John Hirt

{{Short description|Australian pastor, educator}} {{distinguish|John Hurt}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''John Hirt''' [[Order of Australia|OAM]] (born 1943) is an Australian pastor, educator, and one of the leaders of the [[radical discipleship movement]] in Australia.<ref>Emerson Teusner, P. 2014. Online religious advertising: the case of Australian Christian youth festivals. In: J.D. James (Ed.) The Internet and the Google Age: Prospects and Perils. (63-80). Dublin: Research Publishing. p.76, notes John Hirt and Athol Gill as leaders of the RDM in Australia; Hughes, P.J. and D. Cronshaw. 2013. Baptists in Australia: A church with a heritage and a future. Melbourne: Christian Research Association. P. 29, notes John Hirt and Athol Gill as leaders of the RDM in Australia; Munro, M. 2002. A History of the Gentle Bunyip (1975-1990): A Challenge to Australian Church Life. MA History Thesis, University of Melbourne. P.45, lists John Hirt and Athol as leaders of the RDM in Australia.</ref>

==Education== Hirt attended the [[NSW Baptist Theological College]], where he obtained the [[Licentiate in Theology]], and was subsequently ordained as a Baptist minister.<ref>McGregor, A 1970. Surfie Minister Rides Sydney’s Waves. Sydney Morning Herald. 20 September 1970. p.41.</ref> Later he studied in the Department of Studies in Religion, at the [[University of Sydney]], where he obtained a [[Doctor of Philosophy]] degree.<ref>Hirt, J.A. 1998. Radical Discipleship: Towards the Theology and Sociopolitical Implications. PhD thesis. University of Sydney.</ref>

==Professional career== Hirt was one of the founders of the House of the New World in Sydney, described by one church historian as “a Christian counter-cultural experiment”.<ref>Munro, M. 2002. A History of the Gentle Bunyip (1975-1990): A Challenge to Australian Church Life. MA History Thesis, University of Melbourne. p.45; see also The House of the New World Newsletter 1970-77 (held in Australian National Library); McGregor, A 1970. Surfie Minister Rides Sydney’s Waves. Sydney Morning Herald. 20 September 1970. p.41; The Shore Record, Vol.33, No.35, 1971. p.143; McKnight, J. 1985. Christian intentional community in New South Wales: a study of the desecularisation process. PhD Thesis, University of Wollongong, at p.110; Hirt, J.A. 1988. Radical Discipleship: Narrative Theology towards the History and Theological Implications of the House of the New World.(Extract).The Baptist Recorder. No.4/88. pp.7-10; Church with Youth. Australian Church Record. 21 October 1971. p8; Lim, A. 2016. News: Australia Day Honours celebrate seed sown on good soil. Bible Society of Australia. 25 January 2016. {{cite web| url = http://www-archive.biblesociety.org.au/news/australia-day-honours-celebrate-seeds-sown-on-good-soil;| title = Bible Society of Australia: Opening the Bible}} Morecombe, J. 2016. 14 locals honoured for their service for community and others. 25 January 2016. {{cite web| url = http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/northern-beaches/14-locals-honoured-for-their-service-to-their-community-and-to-others/news-story/f2687ed5e08f56af99b12fe782c0b40c| title = Reference at www.dailytelegraph.com.au}}</ref> He has pastored at Avalon Peace Baptist Church and Leichhardt Uniting Church, has served as a University [[Chaplain]] and theological lecturer, and has been instrumental in developing various Christian training programmes.<ref>Levinson, A. 1985. Christ was a rugged, tough guy. Sydney Morning Herald. 2 March 1985. P179; Uniting Church Records: {{cite web| url = http://ume.nswact.uca.org.au/our-work/parish-missions;| title = Reference at ume.nswact.uca.org.au}} Lim, A. 2016. News; Australia Day Honours celebrate seed sown on good soil. Bible Society of Australia. 25 January 2016. {{cite web| url = http://www-archive.biblesociety.org.au/news/australia-day-honours-celebrate-seeds-sown-on-good-soil;| title = Bible Society of Australia: Opening the Bible}} Morecombe, J. 2016. 14 locals honoured for their service for community and others. Daily Telegraph. 25 January 2016. {{cite web| url = http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/northern-beaches/14-locals-honoured-for-their-service-to-their-community-and-to-others/news-story/f2687ed5e08f56af99b12fe782c0b40c| title = Reference at www.dailytelegraph.com.au}}</ref>

John was the University Chaplain at the University of Sydney for 20 years.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.insights.uca.org.au/shaping-young-adult-discipleship-in-sydney-presbytery/| title = Shaping young adult discipleship in Sydney Presbytery – Insights Magazine}}</ref> During this time he started the denominational group the Uniting Church in Australia Tertiary Students Association (UCATSA) and then [[The New Group|the new group]] Christian Students Uniting (CSU). In 2004 he founded the School of Discipleship, which organizes seminars and conferences in Sydney,<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.facebook.com/schoolofdiscipleship/| title = Log into Facebook {{!}} Facebook}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/northern-beaches/14-locals-honoured-for-their-service-to-their-community-and-to-others/news-story/f2687ed5e08f56af99b12fe782c0b40c| title = Reference at www.dailytelegraph.com.au}}</ref> and he is currently a leader of the Radical Discipleship Network.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.radicaldiscipleship.org.au/about-the-network| title = About the Network — Radical Discipleship Network}}</ref>

==Activism== Hirt has been a campaigner for many years on issues of peace, nuclear disarmament, and social justice,<ref>Smash the bureaucracy! Humanity is one! (1978) Woroni. 18 July 197. p.18; Downe, G. 1980. Nuclear horizon calls for prophetic response. Canberra Times. 20 August 1980. p.22; Downe, G. 1983. Christians for peace trying to act as a barometer for sanity. Canberra Times. 23 November 1983. p.24; and Levinson, A. 1985. Christ was a rugged, tough man. Sydney Morning Herald. 2 March 1985. p.179; Schwartz, L. 1985.</ref> and he has linked this with the notion of radical Christian discipleship.<ref>Hirt, 1998.</ref> In 1985, the Avalon Peace Baptist Church, at which he was then pastor, had a brick thrown through a glass pane of a door, as a result his advocacy for refugees from Central America.<ref>Brick attack linked to pastor’s politics. He was also called a 'Jew Boy Communist' by the purported brick thrower or someone from their group 1985. Sydney Morning Herald 13 March 1985. p.3; Schwartz, L. 1985. Peaceful pastor's revolution. The Northern Herald. 21 March 1985. p.11; Gerrish, G. 1985. Activist target of racist attacks. Tharunka. 2 April 1985. p.7.</ref>

His family have also joined him in his activism, notably his wife Carol who is the Manager of Epworth House for students at Leichhart Uniting Church,<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.leichhardtuniting.org.au/contact-epworth| title = Contact — Leichhardt Uniting Church}}</ref>

His son is Jono Hirt who is the Sydney Presbytery Communications Manager.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.sydneypresbytery.org.au/our_team| title = Our Team - Sydney Presbytery}}</ref>

==Recognition== On 26 January 2016, Hirt was admitted as a Member of the [[Order of Australia]], in recognition of “significant service to the Uniting Church in Australia, particularly through theological direction, to youth, and to the community”.<ref>It’s an Honour: website for the Order of Australia. {{cite web| url = https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1152785| title = Reference at www.itsanhonour.gov.au}} See also Morecombe, J. 2016. 14 locals honoured for their service for community and others. 25 January 2016. {{cite web| url = http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/northern-beaches/14-locals-honoured-for-their-service-to-their-community-and-to-others/news-story/f2687ed5e08f56af99b12fe782c0b40c| title = Reference at www.dailytelegraph.com.au}}</ref>

==Publications== * Hirt, J.A. 1988. Radical Discipleship: Narrative Theology towards the History and Theological Implications of the House of the New World. The Baptist Recorder. No.4/88. pp. 7–10. * Hirt, J.A. 1998. Radical Discipleship: Towards the Theology and Sociopolitical Implications. PhD thesis. University of Sydney. * Hirt, J. A. 2002. Catechetical Evangelism as Radical Discipleship in the Mission of the Church. In: D. Neville (Ed.). Prophecy and Passion: Essays in Honours of [[Athol Gill]]. (300-325). Adelaide: Australian Theological Forum.

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirt, John}} [[Category:20th-century Australian Baptist ministers]] [[Category:1943 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia]] [[Category:21st-century Australian Baptist ministers]]