Pastor Johnson
Pastor Mike was called to be pastor of Christ the Lord Lutheran Church in September, 2011. He brings a strong sense that the church, and we as individual Christians, are blessed to be a blessing in all the places in which we live work and play:
“God is at work in God's people, in the Church, and in the world. God cares more than we ever could or could even imagine about the well-being of God's children -- even or especially those who do not yet see themselves as such. The Church (and the individual believers who are the Church) with all our flaws and shortcomings are God's chosen means of bringing God's Word to all people. Forgiven and filled with the Holy Spirit’s own power, our very purpose for being is to worship God, to serve God, and serve others. The Word we bear to the world is a creating and transforming Word which gives good gifts, calls and equips people, and puts them to work in service to God and others. The multitudes of false gods which people follow only give a fragile and artificial sense of meaning to life. Ordained pastors are called to lead the people of God into a meaningful life with God and to do so with integrity, competency, vision, and inspiration.”
Pastor Mike and Joy grew up in Coshocton, Ohio, and met at Emmanuel Lutheran Church where they were married in 1974. Mike completed his undergraduate degree at Miami University (Ohio) with a major in Pulp and Paper Science which led to his early career with Procter and Gamble in paper manufacturing (Charmin and Bounty!). Mike and Joy were active members and lay leaders at St Paul Lutheran Church in Tunkhannock, PA and began their family life with the birth of Thaddeus, Craig, and Larissa.
The calling to ordained ministry came to Mike gradually as he became increasingly involved in the life of the church and through the influence of a faithful and deeply spiritual community of friends. In 1983, he and Joy moved their family to Columbus, Ohio and Mike enrolled in the Master of Divinity program at Trinity Lutheran Seminary which included an internship in La Canada, California. That experience may have been where the family got the “go west” bug. As Thaddeus, Craig, and Larissa grew up and moved to San Diego, Seattle and Dallas respectively, Pastor Mike served congregations in Cuyahoga Falls and Springfield, Ohio. Mike and Joy having also caught the “bug” moved to a third parish, St. John Lutheran Church in Riverton, Wyoming, in 2005.
Joy has taught 2nd and 3rd grade, worked with behaviorally and developmentally challenged children, and worked as a foster care coordinator and an advocate for special needs families. She loves to sing and teach. Together Mike and Joy enjoy Celtic and Folk music, particularly in small concert venues, hiking, and exploring new places and eateries. Mike’s interests run to the outdoors: backpacking, fly fishing, and golf (with limited expectations). He remains part of the Cleveland Browns devoted fan base which speaks to his great sense of hope.
Pastor Mike considers it a privilege and a joy to serve God and God’s people. His missional mindset tells him that all people are God’s people, and the Church – when we truly are church – is an instrument through which God is drawing all people to God’s self and producing a fruit of goodness, mercy, and justice for the Kingdom of God.
