Joshua Harris falling away from faith: 'I am not a Christian'

Even if it was true that Harris becomes a homosexual, it’s still unnecessary speculation. Isn’t this situation bad enough without adding fuel to the fire by making these kinds of accusations / statements?

Now is a time for grief and mourning and soul-searching of our own hearts, not a time to start idly speculating about where he “goes next” with his rejection of the Truth. Does anyone think that Josh, his kids, or his siblings and parents are edified or encouraged by these remarks? Are making hypothetical remarks about his sexuality going to help him come back to the church? Is it going to help the person in your congregation who is grappling with their own demons to come out and say “I need help, can we talk”?

I don’t think that he has turned away from the truth and is eternally condemned to hell yet either; he made a remark about rejecting Christianity “by all the old measures he had”, which makes me think that he is shedding a lot of the stuff he grew up in but not the gospel. Maybe I’m being overly optimistic but as long as he is still alive, there is hope that he will repent. God is certainly capable of turning him “back”.

Finally, Susan’s point about “not being a novice” is wise, and well worth meditation. While I don’t think we have any Fundamentalist superstars of his caliber, we are generally way too quick to push young, immature, and unsound men into the pulpit because they are “gifted” or “called”. Then when they flame out, we scratch out heads and wonder “where it went wrong”.

Thank you, Jay….words of wisdom.

I can see Jay’s point about specific speculation being unnecessary. That said, I would agree that we shouldn’t be surprised to hear of another bombshell from Mr. Harris, whatever that may be.

Regarding the biblical teaching of a pastor “not being a novice,” what does it say about the non-novice folks that put a novice in such a non-novice role??? Mr. Harris didn’t put himself in that position, other people did, many of whom are older and “wiser.”

In our general fundamentalist circle, a somewhat recent example of this was Joe Zichterman. I get it, he didn’t leave the Christian faith. He received an honorary doctorate from BJU at the age of 33, he and Jocelyn had their “Women at Home University” thing, their magazine, and he went around to various churches speaking against the likes of Hybels & Willow Creek, etc. Again, I don’t believe he has left is faith in the same manner as Mr. Harris, but the trajectory of what he was celebrated for in our circles has changed significantly in a way that if, say, BJU could’ve seen into the future they would not have given him an honorary doctorate, never mind at that young age.

[Jay]

Finally, Susan’s point about “not being a novice” is wise, and well worth meditation. While I don’t think we have any Fundamentalist superstars of his caliber, we are generally way too quick to push young, immature, and unsound men into the pulpit because they are “gifted” or “called”. Then when they flame out, we scratch out heads and wonder “where it went wrong”.

Really? I thought we were unwilling to mentor the young guys and not give them a chance at leadership? Now we are “way too quick” to push them forward? Which is it?

actually, I know the answer: “fundamentalist = bad, any narrative that comes along = a new opportunity to take a shot”

Bad idea to broadbrush causation. There were probably lots of reasons why Harris is where he is today - and these reasons include his own deliberate decisions!

Regarding mentoring, or lack thereof, and moving people along too soon - every ecclesiastical camp has its issues with this. Again, broadbrushing is often unhelpful. Truman has a good article on this matter at “First Things” today that suggests a more appropriate source of causation - celebrity evangelicalism.

….and it’s not really a potshot at fundamentalists per se, but rather a statement of reality for all fundagelical (and pentamatic) circles. All through fundagelicalism, we have our young heroes that we elevate far more quickly than their work really would justify, and having elevated our heroes in this way—be it a preacher-boy competition or a million-copy-selling book—it’s awfully hard to mentor them, if even those older pastors have the time and energy to do so.

So really, the “young giants” and “failure to make disciples” are two sides of the same coin. My take is that if a church’s definition of “discipleship” is attending three services a week and volunteering in the nursery or AWANA, they’ve got some things to learn from the Master. It’s simply not how Jesus did it with the Apostles, and it’s not what Paul describes as his interactions with Timothy and other young pastors.

I saw these thoughts on Twitter a few minutes ago, and wanted to share them as well.
https://twitter.com/racheljwelcher/status/1155120506175180802

Harris gives all appearances of being an apostate according to the book of Jude and Hebrews 6. If such is the case, and only God knows with absolute certainty, he not only has never been regenerated, he is also irredeemable. Apostasy can occur both on a doctrinal level and on a moral level. There is no doubt that he has doctrinally renounced the faith, but his comments on the LGBTQ agenda and his divorce may indicate a moral apostasy as well (Rom 1:18-33). Time will tell. Since he was an evangelical pastor, he falls under the judgment given by James that teachers of the truth of God’s word will incur greater judgment. Jesus said, “To Whom much is given, much more will be required.” His comments indicate that he desires full acceptance by the secular culture and is willing to abandon all biblical beliefs and behavior to receive that acceptance.

David French apparently was a volunteer youth pastor when the book came out, and he writes this regarding his view that the idea of Harris’ smacked of legalism, and one of his proudest achievements was to put the kibosh on people trying to implement the book at the church he served. This could speak to all kinds of things here.

https://www.garbc.org/commentary/be-hopeful-the-church-does-not-rise-or…

Ab Initio:

Alexander and Hymenaeus are not the most famous characters in the New Testament. Most would probably have a difficult time identifying who these men were and why they were mentioned in one of the apostle Paul’s epistles—these were men who made “shipwreck” of their faith (1 Tim. 1:19–20). Paul used them to illustrate the contrast between those who keep the faith with a good conscience and those who abandon the faith. Yet during this time when a few were apostatizing, the gospel was nevertheless spreading, countless multitudes were being saved, and churches were being planted at an incredible rate. So we shouldn’t be too quick to write off the church. God is faithful, and He will accomplish His purposes despite the unfaithfulness of some.

We all grieve over the tragic news of former megachurch pastor and bestselling author Joshua Harris’s announcements of separating from his wife and a week later publicly proclaiming that he’s “not a Christian.” Not only that, he went so far as to apologize for at one time standing for the Biblical teaching on sexual ethics. This recent “fall from grace” has brought to mind Biblical names such as Alexander the Coppersmith, Hymenaeus, and Demas.

Joshua Harris is a human being who is created in the image of God. He’s also the father of three beautiful children. He is obviously in a terrible place spiritually and in great need of prayer. Undoubtedly many in his former church and circle of influence are grieving right now. What happened to him could happen to any of us (1 Cor. 10:12–13). It’s important that as we consider these things, we keep our language from becoming quarrelsome, slanderous, demeaning, or unbecoming of a follower of Christ. This is especially important with respect to what we post on social media. Yes, let’s be bold and truthful. But at the same time, let’s say what we mean without being mean in how we say it (Col. 4:6).

But we also need to be cautious about embracing a “sky is falling” mentality. Thankfully, the church’s foundation does not depend on the performance of prominent Christian celebrities. Even when a well-known pastor and author publicly announces his divorce and denial of the faith, the church still marches on for God’s glory. Many who mock the gospel will gloat about this public denial of the faith. That’s tragic, but it isn’t fatal to the church’s future. I believe we should be more optimistic than ever about the future of the church—not because of the celebrities it often elevates, but because of the Christ Who is the rock and the head of the church.

Over at GARBC.org

BE HOPEFUL: THE CHURCH DOES NOT RISE OR FALL ON CHRISTIAN CELEBRITY

Also, at Breakpoint

Podcast: The Backlash Against Purity Culture—Or Against Purity?

I thought this was good.

http://dbts.edu/2019/07/31/joshua-harris-purity-culture-and-christian-strangeness/

The DBTS article is a better analysis then most I’ve seen so far.

The DBTS articles makes a helpful distinction between purity and the kitsch of purity culture. I certainly would want to preach / teach on purity. Is that now taboo?

[T Howard]

The DBTS articles makes a helpful distinction between purity and the kitsch of purity culture. I certainly would want to preach / teach on purity. Is that now taboo?

I think David French and DBTS are hitting on some of the same ideas. Evangelicalism seems to lurch from fad to fad to dress up the ordinary means of grace handed down to us over the centuries. Purity rings, love-waits, diaries, slogans…OK…are they wrong…I suppose not necessarily. But the Scriptures certainly didn’t list them as required means of grace. Ordinary means—being in the Word, praying, gathering with the local church—not because these merit favor—but because we are desperately incapable of sanctifying ourselves apart from the work of the Spirit through the ordinary means of grace. Our church manages to get in a good deal of the biblical sexual ethic merely through faithful expository preaching.