BOOK REVIEW - Leading people to Christ
Published:Sunday | May 19, 2013 | 12:00 AM
- Book: Ambassador to the Global Village
- Author: Alfred B. Johnson
- Reviewer: Keisha Hill
Alfred B. Johnson, author of the book Ambassador to the Global Village, shares his journey that in Jamaica, took him to other Caribbean islands, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
It is a journey which he calls one of leading people to Christ.
A past student of Calabar High School, Johnson's walk with Christ began with his early days at the Tarrant Baptist Church, which was later strengthened at the Calabar Theological College.
In the book, Johnson speaks of his commission and his preparation for the mission field, as he along with his family ventured into the unknown in Congo, Africa.
Here for 30 months, despite the challenges, his ministry expanded in which he formed new congregations and, by extension, preached and taught thousands of persons in that country.
He also recounts his journey that took him back to Jamaica and his sojourn at the Jamaica Baptist Union. While in Jamaica, he served as chaplain at the Calabar High School and as secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Missionary Society.
Seemingly, the African bug wasn't quite out of his system and Johnson returned to Africa, this time to Nigeria, where he was instrumental in establishing the First Baptist Church of Calabar. He also taught in the community college where he also had a positive impact on the lives of the students.
According to Johnson, heeding and pursuing Christ's mission is not as simple as ABC. The journey, he said, is a lifetime vocation that involves not merely the choice or desire but a response to God's call to service. Being on the mission field he said, requires spiritual stability and resoluteness to seize opportunities and conquer adversities in carrying God's message to the world.
WELCOMED BY PYGMIES
Christianity wasn't new to Africa and while on his journey Johnson was also welcomed by Pygmies in Equatorial Africa; preaching to those who had never heard the name of Jesus and baptising hundreds of converts in the River Congo. He also lived in thatched-roof mud huts and found snakes coiled up in his bed.
He travelled by donkeys and drove across wooden bridges repaired by his own hands.
Johnson recounts planting olive trees on the slopes of Mt Olive in Palestine and has had his cars stolen by day and been robbed at gunpoint at night.
Further in his memoirs, the author discusses interfaith relationships, racial diversity, immigration issues and African culture and spirituality. He shares his involvement with the Jamaica Baptist Missionary Society and pastoral challenges in the inner city of Newark, New Jersey, USA.
Prior to his retirement in 2010, Johnson served for 21 years as pastor of Clinton Avenue Presbyterian Church in Newark, New Jersey, and was the first Jamaican to be elected as moderator of a regional presbytery in the over 200-year history of the Presbyterian Church, USA.