Holy Shift #17 - I Kissed Ministry Goodbye with Joshua Harris
13 snips
Feb 5, 2025 
Joshua Harris, author and former pastor who wrote I Kissed Dating Goodbye, shares his journey leaving pastoral ministry and rethinking long-held beliefs. He talks about how counseling and seminary shifted his sense of calling. He describes translating ministry skills to marketplace work and the difficulty of changing your mind publicly. He reflects on compassion for former versions of himself.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
From Teenage Publisher To Longtime Pastor
- Joshua Harris described moving from parachurch publishing into full-time pastoral ministry after CJ Mahaney mentored him and called him a Timothy figure.
- He left a homeschool conference/media path after a book deal for I Kissed Dating Goodbye and joined Sovereign Grace, pastoring there 17 years.
Trauma Triggered Reconsideration Of Calling
- Major church traumas—leadership infighting, a damaging lawsuit, and mishandled abuse reports—pushed Joshua to reconsider his role.
- An independent investigator's finding that he should've gone to police was the first time he thought stepping aside might protect the church.
Get External Frameworks To Reevaluate Fit
- Use outside frameworks and counselors to evaluate fit rather than only calling and sanctification categories.
- Joshua credits a pastor-focused counselor and Enneagram work for giving permission to see he wasn't a good fit for that senior role.
