Growing up as a Separatist Baptist, I knew we were Protestant, but didn’t always know why, except to say that we weren’t Catholic. It wasn’t until my college and seminary years where, after studying Church history and immersing myself in Reformation theology, I came to appreciate and love the Protestant tradition.
It’s that word “tradition” that is so often seen as antithetical to Protestantism, especially to our Catholic friends who see our movement as more of an ahistorical aberration than a continuation of the apostolic faith. It is this myth—and it is a myth—that pastor and apologist Gavin Ortlund seeks to dispel in a characteristically thorough yet irenic book, What It Means to Be Protestant (Zondervan).
Ortlund, who says he “accidentally” became an apologist for Protestantism while answering viewer questions on his increasingly popular YouTube channel, Truth Unites, shares his desire for the book: “My heart aches for Protestants to understand their own tradition—especially before they consider leaving it.”
Click Here To Read More (Originally Published at World Magazine)
Daniel is director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. His forthcoming book is Agents of Grace. He is also a bestselling author of several other books, including The Original Jesus, The Dignity Revolution, The Characters of Christmas, The Characters of Easter, and A Way With Words, and the host of a popular weekly podcast, The Way Home. Dan holds a bachelor’s degree in pastoral ministry from Dayspring Bible College, has studied at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and is a graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Angela, have four children.
