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John Ortberg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Ortberg
Born (1957-05-05) May 5, 1957 (age 67)
Rockford, Illinois
OccupationTheologian, author, minister
NationalityAmerican
SubjectLeadership, theology
SpouseNancy
ChildrenLaura Turner, Daniel M. Lavery, John Ortberg III
Website
johnortberg.com

John Carl Ortberg Jr. (born May 5, 1957) is an American evangelical Christian author, speaker, and the former senior pastor of Menlo Church[1] in Menlo Park, California, an ECO Presbyterian church with more than 4,000 members. Ortberg has published many books, including the 2008 ECPA Christian Book Award winner When the Game is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box,[2] and the 2002 Christianity Today Book Award winner If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat.[3] Another of his publications, The Life You've Always Wanted, has sold more than 500,000 copies as of 2008.[4] On August 13, 2012, Ortberg's book Who Is This Man? debuted at #3 on the New Release chart[5] at Amazon.com.[6]

John has good standing as a licensed pastor in the ECO denomination. He is also a board member at Fuller Seminary and a board member and senior fellow at the Martin Institute at Westmont College.

In summer of 2020, Ortberg resigned from his position as pastor of Menlo Church. He now leads Become New, a ministry designed to help you grow spiritually one day at a time. Its teachings are inspired by Dallas Willard and well-regarded thought leaders in spiritual formation. The core offering of the ministry is a daily, 10-minute video with a practical action step for listeners to engage with.

Background

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Ortberg was born in Rockford, Illinois. He earned his undergraduate degree from Wheaton College, and his M.Div. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary. Ortberg has also studied at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. From 1985 to 1990, he served as senior pastor at Simi Valley Community Church, and then from 1990 to 1994 at Horizons Community Church (now Baseline Community Church) in Claremont, California. Ortberg then moved from California to Illinois to serve as a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois until 2003, when he became the senior pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, a multi-campus church in Northern California.[7]

Ortberg's wife, Nancy, has also served as a pastor. They have three children: Laura, Daniel, and John III. Laura has written for The New York Times, New York Magazine, and BuzzFeed.[8] Their youngest, John III, known as Johnny, was an Ultimate Frisbee coach until late 2019.[9]

Teachings

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Spiritual formation

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A central theme of Ortberg's teachings and books is spiritual formation, the transforming of human character through authentic experiences with God. Ortberg argues that the desire for comfort and security often stands in the way of an authentic relationship with God – when people place too high a value on being secure and comfortable they may be reluctant to make the sacrifices God asks of them. We’re all becoming something, but few are becoming something on purpose. Spiritual formation is something that’s happening to all of us, and John’s teachings aim to help us see and acknowledge that reality.

Eternal cravings

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Ortberg has warned against the societal pressures which tell people that bigger is always better, saying, "I think for all of us, whatever your ministry or job, bigness will never satisfy the call."[10] In his books, Ortberg has described his own desire for importance and success, and how achieving them did not ultimately bring him happiness.[11] "Your cravings," according to Ortberg, "if you could get to the bottom of them, are for the eternal."[12]

In media

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Ortberg's retelling of his experience of playing Monopoly with his grandmother was used as the beginning narration of Peter Joseph's 2011 documentary Zeitgeist: Moving Forward.[citation needed]

Speaking

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Ortberg has been a featured speaker at many events, including:

Become New

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Now, Ortberg leads the ministry Become New, which unites believers across the world in a simple call: grow a little closer to God every day. The community calls themselves The Fellowship of the Withered Hand, which is a callback to the story in the book of Matthew when Jesus heals a man with a withered hand by saying, "Stretch out your hand" (Matthew 12:13). The community borrows a phrase from AA’s 12 Step Program in that they celebrate personal inadequacy–we all have a withered hand–but because of Jesus, we are healed, loved, and still worthy despite our flaws. When we find that we’re not control of our lives–God is–we can surrender what we do to him. A rally cry from Ortberg (again, borrowed from AA’s 12 Steps) is: “I can’t. He can. I think I’ll let him.”

Become New has a wide variety of teachings to propel its listeners toward spiritual formation:

In The Beginning - A deep-dive into the creation story and what it means for us

Character - A study on the moral and mental qualities distinctive to an individual and how every choice we make moves us a little closer or further from God

Habit - A look at surrendering the habits in our lives to God

The Gratitude Challenge - Thoughts on how gratitude can revolutionize our lives and faith

Become New - Its namesake and longest series, these videos walk through Dallas Willard’s “Renovation of the Heart” from start to finish.

Works published as author

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  • Grace: An Invitation to a Way of Life (with Laurie Pederson and Judson Poling). Zondervan, 2000 ISBN 978-0-310-22074-9
  • If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat. Zondervan, 2001 ISBN 978-0-310-22863-9
  • Love Beyond Reason. Zondervan, 2001 ISBN 978-0-310-23449-4
  • The Life You've Always Wanted. Zondervan, 2002 ISBN 978-0-310-24695-4
  • Everybody's Normal Till You Get To Know Them. Zondervan, 2003 ISBN 978-0-310-22864-6
  • Living the God Life: Finding God's Extraordinary Love in Your Ordinary Life. Inspirio, 2004, ISBN 978-0-310-80195-5
  • God Is Closer Than You Think: If God is Always with Us, why is He So Hard to Find? Zondervan, 2005 ISBN 978-0-310-25349-5
  • Now What?: God's Guide to Life for Graduates. Zondervan, 2005 ISBN 978-0-310-80282-2
  • When the Game Is Over, It All Goes Back in the Box. Zondervan, 2007 ISBN 978-0-310-25350-1
  • Know Doubt. Zondervan, 2008 ISBN 978-0-310-32503-1
  • The Me I Want To Be: Becoming God's Best Version of You. Zondervan, 2010 ISBN 978-0-310-27592-3
  • Who Is This Man?: The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus. Zondervan, 2012 ISBN 978-0-310-27594-7
  • Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You. Zondervan, 2014 ISBN 978-0-310-27596-1
  • The foreword for Vanderbloemen, William (2014). Next: Pastoral Succession That Works. Baker. ISBN 978-0801016479.
  • Eternity is Now In Session: A radical rediscovery of what Jesus really taught about salvation, eternity, and getting to the Good Place. Tyndale, 2018 ISBN 978-1-4964-3164-6

References

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  1. ^ "Pastors and Ministers". Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. Archived from the original on March 24, 2009. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
  2. ^ "2008 Christian Book Awards Winners - Christian Life category". Retrieved October 20, 2009.
  3. ^ Staub, Dick (May 1, 2003). "The Dick Staub Interview: John Ortberg's Freak Show". Christianity Today. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
  4. ^ "Gold / Platinum / Diamond Book Awards Winners". Archived from the original on February 10, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
  5. ^ https://www.amazon.com/gp/new-releases/books/ref=sv_b_2#1 [not specific enough to verify][failed verification]
  6. ^ https://news.yahoo.com/man-john-ortberg-debuts-3rd-releases-top-20-152011676.html [dead link‍]
  7. ^ "JohnOrtberg.com: John's Bio". Archived from the original on September 3, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
  8. ^ "Selected Work". Laura Turner. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  9. ^ Rosner, Stefan (June 13, 2019). "A three-peat for Gunn Control Ultimate Frisbee team". Palo Alto Online. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  10. ^ "Good Drive, Bad Drive". Ministry Mentor. November 2005. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
  11. ^ Creel, Colin (2005). Perspectives: A Spiritual Life Guide for Twentysomethings. Relevant Media Group. pp. 137–138. ISBN 978-0-9760357-8-7.
  12. ^ Trueheart, Charles (August 1996). "Welcome to the Next Church". The Atlantic. pp. 37–58. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
  13. ^ "Promise Keepers Announces Keynote Speaker for 2006 Conferences". Christian Today. March 8, 2006. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
  14. ^ Doane, Guillaume (May 3, 2007). "Westmont Graduation to Honor Students, Mark Departure of Outgoing President". Montecito Journal. Archived from the original on November 27, 2010. Retrieved January 9, 2009.
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