John Pavlovitz

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John Pavlovitz
Born (1969-06-01) June 1, 1969 (age 52)
Syracuse, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of the Arts (Philadelphia)
OccupationUnitarian pastor, author, progressive political pundit
Notable work
Stuff That Needs to Be Said
A Bigger Table
Hope and Other Super Powers
Spouse(s)Jennifer
ChildrenTwo
Websitejohnpavlovitz.com

John Pavlovitz is an American Unitarian pastor and author, known for his progressive social and political writings from a post modern Unitarian Universalist perspective.[1][2]

Early life and education[]

John Pavlovitz was born in Syracuse, New York to a middle-class family of Italian and Judeo-Russian Descent, and was raised as a member of the Catholic Church.[1][2] He studied graphic design at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.[1][3]

Ministry[]

After college he joined a Methodist church, where he married his wife Jennifer.[1][4] He attended Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary and became a youth minister at the church.[5] Pavlovitz later worked for nearly a decade as youth pastor, in a program serving several hundred students[3] at the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, a "megachurch"[3] in Charlotte, North Carolina before being fired.

He currently identifies as a Unitarian Universalist.[citation needed]

Writing[]

He began a blog Stuff That Needs To Be Said in 2012,[6] and was fired from a Raleigh, NC church in 2013, in response to "provocative" articles he'd posted.[3][1][7] He later became a youth minister at North Raleigh Community Church.[1]

His blog has gained a large following[8] and media attention for articles he has written on the subjects of acceptance of homosexuality ("If I Have Gay Children", 2014),[1][9][7][2] attitudes about rape ("To Brock Turner's Father, from Another Father", 2016),[1][2][10][11] the presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton ("Thank You, Hillary", 2016),[12] and the character of Donald Trump ("It’s time we stopped calling Donald Trump a Christian", 2017).[13][14][15]

In 2017, Westminster John Knox Press published his first book A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community,[5] which describes what he sees as the four foundations of the Christian church, and argues for creating a more inclusive society and church community.[2][16][17] His second book Hope and Other Superpowers: A Life-Affirming, Love-Defending, Butt-Kicking, World-Saving Manifesto offers advice for individuals seeking to counter "the highly partisan cultural climate", and was published by Simon & Schuster in November 2018.[18]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Abrams, Amanda. "How Raleigh's John Pavlovitz Went from Fired Megachurch Pastor to Rising Star of the Religious Left". Indy Week. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e "John Pavlovitz, digital pastor of the resistance, pitches a bigger Christian tent". Religion News Service. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d Prentice, George. "John Pavlovitz". Boise Weekly. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  4. ^ "John Pavlovitz". The Good Men Project. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  5. ^ a b "John Pavlovitz: Bringing people to the table with honest talk about tough topics". Faith and Leadership. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  6. ^ "2012 - Page 15 of 15 - john pavlovitz". john pavlovitz. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Stevens, Heidi. "Just in time for Thanksgiving, instructions on building a bigger, more inclusive table". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  8. ^ "'This is nothing like the faith I entered into': Ex-megachurch pastor explains his path away from conservatism". Raw Story. November 22, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  9. ^ "Stuff That Needs to Be Said". OutSmart Magazine. January 10, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  10. ^ "You Have to Read This Father's Powerful Response to Brock Turner's Dad". Cosmopolitan. June 7, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  11. ^ Kurtz, Jason. "Pastor to Stanford swimmer's father: 'Brock is not the victim'". CNN. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  12. ^ "North Carolina Christian pastor writes piercing open letter to Hillary Clinton". Daily Kos. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  13. ^ "North Carolina pastor: 'It's time we stopped calling Donald Trump a Christian'". News Observer. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  14. ^ "Why This Pastor Is Telling People to Stop Calling Donald Trump a Christian". The Christian Post. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  15. ^ "Trump Rips Into ESPN as Pastor John Pavlovitz Says He Agrees With Jemele Hill's White Supremacist Claims". The Christian Post. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  16. ^ Houle, Zachary (September 9, 2017). "A Review of John Pavlovitz's "A Bigger Table"". Zachary Houle. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  17. ^ "A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community". The Presbyterian Outlook. March 22, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  18. ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: Hope and Other Superpowers: A Life-Affirming, Love-Defending, Butt-Kicking, World-Saving Manifesto by John Pavlovitz. Simon & Schuster, $20 trade paper (240p) ISBN 978-1-5011-7965-5". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved December 3, 2018.

External links[]

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