Reminiscences

Words matter, of course they do. Words are the scaffolding upon which we shape our worldly experiences and our worldly perspective towards the Divine. Professor Johnson taught that exquisitely. He also taught that intellectual understanding will never be enough to sustain. We must be willing to wander in the mystery of God, to acknowledge our vulnerability, and to grow in trusting the Truth of God. In the face of ever-shortening attention spans, we are to be concise, clear, and ever pointing towards God’s love. It is this last challenge which is the cornerstone of Professor Johnson’s mission with seminary students. We are to be first about our spirituality. It is truly the sacred trust of pastoral leadership roles in whatever shape they manifest. Without attending to our spirituality, our word scaffolding will never be more than dry bones.

Well, a few years into the ministry thing, it seemed nigh on impossible to make time for my own spiritual exploration even as Professor Johnson’s encouragement lingered in my mind. Eventually, a couple of friends joined me in a pastor cohort via the Education Beyond the Walls grant. We focused on spirituality practices including labyrinth walks. One labyrinth walk concurred with a moment of profound personal crisis in my life. I approached the path to God with the name of the one for whom I held my breath, in fear, without words to speak, ask, or even pray. I simply held the name as I wandered closer to God. Somewhere in that journey, God gave me peace which passes all understanding. I could trust the Truth of God’s goodness. I could trust God was with the one I loved so deeply—in life and in death. God is. God is love.

Dead bones to life. My soul filled. This gift given has sustained even through the collective trauma of the pandemic. My transformed heart has been given words to create spaces within the sacred scaffolding for others hurting, wandering and weary. My spiritual care is a priority and a blessing. Thank you, Professor Johnson. By calling your students to claim God’s love within, you have empowered us to proclaim God’s love far and wide.

– Suzette Thorpe Johnson (MDiv’15)

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Today I was offered an assignment that is basically impossible, and I am supposed to accomplish it in less than five hundred words—write an article about the Reverend Dr. David W. Johnson and his influence at Austin Seminary. The good news is that there are several people writing, so hopefully whatever I cannot articulate will be managed by others. I see no way to do even the beginnings of an adequate job.

I have known David for slightly more than twenty years. We met when he was teaching systematic theology in Houston in the seminary’s extension program. He introduced me to the Fathers of the Early Church but also to feminist and womanist theologians; I owe to David my love for Elizabeth Johnson but also for parts of Origen’s writing.

When I was a student at Austin Seminary, the faculty frequently encouraged us to “go deeper, think deeper,” but it was Professor Johnson who taught many of us some things about how to go deeper. David was not just an expert on church history, he modeled and taught spirituality. One would be in a class on spirituality with David leading a lesson on Lectio Divina, and one moment David would be modeling how to read scripture in the presence of God. The next moment Blam! one was breath-takingly aware of the presence of God.

David really likes Augustine, and I have forgiven him for that, and he has (I think) forgiven me for not being able to let go of the fact that Augustine was a product of his time and, therefore, had little understanding of or interest in women as Christians. I hope he has also forgiven me for having the hubris to imagine I get to judge Augustine.

And (expletive deleted) the Rev. Dr. David Johnson can preach! He sits on his stool by the table on the chancel and tells the most remarkable and engaging stories and somehow leads one deeper into the Christian life—there’s that deeper thing again. David can be talking about a statue of the Buddhist goddess Quan Yin or telling the story of using McAshes on Ash Wednesday, and one falls more in love with Jesus and desperately wants to be better at loving and at tending sheep.

I have a thousand David stories from in class or on campus or in the cafeteria or in his office, from dinner with him and his wife, Jane. He is a man who can listen and listen deeply. He is deeply generous, funny, wise, smart, able to see beyond the surface but, nevertheless, appreciates the beauty of the surface. He lives his life, bounded in many ways by those metal crutches and that scooter, bounded by his pain, and somehow those boundaries have freed his spirit to know more deeply.

Beware of his sharp wit, Friends, but enjoy his laughter. This is a love letter from not only me but from all his students. We love you, David, but that’s not new news.

– Judye Pistole (MDiv’03, DMin’12)

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To be honest, I was not sure how to interact with Professor Johnson in the beginning. Back in 2011, I had been placed on alert about racism and homophobia at the seminary. I wondered, Was he one of the professors reputed to give students like me a difficult time?

My first class with him in January 2012 involved touring worship spaces around Austin. As one of two big boys in class, I was volun-told to ride with him and help with his wheelchair. On these trips, we bonded and joked around. I would happily feed him lines so he could tell a Dad joke or two. I admit to pushing the limits a bit when I critiqued Shelton Chapel and sucked the air out of the room. Johnson defended me stating I was entitled to my opinion. In history class, he didn’t hold back in discussions of the Catholic Church (my background).

This foundation helped years later when in another class we were assigned to read an excerpt of Desert Fathers. I read racist undertones in a section. Immediately, I emailed him about my concerns and felt comfortable in doing so. He offered that he hadn’t read it as I did but could empathize. With my consent, we talked openly about it in class and came to an understanding. Throughout my time at Austin Seminary, I gained a reputation as a hugger, which we did. I am blessed to have had Dr. Johnson as a teacher and a friend.

– Anthony Spears (MDiv’15)

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We at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Galveston, were very fortunate to have Dr. Johnson as our pastor prior to his joining the faculty at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. David was loved by the members of our church for many reasons, but I will first touch on his ministry. He was able to articulate complex theological precepts such as grace, justification and sanctification, theodicy, and many others in understandable terms by use of everyday analogies that all could understand. He did so with humor, patience, and generosity. One of David’s gifts was his ability to understand where someone was in their faith journey, and to address the next challenge.

It will come as no surprise to know that the second outstanding aspect of David’s time at Westminster was culinary in nature! An invitation to dinner with David and Jane was anticipated with delight not only for the charming company but also because the Johnson kitchen produced outstanding cuisine! You came from these encounters satiated by both the food and the conversation!

When the Johnsons arrived in Galveston the membership of Westminster volunteered to unload the truck. We were ill-prepared. We learned the true meaning of a personal library, which was transported box by box to the second floor of his historic home. I think it took me three days to recover.

Westminster has traditionally celebrated the Christmas and Easter Seasons in style, including special services for Ash Wednesday. The Johnsons became enamored of the many palm trees which grace our island, to the extent that home-grown palm ashes seemed like a good thing. David decided to gather some palm fronds from his neighborhood. In Texas, it is not always prudent to remove anything from someone’s property, but apparently this “man of the cloth” felt protected by a kind

of qualified divine immunity. He brought the freshly harvested palm branches to the church for burning and discovered that green palms produce a lot of smoke but not much ash. It fell to Jane to attempt the production of additional ashes from a recent newspaper even as the hour for worship approached. Fortunately, no persons or animals were harmed by this experiment, and sufficient material for the service was the eventual outcome.

We lamented when David left for Austin but also understood this transition was an opportunity to serve our Lord and future students. We were so blessed to have him with us for those very special, but too short, years. We wish Dr. Johnson blessings and Godspeed with our love and gratitude!

– Robert and Patricia Beach

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Less than one year into my seminary experience, I learned that Dr. Johnson had an underground fan club, and it only took one class beyond the hard facts of Church History for me to understand why. Dr. Johnson has a unique style of teaching which blends vast historical knowledge with practical application, held together by pastoral concern and humor. Many fan club members kept notebooks solely dedicated to capturing his one-line pearls of wisdom or witty remarks. His classes took you on a journey simultaneously through history and self-discovery. Just take a look at what other fan club members from the most recent graduating class had to say:

“I don’t know if I’ve ever met another person who knows as much as Dr. Johnson does. I do know, however, that I’ve never met another person who handles so much knowledge as graciously, as witfully, or as wonderfully as Dr. Johnson does.” – Jonathan Freeman

“Dr. Johnson’s quiet and quick wisecracking was a true highlight of my seminary experience. He’s a wonderful professor and academic advisor who took seminary education seriously but reminded me not to take myself too seriously in the process.” – Caitlin Parsons

“Dr. Johnson’s wit and humor are only matched by his pastoral care, and they often combine; both taught me much more than I had ever hoped.” – Joe Lundy

“Dr. Johnson has a beautiful way of weaving humor, wisdom, and a pastoral presence all into one class. He is the type of professor where you sit on the edge of your seat waiting for what he will say next.” – Jacob Naron

“His quiet ability to bring an entire classroom of people into an introspective, empathetic, and thoughtful mindset is one of the most impressive things about him. I am forever grateful that my time at seminary overlapped with Dr. Johnson.” – Reba Balint

I echo all that my fellow fan club members have to say, and add that as a professor and mentor, Dr. Johnson helped me to understand myself in ways that continue to have a significant positive impact on me. Through his nonjudgmental guidance and wisdom, I discovered so much about my faith, fears, goals, and strengths. In his non-imposing way, Dr. Johnson walked with me down the difficult path of discernment, encouraging me during times of rejection and celebrating with me in success, always prodding me to follow what I felt was my soul’s work. As I now round out my first semester in a doctoral program, Dr. Johnson’s voice still speaks to me, reminding me of the importance of taking time to get out of my head and into my heart.

I was speaking with a fellow fan club member about Dr. Johnson’s impending retirement, and he pulled out his notebook of “DJ pearls of wisdom” to read the final entry. It is fitting that this article ends with Dr. Johnson’s own words, as often, no one could say it better than he:

“I will be a hard act to follow.” - David Johnson

– Kelly Bratkowski (MDiv’21)