An Unhurried Life: Following Jesus' Rhythms of Work and Rest

by Alan Fadling

Publisher:

IVP Formatio

, 2020

Overview

• The 2014 Christianity Today Book Award of Merit Winner (Spirituality)

”I am a recovering speed addict."

Beginning with this confession, pastor and spiritual director Alan Fadling describes his journey out of the fast lane and into the rhythms of Jesus. Following the framework of Jesus’ earthly life, Fadling shows how the work of “unhurrying" ourselves is central to our spiritual development in pivotal areas such as resisting temptation, caring for others, praying, and making disciples.

We are all called to do work, Fadling affirms, and productivity is not a sin—it is the attitudes behind our work that can be our undoing. So how do we find balance between our sense of calling and the call to rest? An Unhurried Life offers a way. This revised edition, now in hardcover, includes a new five-session group guide and appendix with suggestions for five-minute retreats.

Contents

Preface to the Revised and Expanded Edition
1. A Frenetic Life
2. An Unhurried Apprentice
3. Productivity: Unhurried Isn’t Lazy
4. Temptation: Unhurried Enough to Resist
5. Unhurried Enough to Care
6. Unhurried Enough to Pray
7. Rest: The Rhythm of Creation
8. Suffering: Unexpected Unhurrying
9. Maturity: Growing Up Takes Time
10. Spiritual Practices for Unhurrying
11. An Eternal Life

Acknowledgments
Appendix: Five Unhurried Minutes
Group Guide
Notes

Praise for An Unhurried Life

"Alan Fadling has written a magnificent book that is timely and enduring. It may even become a spiritual classic. . . . In reading his profound, accessible and challenging words, I became deeply aware of God’s gentle invitation to a fuller, less hurried life in the imitation of Christ. As you pick up this book, I urge you to slow, read, savor and be changed in companionship with your unhurried Savior."

"Greatness of soul requires an unhurried life. In this book, a fellow struggler shows us how Jesus lived a relaxed life that opens us up to truly loving and knowing others. This book is a perfect follow-up to Eugene Peterson’s classic work The Contemplative Pastor."

"An Unhurried Life unearths our idol of efficiency and the incessant struggle to catch up, keep up and stay up with the velocity of our high-energy world. Fadling invites us into a countercultural way of being present to God and one another."

"Every once in a while there is a book that I can honestly say, ‘That book changed my life!’ An Unhurried Life has been added to my very short list. Alan Fadling has helped me see in a practical, convicting and motivating manner that there is a depth waiting for me when I slow down and walk with Jesus. I knew it all along . . . but Alan has helped me long for it. In an overcommitted and underconnected culture, people need this message. I did!"

"Can we gain inner peace and strength in our high-pressured, fast-paced lives? With insights and stories, Fadling, a spiritual director, demonstrates what it takes to experience empowered lives despite life’s inevitable crises and urgent demands."

"Filled with underlineable sentences, penetrating questions, and appropriately disruptive insights, this book positions itself well for personal, staff, small group, or community discussion."

"This easy-to-read study on ‘worship through rest’ is excellent for mature Christians, especially for those involved in ministry. Written through the experiences of a pastor, it gives advice for counseling oneself, as well as others, to find a place in the slow lane and find God in silence and comfort."

"[Fadling’s] approach is practical, eclectic, self-revealing, and rich in biblical allusions and applications. . . . The book integrates diverse resources in ways that may be useful to those seeking a manual for changing course."

Product Details

• Title : An Unhurried Life: Following Jesus' Rhythms of Work and Rest
• Author: Fadling, Alan
• Publisher: IVP
• Publication Date: 2020
• ISBN: 9780830848188

About Alan Fadling

Alan Fadling (MDiv, Fuller Theological Seminary) is president and founder of Unhurried Living, Inc. in Mission Viejo, California, inspiring people to rest deeper, live fuller, and lead better. He speaks and consults internationally with organizations such as Saddleback Church, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Cru, Halftime Institute, Apprentice Institute, and Open Doors International. He is the award-winning author of An Unhurried Life, honored with a Christianity Today Award of Merit in spirituality, and he is also a contributing author to Eternal Living: Reflections on Dallas Willard's Teaching on Faith and Formation. Fadling is a certified spiritual director, and he lives in Mission Viejo, California, with his wife Gem and their three sons.