Sojournal

1994 graduate Matthew Sullivan can easily be described as a committed man. The son of an evangelist, Matt gave his life to Christ in his early teens and witnessed his father's ministry efforts in various congregations and ministries in the eastern half of the United States. He credits a Larry ('68) Green prayer as the tipping point to selecting Johnson for ministry preparation. Matt is mar...

Joe graduated from Johnson University Tennessee with a B.A. in Preaching and Church Leadership in 2007, after which he completed an M.Div. at Lincoln Christian Seminary and a Ph. D. in Religious Studies at Marquette University. Joe is the author of “Divine Scripture in Human Understanding: A Systematic Theology of the Christian Bible” (University of Notre Dame Press, 2019). Joe joined the faculty...

A return visitor to the Sojournal Podcast, Dr. Jody (MA '95) Owens joins us for a special episode. Today, we leave the spiritual journey behind (sorta) and focus on Jody's journey to teaching and we learn some lessons from the classes Jody teaches. We also talk about Jody's special passion for Spiritual Formation and learn about ways for people to get involved in one of Jody's spir...

Originally a resident of northeastern Ohio, Deborah works as an English teacher in an international location. She counts herself blessed to be a part of the "great class of 1976" (even though we kept saying '72 in the podcast). Haha! She actually continued her education by gaining a master's degree from Lincoln, another in TESOL from Azusa Pacific. She is the daughter of a fruit...

Alex Weiss grew up in a variety of locations throughout the eastern half of the United States. He is married and they recently welcomed their first child, a daughter. His father was employed by Christian Homes and this contributed to his family's movement. His childhood was spent in the Midwest and deep south. Currently a resident of the larger Louisville, Kentucky, metropolitan area, Alex wor...

My conversation with Troy and Kathy Thornburg went so long that we decided to make their interview into two parts. Part 1, published two weeks ago, focused on Troy and Kathy's childhood journeys and their experience at Johnson. Today's episode shifts to the vocational journey and life lessons learned by the Thornburg family since leaving the University. Of particular interest is Troy's...

Interviewing couples for the Sojournal podcast is a lot of fun. However, sometimes it results in so much content that making cuts are difficult. Instead of cutting this episode short, we decided to make this a 2-part episode. Part 1 focuses on Troy and Kathy's lives from childhood through their Johnson University experience. Part 2 will focus on their journey in life and ministry and will spen...

Dr. Alligood is Professor Emeritus, College of Nursing, East Carolina University. She holds a diploma in nursing from Good Samaritan School of Nursing, bachelor of sacred literature (BSL) from Johnson University, BSN from University of Virginia, MS with a major in nursing from The Ohio State University, and PhD in nursing science from New York University. Martha played a key role in the formation...

Jody England is a 1999 graduate of Johnson's Tennessee campus where he studied Youth Ministry and Christian Education. He and his wife, Beth ('98) live in Cicero, Indiana, with their two high schoolers. They also have two older married children. Jody's journey to faith and ministry was heavily influenced by Beth as well as a local Methodist church and a local Christian camp. Jody works...

Born and raised in Kentucky and Indiana, Sarah found her way to Johnson due to the influence of her brother, Josh ('03). It was her brother's spiritual awakening at Johnson that inspired Sarah to follow the Lord's calling through preparation on the Tennessee campus. Like her brother, Sarah developed a passion for missions and a desire to serve the Lord cross culturally. Through various...

After graduating from Johnson Bible College in 1982, Brent went on to serve as a youth minister, high school teacher, missionary, and 20-year faculty member at Johnson University. He is married to Jondra and they have three children and two grandchildren. The journey of life and ministry is full of twists, turns, and opportunities. Tune in to hear about Brent and Jondra's journey through Johns...

After a less than fulfilling career in engineering related vocations, Joe Heins' found an ignited passion for ministry and made his way to Johnson University to study for the preaching vocation. A 2011 graduate, Joe went on to enjoy a 7-year ministry with Auburn Church of Christ in Auburn, Indiana. His talents for leadership and administration caught the attention of the Board of Directors for...

Kellie Spencer has a unique relationship with the Florida campus. It started in childhood as the daughter of Doyle ('83) and Diane ('06) Adams. Dolye is a former Florida Christian College trustee who graduated from Central Florida Bible College. Diane is a current Johnson University Florida employee who graduated from Florida Christian College. Kellie is a graduate and former employee of b...

Troy Stanley is a 2-time graduate of Johnson University Florida. His first degree was with the LEAD degree program for adults followed a short time later by a graduate degree in Strategic Ministry through Johnson University's partnership with Real Life Christian Church. Before getting involved in ministry, Troy served in the family construction and contracting business as well as an extended tour...

Welcome to the 100th episode of the Sojournal podcast! It has been quite a journey over the last couple years as we have interviewed alumni and leaders from both campuses of Johnson University. If you are like me, we have learned a great deal about how God works in unique ways to bring people to Christ and lead them in submission to His good kingdom purposes. Our 50th episode featured Dr. David Eu...

Laura (Roberts) Rios studied TESOL at Johnson University as a Teacher Education student. Her journey has taken her to TESOL opportunities domestically and internationally. She currently serves with the public school system in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio.  Her journey has faced several challenges. In particular, she is currently working through issues related to cancer. Listen to the journey an...

After completing his undergraduate degree in preaching from Johnson University, Jamin found a passion for chaplaincy. This passion led him to service in a variety of public service areas as well as with Corporate Chaplains of America. Currently, Jamin serves as a Navy chaplain and is passionate about being a voice of hope and encouragement to the men and women who serve in the United States milita...

A former baseball player turned public address announcer, Tyler currently serves as the play-by-play voice for his local college while working at Green Gridiron. Between his employment duties, Tyler also hosts his own video podcast focused on a variety of hot sports topics.

From Hawaii to the heartland of central Indiana, Randall Tonini found Christ during his high school years thanks to the influence of Johnson alumni. Laura Tonini began life in the northeastern United States but found her spiritual formation in East Tennessee due in large part to the influence of her alumni aunt and uncle and Johnson alumni who served at Smoky Mountain Christian Camp. Their ministr...

Born and raised in Williamsburg, Kentucky, Tyler grew up in a house of faith. Passionate about baseball during his youth, Tyler found his way to Johnson University as a baseball player. He wanted the Christian college experience but welcomed the opportunity to continue playing the game that he loved. As a graduate of Johnson's undergraduate business administration program, Tyler was interested in...

Born in southern California, Ben moved to south Florida when he was two years old and spent most of his childhood in Ocala. He earned a a B.A. in Bible and Youth & Family Ministry from Johnson University Florida (formerly Florida Christian College) and followed up that academic journey with an M.A. in Intercultural Studies from Lincoln Christian University in 2014. Ben and his family live in S...

This brief episode features comments shared during a few of the episodes during 2022. We will hear snippets from Mark Nelson, Joe Gordon, Laura McKillip Wood, Michal Ruth Penwell, Don Wallace, Andrew Frazier, Caleb Mullins, Lee Faust, and David Eubanks.  The snippets are brief but their comments are insightful. I hope they will remind you of some of the challenges presented buy 2022 Sojournal...

Barb and Clay Miazza reside on the south side of Knoxville, but Barb was raised on Long Island, New York. The daughter of a Irish-Catholic father and English mother, Barb's entire religious journey was as a member of the Christian Church near her Long Island home. After a year in community college, Barb attended Johnson through her senior year but she did not graduate from Johnson. Listen to the p...

Jared Holland, a.k.a. Tom Morgan, is the host of "Morgan in the Morning" for 99.7 WCYK in Charlottesville, Virginia. He got his start in radio by working for the former WJBC radio station on the campus of Johnson University and then moved into the local radio market with WOKI and WIVK in Knoxville, Tennessee. Now in his second stint with 99.7 CYK, Jared also serve as a voice actor. He is married t...

Florida native, Shawn Smith, is a 2000 graduate of Florida Christian College (now Johnson University Florida). He earned both M.A. and M.Div. degrees at Lincoln Christian University, where he was employed as the Registrar through May 2022. Now, Shawn serves Johnson University Tennessee as the University Registrar.  Learn about Shawn's journey and his family connections in Christian higher edu...