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More About Ray Ortlund

Education

  • Wheaton College B.A. 1971
  • Dallas Theological Seminary Th.M. 1975
  • The University of California, Berkeley M.A. 1978
  • The University of Aberdeen, Scotland Ph.D. 1985

Service

  • Pastoral staff, Peninsula Bible Church, Palo Alto, California 1975-1981
  • Assistant Minister, Banchory-Ternan West Parish Church of Scotland 1982-1985
  • Pastor, Cascade Presbyterian Church, Eugene, Oregon 1985-1989
  • Associate Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois 1989-1998
  • Pastor, First Presbyterian Church, Augusta, Georgia 1998-2003
  • Pastor, Christ Presbyterian Church, Nashville, Tennessee 2004-2007
  • Pastor, Immanuel Church, Nashville, Tennessee 2007-

Personal

  • Married to Jan Giles Ortlund for thirty-eight happy years
  • Four delightful children, all launched into life
  • Ordained by Lake Avenue Congregational Church, Pasadena, California, 1975
  • Interests include reading, music, hunting, muscle cars

Publications

Magazines

  • "Christian Liberty: Both Open and Principled," The Presbyterian Journal, 18 March 1987, pages 11-13
  • "Living in the Shadows," The Evangelical Beacon, 2 April 1990, pages 16-17
  • Review of The Message: Psalms, by Eugene Peterson, Christianity Today, 9 January 1995, pages 64-65
  • "From Shame to Glory: The Doctrine of Man," Moody Magazine, January/February 1996, pages 20-21
  • "Providence in the Book of Ruth," Tabletalk, May 1996, pages 8-9, 16
  • "Finding God in Failure," Moody Magazine, January/February 1997, pages 26-29
  • "One Father, Many Sons," Tabletalk, September 2001, pages 14-16, 55
  • Review of Strength for the Journey, by Joseph Stowell, Moody, January/February 2002, page 58

Essays

  • "Male-Female Equality and Male Headship: Genesis 1-3," in Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism, edited by John Piper and Wayne Grudem (Crossway, 1991)
    "Book of the Year" award, Christianity Today, 1992 and "Biblical and Theological Studies" award, Christianity Today, 1992
  • "The Sovereignty of God: Case Studies in the Old Testament," in The Grace of God, the Bondage of the Will, edited by Bruce Ware and Tom Schreiner (Baker, 1995); re-issued in Still Sovereign (Baker, 2000)
  • "John Gill as Interpreter of the Old Testament," in The Life and Thought of John Gill (1697-1771): A Tercentennial Appreciation, edited by Michael A. G. Haykin (E. J. Brill, 1997)
  • "Don't Neglect Revival," in Dear Timothy: Letters on Pastoral Ministry, edited by Thomas K. Ascol (Founders Press, 2004)

Books

  • A Passion for God: Prayers and Meditations on the Book of Romans (Crossway, 1994)
  • God's Unfaithful Wife: New Studies in Biblical Theology, edited by D. A. Carson (InterVarsity, 1996)
  • When God Comes to Church: A Biblical Model for Revival Today (Baker, 2000)
  • Supernatural Living for Natural People: Studies in Romans 8 (Christian Focus, 2001)
  • Isaiah: God Saves Sinners, Preaching the Word, edited by R. Kent Hughes (Crossway, 2005)
  • Proverbs: Skill in Living, Preaching the Word, edited by R. Kent Hughes (Crossway, forthcoming)

Journals

  • Review of Hebrew and the Bible in America: The First Two Centuries, edited by Shalom Goldman, Trinity Journal 15 N.S. (1994): 259-266
  • Review of Where Shall Wisdom Be Found?: Calvin's Exegesis of Job from Medieval and Modern Perspectives, by Susan E. Schreiner, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 39 (1996): 292
  • Review of Davidson's Introductory Hebrew Grammar: 27th Edition, by James D. Martin, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 39 (1996): 150
  • Review of Readings in Biblical Hebrew: An Intermediate Textbook, by Ehud Ben Zvi, Maxine Hancock and Richard Beinert, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 40 (1997): 116-117
  • Review of A God of Vengeance?: Understanding the Psalms of Divine Wrath, by Erich Zenger, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 42 (1999): 326-327
  • Review of A Student's Guide to the Syntax of Biblical Hebrew, by Frederic Clarke Putnam, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 42 (1999): 92-93
  • Review of Psalms of the Way and the Kingdom: A Conference with the Commentators, by John Eaton, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 42 (1999): 115-116
  • "The Power of the Gospel in the Church Today," Trinity Journal 18 N.S. (1997): 3-13
  • "Revival: Blessing or Problem?" Reformation & Revival Journal 11 (Summer, 2002): 9-17

Other projects

  • Introduction and Study Notes for Obadiah in The New Geneva Study Bible, edited by R. C. Sproul, et al. (Thomas Nelson, 1995)
  • Psalms 76-150 in The New Living Translation (Tyndale House, 1996)
  • "Apostasy," "Man and Woman" and "Marriage" in the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, edited by Desmond Alexander and Brian Rosner (InterVarsity, 2000)
  • Editor, The Psalms, The English Standard Version (Crossway, 2001)
  • Introduction and Study Notes for Isaiah in The English Standard Version Study Bible (Crossway, 2008)

What Ray's friends say about him:

"I have known Ray Ortlund as a good friend for over 20 years, both as a colleague on the faculty at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and as a fellow board member of Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. I have the highest respect for Ray as a man of high integrity who loves God and seeks to be faithful to him in every area and in every moment of his life. Ray is a skillful expositor of God's Word, and I am glad for the opportunity to commend his ministry." Wayne Grudem, Ph.D. Research Professor of Bible and Theology Phoenix Seminary, Arizona

"For many years Ray Ortlund was a cherished colleague when he taught with me at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Students loved his combination of academic rigor and transparent piety, his grasp of detail melded into his ability to situate such detail within the sweep of redemptive history that invariably leads us to Christ. His preaching is a great blessing to those hungry to know God better through God's own Word. More recently I have witnessed with pleasure the transparency of Ray's interactions with fellow pastors in The Gospel Coalition. I heartily and gratefully commend his ministry." D.A. Carson, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Deerfield, Illinois

"Ray Ortlund is one of the nicest (and also coolest) men in the Christian world. He has a pastor's heart! And nothing could be more important than having that heart, in taking up this vital work of loving people with and through God's sustaining Word. Ray is also a scholar and a thinker. Best of all, he combines them both: the heart and the head in one unified caring package. I myself live and work in Washington, D.C. Just wish I could commute to Nashville on Sundays!" Paul Zahl Rector All Saints Episcopal Church Chevy Chase, Maryland

"Ray Ortlund embodies much of what we need at this point in our American cultural life. He loves the truth. Because of that he is good for people. He knows that truth is ultimately personal. Jesus said, "I am the Truth." Ray loves the truth not out of intellectual fascination, but out of allegiance to the One from whom it comes and to whom it points. He believes that the only inerrant expression to this truth in this present world is the Bible. He bases what he says on the Bible and longs to open the riches of the Bible for people to see and savor and live by. He believes that Jesus Christ, crucified for sinners and risen from the dead, is the central truth of the Bible. Therefore he is a gospel man. Preaching Christ is central. I am glad to count Ray a friend and comrade in the greatest cause in the world." John Piper Pastor for Preaching and Vision Bethlehem Baptist Church Minneapolis, Minnesota"

What Ray's kids say about their dad, our pastor:

Like every good father, my own dad is bigger than words. I would be so much less of a person without him! My father is a model pastor-scholar, a wonderful friend, and probably the single biggest conduit of God's grace into my life." Dr. Eric Ortlund, Old Testament Professor, Briercrest Seminary, Canada, with wife Erin, and Kate and Will

"My Dad is a man who loves God and loves people. His heart is very sensitive to God's heart, hungering for the things God delights in and hurt by the things that sadden God's heart. He has devoted his life not only to the study of the Bible but also to living it out. More than any man I know, my dad knows the Bible in a way that is authentic and moves from his head to his heart and outward in love to God and others. He is a safe man who is deeply trustworthy. He has rich integrity. Who he is in public is also who he is in private. He loves to hunt and fish and will quickly pull over to the side of the road if he sees a deer and get out his binoculars. My parents love God, love others and love life." Krista Scheidt, Ford II model based in Chicago, and husband John, a teacher in Wheaton

"There are many things I could say about my dad, but one thing stands out above all else, and that is the deep and obvious way in which the gospel has taken hold of his heart and transforms all he does in a way I've seen in almost no one else. That's what propels him out of bed in the morning." Dane Ortlund, Ph. D. student at Wheaton College Graduate School, with wife Stacey and Zachary

"I deeply respect my dad. He is a man of the utmost integrity and seriousness, yet also has a compassionate heart and fun-loving nature. Whether it's laughing over a game of ping-pong or discussing theology over coffee, I always look forward to spending time with him. I am so grateful to God for giving me godly parents who loved me and raised me to love God." Gavin Ortlund, graduate of Covenant Seminary in St. Louis, Intern at Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington D.C, with wife Esther.