John and Nancy Ortberg are former teaching pastors at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. John now serves as Teaching Pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in Menlo Park, California. John is the author of several best selling books including, If You Want to Walk on Water you Have to Get Out of the Boat, and his most recent, Everbody's Normal til You Get to Know Them and his most recent God is CLoser Than You Think.

There is great interest today in moving beyond studying and knowing about God to experiencing God and in living spiritually transformed lives. The way to spiritual fulfillment is the way of spiritual discipline—disciplines and practices that draw us closer to God— which are available to everyone, even ordinary people. 

The Ortberg's share with us their spiritual journey. Together they discuss spirituality, spiritual disciplines and living spiritually transformed lives. Personal challenges are issued for to us to develop our own spiritual disciplines through our prayer life, Bible study, and servanthood.

There is a tremendous interest today in spirituality. Why does spiritual growth sometimes happen and sometimes not? Why do we sometimes feel the absence of God in our lives, a period of desolation when God seems far away? How do we move from knowing about God to experiencing God?

An important step in living spiritually transformed lives is to be grounded in Scripture. The purpose is not to get us through the Bible but to get the Bible through us. So we saturate ourselves in God's Word - we wash our minds with God's transforming Word. And then we move from reading to mediation, and in the confidence that God will speak to us.

The key to spiritual growth is training. Training is hard work, like exercise and dieting to build strong physical bodies, and requires discipline. Spiritual disciplines draw us closer to God. They are practices that help us overcome the sins that separate us from God.

Paul tells the Ephesians that we are created to do good works. Doing good works is the action side of spirituality. The key is servanthood. The starting point in being a servant is to discover our individual spiritual gifts, and then use them for the glory of God.

The first step in the spiritual life is having quiet time with God. The key to quiet time is eliminating hurry and noise so that we can be in solitude with God. This is the first part of the equation. The second part is centering – centering our thoughts on God and communing with him through prayer. 

It is said that Christians have well-ordered lives, or as Augustine said, a well-ordered heart. How do we develop a rule of life, and also balance in our lives? By doing everything in the name of Jesus.