Quotes from John Ortberg

Congregations shaped by the Scriptures generally have preachers who are shaped by the Scriptures.

As a preacher who is fully human, and clearly not divine, I can't speak as Jesus did. But I do seek to speak truth that carries weight and authority. All of us who preach the gospel aspire to speak under the authority of Jesus.

I am a political junkie. During a presidential campaign, I will often buy a couple of newspapers a day just to keep up.

When I teach the formal curriculum, I have the chance to think about it ahead of time. I can rehearse it. I can illustrate it with self-deprecating humor and humble-sounding personal disclosure. I can try to make it comes out just right.

When someone is in crisis, don't start by teaching, leveraging, or explaining. Just be with.

The decision to grow always involves a choice between risk and comfort. This means that to be a follower of Jesus, you must renounce comfort as the ultimate value of your life.

Imagine watching all that God might have done with your life if you had let him.

The greatest moment of your life is now. This moment is God's irreplaceable gift to you.

Tithing is like training wheels when it comes to giving. It's intended to help you get started, but not recommended for the Tour de France.

As a preacher, my charge is to proclaim the message of the Scriptures. To help the people in my congregation become a people of the book. I love getting to do this.

Better to be a loving person without knowing how you got there, than an expert no one can stand to be around.

Solitude is the one place where we can gain freedom from the forces of society that will otherwise relentlessly mold us. Solitude requires relentless perseverance.

I hate how hard spiritual transformation is and how long it takes. I hate thinking about how many people have gone to church for decades and remain joyless or judgmental or bitter or superior.

God is not interested in our spiritual life. He's interested in our life.

Churches need to figure out how they will address the spiritual lives of their staffs and leadership teams.

Make your life about something bigger than your life.

The main measure of your devotion to God is not your devotional life. It is simply your life.

The problem with spending your life climbing up the ladder is that you will go right past Jesus, for he's coming down.

The good news as Jesus preached it is not just about the minimal entrance requirements for getting into heaven when you die. It is about the glorious redemption of human life-your life.

Over time, grit is what separates fruitful lives from aimlessness.

Jesus' life as a foot-washing servant would eventually lead to the adoption of humility as a widely admired virtue.

I have given up the idea that there is an opposition-free church out there. But I have gained something else - an appreciation for the gift of opposition. When it comes, I learn something about my motives. When it comes, I get to test my courage.

The New Testament doesn't present Jesus as a single man to cover up his humanity. It presents him as a single man because... he was a single man.

You must arrange your days so that you are experiencing deep contentment, joy and confidence in your everyday life with God.