John Ortberg

“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.”

“Christianity is like a nail," he (Yemelian Yaroslavsky). "The harder you strike it, the deeper it goes.”

“Skeptics would rather, even at their own expense, appear to be right than take the risk of trusting.”

“The greatest bloodbaths in the history of the human race were recorded in the twentieth century in countries that sought to eliminate God, worship, and faith.”

“It strikes me that presidential campaigns can often bring out the worst as well as the best in us.”

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

“Gratitude is the ability to experience life as a gift. It liberates us from the prison of self-preoccupation.”

“Both hope and pessimism are deeply contagious. And no one is more infectious than a leader.”

“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.”

“Actually, my character needs to be questioned. On a regular basis. By people who know and love me.”

“David is called a man after God's heart. This can be a little confusing when you get into his story, because he's guilty of adultery and murder and cover-up. He's a train wreck as a husband, and he's worse as a dad. But his heart belongs to God. His whole life is immersed in the presence and story of God. What lights him up is to serve God and love God, and when he mess up—and he does—he repents and wants to get right with God again.”

“Some leaders are not intimidated by opposition; they actually thrive on it. It wakes them up. It energizes them. It calls them to battle. It causes them to mobilize their thoughts and energy.”

“When people feel they're getting to speak into what's being preached, there is high built-in motivation to participate.”

“Politics, after all, is largely about power. And power goes to the core of our issues of control and narcissism and need to be right and tendency to divide the human race into 'us' vs. 'them.'”

“A healthy soul is whole and integrated. It is connected to God. A person with a healthy soul is at peace with God, with himself, and with other people.”

“This much I have learned: human beings come with very different sets of wiring, different interests, different temperaments, different learning styles, different gifts, different temptations. These differences are tremendously important in the spiritual formation of human beings.”

“Pastors have historically understood their primary battle to be not the battle to build a big church, but the battle against the power of sin.”

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

“A simple way to address hidden curriculum issues is to spend time talking with staff and key leaders about their spiritual lives.”

“To have my mind racing and my heart beating fast over glorious possibilities is very close to the summit of life experience for me.”