If you’ve served as a pastor for very long you probably know the type—the church member who wants to fight over every theological and practical issue under the sun. Battle over predestination? Yes. Fight over whether or not preachers should wear a suit in the pulpit? Yes. War over the timing of Jesus’s return? Every time. It’s what I like to call the theological pugilist, and most every church has at least one. So how should pastors think through contested theological issues as they arise in church? Is every hill one on which to die? Surely not. But which hills are they, and how do we know?

A few years ago, TGC Council member Albert Mohler developed a helpful paradigm he’s called “theological triage.” In the same way a hospital emergency room triages injuries to give urgent attention to the most serious, theological triage helps order doctrines and provides a guide to avoid war over every disputed issue.

Gavin Ortlund, pastor of First Baptist Church of Ojai in Ojai, California, has written a helpful new book that teases out and applies this paradigm: Finding the Right Hills to Die On: The Case for Theological Triage (TGC/Crossway). Recently, I had a chance to interview pastor Ortlund about his new book, and how best to handle that irascible church member.