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David M. Johnstone

Blog

Cloud of Witnesses: Unexpected Models

My father was a university chaplain in a nation under military rule.  I was a child during this time and had no idea what he, my mother, and others experienced.  Years later, we spoke about these years. He recalled that on that university campus it was common knowledge that most classrooms and spaces had someone…
May 18, 2022
Blog

Loving Faces: Community in and after the Time of Pandemic

In the time of pandemic… …we have lived in a mix of virtual and in-person worlds.  As we shift back into a more in-person world, I want to remind myself and others of the importance of community and relationships. Why do we need community? The bigger question might be, why do we need relationships?  The…
March 24, 2022
Blog

Asking God the Overwhelming Questions about Pain, Suffering and Justice

The overwhelming questions. Earlier in the academic year, I noted that these have been “unsettling, chaotic, and disorienting times.”  It has been a year of endurance, tenacity and “completion” for our academic communities.  That the year was completed is a mark of success.   There has also tremendous sadness, lament, and tragedy laced throughout our campuses. …
May 31, 2021
Blog

Extending Hospitality When We Fear

Half a century ago, my parents were expatriates in Brazil during a volatile time of that country’s history. My father was a university chaplain and my mother a nurse in the local favela. Reflecting on what has unfolded in the US over the past weeks, my mother wrote to me: “We watch with anxiety what…
March 3, 2021
Blog

Crisis, Community, and Lament: Living During Chaotic Times

The day I am writing this post is September 11. In 2001, I was still a rookie administrator living with 200 freshmen on a Christian college campus in Southern California. The horror of that morning rippled into shock, confusion, and perplexity as the day continued. The community gathered together with care, empathy, and resolve. As stories permeated through…
September 23, 2020
Reviews

Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times

Reviewed by David M. Johnstone, Student Life, George Fox University Soong-Chan Rah ranks among the top American scholars who perceptively understand the contemporary Western church, speak prophetically into it, offer hope, and do not hesitate to probe the theological implications of scripture. I count his Prophetic Lament: A Call for Justice in Troubled Times as…
January 15, 2017