Influence

There are so many people that have had a positive impact on my life. John Johnson is one of them. Papa John is the affectionate name I call him, although everyone else has moved away from the father figure allusion.

John was my Sunday school teacher while I was in middle school and high school. We went on camping trips, went over to his house, you know, the typical stuff that a Sunday school teacher who’s invested in his group does. He was just a little better than most. See, he has this way of digging deeper into you than you want him to. The weird thing is, you never feel like he’s pressing in too close, but after conversations with him, you realize that you’ve really taken an honest look at yourself. It’s particularly admirable that he doesn’t assert things to you about what to believe or what dark areas of your life you need to change. Rather, through revealing his heart to you, and by masterfully asking open-ended questions, he’ll encourage you to be the best you can be.

It was in one of these conversations recently that I was reminded about something within myself. I was reminded that there is a tendency to find things wrong within people and within the church. I mean, in many ways my college education had the intent of learning to think critically, and it worked. I learned to think critically, break down the facts in an argument, and see the faults in any perspective. While this is a good way to read philosophy and win an argument, it’s a terrible way to live graciously.

I can’t give John all the credit. His role was more of a soundboard than a teacher. He had some help from Brian McLaren, who wrote a book called “A Generous Orthodoxy.” In it, he goes through several different perspectives on several different theological topics, and all that he has to say carries this common thread; we all have something to contribute. While it may be important to know where we stand on certain issues, the fact of the matter is this, we, within orthodoxy, are pursuing the same goals. We have different histories, different traditions, and sometimes varying beliefs, but the fact remains that collectively, we are the Bride of Christ and therefore should work together for the perpetuation of the Church, and for the cause of Christ. It’s refreshing to me to acknowledge that God is about unity and peace, not so much about being divisive or pounding our ideas down someone’s throat.

So back to John... There are some things that John does very well. He, as I said above, encourages you to be introspective. He’s not judgmental. Instead of trying to mold you into agreement with him, he carefully guides you to be true and honest with yourself, and to maximize your life in a way that will honor God. John’s a pretty cool guy. I’d like to be more like him when I grow up.

-Steven