Gavin Ortlund
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Gavin Rutherford Ortlund (born June 30, 1983) is an American theologian, professor, author, and
Christian apologist Christian apologetics (, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity. Christian apologetics have taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in the early church and Pa ...
. Operating through his public ministry Truth Unites, Ortlund is known for defending theologically conservative
evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
from an irenic perspective, engaging with proponents of
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
,
Eastern Orthodoxy Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
,
atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the Existence of God, existence of Deity, deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the ...
, and liberal Protestantism. Ortlund is Theologian-in-Residence at Immanuel Nashville and Visiting Professor of Historical Theology at Phoenix Seminary. He won
Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "eva ...
's 2024 Book of the Year award for his work ''What It Means to Be Protestant: The Case for an Always-Reforming Church''.


Early life and education

Ortlund was born on June 30, 1983 in Scotland to parents Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., and Jani Ortlund. He is the youngest of 4 children. In 2006, Ortlund earned a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
in Philosophy and Religion from the
University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...
. In 2009, he earned a
Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...
from
Covenant Theological Seminary Covenant Theological Seminary, informally called Covenant Seminary, is the denominational seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Located in Creve Coeur, Missouri, it trains people to work as leaders in church positions and elsewh ...
. He went on to earn a
Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...
from
Fuller Theological Seminary Fuller Theological Seminary is an Evangelical seminary in Pasadena, California, with regional campuses in the western United States. It is egalitarian in nature. Fuller has a student body of approximately 2,300 students from 90 countries and ...
in 2016, concentrating in historical theology. From 2017 to 2018, Ortlund performed post-doctoral research at
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) is the divinity school of Trinity International University, an evangelical Christian university headquartered in Bannockburn, Illinois. The divinity school was founded in 1897. In April 2025, Trinit ...
through the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding, where he conducted research on
Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...
's doctrine of creation.


Career


Preparation for ministry

Ortlund discloses in his writings that he came from and appreciated his
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
background, writing
I was baptized as an infant in the Church of Scotland. After my family moved back to the United States, I was raised in various Presbyterian churches, eventually working at two Presbyterian churches during college and then attending a Presbyterian seminary. As I look back, I have nothing but gratitude for my time among Presbyterians; in fact, I often miss that world!
He goes on to write that he was "propelled... out of Presbyterianism" because of the doctrine of
infant baptism Infant baptism, also known as christening or paedobaptism, is a Christian sacramental practice of Baptism, baptizing infants and young children. Such practice is done in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, va ...
(paedobaptism), and that after a period of intensive study, his "convictions had solidified against t and I (somewhat reluctantly) changed my church affiliation and was baptized gain(dunked in a river, to be precise)." He went on to receive his
ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...
from the
Conservative Congregational Christian Conference The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference is a Congregationalist denomination in the United States. It is the most conservative and oldest Congregationalist denomination in America following the dissolution of the Congregational Christi ...
.


Pastoral ministry

In 2010, Ortlund began serving as the youth pastor for
Sierra Madre Congregational Church Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" or "mountain chain" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves ...
( CCCC). He also served there on the church board of elders beginning in 2015. In 2018, he became Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Ojai ( ABCUSA), in
Ojai, California Ojai ( ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east– ...
. In 2023, he announced his departure from the church and move to Nashville to focus on his Truth Unites ministry and become Theologian in Residence at Immanuel Nashville, an
Acts 29 Network Acts 29 is a global family of church planting churches that adheres to Reformed or New Calvinist theology. It derives its name from the Book of Acts in the New Testament, which has 28 chapters, making Acts 29 the "next chapter" in the history ...
affiliated church.


Membership

Ortlund has also been a fellow or member at various Christian institutions: * Fellow, The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics; * Fellow, The Center for Baptist Renewal; * Fellow, Credo, 2023 to present; * Member, The Center for Pastor Theologians (St. Basil Fellowship); * Visiting Scholar at
Reasons to Believe Reasons to Believe (RTB) is an American nonprofit organization that promotes day-age forms of old Earth creationism. It was founded in 1986 by Hugh Ross, a Canadian-born astrophysicist and creationist Christian apologist. Former Vice-Presiden ...
; * Editorial Board,
Themelios ''Themelios'' (Greek: ''Θεμέλιος'', i.e., ''foundation'' or ''keystone'') is a peer-reviewed international evangelical theological journal that expounds on the historic Christian faith. Its primary audience is theological students, past ...
(2016–2021); *
Evangelical Theological Society The Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) is a professional society of Biblical scholars, educators, pastors, and students "devoted to the inerrancy and inspiration of the Scriptures and the gospel of Jesus Christ" and "dedicated to the oral ex ...
; * International Association for Anselm Studies;


Public engagement

Ortlund has debated Trent Horn (a member of
Catholic Answers Catholic Answers is a Catholic advocacy group based in El Cajon, California. History Catholic Answers was founded in 1979 by Karl Keating in response to a fundamentalist Protestant church in San Diego that was distributing anti-Catholic propa ...
) on several issues, including
purgatory In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...
and
baptismal regeneration Baptismal regeneration is the name given to doctrines held by the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican churches, and other Protestant denominations which maintain that salvation is intimately linked to the act of bapti ...
. He has criticized John MacArthur and others for oversimplifying matters in deciding how churches in California ought to respond to governmental COVID restrictions. Gavin suggested that MacArthur had prioritiz dworship over loving your neighbor, obedience to government, and maintaining a good witness.


Views

* Ortlund has defended the doctrine of
divine simplicity In classical theistic and monotheistic theology, the doctrine of divine simplicity says that God is simple (without parts). God exists as one unified entity, with no distinct attributes; God's existence is identical to God's essence. Overview ...
and the
Thomistic Thomism is the philosophical and theological school which arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the Dominican philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, Thomas's disputed questions ...
view of the
beatific vision In Christian theology, the beatific vision () refers to the ultimate state of happiness that believers will experience when they see God face to face in heaven. It is the ultimate direct self-communication of God to the angel and person. A perso ...
. * Ortlund has defended the view that
Noah's flood The Genesis flood narrative (chapters 6–9 of the Book of Genesis) is a Hebrew flood myth. It tells of God's decision to return the universe to its pre- creation state of watery chaos and remake it through the microcosm of Noah's ark. The B ...
was a regional event and not a global event, arguing that such a position is consistent with "an effort to take seriously the meaning of the text, which involves what the original author meant the original readers to take from it in its original context." This claim has caused controversy within
Evangelicalism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
and ignited accusations of theological liberalism, which he has denied. * Ortlund also holds to the position of
biblical inerrancy Biblical inerrancy is the belief that the Bible, in its original form, is entirely free from error. The belief in biblical inerrancy is of particular significance within parts of evangelicalism Evangelicalism (), also called evangelic ...
. He identifies as a theologically conservative Christian in accordance with traditional historic Protestant positions. "I'm an evangelical Christian. I believe in biblical inerrancy. I think the Scripture is fully trustworthy. I think if people were to go down the line on...the average sort of testing issues of our times, they'd find me pretty conservative, pretty classically Christian in my instincts."


Bibliography

Ortlund has written a variety of books surrounding various biblical, theological, and ecclesiastical studies: * ''1–2 Kings: A 12-Week Study'' (Crossway, 2017) * ''Theological Retrieval for Evangelicals: Why We Need Our Past to Have a Future'' (Crossway, 2019) * ''Finding the Right Hills to Die On: The Case for Theological Triage'' (Crossway / The Gospel Coalition, 2020) * ''Anselm's Pursuit of Joy: A Commentary on the Proslogion'' (Catholic University of America Press, 2020) * ''Retrieving Augustine's Doctrine of Creation: Ancient Wisdom for Current Controversy'' (IVP Academic, 2020) * ''Why God Makes Sense in a World That Doesn't: The Beauty of Christian Theism'' (Baker Academic, 2021) * ''Humility: The Joy of Self-Forgetfulness'' (Crossway / Union School of Theology, 2023) * ''What It Means to Be Protestant: The Case for an Always-Reforming Church'' (Zondervan, 2024) * ''The Art of Disagreeing: How to Keep Calm and Stay Friends in Hard Conversations'' (The Good Book Company, 2025)


Personal life

Ortlund is married to his wife, Esther, and they have five children. He has two brothers: Dane Ortlund, author of ''Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers'', and Eric Ortlund, who serves as a Lecturer in Old Testament and Biblical Hebrew at
Oak Hill College Oak Hill College is a conservative evangelical theological college located on Chase Side in Southgate, London, England. Its aim is to prepare men and women from the Church of England and Independent churches for ministry. Overview The College ...
in London.


Further reading

* * * * In addressing the James R. Wood- David A. French debate, Ortlund tweeted, " oiding tribalism and seeking winsomeness is NOT a strategy that can be discarded once we arrive in a ‘negative world,’ It is a biblical commandment" (as quoted here by Lee). * Article discusses the Ortlund book, ''Theological Retrieval for Evangelicals: Why We Need Our Past to Have a Future''.


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ortlund, Gavin 1983 births Living people 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians 21st-century evangelicals American Calvinist and Reformed theologians American Evangelical writers American male non-fiction writers American religious writers American YouTubers Christian apologists Covenant Theological Seminary alumni Evangelical theologians Fuller Theological Seminary alumni Reformed Baptists University of Georgia alumni