Joshua Harris (author)

Harris is the first of seven children born to Gregg and Sono Harris, pioneers in the Christian homeschooling movement. He is of Japanese descent on his mother's side.{{cite news |accessdate=June 9, 2010 |url=http://www.joshharris.com/2006/11/trip_to_japan.php |title=Trip to Japan |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091007123512/http://www.joshharris.com/2006/11/trip_to_japan.php |archivedate=October 7, 2009 }} Harris published New Attitude, a magazine aimed at fellow homeschoolers, from 1994 to 1997.{{cn|date=July 2019}} He received no formal seminary or theological training until 2015, when he attended Regent College, Vancouver, B.C. Harris married Shannon Hendrickson in 1998. They have had three children.{{Cite web|url=https://heavy.com/news/2019/07/joshua-harris/|title=Joshua Harris: Former Pastor Says He's No Longer a Christian|first=Erin|last=Laviola|date=July 29, 2019}} His brothers, twins Alex and Brett, authored The Rebelution (rebelution is a neologism defined by its creators as "a teenage rebellion against low expectations").{{cite web|last=Eekhoff Zylstra|first=Sarah|url=https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/alex-and-brett-harris-are-doing-hard-things/|website=TGC|title=Alex and Brett Harris Are Doing Hard Things|date=November 5, 2014|access-date=August 30, 2020}}

Harris's first book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, was published in 1997 and has sold 1.2 million copies worldwide.{{cite web|last=Bote|first=Joshua|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/07/29/joshua-harris-i-kissed-dating-goodbye-i-am-not-christian/1857934001/|title=He wrote the Christian case against dating. Now he's splitting from his wife and faith.|website=USA TODAY|access-date=October 8, 2020}} Subsequent books by Harris include Boy Meets Girl (2000), in part describing his engagement to his eventual wife, Shannon; Not Even a Hint: Guarding Your Heart Against Lust, released in 2003 and renamed Sex Is Not the Problem (Lust Is) in 2005; and Stop Dating the Church!: Fall in Love with the Family of God (2004). Harris' book Dug Down Deep (2010) shared his journey towards a love for theology and highlighted his passion for what he called "humble orthodoxy".{{cite web|last=Sherwood|first=J.J.|url=https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/dug-down-deep/|title=Dug Down Deep: Unearthing What I Believe and Why It Matters|website=TGC|date=March 31, 2010|access-date=August 31, 2020}}

In 1997, Harris moved from Oregon to Gaithersburg, Maryland to be a pastoral intern.{{cite journal|last1=Wishall|first1=Garrett|title='It's a role of service:' Joshua Harris on being senior pastor of Covenant Life Church|journal=Towers|date=August 17, 2009|url=http://news.sbts.edu/2009/08/21/its-a-role-of-service-joshua-harris-on-being-senior-pastor-of-covenant-life-church/|accessdate=March 2, 2016}}{{cite web|title=Joshua Harris Author Profile|url=http://www.newreleasetoday.com/authordetail.php?aut_id=31|website=www.newreleasetoday.com|accessdate=March 2, 2016}} There, "C. J. Mahaney, a charismatic Calvinist and founding pastor of megachurch Covenant Life Church, took Harris under his wing and groomed him to take over the church."{{cite web|last1=Hansen|first1=Collin|title=Young, Restless, Reformed Calvinism is making a comeback—and shaking up the church.|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/september/42.32.html|website=Christianity Today|accessdate=March 2, 2016|date=September 22, 2006}} Harris was lead pastor of Covenant Life Church from 2004 until 2015.{{cite news|last1=Lee|first1=Morgan|title=Why Joshua Harris Kissed His Megachurch Goodbye|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2015/february/why-joshua-harris-kissed-his-megachurch-goodbye-clc.html|accessdate=December 5, 2015|work=Christianity Today|date=February 5, 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Boorstein|first1=Michelle|title=Pastor Joshua Harris, an evangelical outlier, heads to mainstream seminary|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/long-an-outsider-popular-evangelical-pastor-heads-for-the-mainstream/2015/01/30/31827364-a881-11e4-a7c2-03d37af98440_story.html|newspaper=Washington Post|date=January 30, 2015}} Harris assumed the role of senior pastor at Covenant Life Church at the age of 30. In January 2015, he resigned from that role due to a desire to broaden his views and connect to other parts of Christianity. In an interview, Harris said the isolation of Covenant Life, and of a small cluster of churches of which it was a part, may have fed leadership mistakes, including the decision of pastors — himself among them — to handle a child sexual abuse case internally instead of going to police.

Harris started Sovereign Grace Ministries' New Attitude Conference for Christian singles in 1999, with inspiration and guidance from Louie Giglio, founder of Passion Conferences. From 1999 until 2011 he continued frequently to organize and lead this conference, although in 2008 it was renamed "Next."{{Cite web|url = http://www.joshharris.com/2012/01/the_last_next.php|title = New Attitude, Na, Next 1999-2012|date = January 2012|accessdate = May 19, 2014|website = JoshHarris.com|publisher = Josh Harris|last = Harris|first = Josh|url-status = dead|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20140519022149/http://www.joshharris.com/2012/01/the_last_next.php|archivedate = May 19, 2014|df = mdy-all}}

In 2016, Harris stated that he was reconsidering the content of I Kissed Dating Goodbye{{cite news|last1=Graham|first1=Ruth|title=Hello Goodbye: The author of a best-selling abstinence manifesto is reconsidering the lessons he taught to millions|date=August 23, 2016|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/life/faithbased/2016/08/i_kissed_dating_goodbye_author_is_maybe_kind_of_sorry.html|work=Slate|accessdate=December 11, 2017|quote=“It’s like, well, crap, is the biggest thing I’ve done in my life this really huge mistake?”... He has come to question many assumptions that undergirded his book: the urge of parents and church leaders to strictly control young people; the purity movement’s implication that sexual mistakes are somehow irrevocable; and his book’s “formulaic approach to relationships that somehow guarantees a happy outcome.”}} and apologized to people who said that they had been hurt by its teachings.{{cite news|last1=Martin|first1=Rachel|title=Former Evangelical Pastor Rethinks His Approach To Courtship|newspaper=NPR.org|date=July 10, 2016|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/07/10/485432485/former-evangelical-pastor-rethinks-his-approach-to-courtship|publisher=National Public Radio|accessdate=December 11, 2017|quote=...I feel like I'm on the front end of a process to help people in some way if I can apologize where needed and re-evaluate where needed.... when we try to overly control our own lives or overly control other people's lives, I think we end up harming people. And I'm—I think that that's part of the problem with my book.}} In 2018, Harris disavowed I Kissed Dating Goodbye and discontinued its publication.{{Cite web|url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/joshua-harris-says-i-kissed-dating-goodbye-will-be-discontinued-apologizes-for-flaws.html|title=Joshua Harris Says 'I Kissed Dating Goodbye' Will Be Discontinued, Apologizes for 'Flaws'|website=www.christianpost.com|date=October 23, 2018 }} His publishers agreed that I Kissed Dating Goodbye and two other follow-up books would not be reprinted once the current stock was depleted.{{Cite web|last=Wittmer|first=Carrie|date=December 17, 2018|title=The Christian author who pushed for people to skip dating, including kissing and sex, before marriage has changed his mind and asked his publisher to stop printing his book|url=https://www.insider.com/joshua-harris-one-of-the-leaders-of-the-christian-purity-movement-asked-his-publisher-to-stop-printing-his-book-2018-12|access-date=September 1, 2020|website=INSIDER}}{{cite web |last=Aviles|first=Gwen|date=July 29, 2019|title=Author of bestselling Christian book apologizes to LGBTQ community |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/author-bestselling-christian-book-apologizes-lgbtq-community-n1035731|website=NBC NEWS|accessdate=September 1, 2020}} Harris appeared in a documentary film called I Survived I Kissed Dating Goodbye, where he spoke to people who were critical of the book.{{cite news|newspaper=NPR|date=December 17, 2018|title=Evangelical writer kisses an old idea goodbye|first=Sarah|last= MacCammon|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/12/17/671888011/evangelical-writer-kisses-an-old-idea-goodbye}}{{cite news|newspaper=The Christian Post|title=Joshua Harris says 'I Kissed Dating Goodbye' will be discontinued, apologizes for 'flaws'|first=Leah|last=MarieAnn Klett|date=October 23, 2018|url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/joshua-harris-says-i-kissed-dating-goodbye-will-be-discontinued-apologizes-for-flaws.html}}

In July 2019, Harris announced that he and his wife were separating due to "significant changes [that] have taken place in both of us".{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/07/21/743926857/evangelical-writer-who-influenced-purity-culture-announces-separation-from-wife|title=Evangelical Writer Who Influenced Purity Culture Announces Separation From Wife|website=NPR.org}}{{cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Joshua |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/B0CtVRingGj/ |website=Instagram |accessdate=July 18, 2019|title=Joshua Harris Instagram}} The couple divorced that year.{{Cite web |last=Rossi {{!}} |first=Holly Lebowitz |title=A Memoir's Sharp Look at Christian Marriage |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/religion/article/92601-a-memoir-s-sharp-look-at-christian-marriage.html |access-date=2024-06-29 |website=PublishersWeekly.com |language=en}} Subsequently, Harris revealed that he no longer considered himself a Christian. His former wife also walked away from Christianity and began pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter under the name Shannon Bonne.{{Cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/faith-values/christian-author-joshua-harris-kissed-dating-goodbye-faith|title=Well-known Christian author, purity advocate, renounces his faith: 'I hope you can forgive me'|first=Caleb|last=Parke|date=July 29, 2019|website=Fox News}}{{cite news|last=Sherwood|first=Harriet|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/29/author-christian-relationship-guide-joshua-harris-says-marriage-over|title=Author of Christian relationship guide says he has lost his faith|work=The Guardian|date=July 29, 2019|access-date=July 29, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/@belover/post-joshua-harris-d2621082921e|title=Joshua Harris's wife finds her voice|last=Poletti|first=Jonathan|date=August 15, 2019|website=Medium|language=en|access-date=February 3, 2020}}

In addition to his previously discontinued books, with Harris's announcement of his loss of faith, the documentary film lost its distributor due to the negative reaction from the Christian market.{{cite news |last1=Gions-Phillips |first1=Tré |title=Film distributor drops Joshua Harris' documentary after being blindsided by author saying he's no longer Christian |url=https://www.faithwire.com/2019/08/29/film-distributor-drops-joshua-harris-documentary-after-being-blindsided-by-author-saying-hes-no-longer-christian/ |accessdate=August 29, 2019 |work=Faithwire |date=August 29, 2019}}

• I Kissed Dating Goodbye (Updated Version). Multnomah, 2003. {{ISBN|1-59052-135-8}}
• Boy Meets Girl: Say Hello to Courtship. Multnomah, 2000. {{ISBN|1-57673-709-8}}
• Not Even a Hint. Multnomah, 2003. {{ISBN|1-59052-147-1}} (re-published as Sex Isn't the Problem, Lust Is in 2005. {{ISBN|1-59052-519-1}})
• Stop Dating the Church! Multnomah, 2004. {{ISBN|1-59052-365-2}} (re-published as Why Church Matters: Discovering Your Place in the Family of God in 2011. {{ISBN|1-60142-384-5}})
• Dug Down Deep Multnomah, 2010.
• Humble Orthodoxy: Holding the Truth High Without Putting People Down Multnomah, 2013. {{ISBN|1-60142-475-4|invalid1=yes}})

{{reflist}}

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• {{Official website|http://www.joshharris.com/|JoshHarris.com – official website}}
• [http://www.covlife.org/ Covenant Life Church]
• [http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/ Sovereign Grace Ministries]

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Category:1974 births

Category:American bloggers

Category:American writers of Japanese descent

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