Introduction
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n this issue of Insights, we honor the Reverend Dr. David W. Johnson, who retired at the end of the 2021 fall semester after twenty years here at Austin Seminary. A collection of David’s colleagues, former colleagues, and former students have joined forces in a brave attempt to wrap generous and descriptive words around one who is not easily described. David is, all at once, a seasoned pastor, a brilliant theologian, an enchanting and honest preacher, a connoisseur of fine wines and exotic teas, and a remarkable intellect who also appreciates whimsy. His own contribution to this issue, “Praying in Anxious Times,” is theological and spiritual tonic for all of us in these particular times. This essay is astonishingly comforting, and reminds us—even in the midst of anxiety—to continue to pray without ceasing. “The world might have become much more hostile,” David writes, “but God is still God, and God is not hostile.” The frank gentleness of a sentence like that invites one to pray fervently—even if one has not prayed in a long time. The interview with editor Bill Greenway pursues and teases out with David the dimensions of prayer about which David writes. And, in his essay, retired Professor Ralph Underwood sings harmony as he examines the varieties of prayer. Quoting C.S. Lewis, Ralph reminds us: “May it be the real I who speaks, May it be the real Thou that I speak to.” Ellen Babinsky, in her essay, introduces many of us to Marguerite Porete—a captivating French mystic from the Middle Ages whose prayer life was centuries ahead of her time. Porete evocatively imagined God the Holy Spirit as Love and Lover—“one,” writes Ellen, “who hears, no, knows our prayers before we find the words.” Allan Cole reminds us that Christians “make sense of life by hearing and telling stories, by locating their personal stories within the more encompassing story of the gospel.” Then he bravely and beautifully shares with us his own experience with adversity and anxiety. A collection of former students—David’s “underground fan club”—delights us, as does theologian Cindy Rigby, David’s next-door neighbor, with her own evidence of how David, with all saints, occasionally plays the role of a “wicked rascal”! There is good reading ahead. I recommend that you pour a cup of your favorite tea, or a glass of your favorite wine, sit in your favorite chair, and read on!
Theodore J. Wardlaw President, Austin Seminary
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