-AUTHOR AND SPEAKER-
Ronald R Johnson
OTHER RESOURCES
I have listed some of my magazine articles, sermons, classes, and speeches on this page, as well as some pertinent blog posts.
Magazine Articles
Help Me Understand (The Congregationalist, March 2021): about having open discussions in these tense times.
What We All Can Do Now (The Common Politic, January 11, 2021): three things anyone can do to build bridges socially after the attack on the US Capitol on January 6.
What a Congregation Can Become (The Congregationalist, December 2020): the question we should ask ourselves instead of asking how we can attract Millennials to our churches.
The Local Church in a Divided World (The Congregationalist, March 2018): how the local church can be an antidote to the acrimony in our social lives. (Scroll to p. 24.)
The Problem with Congregational Histories (The Congregationalist, September 2017): the problem is that they relate the history of the building and its pastors, not of the congregation itself. (Scroll to p. 28.)
An Infectious Courage (The Congregationalist, March 2016): Congregationalist minister Lloyd C Douglas thought that worship should give us courage to face tough times. (Scroll to p. 30.)
Sermons
"Something to Offend Everyone," the keynote address at a conference on Radical Inclusion at Portage Chapel Hill United Methodist Church, May 17, 2012. You can hear the audio in two parts: Part 1, Part 2
"Why the Fear of the Lord Is the Beginning of Wisdom," preached at Portage Chapel Hill United Methodist Church, August 16, 2015. I've divided it into two parts:
"What It Means to Fear the Lord" and "Why the Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom."
"An Urgent Invitation," preached at Keeler United Methodist Church on June 26, 2016, based on Luke 9:57-62. Jesus gives three excellent reasons not to follow him.
"Who Is 'Us'?" preached at the United Methodist Church in Sodus, Michigan, on September 27, 2015, based on Mark 9:38-50. Christ's disciples tell a man not to heal in Jesus' name because "he's not one of us."
"Beyond Sacred Space," preached at the First Presbyterian Church of Muskegon, Michigan, on August 28, 2012, based on Hebrews 10:19-23. We humans have long created sacred spaces in order to induce religious experience, but Christ invites us to a life beyond such sacred space.
"It's Not for Wimps," preached at Portage Chapel Hill United Methodist Church, February 16, 2014, based on Matthew 5:21-26. Loving our enemies is "not for wimps."
"To See Him As He Is," preached at Portage Chapel Hill United Methodist Church, on February 10, 2013, Transfiguration Sunday. I suggest new things to focus on during Lent.
Classes
"The Dawning of the Christ Culture": A series of lectures I presented at Portage Chapel Hill United Methodist Church during Fall 2013. I talk about how Christianity developed its own unique culture out of the Jewish and Graeco-Roman cultures from which it came.
Interviews
Another placeholder. More coming.
Lloyd C Douglas Research
Since 2005 I have been researching the Lloyd C Douglas Papers at the University of Michigan. Click here to go to the page I have dedicated to this research.
Study Guides
Storyline of the New Testament Gospels: a 7-page booklet laying out the four New Testament gospels in narrative terms. To download, click on the PDF below.