John Ortberg Quotes
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When it comes to sermon writing, generally there are two problems. Some preachers love the research stage but hate the writing, and they start writing too late. Others don't like doing research, so they move way too fast to the writing part.
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Both hope and pessimism are deeply contagious. And no one is more infectious than a leader.
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A bad sermon is like a car wreck - everyone slows down to see what happened.
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The church is in the hope business. We, of all people, ought to be known most for our hope because our hope is founded on something deeper than human ability or wishful thinking.
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Tithing is considerably less popular than words like generosity or sharing.
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I'm not sure ministry can ever have the urgency it requires if it is not aware of evil, both externally and internally.
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I need an inspiration that is grounded in reality while thoroughly transcendent.
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Learning something new is a fabulous way to be refreshed. When work can grind you down, something about learning a new activity thrills the soul. It reminds you that the world is bigger than your desk and your to-do list.
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I wrote 'Soul Keeping' because we are taught more about how to care for our cars than how to steward our souls. But you cannot have an impactful life with an impoverished soul.
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I have always heard that you need to give yourself a long time to unplug when you do a sabbatical. I unplugged so fast I was a little concerned that I was losing brain capacity.
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Far more books get written about how to get more people in your church than how to get the people already in your church to have more humility and sincere love.
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Normally, if someone's legacy will outlast their life, it's apparent when they die. On the day when Alexander the Great, or Caesar Augustus, or Napoleon, or Socrates, or Muhammad died, their reputations were immense. When Jesus died, his tiny, failed movement appeared clearly at an end.
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Universities such as Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard all began as Jesus-inspired efforts to love God with all ones' mind.
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There are no clear boundary lines between what is physiological, what is psychological, and what is spiritual. Those are language domains that make sense and have integrity but overlap significantly.
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We call an obsession with having someone's approval 'co-dependency;' the Bible's word for it is idolatry. A country can be an idol. A family can be an idol.
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Jesus had a universal concern for those who suffered that transcended the rules of the ancient world.
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Prudence is not the same thing as caution. Caution is a helpful strategy when you're crossing a minefield; it's a disaster when you're in a gold rush.
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Skill at helping people grow spiritually, like skill at playing chess, depends on understanding and valuing differences.
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Sometimes, an inability to believe in Satan reflects a larger inability to believe in a spiritual plane at all.
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Sin is protean. It is a cancer that keeps mutating, and just when you think you have killed off one form, it turns out a deadlier strain yet is threatening your heart.
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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.
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The single dynamic that helps people be most aware of God and most experiencing the fruit of the Spirit is gratitude.
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Death is the prerequisite to resurrection, the new life God intends.
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Jesus' life as a foot-washing servant would eventually lead to the adoption of humility as a widely admired virtue.