This section needs expansion with: a standard chronological, position- and achievement-focused career section based in independent, third-party sources. You can help by adding to it. (December 2024)
Preparation for ministry
Ortlund discloses in his writings that he came from and appreciated his Presbyterian 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![13][independent source needed]
He goes on to write that he was "propelled... out of Presbyterianism" because of the doctrine of infant baptism (paedobaptism), and that after a period of intensive study, his "convictions had solidified against [it], and I (somewhat reluctantly) changed my church affiliation and was baptized [again] (dunked in a river, to be precise)."[13] He went on to receive his ordination from the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference.[citation needed]
Career positions
This section needs expansion with: Other career positions, with beginning- and end-dates of posts, including the editorial positions he has held. You can help by adding to it. (December 2024)
Ortlund has debated Trent Horn (a member of Catholic Answers) on several issues, including purgatory and baptismal regeneration.[17][18] He has criticized John MacArthur and others for oversimplifying matters in deciding how churches in California ought to respond to governmental COVID restrictions, where others described his position as arguing that MacArthur had "prioritiz[ed] worship over [a more submissive posture that included considerations of] loving your neighbor, obedience to government and maintaining a good witness".[19][20][21]
Finding the Right Hills to Die on: The Case for Theological Triage. (2020), Essential doctrines of the faith, non-essential doctrines, and prioritize doctrine.[full citation needed][23][independent source needed][24]
In his book Why God Makes Sense in a World That Doesn't: The Beauty of Christian Theism (2021),[full citation needed] Ortlund argues that the idea of the existence of God is "more satisfying to both mind and heart" than naturalism.[citation needed] Ortlund has written a commentary on the work of Anselm.[25] He has written on Christian unity, criticizing sectarianism as well as doctrinal indifference.[26][27] Ortlund has opposed those who call for "an end to the Reformation".[28][29]
What it Means to be Protestant: The Case for an Always Reforming Church. Grand Rapids (2024), a defense of the Protestant tradition.[full citation needed]
Humility: The Joy of Self-Forgetfulness (2023), where Ortlund writes how humility is not an abstract virtue but a mark of gospel integrity.[full citation needed]
Retrieving Augustine’s Doctrine of Creation: Ancient Wisdom for Current Controversy (2020). How Augustine of Hippo might understand Genesis 1-3.[full citation needed]
I and II Kings: A 12-Week Study. Knowing the Bible (Crossway, 2017), "A 12-week Practical Study Series on the Books of 1 and 2 Kings".[30][full citation needed]
Ortlund has defended the view that Noah's flood 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."[34][independent source needed] This claim has caused controversy within Evangelicalism and ignited accusations of theological liberalism, which he has denied.[35][36]
Lee, Justin (May 20, 2022). "Takeaways from the Debate over Tim Keller's "Third Way"". First Things. Retrieved August 14, 2022. In addressing the James R. Wood-David A. French debate, Ortlund tweeted, "[A]voiding 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).
^Ortlund, Gavin (2020). Finding the Right Hills to Die On: The Case for Theological Triage. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway. p. 6.[independent source needed]
^Ortlund, Gavin (2020). Finding the Right Hills to Die On: The Case for Theological Triage. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway. p. 6.[independent source needed]
^Ortlund, Gavin (August 20, 2010). "An Annotated Bibliography on Hell". 9marks.org. Archived from the original(autobiographical author's blurb accompanying an article) on October 8, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2024. [Relevant portion, in its entirety:]Gavin Ortlund is an editor at The Gospel Coalition, associate pastor at Sierra Madre Congregational Church, and PhD student at Fuller Theological Seminary in historical theology. You can find him on Twitter at @gavinortlund.[independent source needed]
^Ortlund, Gavin (August 2, 2020). "Should Churches in California Defy Government Restrictions? A Response to John MacArthur". TruthUnites.org. Retrieved December 31, 2024. Ortlund argued that "four biblical values that should inform our decision-making in this situation: / the importance of worship (Hebrews 10:25) / love for neighbor (Mark 12:31) / obedience to government (Romans 13:1-7) / maintaining a good witness (Colossians 4:5-6)".
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