John Pavlovitz (born June 1, 1969) is an American former youth pastor and author, known for his social and political writings from a liberal Christian perspective.[1][2]
John Pavlovitz | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 1, 1969 Syracuse, New York, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of the Arts (Philadelphia) Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary |
| Notable work | Stuff That Needs to Be Said A Bigger Table Hope and Other Super Powers |
| Spouse | Jennifer |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | johnpavlovitz |
Early life and education edit
Pavlovitz was born in Syracuse, New York, to a middle-class family of Italian and Russian descent,[3] 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][4]
Ministry edit
After college, Pavlovitz joined a Methodist church, where he married his wife Jennifer.[1][5] He attended Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary and became a youth minister at the church.[6] Pavlovitz later worked for nearly a decade as youth pastor, in a program serving several hundred students[4] at the Good Shepherd United Methodist Church, a "megachurch"[4] in Charlotte, North Carolina, before being fired. In 2022, he launched Empathetic People Network, a private paid social media network for "kind humans".[7]
Writing edit
Pavlovitz began a blog Stuff That Needs To Be Said in 2012,[8] and was fired from a Raleigh, North Carolina, church in 2013 in response to "provocative" articles he had posted.[4][1][9] He later became a youth minister at North Raleigh Community Church.[1]
His blog has gained a large following[10] and media attention for articles he has written on the subjects of acceptance of homosexuality ("If I Have Gay Children", 2014),[1][11][9][2] attitudes about rape ("To Brock Turner's Father, from Another Father", 2016),[1][2][12][13] the presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton ("Thank You, Hillary", 2016),[14] and the character of Donald Trump ("It's time we stopped calling Donald Trump a Christian", 2017).[15][16][17]
In 2017, Westminster John Knox Press published his first book A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community,[6] 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][18][19] 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.[20]
Personal life edit
Pavlovitz and his wife, Jennifer, have two children.[21]
In October 2021, Pavlovitz underwent surgery to have a noncancerous pituitary tumor removed from the base of his brain.[22]
References edit
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b c d e "John Pavlovitz, digital pastor of the resistance, pitches a bigger Christian tent". Religion News Service. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ "I'm Italian and Russian". Twitter. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Prentice, George. "John Pavlovitz". Boise Weekly. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
- ^ "John Pavlovitz". The Good Men Project. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ a b "John Pavlovitz: Bringing people to the table with honest talk about tough topics". Faith and Leadership. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ Pavlovitz, John. "Empathetic People Network". Empathetic People Network. Mighty Networks. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
- ^ "2012 - Page 15 of 15 - john pavlovitz". john pavlovitz. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ a b Stevens, Heidi. "Just in time for Thanksgiving, instructions on building a bigger, more inclusive table". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ "'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.
- ^ "Stuff That Needs to Be Said". OutSmart Magazine. January 10, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ "You Have to Read This Father's Powerful Response to Brock Turner's Dad". Cosmopolitan. June 7, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ Kurtz, Jason. "Pastor to Stanford swimmer's father: 'Brock is not the victim'". CNN. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ "North Carolina Christian pastor writes piercing open letter to Hillary Clinton". Daily Kos. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ "North Carolina pastor: 'It's time we stopped calling Donald Trump a Christian'". News Observer. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ "Why This Pastor Is Telling People to Stop Calling Donald Trump a Christian". The Christian Post. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Houle, Zachary (September 9, 2017). "A Review of John Pavlovitz's "A Bigger Table"". Zachary Houle. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ "A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community". The Presbyterian Outlook. March 22, 2018. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "John Pavlovitz". Yes Very Happy. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
- ^ Pavlovitz, John (October 16, 2021). "Things You Think When You Think You're Dying". john pavlovitz. Retrieved October 3, 2022.