there are MANY, MANY factors that can contribute to burnout, so its not a one sized fits all approach.
I have not fully implemented everything in here, but am very hopeful to thrive more in ministry in the near future with these tools and insights.
What kept coming up for me was the reality of our humanity, something that is actually hard to be humble about, But working to advance the Kingdom of God doesnt have to leave us haggard and miserable, In a lot of ways it shouldnt be, though in the affluent west and as a white man of much privilege its been very hard to give myself the permission to
rest and relax and be tired with the subconscious thought: “what do I have to complain about Im not part of a marginalized group or under heavy persecution like Christians in other parts of the world!”
I think what prevents us men Christian leaders from admitting that our pace and lifestyles are unsustainable is fear and pride.
I think this quote sums it up:
“Sometimes I find men who are afraid to admit they need a reset, . . When I tell them they have to goslower, sleepmore, or reduce ministry service by, what they hear is: life is over, Im a hasbeen, Im just a lazy and unfruitful servant.
For most of them, however, doingless simply takes them down to aboutof what most normal people do with their lives! Less does not mean nothing.
Some change does not mean total change, ”
I will add the caveat though that he assumes for the most part that his target audience are pastors and that they are married.
I work in college ministry with a parachurch organization and am single, so I had to filter and translate some of the material to fit my situation.
For a good treatment of prioritizing healthy community in singleness, I highly recommend reading Pete Scazzeros Emotionally Healthy Leader, particularly the chapter “leading out of your marriage or singleness.
” Also this book is geared towards a male audience, probably because toxic versions of masculinity have a unique affect on men in our society in how it plays out with burnout, so if you are a woman, he and his wife coauthored a similar book called “Refresh.
” Timely. I never knew how much I had burned out, I didn't recognize the signs that God was trying to show me, It took Him giving me catastrophe, helplessness and depression to fully realize my situation, I can proudly say I have been on the upward incline for a few weeks, or trying to be, This book made me fully realize where I was, and that I'm going to prevent this from ever happening again, Granted, this book is aimed towards men of ministry, but I was able to get some excellent advice and there were points that really hit home.
So for anyone struggling or feeling "burned out" definitely reach for this book, I can't wait for his wife's book to come out with a woman's perspective, Murray writes with deep understanding of the human mind and body, He ably dissects the myriad ways we can exhaust ourselves and pastorally applies biblical wisdom to reset for God's glory and our good, Forces the reader to evaluate bad habits in thinking and action, A good kind of painful read,because of how much I need it A timely book for me, I was surprised and pleased at how practical this book is, I kept waiting for it to get to the specifically spiritual section, . . and it never did. Make no mistake, Reset is a thoroughly theological book but Murray's purpose is to deal with realities of rest, exercise, diet, relationships, use of time, etc.
Very helpful indeed. Excellent work, highly recommended.
Convicting and encouraging catalyst for thinking through the race that the Lord has called me to and how God's grace is the fuel for faithful ministry.
I plan to return to this book with some regularity to examine my own ministry and motives, as well as to seek a pace which rests in God's grace, but also seeks to be faithful to fight the good fight and run the race well.
I think everyone will benefit from reading this book whether their full time vocation is ministry or not, but it is perhaps especially edifying to those who are in ministry where the lines of life and work are often blurred, and a temptation to view burnout as a virtue can be high.
Leitura obrigatória para líderes cristãos e pastores cansados, EXCELLENT! Should be required reading for all pastors! A mustread, especially for men in ministry, I really like David Murray and his teaching style, This book was very helpful for me at just the right time, I imagine Ill need it and hope to revisit it for many years to come, Muito legal!
Às vezes é preciso refletir se não estamos correndo e fazendo demais, e pondo a nossa saúde em risco por causa disso.
Esse livro me fez repensar em várias áreas da vida, para evitar que o famigerado burnout bata à minha porta,
Recomendo! A helpful read, I enjoyed the testimony of a pastor who's ended up overworking so much in ministry that he hospitalised himself more than once, His advice is great and the broad spectrum of the 'repair bays' he takes you through throughout the book were comprehensive and wellthought through, It was good, for example, to read a book on avoiding pastoral burnout that highly prioritised the importance of physical exercise I don't think I've come across that before, but in my own experience is so critical.
I found his theology of sabbath disappointing, especially given his otherwise strong emphasis on grace, But his encouragements on the subject of rest were very good in spite of that, I also found some of his personal examples weren't particularly helpful for me but I think that's just because he's primarily a writer, and I'm not.
Those niggles aside, I'm thankful for yet another great book on how to prevent burnout in ministry, Seems we can't have enough of them, This book addresses the widespread problem of burnout, but particularly focuses on Christian men and pastors specifically, Despite not being in the target audience I found many of his points universally relevant though he and his wife have written an equivalent book for women.
Slight critiques: he covers many topics stress, technology use, mental health, poor eating and sleeping habits, stretching ourselves too thin that have all individually been better addressed in other books such as "Eat, Move, Sleep", "Essentialism", and "The Tech Wise Family" to name a few, and those books also manage to be very effective to a wider audience than just men.
That said, for busy Christian leaders and especially pastors who may not take time to read all the other books on these topics, this does provide a onebook summary with helpful guidance and pointers.
I think this book really does highlight a particular area of weakness for Christian leaders, So often the way Christians live their lives, physical health and rest sit very low on their list of priorities, but those things are what help fuel a long life of faithfully running the race.
We mustn't think of ourselves as God in that we can somehow ignore the human limits God has given us, This book is a good reminder of how to be aware of those limits and seek out God's many graces for our day to day lives.
It's also a good call to trust Him with all the things we cannot do, Reading the first chapter of this book convinced and convicted me that I had started to burn myself out already, Up to recently I've not been doing well balancing work, school, ministry, and family, If nothing else, this book has been valuable for demonstrating that to me,
But it's more valuable than that, Each chapter is full of great practical advice, grounded in sound theology, Murray consistently calls men to natural law though he doesn't use those terms, For example, "We cannot expect to have strong and stable emotional health, . . if we break basic nutritional rules that God has built into our world", and "God designed this pattern of six days of work and one day of rest for perfect people in a perfect world.
How much more do we need it now in such fallen bodies in such a fallen world",
My only substantive criticism is that chapterfelt almost entirely superfluous, It could easily have been replaced by a fiveparagraph epilogue without losing any substance, In the grand scheme of things, this is a minor criticism,
Although Murray wrote this book with pastors especially in mind, it's worth reading for anybody, And I imagine I'll be revisiting it every few years, Largely due to overwork and the stresses of modern life, men in work and ministry are increasingly rundown, anxious, and depressed, But is this level of physical and spiritual weariness inevitable Just as a car needs to be regularly refueled, retuned, and repaired in order to keep running, a balanced life can be sustained only when a man takes proper steps to stay on track.
In this hopeful book, experienced pastor and counselor David Murray shares stories from his own life and the lives of friends, offering gospelcentered advice for avoiding, assessing, and recovering from burnout.
With chapters on rest, relationships, routines, and more, this book lays out a host of practical remedies men can use to reset their lives on a more sustainable courseresulting in renewed energy, joy, and purpose.
I will begin by telling you what I wish I had known before I requested it to review: this is a book for men, Throughout the book, he stresses that it is for men again and again, He hints that a book for women, I believe written by his wife, will be written and eventually published, But this book is FOR MEN, It has manlyman metaphors throughout,
The premise of this one is that Christian men burnout easily and mostif not allneed to be RESET, He argues that there is often a huge disconnect between a man's theology and doctrine and his daily practice, Christian men may believe in the five solas of the reformation, but they live by the five deficits,
Murray promises in the first few pages not to waste anyone's time, He promises that the book from cover to cover will be practical and relevant, The first few chapters are more of an inventory and invitation to reflect and analyzeto selfdiagnos, The remaining chapters take you into the garage to fix what's wrong in your life,
One of my favorite chaptersperhaps my only favorite chapteris on sleep,
Few things are as theological as sleep, Show me your sleep pattern and Ill show you your theology, because we all preach a sermon in and by our sleep,
Question: Which of the Ten Commandments can you keep in your sleep Answer: The sixth commandment, because, as the following statistics demonstrate, getting enough sleep is an act of loving your neighbor.
If our schools substituted sleepology for algebra, our society would be much healthier, safer, and brighter, Despite sleep taking up a quarter to a third of our lives and having such an influence on the remainder, most of us leave school in total ignorance of the why and the how of sleep.
We need to ask God to help us see this as a life priority, as a matter of obedience, and as a way of pleasing our Father and Creator.
Lets plead with him to give us the strength to do what we know we must do,
By sleeping, we are relinquishing control and reminding ourselvesat least for a few hoursthat God actually doesnt need us, When we close our eyes each night, we are saying, “I dont run the world, or the church, or even my own little life, ”
When and how long we sleep makes a huge statement about who we are and what we believe about ourselves and God,
Ultimately, sleep, like everything else, should lead us to the gospel and the Savior, First, it prompts us to think about death, that we shall all close our eyes as in sleep, and wake up in another worldThess.
:. It also teaches about our Savior, The fact that Jesus slept Mark:is as profound as “Jesus wept” John:, It reminds us of Christs full humanity, that the Son of God became so frail, so weak, so human that he needed to sleep, What humility! What love! What an example! What a comfort! What a sleeping pill! It illustrates salvation, How much are we doing when we sleep Nothing! Thats why Jesus used rest as an illustration of his salvation, “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” Matt,:. It points us toward heaven, There remains a rest for the people of God Heb,:. That doesnt mean heaven is going to be one long liein, It means it will be a place of renewal, refreshment, comfort, and perfect peace,
Another chapter that gave some good insights was on the importance of relaxation and having hobbies, This chapter talked about the joys and benefits of reading:
There is something about reading, however, especially reading real paper books, that can be especially healthgiving.
In “How Changing Your Reading Habits Can Transform Your Health,” Michael Grothaus says, “Reading doesnt just improve your knowledge, it can help fight depression, make you more confident, empathetic, and a better decisionmaker.
”
Reading for pleasure can help prevent conditions such as stress, depression, and dementia, People who read books regularly are on average more satisfied with life, happier, and more likely to feel that the things they do in life are worthwhile.
In a survey of fifteen hundred adult readers,percent said that reading improves their lives and helps to make them feel good,
His book covers most of the basics of life: eating and drinking, exercise, sleeping, working, playing, etc, He recommends an amended to do list:
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, Definite do. These are our most important Godgiven responsibilities and commitments,. Desire to do. These are activities we hope to do, and will do some of them after the “Definitedos” are done,. Delay do. These are worthy activities that we would love to do someday, but which we have to postpone until we have space and time in our schedules.
. Dont do. These are the things we either commit to stop doing or to say “no” to in the future,