“As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;” 2 Corinthians 6:9, KJV 1900

Within this chapter, the apostle Paul discusses the experiences of “ministers of God” who were living out their “callings” with an implicit contrast to others who were largely unaware of such similar difficulties and were simply striving for success and achievement without the inherent “purpose” seeking found in fulfilling a “calling.”

And one such paradoxical experience is “being unknown yet well known.” The desire to become “well known” is a common desire for it aligns very deeply with the Apostle John’s admonition in one of his letters to avoid seeking the “pride of life” (1 John 2:16 ). And restraining from this all too human desire to seek glory for ourselves while simultaneously embracing a “calling” is a tempting one but necessary. For “calling” at its core seeks to first bring glory to God and secondarily “service” to others as its ultimate “purpose.” (And perhaps the most helpful biblical personage to help us understand this notion of being “unknown” yet well known” is the “calling” of Moses.)

Like ministers or those labouring in their “calling” with a paradoxical lack of success or notoriety, the periods preceding it, often deepens “calling”‘and strengthens one within it. From every appearance (besides their very notable and public successes) Moses appears to be “unknown,” “poor,” “dying,” “chastened,” and a host of other things prior to his now more “well known” and well deserved reputations.

Yet even when he was “unknown”-The people constantly spoke of stoning Moses in spite of his many miracles and eventually unable to enter into the promised land owing to transgression–he was “rich” “alive” and “unkilled” during a lifetime of fulfilling his calling. This is called paradox which means a statement like “unknown but well known” may appear to be contradictory but in fact it reveals a deeper truth.

The parallel to Paul’s ministry was that Moses is more well known after his miracles and great leadership but that was at 80 years old when yet before that time he was relatively “unknown” as a leader in Egypt and as a “shepherd” in Midian. In spite of this, this period of being unknown proved to be used by God for Moses’ ministry even though when he was in Egypt and Midian he was despised in part by both Egyptians and Hebrews.

While the complete telling of Moses’ life can be found throughout the Bible, the book of Exodus provides perhaps the most biographical material pertaining to his “calling.” We are mostly familiar with his fleeing from Egypt at age 40, his “calling” at the burning bush at 80 and another subsequent 40 years of leading a trying and turbulent people which led to his passing at 120. Yet, it is within this first stage—his time in Egypt—that we come to appreciate the experience of being “unknown yet well known.”

While extremely significant—and this is putting it in the mildest terms—it is simply not true that all of his personal acquaintance with miracles, mature graces in character and deep humility were the only tools the Lord used as he followed his “calling” wherein he became “well known” throughout the ages as the king of Jeshurun, a prophet to Israel, the great lawgiver and scribe of the first 5 books of the Bible (the Pentateuch). The Lord also employed his personal experiences prior to this great “calling” when he was “unknown” in Egypt and Midian. For it was there where he led Egyptian armies in war as a young leader and in Midian where he became familiar with the rigors of living in the desert becoming familiar with the natural mysteries of the mountains, sea and desert. (We know this through the writings of Josephus.)

Yet in spite of this “unknown” pedigree of experiences—prior to receiving his “calling”—he is largely “well known” for the great miracles wrought by his hand in leading the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt. What we find in the biography of Moses is what we often find in ourselves and our own experiences. God wastes nothing in both the “unknown” and “well known” individual experience when “calling” us-causing “all things to work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Thursday, September 11th. Episode No. 0017: The Greatest Seven Letter Word can be found anywhere podcasts are available by searching “The GR8TNESS Router” or by visiting thegr8tnessrouter.com.

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2, KJV 1900)

For most, coming to and discerning one’s “calling’ is by no means an overnight process; Rather, for believers and unbelievers alike, it is lifelong—whether one is pursuing it or not. And perhaps one sure way of searching forward to discover one’s “calling” and the “will of God” is to begin by searching backwards to “prove what is that good, acceptable and perfect will of God.”

To be clear, one cannot develop a formulaic, mathematical and rational approach for discerning the “calling” that this writer believes every person possesses. (And it is unique and it is not to be compared to another except insofar as it conforms–albeit far from it–from the Lord. Read Hebrews 5:8-10.) Chiefly there is a call to the Lord Jesus Christ and, secondarily, to one’s purpose here in the earth in response to Him: “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9 (To even attempt to address such a wide chasm between our own understanding and His can often appear unknowable and it necessitates first and foremost a personal relationship with the Creator.)

All the same, there are several principles that we might glean from in helping us to discern “calling” and one of these is “proving” in Romans 12:2 which contextually occurs —similar to the call of Isaiah—in the prior verse Romans 12:1. Like Isaiah, one’s “reasonable service” is confession, separation and ongoing commitment that precedes discovering “calling” See my commentary on Isaiah’s calling: https://intersectionoffaithandlearning.com/2025/09/09/send-me-a-commentary-on-calling/

“Proving” involves finding evidence for, having witnesses to, and objective (not opinion) facts that give transparent confirmation to an assertion. And one way to discover one’s calling is to observe and prove (for one’s self) attributes, giftings, passions, interests, successes, talents etc that have been resident with you since one’s youth. (It is never too late to undertake and fulfill one’s highest “calling to God” and one’s secondarily “calling” concerning what you are to do in response to this “calling.”)

Notwithstanding, this “proving” (as with most principles) contains 3 important constraints when considering them within a perceived “calling”. These might be framed into the following queries: “Is it good?” “Is it acceptable?” “Is it perfect?” (The latter being does it possess the intrinsic and latent qualities of a talent or giftedness that has been given to you from God; For it was given effortlessly at birth, even before, and was not obtained on one’s own or through someone else.) This would be akin to a fish being created to swim and not climb a mountain like a mountain goat.

It would be beyond the scope of any single commentary to begin to determine those “good,” “acceptable,” and “perfect” things that have been given to us for “calling” in “service” to others which is part and parcel of everyone’s “purpose.” Yet one singular place to begin discerning whether one is in “lockstep” with one’s “calling” is “proving” what has preceded (and perhaps overlooked) in the past to determine how to bring forth “calling” in the present.

5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
Isaiah 6:5-8

Though the Apostle Paul’s “calling” and conversion offers a useful place for believers and unbelievers alike to begin understanding their own sense of “calling,” the prophet Isaiah’s “calling” does so in similar fashion. (See my commentary on Paul’s calling:

Who Art Thou, Lord?: A Commentary on Paul’s Calling

Although there have been men and women throughout scripture who have been privy to eternal majesties and have been assigned to spectacular missions by God himself, their qualifications were not much different than our own. James writes of the prophet Elijah “that he was a man subject to like passions even as we are.” Notwithstanding, the virtue and nobility of those men and women selected by God for magnificent purposes lie not in the fact that they were sinless and perfect like our Lord, but within the fact that they were deeply aware of, and admitted their own sinfulness when others were not and would not. We see this here explicitly in the “calling” of Isaiah.

Although Isaiah’s vision of the throne and his subsequent response, “Here am I; send me” is quite familiar to most, what’s most impressive about the prophet is his acknowledgement of his own “unclean lips,” and God’s subsequent purging of his sin with “live (fiery) coals.”

And herein lies in Isaiah’s “calling” two important elements for coming to understand one’s “calling”: 1. A candid, frank and transparent acknowledgement of one’s own mortality and frailties in face of His immorality and perfection 2. Purging through the fire of enduring what this awareness inevitably brings-often through “suffering” (Acts 9:16)- and will continue to bring while responding to this “calling.”

For what was Isaiah’s first response to this charge, invitation, summons, or “calling” to the Lord’s queries: “Whom shall I send and Who shall go for us?”

Isaiah was first completely assured of his own forgiveness for his weaknesses and shortcomings wrought in deep humility and awareness that all that is good and that God will do through him in this “calling” is from the LORD, and having been “sent” he experienced “purging” often through “suffering” prior to and continuously while serving people.

4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?  

5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. (Acts 9:4-6, KJV 1900)

Here the calling came in the form of a question: “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” The most familiar “callings” recorded in scripture are those to Noah, Abraham, Jacob (Israel), Moses, Elisha, Samuel, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Jesus’ 12 disciples; Yet, perhaps the most popular—and most pragmatic and prescriptive—for modern and postmodern believers (and even unbelievers) alike who seek to understand their “calling” is the call of Saul of Tarsus “who is also called Paul” (Acts 13:9). [See also commentary on the call of Isaiah https://intersectionoffaithandlearning.com/2025/09/09/send-me-a-commentary-on-calling/%5D

Sermons and writings abound concerning Paul’s persecution of Christians, a great light shining about he and his companions, his becoming blind, his recovering from blindness and of course the Lord’s appearance to Paul “as one born out of due time” (1 Corinthians 15:8). Yet, Paul’s inquiries of the LORD: 1. WHO ART THOU? 2. WHAT WILT THOU HAVE ME TO DO? provides a treasure trove for helping us to plainly understand the concept of “calling” for the believer and unbeliever alike.

First, he inquires “who art thou?” One can hardly follow someone that one is unacquainted with and through simply second hand information; (This happens most often in modern and postmodern society and in the social media age where innuendo, celebrity or some other virtue is ascribed to someone only to learn that quite the opposite is true because one did not seek to learn, know and long deliberate about such personages for one’s self.)

The gospel has been communicated similarly in what might be described as both first-hand, second-hand even third-hand testimony, which has been done for over 2000 years first by eyewitnesses (including Paul) but a host of subsequent believers. (Most of whom had not laid physical eyes upon the Lord.) Yet without respect to how and by whom one has heard of Him, it is a matter of personal, intimate and continuous inquiry to understand who is this Lord who does the “calling.”

Secondly, Paul inquires, “What wilt thou have me to do?” A full reading of Acts chapters 9, 26 and frankly the entire book of Acts—as well as Paul’s letters to the churches—reveal the complete telling of how it was “told” to him. There was the Lord who revealed to Ananias at some distant location what his plans were for Paul (which Ananias certainly shared with Paul upon his first meeting him), there were his discussions and confrontations with Peter and other disciples and finally it was the Lord himself who continually revealed himself to Paul both initially and with further instructions by “appearing” (Acts 26:16) unto him whether by word, vision or revelation (or something other no doubt being consistent with scripture).

Yet is very likely that none of these things would have been revealed to Paul—believers or unbelievers alike—had he not asked perhaps the two most singularly important questions one must ask to learn and discern one’s “calling”: “Who are you Lord?” “And what will you have me to do?”

“It seems appropriate during these closing days of the school year to re-emphasize, if possible, that for which the institution stands. We want to have every student get what we have-in our egotism, perhaps-called the “Tuskegee spirit”; that is, to get hold of the spirit of the institution, get hold of that for which it stands; and then spread that spirit just as widely as possible, and plant it just as deeply as it is possible to plant it.” “Last Words: A Sunday Evening Talk,” Booker T. Washington

Presidential Commentary by Dr. Brian Johnson  

Upon the last Sunday evening talk given at the close of the academic year, Booker T. Washington encouraged his hearers to come to learn of, embrace and finally disseminate the “Tuskegee spirit.” (There is something different about Tuskegee University.) It cannot be singularly explained by the eminence of its founding principal and president. It cannot be explained by the eminence of George Washington Carver. It cannot be explained by the aura associated with the “Tuskegee Airmen” whose feats are now known and respected worldwide. One simply cannot come upon the campus of Tuskegee University and not immediately be confronted with an overwhelming sense of the past meeting the present in deeply profound ways. For the “Tuskegee spirit” is what bounds not only its students and alumni but also its faculty, staff, administrators and presidents. It is a living, breathing pride in its beginnings, its present and its future-a future that is interwoven within the lives of every individual that has come upon the grounds of this sacred land. The “Tuskegee spirit” is none other than the spirit of a people-a great people embodying the very best and brightest in any and every tradition the world has ever known.

Jude 22-23
22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
KJV
 
Among believers and unbelievers alike there are found two general classes of people who walk contrary to the doctrines of Christ–those who do so ignorantly, not understanding the doctrine aright, and those who do so willfully and intentionally by providing some rational justification for their actions.

And here Jude provides two separate prescriptions for such classes: For the first class, he encourages long-suffering enduring and (non-judgmental) compassion and love which is what may invite such persons to consider their lives in light of God’s truth, doing so “in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. (2 Timothy 2:25)”

For the second class, the expression “save with fear” suggests that such believers or unbelievers must be confronted with boldness and truth for their ways. (Though much in contemporary Christianity resists such confrontation, this ought not be the case. For there are a great many people whose deeds will lead them directly into destruction and our failure to confront them boldly—though in many cases will by no means prevent it—will be the kindest act of love they have ever received. Even as a parent that corrects their children when they have received nothing but praise, adulation and well wishes from others for the very same actions.) For this kind of confrontation will often prove to be what “pull[s] them out of the fire.”

Even so, though they reject and ignore such words, such a confrontation will forever be lodged within their conscience, and with this awareness will Christ remind them on that day. Still further, such a demonstration ought be done so with deep and abiding love for the person, yet not for the “garment spotted by the flesh.” For one’s garment whether clean or unclean, typifies the righteousness and unrighteousness of one’s works throughout scripture, and in the case of both unbelievers and (faltering believers) we can only stand before God in the righteousness of Jesus Christ in whom we are created unto good works:

“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. (Revelation 19:7):
 

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” I used to picture the way that I would act under such circumstances; how I would begin at the bottom and keep rising until I reached the highest round of success.” – Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery (1901)

Presidential Commentary by Dr. Brian Johnson

Robert Hedrick’s translation of Xenophon’s Cyrus The Great: The Arts of Leadership and War captures a rather profound and startling idea about the power of both the mind and imagination in one’s youth. This is particularly evidenced in Mr. Washington’s autobiographical telling of the time spent in his youth thinking of his future. Hedrick translates Cyrus as follows: “I created an empire in my thoughts long before I began to win an empire in reality.”

The founding principal and president of Tuskegee (Institute) University, Booker T. Washington, tells of not having many flesh-and-blood examples of “success” due to both his poverty and enslavement. Yet, while his “hands” might have been bound, his “heart” and his “head” were certainly not.

Though he might have seen but dimly into what his future held, he “used to picture the way [he] would act under such circumstances.” (Note, one can hardly go where one cannot see one’s self beforehand going. And one can hardly do what one cannot see one’s self beforehand doing.) “Vision” is the greatest 6-letter word, and “leader” is the second greatest 6-letter word in this writer’s opinion. And Mr. Washington possessed “vision” enough for himself-without regard to what others might have seen-to see himself as a “leader,” which he later realized for some 34 years at the helm of Tuskegee (Institute) University.

“(4) I felt some concern lest at Tuskegee the manual labor side had an excessive development as compared with the mental labor side, or in other words, lest industrial training should unduly impair academic training. Is it not important the graduates of Tuskegee should have acquired not only a trade or an art, but the power to read and cipher intelligently, and a taste for reading? Otherwise the isolated negro farmer or mechanic will not prove to be capable of progress. The world changes so fast nowadays that the man or woman who does not read will be left behind, no what the calling. The academic side of Tuskegee ought there to give all its graduates a competent mental equipment and especially to implant the purpose to improve continually.”-“From Charles W. Elliott to Booker T. Washington,” September 7, 1906

Os Guinness poses the following rhetorical query in his (2022) _The Great Quest: Invitation to the Examined Life and a Sure Path to Meaning_: “Do you agree with Bertrand Russell’s famous dictum that “what science cannot discover, man cannot know”?

Upon Booker T. Washington’s invitation to visit the Tuskegee Institute campus and offer his assessment of the institution, Charles W. Elliot, President of Harvard University, who served for a record-setting 40 years, offered this 4th suggestion amongst five additional ones on how the institution might continuously make improvement beyond its tremendous successes under the administration of Booker T. Washington. (While Elliott and Harvard had honored Booker T. Washington with an honorary degree in 1896, it does not appear that Mr. Washington was present during the visit but he did respond in a letter dated October 20, 1906. A forthcoming commentary will discuss Washington’s response.) Notwithstanding his other recommendations to Washington and Washington’s response, Elliott’s present recommendation is one whereby modern American colleges and institutions have been confronted with: The neglect of the liberal arts.

To be sure, institutions like Tuskegee that experienced tremendous growth through its STEM-related fields ought be commended for they have ensured that they have contributed research, innovation and employment for many students. Moreover, STEM-related fields have contributed to society in far too many ways to be recounted here. All the same, “academic training” in the liberal arts which also contributes to human “progress” ought not be neglected. (This is Mr. Elliott’s reminder to Mr. Washington.) The ability to “read and cipher intelligently” is the hallmark of a traditional liberal arts education and it is tantamount to STEM-related fields’ knowledge creation. (In fact, it is the “A” that gives “STEAM” to STEM.) It is necessary for the researcher and scientist to consider the impact of their important scientific discoveries and advancing technology upon societal interests. And in incredibly powerful ways, reading, writing and thinking fostered in the liberal arts help to determine whether such advances are consistent with long-held traditions and values that society should adopt. The liberal arts also help determine whether to undertake certain scientific and technological advances and whether should we.

Professor Ferguson, my English department colleague from 2003-2006, was so very kind to my family while we were at Gordon College. She invited us to her home for Thanksgiving in 2005 when were in Wenham, Massachusetts and could not return south for Thanksgiving. I have thought of her often. (And one of my favorite memories was spending the weekend with her and colleagues at her cabin in Maine in 2004. I had one of my greatest meditations while there. Her cabin was on a river and you could hear the rustling waters in the night and morning. Meka was pregnant with Nathan and Asa was young. I did not wish to leave her home alone with them. She and my colleagues encouraged me to go. It turned out to be such a deeply moving experience.) Both of these experiences including my favorite picture with my boys was wrought through this lovely woman. This is deep reminder to live a life with purpose knowing we are not dealing with mere “mortals” but “immortals” as C.S. Lewis offers.

“After I got so that I could read a little, I used to take a great deal of satisfaction in the lives of men who had risen by their own efforts from poverty to success. It is a great thing for a boy to be able to read books of that kind. It not only inspires him with the desire to do something and make something of his life, but it teaches him that success depends upon his ability to do something useful, to perform some kind of service that the world wants.” – Booker T. Washington, My Larger Education (1901)

Presidential Commentary by Dr. Brian Johnson 

The great scholar, literary critic and ‘Narnia’ chronicler, C. S. Lewis, remarks about the value of books upon a young boy or girl’s imagination: “Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker.” Here again, what one consistently reads, one consistently becomes; Just imagine what one might become when one reads about the lives of great men and women from the time of one’s youth even into one’s mature years. This is what the founding principal and president of Tuskegee (Institute) University recommends, and it is a recommendation that we would do well to not only just follow, but continuously follow.

First, the world needs verifiable, authentic and organic heroes, not simply scripted and fictional ones. Men and women whose lives are grounded in believable and relatable life experiences that one can readily identify with provides great grounds for hope for those who have similar experiences. Second, one can learn from the mistakes made in the lived lives of others. It is simply not true that one must repeat the mistakes of others. (Instead, you read and learn from them.) The triumphant records of men and women that also record both their foibles and follies are useful for persons of any century to learn, discern and comprehend that what happened before may very well occur again.

Third, the lived lives of men and women who are no longer amongst us are permanent, indelible and fixed records that will remain ever unchanged. (One may repeatedly interpret and re-interpret their deeds done but there will be no adding or taking away from them.) And this final thought is one that certainly motivated men and women of the class of Booker T. Washington and should motivate us as well.

For Booker T. Washington knew that one has but one life to live, and there would be no do over. When future chroniclers composed the narrative of his life, he wanted to be certain that it contributed to making someone else’s “destiny brighter” not “darker.” The founding principal and president of Tuskegee (Institute) University did not simply write correspondence, books and speeches worth reading; he lived a life worth reading not only in his generation but also in the many future generations to come.

https://cic.edu/research/hiring-and-supporting-a-pioneering-president/

Booker T. Washington among Honorees.

https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-building-national-garden-american-heroes/

A Wonder

Ps 71:7

7 I am as a wonder unto many; but thou art my strong refuge.

KJV

Though believers may face very open and conspicuous (fortuitous and unfortuitous) happenings as they pursue God’s purposes for their lives, we should not quickly dismiss such happenings as signs of uncertainty and God’s displeasure with them, for more often than not these men and women are being made “a wonder unto many.”

Such was the case with Abraham, Jacob, Judah, Joseph, Peter, Paul (and even the Lord) who were all subject to circumstances that did not always conform to what their contemporaries believed to be God’s will for their lives. Yet the author of this psalm–King David–was perhaps the most notable wonder of all. Here was a man who having been anointed king while yet a teenager—in addition to his later slaying of the giant Goliath—experienced many contradictions (triumphs and disappointments) throughout his life that made him a “wonder to many.”

Shortly after triumphing over Goliath, he was persecuted by the once favored King Saul; Though he stumbled in committing adultery with Bathsheba, and lost the child of their union, they were immediately restored with Solomon. When he committed sin by numbering the people, he willingly offered himself and his household as a substitute for the sufferings; As a result, the angel of the LORD’s hand was stayed and David was allowed to sacrifice burnt offerings instead. In the end, these apparent contradictions (and many others) were not intended to demonstrate that men and women should live lives free from imperfection (or perceived imperfection in the case of the Saviour’s crucifixition, for the Savior’s death was for the salvation of men) but to demonstrate His enduring love and mercy to them that love Him:

1 Timothy 4:9 “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.”

NOT FOR PRICE NOR REWARD

Isaiah 45:13

13 I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts.

KJV

Commentary by Brian Johnson, Ph.D.

Replete in biblical history is the Lord’s raising up of men and women up in [His] righteousness to advance His purposes. And one of their most glaring characteristics is that they did so “not for price, nor reward.”

To be sure, the man or woman who advances God’s purposes will forever be blessed in return, for the Lord is never “unrighteous to forget works and labours of love.” Yet and still, the heart’s motive of such men and women is to seek God’s glory, not their own.

And Isaiah speaks here of Cyrus, a type of Christ, who was raised up to commission the rebuilding of the Lord’s temple and to deliver God’s people from the Babylonians. And we should all consider this. Cyrus though prophesied by God through Isaiah did not know God.

Further, we should note Andrew Johnson’s commentary, “The Medes and Persians came together as an alliance. Darius the Mede was put in place as King over Babylon. But the Persian King was Cyrus.” Although Cyrus was not a member of God’s own people, and his achievements often unheralded, were it not for Cyrus, the treasures of the temple would not have been restored, cedars from Lebanon would not have been provided and the work of Ezra and others would not have been initiated. And he did so, not for price, nor reward:

Psalm 115:1 “Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for they mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.”

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”-Acts 17:11

God has always placed a remnant of the “noble” who would not be swayed by the passing opinions of the day-from prophetical, personal, professional or political-in social media or public commentary: “[For] they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so.” Imagine how often commentary from pundits and-would be prophets alike-are promoted as promise without an objective and eternal standard against which to weigh their opinions against. All the same, scripture does not forbid public utterances. The apostle Paul urged the brothers that we “despise not prophesying…but to prove all things.” 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 (So how does one prove opinions and views in a society where we are encouraged to live with so many varying pronouncements of truth?) Centuries earlier, Isaiah the prophet answers this quite profoundly in Isaiah 8:20: “To the law and the testimony. If they speak not according to His word there is no light in them.”

The Christians of Berea were not as those of Thessalonica who took every opinion of proverbial prophet, priest or politician as truth. Rather, they went to the “law and the testimony” to see “if these things were so.” The admonition in this passage is to become studious not withstanding the celebrity, popularity or prominence of the position or the person behind the position. For God first spoke through His word then wrote through Moses, exhibited His power in Elijah then personified in Christ His grace and truth for the manifestation of all things in “spirit and truth.”

Peace, Peace
Jer 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
KJV

In our attempts to utter words that will heal the hurts of others let us not do so by saying, “Peace, peace; when there is no peace;” For in so doing, we may often find ourselves (intentionally or unintentionally) discovered as menpleasers who deceive the people for self preservation and not speakers of truth. (And such was the case with Hananiah and the prophets that dwelled in Judah during the time when the Babylonian armies came to lay siege upon Judah and carry many back to Babylon). These men declared, “Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon,” when God through the prophet Jeremiah declared, “And now have I given all these lands unto the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. And all nations shall serve him […]”

To be sure, the God of all loving-kindness and mercy would later inform the people through Jeremiah, “That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.” Yet and still, this would by no means occur until the people experienced a period of difficulty, and in this the would-be prophets of God greatly erred in their pronouncements of peace that could only “have healed the hurt of the daughter of my [God’s] people slightly.” For according to God’s design, it would not be “peace, peace” that would heal the hurt of His people, but “no peace.” And in suggesting otherwise these prophets were discovered to be something worse than false prophets, but deceivers. For no matter how plausible the intention, all words that are communicated in opposition to God’s word, His truth and His purposes is a lie:

[Even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the LORD do so: the LORD perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the LORD’s house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place. Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people; The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him.]
KJV Jeremiah 28:6

Bran Johnson Ph.D.

“You cannot hope to succeed if you keep bad company. As far as possible try to form the habit of spending your nights at home.” – Booker T. Washington, “A Sunday Evening Talk: On Influencing by Example”

The adage that one is known by the company he or she keeps is an oft-expressed one, but the founding principal and president of Tuskegee University, Booker T. Washington, extends the adage even further both in the aforementioned passage and in another commonly quoted passage: “Associate yourself with people of good quality. It is better to be alone than in bad company.” Moreover, his additional suggestion to “try to form the habit of spending your nights at home” is a very practical one worth noting. Insofar as it is possible to discern from his autobiography, correspondence, letters, speeches-and more importantly his accomplishments-the man, Booker Washington, apparently did little else but read, write, work and stay at home with his family. And while it is easy to regard Tuskegee (Institute) University’s founding principal with an overwhelming sense of awe, one can begin to appreciate and understand him in view of his own self-discipline and self-sacrifice. (Everyone suffers but few suffer voluntarily. Yet, if one learns how to suffer, one will learn how to succeed.) One need not be reminded that everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, but how one spends those hours is what ultimately distinguishes men and women. (One would simply be amazed at how much more time can be committed to a meaningful mission or a purposeful project if time is not spent in (un)meaningful and (un)purposeful ones that do not result in progress.) Clearly, recreation, fun and leisure have their place but not if these things come at the expense of sustainable success. (Mr. Washington suggests that it is even better when one’s recreation, fun and leisure become part and parcel of one’s work.) For when an individual can transform his or her home into an extension of their workshop, they have the benefit of continuing, doubling and multiplying their labors when others have ceased from theirs.

We are pleased to announce Warner Pacific University has entered a teach-out partnership with Jessup University. This partnership is aimed at serving students impacted by the changes at the Multnomah Campus and providing them with opportunities to complete their academic programs at Warner Pacific starting this fall 2025.

We are committed to ensuring academic excellence and student success throughout this transition. Both Jessup and Warner Pacific will work closely with students to facilitate a smooth transition and minimize any impact on their academic progress.
We are looking forward to this partnership and welcoming students from Jessup to the Warner Pacific community. #withpurpose

Partnership with Jessup University

African American CCCU presidents (Fresno Pacific, Houghton, Roberts Wesleyan and Warner Pacific) with Dr. Esau McCauulley, Wheaton College, at the CCCU President’s Conference in Washington, DC #cccu

1 Kings 18:21

21 And Eli’jah came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Ba’al, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.

KJV

Seldom will one receive confirmation from others about a God-given calling to fulfill a purpose for people for your life without some tangible sign or demonstration. (Even the man of God, Elijah, experienced the same.) For before the fire of the Lord fell upon Elijah’s burnt sacrifices in his competition with Baal’s prophets, “the people did not answer him a word.”

Oft in fear of supporting a losing cause, the prevailing wisdom of the day or outright fears, persons first desire the confirmation of the majority. All the same, such confirmations of calling here within our own time need not be equally miraculous for persons to observe observable works that have been wrought beyond mere words. Yet and still, whosoever would desire to have others to sign on or confirm a God-given calling to fulfill a God-given purpose that has been assigned to you and no other, let this man or woman be prepared to show forth evidence, wonders and (words congruent with works) that demonstrate to all involved (including one’s opponents) that what he or she says is so:

“And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Eli’jah the prophet came near and said, “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that thou, O LORD, art God, and that thou hast turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God.” 1 Kings 18:38-39

Mark 5:15
15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
KJV

Whether one concedes it or not, the overwhelming weight of scripture repeatedly describes persons who were once tormented by unclean spirits and devils. And the man from Gadarenes demonstrates much. For his physical condition reveals much about the condition of a mind (soul) where such activity occurs:

This man spent his days lamenting over the past within a place of remberance (not of one memory but several); he was rebellious and independent, and therefore was not (nor could be) subject to the rule or leadership of another; he cut himself with stones (used for condemning) in repeated acts of self-condemnation; and finally, he was tormented by fear. He was even made to fear the mercy and grace that would be found in our Lord and Savior Christ.

These acts symbolized a variety of unclean conditions, and it is no surprise why these spirits implored our Lord to send them into pigs (animals that symbolize uncleanness). Most importantly, this is why the man’s final condition (a right mind) was all the more glorious to all who observed. This new believer in Jesus Christ would not only be renewed in spirit, but in mind also. And having been renewed he was now summoned to serve, summoned to “publish” (Mark 5:20).

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”-2 Timothy 1:7

“I realize fully, and have always said so on every proper occasion, that there are two lines of work to be accomplished. One is in the direction of agitation, calling attention to wrongs and the condemnation of these wrongs. Along with this there should go efforts in the direction of education, moral and religious teaching and helping of the race to strengthen itself in material and financial directions. There is a wide field in all this for every man of the race who wants to give service.”-Booker T. Washington, “To Nicholas Chiles,” November 17, 1906 [Tuskegee, Alabama]

Unlike his very public disagreements with men such as W.E.B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter—often through public speeches, competing editorials or tacit subterfuge—Booker T. Washington felt comfortable enough to maintain correspondence with Nicholas Chiles. Though he possessed views, in some cases, similar to both Du Bois and Trotter, Washington writes about Chiles: “I always enjoy writing you because I find you are a man with whom one can discuss matters, and even disagree, without personalities and abuse entering in.” (To be able to disagree with one’s opponents without slander or attempt to harm and injure reputation is something contemporary leaders and followers alike would do well to remember in our age of social media and internet access.)

All the same, in the aforementioned passage, Washington outlines two lines of work that might be defined in more contemporary nomenclature as “protest” and “reform/uplift”.  While the work of Du Bois, Trotter and many contemporary and historical African Americans community leaders exist in the tradition of “agitation,” “calling attention,” and “condemnation,” (and their efforts more heralded, celebrated and popularized) Washington here describes that there are others who are deeply invested in a different work: “education, moral, and religious teaching.” It is clear that work of those who exist in the tradition of a W.E.B. Du Bois is a viable one, but make no mistake, in this letter, he invokes his own work at Tuskegee and others such as Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of Bethune Cookman University, who viewed theirs as equally valuable (and perhaps even moreso.) 

First, the work of both Washington and Bethune remain visible to this very day owing to the institutions they founded. (Though valuable, often the work of protest and agitation has not fashioned long standing institution building in a vein similar to these universities or the economic development African American citizens in Tuskegee, AL , Tulsa, OK or the city of Durham, NC-the latter two affectionately referred to as “Black Wall Street” in their heyday.) Moreso, though this aspect of their religious and faith convictions are often wittingly or unwittingly muted and ignored, Washington and Bethune were persons of deep and abiding faith, and though this has often been dismissed as mere “heavenly preoccupation” and they did their best to walk wisely concerning their views, Washington and Bethune also believed it to have a very pragmatic quality for both here and now (not simply the time to come): the moral and ethical development of the African American community.

(Like Washington and Bethune, there have always been African American leaders with deep and abiding faith, which went above and beyond political expediency and when one views their words and works comparatively and historically there would be much to ascertain concerning the reasons for their triumphs.) Cornel West’s (1994) _Race Matters_ alludes to this historical dynamic thusly: “THERE has not been a time in the history of black people in this country when the quantity of politicians and intellectuals was so great, yet the quality of both groups has been so low.” Whatsoever gains that are to ever be had through the efforts of both of these “lines of work,” the latter had most certainly be involved if it is to be kept, harnessed and continued.

“[…] After the man was shot his son brought him to my house for help and advice, (and you can easily understand that the people in and about Tuskegee come to me for help and advice in all their troubles). I got out of bed and went out and explained to the man and his son that personally I would do anything I could for them but I could not take the wounded man into the school and endanger the lives of students entrusted to my care to the fury of some drunken white men. Neither did I for the same reason feel that it was the right thing to take him into my own house. For as much as I love the colored people in that section, I can not feel that I am in duty bound to shelter them in all their personal troubles any more than you would feel called to do the same thing in Washington. I explained my position fully to the man and his son, and they agreed with me as to the wisdom of my course. And I now state what I have not to any one before. I helped them to a place of safety and paid the money out of my own pocket for the comfort and treatment of the man while he was sick. Today I have no warmer friends than this man and his son. They have nothing but the warmest feelings of gratitude for me and are continually in one way or another expressing this feeling. I do not care to publish to the world what I do and should not mention this except for this false representation. I simply chose to help and relieve this man in my own way rather than in the way some man a thousand miles away would have had me do it.” – Booker T. Washington, “To Francis James Grimke,” November 27, 1895

Presidential Commentary by Dr. Brian Johnson

A man of Booker T. Washington’s eminence, position and stature was often criticized on a great many matters from persons who perhaps had his interest-or their own-at heart, but were wholly removed from the facts. Often in the case of leadership-particularly in the leadership of a vast organization such as Tuskegee Institute (University)-one must exercise tremendous restraint in responding to erroneous opinions, ill-informed recommendations or ill-advised suggestions. However, Mr. Washington’s response to what he perceived was a “false representation” of his character was another matter altogether. During the difficult period of “Jim Crow,” many persons-white and black-held opinions about how the Tuskegee Principal should respond and react to racial atrocities as described in his letter to Grimke. In the present circumstance, Mr. Washington is responding to a letter from Grimke wherein the writer indicated that someone-“whose name [he had] forgotten”-relayed the circumstances of this event during a Bethel literary society meeting in Atlanta and that the founding Principal “refused to allow him to be brought in or the physician to attend him.” To Grimke’s credit, he went on to inform Mr. Washington that he felt it his “duty to apprise [him] of what was said.” All the same, aside from Mr. Washington’s detailed correspondence communicating the circumstances aright to Mr. Grimke, he went on to provide additional facts concerning his activities that were intentionally not designed for public consumption or publication. It would be remiss to think or believe that Mr. Washington’s advocacy of industrial education or internal uplift and reform, was free from sympathetic interest to the political matters of his day. Rather, Mr. Washington’s approach-as sound approaches often are-was marked by tact, sagacity and, most importantly, prudence. For Mr. Washington’s true audience was not political constituents who suggested what ought be done but the father and the son who were the beneficiaries of what needed to be done.

Exciting News: The renovation of our beloved Otto F. Linn Library has officially concluded, and the keys have been turned over to Warner Pacific University. Our first $3.2M Title V grant in 2023 provided some resources for this.

Our Library staff, along with the Center for Academic Success and Achievement (CASA) team, are all geared up and ready to move in. We can’t wait to welcome you all back and provide you with an even better space to study, research, and relax.
Stay tuned for more updates and information on the grand reopening and ribbon cutting in spring!

#withpurpose #wpuknights

All Men Have Not Faith

2 Thess 3:2

And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.

KJV

There’s really no way to get around what the apostle suggests in this verse: All men have not faith. While it would be grand indeed if every exhortation to “believe God” were returned with “I believe,” were the typical exchange between men and women (both believing and unbelieving) that we encounter on a daily basis, this is usually not the case. For faith requires submission, patience, humility, perseverance and complete adherence to God’s way of doing things in spite of its perceived absurdity. Sadly enough, most men believe in the exact opposite. Instead of submission, they believe in force. In place of patience, they believe in haste. In lieu of humility—self-assertion and pride—and for perseverance, they believe in taking the path of least resistance. And above all things, for (perceived) expediency’s sake, most will not follow God’s way of doing things with promises of succeeding results because of fear of ostracism, men, and a variety of other factors. This is why such men are described as unreasonable and wicked. For to place one’s faith in any other course of action than that which proceeds from God’s word and Himself is not only unreasonable and wicked, but foolish:

“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.”-Psalm 14:1

“Careers fill your pockets, but callings fulfill you as a person and you can link your career with a calling to fulfill great purposes.” Dr. Brian Johnson, Ph.D., President, Warner Pacific University

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“My dear Mr. Washington, Your letter received and read with great care. Your letter encourages me greatly. I am determined to raise chickens regardless of difficulties, I mean just that. I only sent you the report for your information, and not as a complaint. I thought you would be glad, or rather that it was my duty to keep you posted in detail. I want you to know that I am not sitting down permitting such a condition to exist without trying to remedy it. I fully appreciate the fact that we have a fine plant here for which I am extremely grateful. And without taking more of your time, will say in closing that you shall have chickens. Very Truly G.W. Carver, “To Booker T. Washington, From George Washington Carver,” May 4, 1909

Presidential Commentary by Dr. Brian Johnson

It is quite difficult for us to fully comprehend both the far-reaching “breadth” and richly textured “depth” contained in the personal correspondence between not only two of the great personages in the intellectual and educational history of Tuskegee (Institute) University but two of the great personages in all of African American, American and global intellectual and educational history-Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver. Mr. Carver’s response above was in reply to Mr. Washington’s letter of May 2, 1909 wherein the founding principal and president of Tuskegee University expressed the following:

“I have received your letter bearing upon the poultry yard, also your report of the analysis of the eggs… I think if everybody will simply stop thinking and talking about difficulties and what prevents success and go to talking about working in the direction of getting chickens and at the same time be determined to get them regardless of difficulties that you will succeed.”

George Washington Carver, a man of similar “integrity” and “knowledge”-the first and second greatest 9-letter words-would in no wise permit anyone, including Booker T. Washington, to interpret his “report” as mere “complaint.” To the contrary, he disabused Mr. Washington of any inclination that he was simply “sitting down permitting such a condition to exist without trying to remedy it.” Serving as both a professor and steward of the university’s resources, Mr. Carver remarked that the intent of his report was to provide the president with “information.” (What Washington may have construed as Carver’s “paralysis of analysis,” Carver viewed as “climbing the speculative ladder of reason [before] leaping out into the darkness of faith.”)

All the same, Mr. Carver goes on to state in the most exacting fashion: “I am determined to raise chickens regardless of difficulties, I mean just that.” And herein lies the sum whole of the matter concerning the “raising of chickens” for both President Washington and Professor Carver: They both wanted results without regard to difficulties. For both men, whose records of accomplishment would be difficult-not impossible-to surpass, “success” and “results” were the chief assets in the late 19th and early 20th Century. (And it remains so here in the 21st Century.) These men operated according to their functions.

Their foremost priority was to develop the moral, ethical, fiscal, intellectual and knowledge-based educational prowess at Tuskegee University that would come to be recognized both nationally and internationally as the “Tuskegee Machine.”

“W.E.B. Du Bois in African American Intellectual and Christian History,” at George Fox University live here:

“After I got so that I could read a little, I used to take a great deal of satisfaction in the lives of men who had risen by their own efforts from poverty to success. It is a great thing for a boy to be able to read books of that kind. It not only inspires him with the desire to do something and make something of his life, but it teaches him that success depends upon his ability to do something useful, to perform some kind of service that the world wants.” – Booker T. Washington, My Larger Education (1901)

Presidential Commentary by Dr. Brian Johnson 

The great scholar, literary critic and ‘Narnia’ chronicler, C. S. Lewis, remarks about the value of books upon a young boy or girl’s imagination: “Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker.” Here again, what one consistently reads, one consistently becomes; Just imagine what one might become when one reads about the lives of great men and women from the time of one’s youth even into one’s mature years. This is what the founding principal and president of Tuskegee (Institute) University recommends, and it is a recommendation that we would do well to not only just follow, but continuously follow. First, the world needs verifiable, authentic and organic heroes, not simply scripted and fictional ones. Men and women whose lives are grounded in believable and relatable life experiences that one can readily identify with provides great grounds for hope for those who have similar experiences. Second, one can learn from the mistakes made in the lived lives of others. It is simply not true that one must repeat the mistakes of others. (Instead, you read and learn from them.) The triumphant records of men and women that also record both their foibles and follies are useful for persons of any century to learn, discern and comprehend that what happened before may very well occur again. Third, the lived lives of men and women who are no longer amongst us are permanent, indelible and fixed records that will remain ever unchanged. (One may repeatedly interpret and re-interpret their deeds done but there will be no adding or taking away from them.) And this final thought is one that certainly motivated men and women of the class of Booker T. Washington and should motivate us as well. For Booker T. Washington knew that one has but one life to live, and there would be no do over. When future chroniclers composed the narrative of his life, he wanted to be certain that it contributed to making someone else’s “destiny brighter” not “darker.” The founding principal and president of Tuskegee (Institute) University did not simply write correspondence, books and speeches worth reading; he lived a life worth reading not only in his generation but also in the many future generations to come.

We were so grateful to the Tigard Church of God welcoming Warner Pacific University’s 8th President Brian Johnson to speak. #ChurchOfGod#WPU#wpuknights#withpurpose

Please view his sermon from Sunday, November 10, 2024 titled, “It is [Too] Light a Thing: (To Be This or That)” based on Isaiah 49:6

His sermon begins at the 52:16 minute mark:

https://www.facebook.com/100064867051236/videos/8627147860710624

“You cannot hope to succeed if you keep bad company. As far as possible try to form the habit of spending your nights at home.” – Booker T. Washington, “A Sunday Evening Talk: On Influencing by Example”

Spending Your Nights At Home

It has always been a deep honor and privilege to honor the men and women who have served in presidencies before me. (Few have inhabited and experienced such spaces and understand the tremendous call and responsibility to such an office. And therein is a special kinship.) Today it was my honor to celebrate Dr. Marshall Christensen, 5th President (1981-1996) of Warner Pacific University on his 83rd birthday. Psalm 115:1 👏🏾🙌🏾👑👑