John Ortberg on How Pastoring Forms the Pastor, Why Many Churches Struggle with Discipleship, and Arranging Your Life for Joy and Contentment

John Ortberg is a pastor, author, and spiritual formation teacher known for helping people experience life with God in their everyday lives. In today’s conversation, John shares his journey into pastoral ministry, the unexpected role that decision-making played in discovering his calling, and how God uses the work of pastoring to shape the soul of the pastor. John shares the heart of the gospel as life with God in the present, not just the future, and he discusses how to form people into that reality through clear pathways of discipleship, honest self-examination, and practices that lead to transformation.

John and Jason also talk about the hidden pressures of ministry, the slow drift toward cynicism, and why joy is not optional for long-term faithfulness. John offers hard-won wisdom on sustaining integrity, building a real “program” of discipleship, and arranging one’s life around deep contentment, joy, and confidence in everyday life with God.

Together, John and Jason explore:

• Why God’s will for us often comes down to our freedom to choose, and how decision-making forms our character,
• The pastorate as a crucible for character formation,
• The Bible’s central invitation as life with God, here and now, not just “getting into heaven,”
• Why discipleship needs both a fellowship and a program (and what we can learn from 12-step communities)
• How pastors can arrange their days for deep contentment, joy, and confidence with God.

John’s wisdom is both tender and bracing as he reminds us that joy isn’t a luxury for pastors but that it often serves as the strength that keeps a life faithful, sustainable, and rightly oriented towards God.

Show Notes

• Become New
• Steps: A Guide to Transforming Your Life When Willpower Isn’t Enough
• A Guide to Flourishing Study
• The Emerging Leaders Lab
• Pastors Retreat Scholarships
• Pastors Retreat Details

Partners

Special thanks to the Canadian Bible Society for making this episode possible. We invite you to explore their ⁠Bible Course⁠ to help your church grow in Scripture engagement.

The work of strengthening pastors across Canada is only possible because of generous partners like you. As we look to the future, would you consider joining us in prayer, sharing this episode, or ⁠making a gift to invest in a vibrant, Jesus-centered church in every community⁠?