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Raymond C. Ortlund Jr.

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Not to be confused with Raymond C. Ortlund Sr.

Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. (born September 7, 1949[1]) is the former and founding pastor of Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee.[2] He is the son of Renewal Ministries founders Ray and Anne Ortlund.

Ortlund has served in pastoral ministry and is the author of several Bible commentaries and other books. He taught Old Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois for nine years. He has served on the translation committees of the New Living Translation and English Standard Version Bible translations, and provided the study notes on Isaiah for the ESV Study Bible.

He now serves as president of Renewal Ministries[2] and as Canon Theologian in the Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast of the Anglican Church in North America.[3]

Early life

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Raymond C. Ortlund Jr. is the son of Ray and Anne Ortlund. He attended Blair High School in Pasadena, California, where he played football.[4] After high school, he attended Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, where he lettered in football.[5] He met his wife, Jani, while a student at Wheaton.[2]

Ministry

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After graduating from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1975,[4] Ortlund joined the staff of Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California. He was ordained in 1975 at Lake Avenue Congregational Church, where his father was pastor.[4] He received an MA from the University of California, Berkeley in 1978.[6][dead link] Ortlund moved to Scotland to pursue his PhD from University of Aberdeen.[2][7] While in Scotland, he served as assistant minister of Banchory Ternan West Parish Church (Church of Scotland).[citation needed] Upon returning from Scotland in 1985, Ortlund moved to Eugene, Oregon to plant Cascade Presbyterian Church.[2] After Cascade was accepted into the PCA, he began teaching Old Testament and Semitic Languages at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.[2] After nine years at Trinity, Ortlund returned to the pastorate at the 1,500 member First Presbyterian Church in Augusta, Georgia, which he led as senior pastor for five years.[2]

In 2004, Ortlund moved to Nashville, Tennessee, as senior pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church.[2][8] After parting ways with Christ Presbyterian in 2007, Ortlund and his wife were involved with a fellowship group which ultimately grew to a Bible study group that became Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee.[2][9] Immanuel had its first public service in 2008 and joined Acts 29 in 2009. From 2011 to 2012 Ortlund served as an Acts 29 regional director.[2]

Ortlund presently serves as president of Renewal Ministries.[2] He also serves as Canon Theologian in the Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast of the Anglican Church in North America.[3]

As an Old Testament scholar, he served on the translation committee of the New Living Translation (NLT) for Psalms 76-150.[2][10] He served as a review scholar for the English Standard Version (ESV) translation.[2][11] Ortlund provided study notes for the ESV Study Bible for Isaiah.[2][12]

Ortlund has taken public stands against racism. In 2015, after arson targeted a number of African-American churches in St. Louis, Ortlund tweeted, "Hey racists, come burn our church too. We stand for Jesus too. We oppose racism too."[13] Following a racially motivated mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart in 2019, Ortlund tweeted that mass shootings were evil and "if motivated by racism, evil compounded".[14]

In October 2024, Ortlund received backlash from political conservatives when he endorsed Kamala Harris for President on social media. He later deleted the post stating it was being misrepresented.[15][16]

Theological views

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Ortlund's exegetical approach is from a confessional perspective.[17] He was a founding member[citation needed] of the council the Gospel Coalition, "a fellowship of evangelical churches in the Reformed tradition"[18] and formerly preached in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).[2] He presently serves in the Anglican Church in North America.[3]

Ortlund has written in support of complementarianism. In the 1991 book Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, Ortlund wrote that the principle of male-female equality was established at creation, as was male headship, stating, "In the partnership of two spiritually equal human beings, man and woman, the man bears the primary responsibility to lead the partnership in a God-glorifying direction."[19] He clarifies that the idea of headship and equality are not mutually exclusive. Being made in God's image, their equality is in the spiritual realm, while Genesis 1-3 allows men "headship" within this concept of equality.[20] According to Ortlund, the interpretation of gender roles in Genesis 1-3 frames the rest of the Biblical debate.[21]

Following the Supreme Court's Oberfell v. Hodges decision in 2015 legalizing same-sex marriage in the United States, Ortlund signed onto the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) statement defining marriage as between one man and one woman.[22][23] He was one of the initial signers of the Nashville Statement, an evangelical Christian statement of faith relating to human sexuality and gender roles authored by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) in 2017.[24]

Ortlund has emphasized the importance of the Old Testament in the Christian faith, pointing out how the Apostle Paul stressed his roots in Judaism.[25][26]

Selected works

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  • — (1994). A Passion for God: Prayers and Meditations on the Book of Romans. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway.
  • — (1996). Whoredom: God's Unfaithful Wife in Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans.[27][28]
  • — (2000). When God Comes to Church: A Biblical Model for Revival Today. Baker.
  • — (2001). Supernatural Living for Natural People: Studies in Romans 8. Christian Focus.
  • — (2005). Isaiah: God Saves Sinners. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway.[29]
  • — (2012). Proverbs: Wisdom That Works. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway.
  • — (2014). The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway.
  • — (2016). Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway.
  • — (2021). The Death of Porn: Men of Integrity Building a World of Nobility. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway.
  • — (2023). You're Not Crazy: Gospel Sanity for Weary Churches. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway.
  • — (2023). The Psalms: Real Help for Real Life. Lifeway.
  • — (2025). Good News at Rock Bottom: Finding God When the Pain Goes Deep and Hope Seems Lost. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway.

See Also

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References

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  1. ^ "Ortlund, Raymond C., Jr. (Personal Name)". John Bulow Campbell Library. Columbia Theological Seminary. Retrieved July 16, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Zylstra, Sarah Eekhoff (24 January 2018). "How Ray Ortlund Became Foster Father to a Generation of Church Planters". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Leadership". Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  4. ^ a b c "Son of Minister to be Ordained". Pasadena Star-News. September 13, 1975. p. 4. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  5. ^ "Star News". December 20, 1970. p. 30. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  6. ^ "Ray's Bio". Immanuel Church. Retrieved 11 March 2011.
  7. ^ Scholz, Susanne (2005). "The Christian Right's Discourse on Gender and the Bible". Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion. 21 (1): 81–100. doi:10.2979/FSR.2005.21.1.81. ISSN 8755-4178. JSTOR 25002517.
  8. ^ Searcy, Charles (December 29, 2005). "Pastor finds passion". The Tennessean. ProQuest 239728861.
  9. ^ Smietana, Bob (February 20, 2010). "Ministers go to the mat for Jesus". The Tennessean. ProQuest 239933752.
  10. ^ "Meet the Bible Translation Committee – New Living Translation". Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  11. ^ "Review Scholars | ESV.org". ESV Bible. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  12. ^ "The ESV Global Study Bible Contributors | ESV.org". ESV Bible. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  13. ^ Zylstra, Morgan Lee and Sarah Eekoff (2015-10-21). "Burning Black Churches Rekindle Old Fears". Christianity Today. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  14. ^ Shellnutt, Kate (2019-08-05). "Recent Shootings Spur Pastors to Call Out White Supremacy". Christianity Today. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  15. ^ Brown, Jon (2024-09-30). "Ray Ortlund deletes social media post endorsing Kamala Harris after backlash". www.christianpost.com. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  16. ^ Quintanilla, Milton (October 2, 2024). "Pastor Ray Ortlund Receives Backlash for Deleting Social Posts Endorsing Kamala Harris". Crosswalk.com. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  17. ^ Vogels, Walter (June 1998). "Whoredom: God's Unfaithful Wife in Biblical Theology . Raymond C. Ortlund". Near Eastern Archaeology. 61 (2): 132. doi:10.2307/3210648. ISSN 1094-2076.
  18. ^ "Foundation Documents". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  19. ^ Dowland, Seth (2009). "A New Kind of Patriarchy: Inerrancy and Masculinity in the Southern Baptist Convention, 1979–2000". In Friend, Craig Thompson (ed.). Southern Masculinity: Perspectives on Manhood in the South since Reconstruction. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. p. 258. ISBN 9780820336749.
  20. ^ Kvam, Kristen E.; Schearing, Linda S.; Ziegler, Valerie H., eds. (1999). "Hebrew Bible Accounts". Eve & Adam: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Readings on Genesis and Gender. Indiana University Press. p. 18.
  21. ^ Imes, Carmen Joy (2022-08-30). "Helper: You Keep Using That Word for Women". Christianity Today. Retrieved 2024-11-01.
  22. ^ "Here We Stand: An Evangelical Declaration on Marriage". Christianity Today. 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  23. ^ "Here We Stand: An Evangelical Declaration on Marriage". ERLC. 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  24. ^ "Nashville Statement". CBMW. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  25. ^ Gryboski, Michael (2018-10-18). "Reformed Theologian: 'Paul Did Not Unhitch the Christian Faith From the Old Testament'". www.christianpost.com. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  26. ^ Gryboski, Michael (2019-01-08). "Andy Stanley says Ten Commandments don't apply to Christians". www.christianpost.com. Retrieved 2024-11-02.
  27. ^ "Book Notes". Shofar. 16 (2): 150. 1998. ISSN 0882-8539. JSTOR 42942746.
  28. ^ Jobes, Karen H. "Whoredom: God's Unfaithful Wife in Biblical Theology". The Gospel Coalition. Retrieved 2024-10-31.
  29. ^ "Books Received". The Journal of Theological Studies. 57 (2): 838. 2006. ISSN 0022-5185. JSTOR 23971832.
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