Reviewed by: Hope Bolinger, a professional writing major at Taylor University.

Introduction

Title: Reset: Living a Grace-Paced Life in a Burnout Culture

Author: David Murray

Publisher: Crossway

Publication Date: 2017

Format: Print book

Length: 206 pages

OVERVIEW

Christian men, pastors in particular, often find their energy levels dropping in a free fall. Work from the weekday spills into evenings and weekends. Marriage doesn’t have quite the same spark. Thumbs, early in the morning, eagerly scroll through social media before clicking on a Bible passage for a morning devotion. These are warning signs for Murray’s diagnosis of pending burnout. Having gone through years of neglecting sleep, exercise, and relationships for disorganized schedules, survival-of-the-fittest mentalities, and unhealthy food choices, Murray has experienced exhaustion in every definition of the word. On the brink of shutdown, he discovered what it meant truly to rest and revive and in his book he now offers solutions for the burnout culture in America.

Murray provides several practical applications for readers who need ways to rejuvenate in areas both physical and spiritual. For instance, his section on priorities can help overcommitted readers to determine which activities fall into the “definite do” category versus the “don’t do.” Although excellent, the book lost a star due to the isolation of audiences. Although, yes, men do experience burnout, but Murray appears to be overlooking the other half of the population who also struggle with pornography, workaholism, bad habits, and poor time management. His examples for men are generic enough to be applied to women as well.

ASSESSMENT

Rating (1 to 5)

4 stars

Suggested Audience

Pastors, missionaries, extended lay workers experiencing overload

Christian Impact

The fall of man has rendered our bodies broken and limited in energy. Because of this, Christians should be good stewards of time, setting aside periods for rest and refusing to idolize work.

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