Q&A with John and Nancy Ortberg
As the National Strategy Event continued for the Leadership Summit, all of the Senior Pastors (and substitutes like me) sat in on a question and answer time with John and Nancy Ortberg. Very intimate setting with about 40 pastors in the room. I found them to be humble, honest, funny and delightful.
Some of the stuff they shared was sensitive in nature, so I'm selectively sharing here some of what they talked about:
- John: I ask myself, "Is the life I'm inviting others to live the life I'm living myself?"
- Nancy: Don't forget how ordinary you are. Realizing you are ordinary takes the pressure off. Do stuff that renews your ordinariness.
- Nancy: I think most books on spiritual development are written by introverted males. Silence and solitude doesn't work for everyone. There are other spiritual disciplines that can help you experience joy.
- Nancy: Do you realize that Jesus never journaled? People write books saying you should feel guilty if you don't journal. I don't agree.
- John: We think sin is always a conscious choice. I think of the subtlety of sin. Whatever your primary gift is--that is where sin will attach itself.
- Nancy: Every time I call John or interrupt him, I feel like he delights in me...he treasures me.
- John: Outcomes are important for feedback. But outcomes become toxic when your worth is on the line.
- John: Leaders want three things...Freedom, Opportunity and Challenge. They want these three things way more than money or security. However, deonominations are set up to repel leaders.
- Nancy: Every new generation has the right to discover God in their own way.