John Ortberg, Jr. is an evangelicalChristian author, speaker, and the former senior pastor of Menlo Church 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, and the 2002 Christianity TodayBook Award winner If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat. Another of his publications, The Life You've Always Wanted, has sold more than 500,000 copies as of 2008. On August 13, 2012, John Ortberg's book Who Is This Man? debuted at #3 on the New Release chart at Amazon.com. He was placed on leave from his position in November 2019 after allegations of his prior knowledge of a volunteer’s sexual attraction to minors. Ortberg did not ensure that his son could not continue to volunteer with minors at Menlo Church after Ortberg III confessed to him in the summer of 2018. He was reinstated in January 2020 after an investigation that found no evidence of wrongdoing and he returned to the pulpit March 7, 2020. On July 29, Menlo Church announced that Ortberg had resigned his position, effective August 2nd, 2020, citing broken trust and fallout from the “poor judgement” in decisions he had made in allowing his son, Ortberg III, to continue to volunteer with students at Menlo Church after a confession of an attraction to minors.
Background
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. He 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 in Claremont, California. He 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 assumed his current role at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, a multi-campus church in Northern California. Ortberg is father to three children: Laura, Daniel, and John III. Laura is a writer for the New York Times, New York Magazine, and Buzzfeed. Daniel M. Lavery is the founder, writer and editor of the popular feminist humor blog The Toast and the current author of the "Dear Prudence" advice column for the Slate online magazine.
Teachings
Spiritual formation
A central theme of his teaching and books is spiritual formation, the transforming of human character through authentic experienceswith 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.
Eternal cravings
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." In his books he has described his own desire for importance and success, and how achieving them did not ultimately bring him happiness. "Your cravings," according to Ortberg, "if you could get to the bottom of them, are for the eternal."
In media
Ortberg's retelling of his experience of playing Monopoly with his grandmother was used as the beginning narration of Peter Joseph's 2011 documentary .
Speaking
Ortberg has been a featured speaker at many events, including
On January 21, 2020, Menlo Church issued a statement indicating that Ortberg had been placed on leave following the revelation that he had allowed a church volunteer to work and travel with children, despite that volunteer's confession of a lifelong sexual attraction to children. Ortberg also made no effort to alert other church leadership to the situation. The issue came to light when the volunteer, Ortberg's son, John Ortberg III, confessed their desires to Ortberg's other son, Daniel Lavery. Upon discovering that his father had taken no action to protect the congregation's children, Lavery went to the church's leadership. Lavery has stated that Ortberg dismissed his concerns in part because Lavery is transgender. On January 24, 2020, Ortberg returned from leave. He has stated that he "failed to do the right thing" and apologised for his "lack of transparency". After completing a restoration plan, Ortberg returned to the pulpit on Mar 7, 2020. It has been alleged by Lavery that the investigation into his father's misconduct was inadequate: the lawyer who conducted the investigation has no experience with matters of sexual misconduct, rather he is a specialist in protecting clients from litigation.
Resignation from Menlo Church
On July 29, Menlo Church announced that Ortberg had resigned his position, effective August 2nd, 2020, citing broken trust and fallout from the “poor judgement” in decisions he had made in allowing his son, Ortberg III, to continue to volunteer with students at Menlo Church after a confession of an attraction to minors.
