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”.[4] 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.[5]
John was the University Chaplain at the University of Sydney for 20 years.[6] During this time he started the denominational group the Uniting Church in Australia Tertiary Students Association (UCATSA) and then the new group Christian Students Uniting (CSU). In 2004 he founded the School of Discipleship, which organizes seminars and conferences in Sydney,[7][8] and he is currently a leader of the Radical Discipleship Network.[9]
Hirt has been a campaigner for many years on issues of peace, nuclear disarmament, and social justice,[10] and he has linked this with the notion of radical Christian discipleship.[11] 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.[12]
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,[13]
His son is Jono Hirt who is the Sydney Presbytery Communications Manager.[14]
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”.[15]
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.
^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.
^McGregor, A 1970. Surfie Minister Rides Sydney’s Waves. Sydney Morning Herald. 20 September 1970. p.41.
^Hirt, J.A. 1998. Radical Discipleship: Towards the Theology and Sociopolitical Implications. PhD thesis. University of Sydney.
^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. "Bible Society of Australia: Opening the Bible". Morecombe, J. 2016. 14 locals honoured for their service for community and others. 25 January 2016. "Reference at www.dailytelegraph.com.au".
^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.
^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.
