Quotes from John Ortberg

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.