If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat by John Ortberg
Week 9: Chapter 8 — Transformed by Failure
Read Chapter 8 of If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat. Primary Scripture: Matthew 14:30–31; John 21:15–19.
Previewing Week 9 of If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat
Read 3 of 7 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 12-week guide when you’re ready.
Peter sank — and that is not a footnote to the story but one of its most important chapters, because what happens after we sink often determines more about our character than what happened before.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Ortberg argues that failure is not the opposite of water-walking faith — it is often part of the water-walking experience. How does this reframe the way you think about your own spiritual failures or missed steps?
2.The chapter makes a crucial distinction between failing and being a failure. Ortberg argues that what we do with our failures — whether we let them define us or inform us — makes all the difference. Where do you tend to land on that spectrum?
3.Ortberg explores the idea of 'constructive suffering' — that some of our deepest character formation happens not in success but in the honest reckoning with our own limitations. Can you identify a specific failure that, with hindsight, did significant formative work in you?