Mark D. Johnson’s Weblog A place for friends, colleagues, students and family

Hello and Welcome!

I describe myself as an ecumenical Baptist pastor.

I know it appears to some as a strange description.  But let me explain:

While having the privilege to serve as the Senior Minister of Central Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky, I am grateful for a place of service that honors my advocacy for an unfashionable but historic Baptist characteristic, namely the pursuit of sincere Christian piety alongside liberty of opinion, freedom for diversity and respect for all individuals.

This means I seek to live in a different kind of “house” (oikos) that has many rooms (John 14:2) to accommodate many different perspectives.  I may have favorite rooms.  But I don’t own the house or design it to only my liking.  It is a large and diverse place inviting strangers (John 10:16) to live together as friends (John 15:15) because we accept our distinctiveness within the framework of God’s great desire of  peace  and wholeness for all of humanity.

As a Christ follower, this forms for me the goal of acceptance, kindness, generosity, fairness and justice to outweigh the drive toward the arrogance, superiority, unquestionable certainty and narrow inclusion so reflective of much of the American Christian complex and culture.

In this way, my ecumenism transcends mere Protestant cooperation and challenges me to be fair and measured in my hope and belonging with others.  This openness calls forth a desire to learn and listen to others before I ask them to listen and learn from me.  In this process, I seek humility, kinship, unity and oneness.

From this interest, I seek to live my life. I am far from perfect, but I welcome you to share my journey.

In my personal life, I am married and have two sons from my first marriage and an additional son, daughter and her husband from my wife’s first marriage.  All these children are adults and round out our rich and wonderful lives.

I have taught many classes in the topic of world religions at the college level and am an adjunct professor with the Baptist Seminary of Kentucky.

The observations and opinions I offer are my own and do not represent any official policy or perspective of any other organization, Baptist or otherwise, unless specifically identified.

Thanks for stopping by and leave me a note you’ve done so.

I’m glad you are here,

Mark

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