Joshua Eugene Harris is an American former Evangelical Christian pastor. Harris' 1997 book ''

I Kissed Dating Goodbye ''I Kissed Dating Goodbye'' is a 1997 book by Joshua Harris. The book focuses on Harris' disenchantment with the contemporary secular dating scene, and offers ideas for improvement, alternative dating/courting practices, and a view that singlen ...

'', in which he laid out his ideas concerning a Biblically based Christian approach to

dating Dating is a stage of romantic relationships in which two individuals engage in an activity together, most often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the categor ...

and relationships, helped shape purity culture for many Christian millennials. Harris was lead pastor of Covenant Life Church, the founding church of Sovereign Grace Ministries, in

Gaithersburg, Maryland Gaithersburg ( ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the ninth-largest location in the state. Gai ...

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.

Biography

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. Harris published ''New Attitude'', a magazine aimed at fellow homeschoolers, from 1994 to 1997. He received no formal seminary or theological training until 2015, when he attended

Regent College Regent College is an interdenominational evangelical Christian College of Christian studies, and an affiliated college of the University of British Columbia, located next to the university's campus in the University Endowment Lands west of V ...

, Vancouver, B.C. Harris married Shannon Hendrickson in 1998. They have had three children. His brothers, twins Alex and Brett, authored '' The Rebelution'' (rebelution is a

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

defined by its creators as "a teenage rebellion against low expectations). Harris's first book, ''I Kissed Dating Goodbye'', was published in 1997 and has sold 1.2 million copies worldwide. Subsequent books by Harris include '' Boy Meets Girl: Say Hello to Courtship, 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". In 1997, Harris moved from Oregon to

to be a pastoral intern. There, " C. J. Mahaney, a charismatic

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

and founding pastor of

megachurch A megachurch is a church with an unusually large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities, usually Protestant or Evangelical. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant C ...

Covenant Life Church, took Harris under his wing and groomed him to take over the church." Harris was lead pastor of Covenant Life Church from 2004 until 2015. Harris assumed the role of senior pastor at Covenant Life Church at the age of 30. 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 Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

case internally instead of going to police. Harris started Sovereign Grace Ministries' ''New Attitude'' Conference for Christian singles in 1999, with inspiration and guidance from Louie Giglio, founder of

Passion Conferences Passion Conferences (also referred to as Passion and the 268 Generation, originally named Choice Ministries) is a Christian organization founded by Louie Giglio in 1997. The organization is known for its annual gatherings of young adults betwee ...

. From 1999 until 2011 he continued frequently to organize and lead this conference, although in 2008 it was renamed "Next." In 2016, Harris stated that he was reconsidering the content of ''I Kissed Dating Goodbye'' and apologized to people who said that they had been hurt by its teachings. In 2018, Harris disavowed ''I Kissed Dating Goodbye'' and discontinued its publication. His publishers agreed that ''I Kissed Dating Goodbye'' and two other follow-up books would not be reprinted once the current stock was depleted. Harris appeared in a documentary film called ''I Survived I Kissed Dating Goodbye'', where he spoke to people who were critical of the book. In July 2019, Harris announced that he and his wife were separating due to "significant changes

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

have taken place in both of us". Subsequently, Harris revealed that he no longer considered himself a Christian and his wife began pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter under the name Shannon Bonne. 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.

Books

* ''

'' (Updated Version). Multnomah, 2003. * '' Boy Meets Girl: Say Hello to Courtship''. Multnomah, 2000. * ''Not Even a Hint''. Multnomah, 2003. (re-published as ''Sex Isn't the Problem, Lust Is'' in 2005. ) * ''Stop Dating the Church!'' Multnomah, 2004. (re-published as ''Why Church Matters: Discovering Your Place in the Family of God'' in 2011. ) * ''Dug Down Deep'' Multnomah, 2010. * ''Humble Orthodoxy: Holding the Truth High Without Putting People Down'' Multnomah, 2013. )

References

External links

*
Covenant Life Church

Sovereign Grace Ministries

New Attitude: A Humble Orthodoxy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Joshua 1974 births American bloggers American people of Japanese descent American former Christians American former Protestants Homeschooling advocates Living people Writers from Dayton, Ohio 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers