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Joshua Eugene Harris is an American former Evangelical Christian pastor. Harris' 1997 book I Kissed Dating Goodbye, in which he laid out his ideas concerning a Biblically based Christian approach to dating and relationships, helped shape purity culture for many Christian millennials.[1] Harris was lead pastor of Covenant Life Church, the founding church of Sovereign Grace Ministries, in Gaithersburg, Maryland from 2004 until 2015. In 2018, Harris disavowed I Kissed Dating Goodbye and discontinued its publication. The following year, Harris announced that he was separating from his wife, had "undergone a massive shift in regard to my faith in Jesus" and had given up on his Christian faith.[2][3][4]
Joshua Harris | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Born | Joshua Eugene Harris Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author |
| Children | 3 |
| Website | |
| joshharris | |
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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.[5] Harris published New Attitude, a magazine aimed at fellow homeschoolers, from 1994 to 1997.[citation needed] He received no formal seminary or theological training until 2015, when he attended Regent College, Vancouver, B.C.[6] Harris married Shannon Hendrickson in 1998. They have had three children.[7] His brothers, twins Alex and Brett, authored The Rebelution (rebelution is a neologism defined by its creators as "a teenage rebellion against low expectations").[8]
Harris's first book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye, was published in 1997 and has sold 1.2 million copies worldwide.[2] 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".[9]
In 1997, Harris moved from Oregon to Gaithersburg, Maryland to be a pastoral intern.[10][11] 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."[12] Harris was lead pastor of Covenant Life Church from 2004 until 2015.[13][6] Harris assumed the role of senior pastor at Covenant Life Church at the age of 30.[10] 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.[6]
Harris started Sovereign Grace Ministries' New Attitude Conference for Christian singles in 1999, with inspiration and guidance from Louie Giglio, founder of Passion Conferences.[12] From 1999 until 2011 he continued frequently to organize and lead this conference, although in 2008 it was renamed "Next."[14]
In 2016, Harris stated that he was reconsidering the content of I Kissed Dating Goodbye[15] and apologized to people who said that they had been hurt by its teachings.[16][15] In 2018, Harris disavowed I Kissed Dating Goodbye and discontinued its publication.[17] His publishers agreed that I Kissed Dating Goodbye and two other follow-up books would not be reprinted once the current stock was depleted.[18][19] Harris appeared in a documentary film called I Survived I Kissed Dating Goodbye, where he spoke to people who were critical of the book.[20][21]
In July 2019, Harris announced that he and his wife were separating due to "significant changes [that] have taken place in both of us".[22][23] The couple divorced that year.[24] 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.[25][26][27][24]
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.[28]
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- 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)
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