Transparent Mainstream at last!

So here it goes. I finally got to “bloggin.” I have succumbed to the ministry leader peer pressure of letting people in on what I am thinking, reading, praying about. I am ok with it though. I am a pretty transparent guy anyway. What you see is what you get. And I think this will be a great way to let my friends, teammates, and family keep up on the Johnson empire. Oh yes it IS grOWING! since my wife took my name, (they will all be assimilated) we have partnered with GOD ALMIGHTY in creating another human. Kassandra Grace Johnson entered the world 13 months ago today. And she has taken on the chief mantle of RoYal jOy of the household. Our black Lab Strider got over his irritation with losing that role pretty quickly. He is a great dog and really good with the new little one.

So now here we are, living in Soquel, California, inarguably the coolest suburban neighborhood in Santa Cruz.

We live 45 steps to the best park in Santa Cruz. At the foothills of a sunbelt, and only 3 miles from Capitola Beach.

The Park here is great! I like to call it Skyball Park, due to the large blue Spherical Artwork that graces its rolling hills. It is actually called Anna Jean Cummings park. Whatever you call it, it is by far the most well attended park on this side of the hill. Tons of great softball and soccer games. Tons of wonderful families hanging out on all the swings and slides.

And I noticed something now that I am not a Mega-church attendee anymore. There are a ton of other non-mega-church (NMA) attendees at the park on Sunday morning! If you are a NMA then you are probably saying to yourself: Yeah-duh! Where have you been on Sunday mornings for the last 35 years? Living under a rock?

Well, I guess you could say that. I have been living, serving, and leading in the evangelical churches of America hoping that more would join us at our isolated events located at buildings outside the communities we are trying to reach.

I have just recently made a shift. My family and I have become a missionary family to the community we live in. We have become non-conventional church planters.

We currently oversee a house church that meets in our neighborhood and sometimes at the beach and park. And we are looking to start churches in non-church buildings and homes within communities all over Santa Cruz and up into San Francisco.

It has been a wild ride so far and I plan on sharing all the turns and dips and hills and drops here on my blog.

Why

Lion of the son?

Well I often find myself with the courage and voice of a lion when trusting in the power and majesty of Jesus. But it is a two-edged sword. There are those days where I can’t seem to muster up enough strength to even get out of bed. I feel more like the cowardly lion than a follower of Aslan. So as long as the wind in my lungs is sustained and the Spirit empowers me to be a witness, I will remain as ferocious as He deems.

With each and every day my faith in the Master grows. My courage is directly proportionate to the level of trust I place in the King of Kings and his eternal WORD.

So if you are with me, here is where I record my charge on the gates of hell with nothing more than a water gun and Faith in a HUGE God.

It should be an exciting journey. I plan on telling you more soon.