Simply Superb!

This title is the first work I have read by John Ortberg. I now intend to read his other books as well, so impressed was I with what I experienced here. I have read the writings of many, many Christian teachers, and this book has become one of my few favorites.

Ortberg is very profound in his exposition of the Scriptures, while at the same time being very readable and understandable. He draws upon a wealth of contemporary illustrations to support his points, which makes his teaching even more powerful. His words strike a chord common to the hearts of all readers.

Ortberg targets Christians rather than non-Christians, believers who are "sitting in the boat" rather than "walking on the water." He encourages persons to launch forth in faith, to take chances, and to live life to its fullest. He discourages persons from playing it safe and never putting themselves in a position to see God do what only He can.

I strongly recommend this book to all Christians. Laypersons as well as ministers can benefit from this powerful message. If you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat!

A Must for Water Walkers

With over 365 "fear not" verses in the Bible - one for everyday of the year - it is evident that God has something to say to us on the subject of fear.
In a passionate and engaging discussion of the biblical story of Matthew 14, Ortberg in his book If You Want to Walk on Water You Have to Get Out of the Boat, uses the example of Peter walking on the water to speak to the issues of how to face our fears and experience the power of God, as we trust Him to do things beyond what we could imagine.
Utilizing his skill as a storyteller, Ortberg weaves the truth of God's word into the fabric of our daily lives with humorous stories and clever insight. In fact don't be surprised if you often find yourself relating to quite a few of the stories and illustrations Ortberg uses to challenge his reader to get out of the boat and do what Jesus calls you to do even though you are very afraid.
Whatever your boat is, you will find this book delivers practical application and encouragement for the water-walker who chooses to step outside their comfort zone and trust God for great and mighty things. While this may sound grandiose, I believe Ortberg's approach is based in reality, noting that we should expect a few waves to slap us in the face, as he mentions, "failure comes with the territory - but so does the strong hand of Jesus pulling you up when the bottom drops out."
Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, this book is a must read. Not only will you meet Christ anew in the high sea where the footing is impossible, but you will be refreshed by truth of knowing that you are not alone in your journey.

A CURATE'S EGG AND A FISH SUPPER

Being part of a reading group helpfully exposes one to choices of book not normally made, hence my grappling with this work. Now as I write the group has yet to discuss this book properly, but the early opinion is that it is like the famous curate's egg, good in parts. Or to put it another way, I was once criticizing a certain edition of the bible which has inclusive notes and commentary, noting its theological deficiency in certain Pentecostalist respects to a visiting speaker. He replied, crisply, and with much justice, that I should "Treat it like a fish supper: take the good parts and leave the bones." So it is that I proffer these comments, hoping to take the good, but wary of the bones. And I hope the brother, should he see these few notes, will take them as well meant even if not very laudatory.

THE FLESH
The style is down-to-earth, easy reading. The overall tone is positive and encouraging. I am much heartened by his analysis of the parable of the talents and the observation that it was the one-talent servant, not the two or five-talent servant, who buried his gift and denied his master the rewards, and hence lost even his single talent in the long run. As he says, surely both pride and sloth can be causes of this fault. As a thief of time the TV is a great evil, true (p.46), but it is just an excuse for the underlying lack of priority. Get rid of your one-eyed god and you will not regret it! I most happily testify to this truth. He also says that earthly achievement and heavenly reward are related, an under preached truth. Apparently the Quakers are still a force to be reckoned with in the States, he quotes Parker Palmer to great effect on discerning one's vocation, and rebuts humanistic hubris with regard to the 'myth of the limitless self'. [I dub it the 'conceive it, believe it, and achieve it' heresy...it just begs the question of the rightness of your original conception.] He also distinguishes between a career and a calling, and notes that 'work has become our new religion' (p.71). All excellent points; the finest fillets.

Speeding on to p.132, I notice that he has noticed that the media in the States are horribly similar to their Brit counterparts: 'The media frighten us because fear sells'. True enough, it is the "Open them up with the emotional can-opener, then scoop out the soft parts" philosophy. AKA the "Beat them into submission, then sell them stuff in the ads, and lard on the political propaganda of the day" theory. Finally, the few pages on the missionary, Frank Laubach, a burnt-out failure in his mid-forties who came back from nowhere, are quite outstanding, and are worth expansion into a chapter.

THE BONES
However, this is a book of 228 pages, and I have leapt over most of it in a single bound. The title of the book is a truism and it fails to avoid tautology: it is a logical loop, an identical proposition, it begs the question, it is a petitio principii, a statement of the obvious, self-evident, garrulous, and otiose. "To do something you have to do something." Well, to do anything takes a step, but not necessarily out of a perfectly good boat into a deep lake. This whole book is essentially a less-than-coherent sequence of sermon vignettes and snippets loosely arranged around the metaphorical get-out-of-the-boat idea, not the actuality of the event. Exegetical opinion is sharply divided on whether Peter achieved anything whatsoever by getting out of the boat and getting put back in. Maybe the majority vote got it right and Peter was just being his famously impulsive egotistical old self. There is simply no way to equate miraculous or metaphorical walking on water with vocational achievement. One is unique action 'in extremis', the other is humble pedestrian action according to one's daily lights. The humanistic hubris he rejected earlier is re-introduced by quoting Susan Jeffer's 'feel the fear and do it anyway' self-assertiveness self-help mantras. They likewise tell us nothing because they beg the question, what SHOULD we be doing?

I also question his analysis on p.14 of the Greek verb 'parerchomai' (meaning 'to pass by') as being of any significance here, as he claims it signifies a theophany in the Septuagint Greek OT. I have no Septuagint to hand, but I can say with confidence that in my Greek NT and lexicon this is not the case at all, it is just an ordinary compound verb (cf, 'parabaino'), used because someone 'passed by' in the ordinary way. It is the event that makes the word significant, not vice versa. And to be accurate, in the Greek of Matthew which he quotes, the word parerchomai does not occur, its cognate form 'parelthein' is used. Finally, as the text makes absolutely plain in the Greek and English, Jesus was not a ghost or apparition, he was his solid Incarnate self...the opposite of a theophany in fact.

A similar odd analysis of biblical terms occurs on p.222 where 'shalom' is interpreted in a most extravagant style and its obvious dictionary meaning (peace) is not given. Apparently under its magical influence lawyers 'would have really useful jobs like delivering pizza that is non-fat and low in cholesterol'. This is a biochemical paradox as in his broad sense cholesterol is a form of fat, but it is the general sense of the whole section which I question here. I can but wonder at the indulgence of his editor.

AN AFTER-DINNER MINT
So I commend this book to Christians as food for the soul, go carefully and you will not choke on a bone.