If You Want To Walk On Water, You've Got To Get  Out Of The Boat

By John Ortberg

I was suspicious on two counts:

1. John Ortberg is a psychologist by professional training. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve nothing against psychologists per se, but I often feel a little uncomfortable with explanations of behaviour and, essentially, choice that seem to absolve individuals of responsibility for themselves. It’s a whole other point and one that I wouldn’t press as if decided on the matter; I just flag a note of undecided unease.

2. John Ortberg used to be on the staff of Willow Creek Church. As with psychologists, I’ve nothing against Willow Creek Church per se, but I often feel uncomfortable with what appears to be a lot of pre-packaged, rather neat and tidy theory and accompanying methodology for how to do and be church. That said, no-one can question the success of Willow Creek church itself and of a number of churches in many places that have embraced lessons from it.

Okay. So there are the admission or qualifiers before I write anything about this book.

My interest with John Ortberg began a couple of months ago when I came across another book of his, ‘Love Beyond Reason’. [No review on this site for that one, I hear you note!] I was pleasantly surprised by it and it impacted me at various levels on a number of points. Ultimately, I found myself prompted to consider God’s amazing love for me – a sure sign that something sound and of God is going on as one reads (though I acknowledge that, on occasions, God works despite the material we interact with). Anyway, I thought I’d get another book or two by Ortberg, hence my coming to read this.

Wesley Owen and any other ‘Christian’ bookshop will be found to be increasingly full of writings purporting to offer new insights into God’s truth and it’s application to area of our lives. Of course, that’s what you’d probably expect to find. However, I fear that a large number of titles struggle to get anywhere beyond the kind of sociological commentary, feel-good boosters or self-help manuals that one might find in Waterstones or Borders only with a veneer of Christian spirituality whether implicit or explicit. Perhaps you see why I note my concern about Ortberg’s background as a Psychologist and especially when one considers the self-help tone of this title.

Here’s the thing – my fears and concerns don’t stand up regarding Ortberg or this title.

The title draws on the biblical account of Peter getting out of the boat in which the terrified disciples were being battered during a storm on the Sea of Galilee when Jesus came walking by on the waves. Could the title point to an unhelpful discourse in the importance of having sufficient faith? Yes, it could, but it doesn’t. There’s a necessary measure of faith that any follower of Jesus is given by the Holy Spirit and which grows (though sometimes falteringly). I appreciated Ortberg exploring the exercise of faith in the realities of life. Encouragingly, he goes so far as to specifically counter some of the typically hailed exclamations of unlimited potential, helpfully quoting one Parker Palmer:

“Like many middle-class Americans, especially those who are white and male, I was raised in a subculture that insisted I could do anything I wanted to, be anything I wanted to be, if I were willing to make the effort. The message was that both the universe and I were without limits, given enough energy and commitment n my part. God made things that way and all I had to do was to get on with the program. My troubles began, of course, when I started to slam into my limitations, especially in the form of failure.”

Though there is an Americanism about his style, Ortberg is real and draws from the Bible a range of material, not just to back his own points, but to speak the points that are there in biblical text with Ortberg’s stories, illustrations and discussions around them.

Nearing the close of the book, I wondered what concluding point or points I would be let with. What Ortberg wanted me to take from this book and remember. I was curious as to how I might be left reflecting on me and areas of my life or relationship with God that I might give attention to and look for change in. Then he starts talking about worship. And it seems something of a sudden left-field pitch. But it makes complete sense. After getting back in the boat, the disciples acknowledge “Truly you are the Son of God.” They worship. Jesus. The starting point and the finishing point, not just in the account of Jesus walking on water and Peter going out to join Him (and nearly drowning!), but in the Bible and in all things, is Jesus. My focus should be Jesus, and that’s what Peter (or me) getting out of a boat and walking on water is all about. And worship is all about taking my eyes off me and acknowledging Jesus. In Ortberg’s own words:

“ I need to worship because without it I can forget that I have a Big God beside me and live in fear. I need to worship because without it I can forget His calling and begin to live in a spirit of self-pre-occupation. I need to worship because without it I lose a sense of wonder and gratitude and plod through life with blinders on. I need to worship because my natural tendency is toward self-reliance and stubborn independence. … … In worship I declare that God is real. In worship my perception of reality is changed and sharpened. In worship I remember that reality is more than what I can see or touch.”