Steve and Lisa Johnson

“I am a part of the fellowship of the Unashamed. I have the Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense and my future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, chintzy giving and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by presence, learn by faith, love by patience, lift by prayer and labor by power. My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back, diluted or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, back up, let up or shut up until I've preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know and work until He comes. And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear for ‘I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.’ (Romans 1:16)”

Steve, Lisa, McCall and Skylar, “Welcome home” to the Portland Church family! Steve and Lisa and Elena and I first met in 1976 when I served as the Campus Minister at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois. Steve and Lisa were student leaders for our fledgling campus ministry. In 1979, we asked them to join us and the “30 would be disciples” in our new ministry in Boston. Within a year, the Spirit raised-up Steve to be the Associate Evangelist of the Boston Church. Through all the escalating controversy in the mainline Churches of Christ and persecution from the world, Steve and Lisa never “flinched” in standing side-by-side with us in the early days of God gathering His remnant and forging a worldwide movement of “disciples only churches.” In 1983, the Holy Spirit sent out Steve and Lisa as the leaders of the New York City Mission Team, 18 disciples sent to evangelize a city of 18 million! In time, God used them to build the New York City Church to over 5000 disciples. This dynamic congregation was the “pillar church” which oversaw the “ACES” World Sector. By the year 2000, the New York City Church, through prayer, financial sacrifice and the raising up of many Evangelists and Women’s Ministry Leaders, had overseen the planting of churches in every nation having a city of 100,000 in Africa and the Caribbean as well as the planting of churches in every state on the Eastern seaboard of America! During these years, Steve, in collaboration with Sherwin MacIntosh, wrote the inspirational musicals Upsidedown and Slingshot as well as many hymns such as “Prayer For Boldness,” “Men Who Dreamed” and “I Hear God Singing.” Recently, at Jay Leno’s request, Steve even danced on the “Tonight Show!”

When the darkening shadow of the “great apostasy” began to emerge in 2002 at the Los Angeles “Unity” Meeting, many “Kingdom teachers and elders” falsely believed a central Kingdom leadership (World Sector Leaders), lead evangelists and overseeing evangelists were unscriptural. They also introduced “autonomy” into each congregation of the International Churches of Christ, thus the elders began leading the local ministries without the direction of an overseeing and/or lead evangelist. Therefore, Steve and Lisa, similar to Elena and me, resigned as World Sector Leaders. Though heavily criticized, in humility they too apologized for their sins and mistakes. Yet Steve was told by the elders, “No one in the New York City Church wants you to preach there anymore. No one.” Steve submitted to the elders and took a year to “make tents,” but his heart yearned to preach full time. In January 2004 at our Winter Workshop, Steve and Lisa became the very first guest speakers of the restored Portland Church. Shortly afterwards, Steve and Lisa returned to the fulltime ministry serving the 35 sold-out disciples of Savannah, Georgia. Here they labored until now when Elena and I begged them to once again join us to not only build the Portland Church, but a movement of sold-out disciples that will evangelize the world in the twenty-first century!

Theresa and Chris Broom

Sunday, the Portland Church welcomed Steve and Lisa as true heroes of the faith. Also, this past Sunday was the culmination of our Winter Workshop “The Dream Never Dies.” Chris and Theresa Broom from Syracuse, New York, were our guest speakers. Fittingly, Chris held up Steve and Lisa as his “heroes in the faith.” Theresa was baptized in Lisa’s ministry at Boston University and later joined the New York City Mission Team! In 1990, Chris was baptized through the outreach of the New York City Church! Steve also married them! Let’s continue to pray for Chris and Theresa and the sold-out disciples of the awesome Syracuse, New York Church.

This Sunday was historic, not only with the welcoming of the Johnsons, but Bob Bertalot and Tony Untalan were appointed the first elders of the Portland Church! Also for the first time, the multiplying of disciples in Portland has made the formation of regions necessary to “satisfy” all the needs of the Portland disciples. (Exodus 18:13-26) Our new Region Leader couples are: Vancouver – Michael and Michele Williamson, East – Anthony

Our new elders, Bob Bertalot and Tony Untalan, are presented oil paintings of Portland as they were appointed last Sunday.

and Elizabeth Eckels, South – Tony and Therese Untalan, City Center – Matt and Helen Sullivan, Latin (Spanish-speaking) – Victor and Sonia Gonzalez, Campus/Teen – DJ and Kacie Comisford, West – Steve and Lisa Johnson. Steve will also serve as our Associate Lead Evangelist.

In Chris Broom’s Friday evening speech, “We’re the Dreamers,” Chris shared about a field trip to the forest Theresa had taken with one of their children. In the middle of a “bog,” they saw a tree that was still standing, but had no leaves. Theresa asked the wildlife expert guiding the field trip, “Is that tree alive?” The wildlife expert replied, “No. It’s called a ‘snag.’ Though it has branches, a root system and is still standing, it is dead.” This reminded Theresa and Chris of a Scripture in Jude 12, “These men are blemishes at your love feasts…autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted – twice dead.” (The first death is when there is no fruit, the second is when the tree is uprooted.) Interestingly, the wildlife expert went on to say that a tree dies when it stops growing. Another person later added, “Snags rot from the inside.” So Chris taught, it’s easy to spot a congregation that’s twice dead – “no fruit [no growth] and uprooted” – not standing. However, a church, like an individual, Biblically dies when it no longer produces fruit. (John 15:1-6) Though many churches in America have structure, they are standing and are not uprooted, yet they are dead.

Jesus tells the church in Sardis, “I know your deeds; you have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” Of note, even in a dead church Jesus adds, “Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes.” (Revelation 3:1-4) These few, we are calling out to join us as a remnant of sold-out disciples. Also during the workshop the challenge was given to the Portland Church to send out plantings to two major cities in America this summer!

Key to Steve and Lisa’s coming to Portland was that Savannah would continue to thrive. Buzz and Anita Banadyga, Steve’s in-laws, who have served the Lord by the Johnsons side for 20 years, agreed to stay in Savannah and take it even higher. (Buzz and Anita, dear friends of Elena and me, were full time in New York and planted and led the Cape Town, South Africa Church.) Though tearing themselves away from Savannah, Steve and Lisa will bring so much to Portland and our affiliated congregations. Therefore Portland Church, we must be willing to sacrifice financially to support them. Our Missions Contribution on March 12, 2006, will be devoted to the Johnson’s salary as well as “seed money” to establish new congregations of sold-out disciples. The elders are asking each of us to sacrifice at least ten times our weekly contribution.

Years ago Steve wrote a poem to me, that he and Lisa are living out as they “step over the line” and embrace our “unashamed fellowship” in Portland. The poem is entitled, “Kathmandu.”

Could I meet you in Kathmandu
As we go on our way
To save this world
Which has been hurled
Toward that last doomsday.
I’ll stand by you in Kathmandu
And toast our dying breath
Pledge all it takes for Jesus sake
And not shrink back from death.
Or meet me near the Southern Cross
Or find us in the East
As long as we’re amid hungry souls
And spreading out the feast
As long as we’re amid open hearts
And visions fill us all
Then Kip please know
That for you
I’ll meet anywhere at all!

Steve and Lisa, truly your “colors are clear!” Welcome home!

Kip McKean