There are three authors whose books I will always read: Chuck Swindoll, Max Lucado and John Ortberg. The last of these was also the last I was introduced to as an author, only some five years ago. 

Since then, I have read all that he has written: When The Game is Over, It All Goes Back It All Goes Back In The Box; God Is Closer Than You Think; The Life You Always Wanted; Everybody Is Normal Till You Get To Know Them; If You Want To Walk On The Water You Have Get Out Of The Boat; and the above. He is wise, witty and worth reading. The books are also available in a DVD format for small group study.

In this latest book he helps the reader to diagnose the me I don’t want to be, the me I pretend to be, the me I think I should be, the me others want me to be, the me I’m afraid God wants me to be and the me that fails to be, so that we can then recognize the me I am meant to be. The latter is where we will experience the “flow” that Jesus promised would emanate from his followers in John 7:38.

Ortberg then discusses how you can grow in your flow – flowing with the Spirit, renewing your mind, redeeming your time, deepening your relationships, and transforming your experience. 

The book introduces an online resource to help you find a customised way to grow spiritually. It is called Monvee, and it involves taking a four-minute assessment tool to help you understand your temperament, learning style, spiritual pathway, signature sin, and season of life. 

The back of the book has an individual access code to the site. I did find however that it was one of those sites where the registration insists on an American zip code before you can progress further. I got around this by googling the zip code of the city where American friends live and using it. This was accepted and the evaluation proved enlightening, as did its recommendations instructive.

By John Ortberg
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 2010
ISBN 978-0-310-27593-0

– David McLeod-Jones