Maya J. McNeary
Journalist-PR Professional- Brand Consultant
The Many Hats of Donald Johnson
Q&A with UofM wide receiver Anthony Miller
After preaching on top of church pews and running around the sanctuary during his second service for the day, Pastor Donald L. Johnson sits exhausted and drenching in sweat. Just when he thinks he is approaching the calm and happy part of his day where he greets the congregation, a tap on the shoulder with a devastating message changes everything in an instance.
He walks back to the pulpit and announces an off-duty police officer has been shot and killed. And as the spiritual adviser of Police Director Toney Armstrong, Johnson’s day is far from over.
As Senior Pastor of the historical Oak Grove Missionary Baptist Church, some would say Johnson has his hands full with a congregation of over a 1,000 members. On top of his role as a pastor he has been the chaplain of the Memphis Grizzlies for the past 15 years, and spiritual adviser to the Memphis Police Department and the police director.
Although he is a husband, father of four, and grandfather of 11 Pastor Johnson does not mind his hectic schedule because he loves “being in the company of people whether they’re hurting or whether they’re happy... whether they are celebrating or they’re sick,” Johnson said, “I want people to know me as a lover of people. I’d want people to instantly think, ‘Boy, he loves people. He’s a good guy.’”
As much as he is known as a good guy, the phrase dynamic preacher also comes to the minds of people who have heard him. Ceriye Kelly, senior at Bolton High School, moved to Memphis in 2011 with her family. When searching for a church home she knew Oak Grove was the place for her.
“We visited two churches before we went to Oak Grove, and we knew within the first few months that this was the church for us. For me, Pastor Johnson immediately caught my attention and kept it during his sermon, and he made any and every sermon interesting. Every Sunday, he lets God speak through him and manages to touch our hearts and minds,” said Kelly.
Johnson started preaching his interesting sermons at an early age with his 12 siblings. “As a kid me and my brothers used to play church. Our youngest brother, Rodney, would be the audience. My brother Tony would be the deacon and I would be the preacher so from a youth that concept was there, but somewhere around the age of 13 to 15 is when I really felt this strong calling on my life to be a preacher,” said Johnson.
That calling to be a pastor turned into a reality in 1993 as the 28-year-old became the youngest pastor ever elected in Oak Grove’s 152 year history. Since then he has groomed and developed leaders and preachers to be senior pastors of their own churches.
One of the biggest changes to Oak Grove made since becoming pastor was the new sanctuary which did not come without years of struggle and frustration for Johnson. The building process started in 2004, but Oak Grove did not have its dedication service until 2006.
“It really was a struggle, and some of that was our fault. I take the leadership role in that. Somethings we just did not know what to do as it relates to building a church of this size and making sure we had everything in the building we needed,” said Johnson.
While Johnson admits that some of the struggle could’ve been prevented, he believes “anytime you try to do something for the kingdom of God, we always have an opposing force known as our adversary, Satan himself.”
Although Johnson was faced with an obstacle in his way of the vision he had for his church, he still found a way to encourage himself and stay focused.
“I never became discouraged, a little frustrated, but never discouraged. The one thing that helped me stay afloat was that I always knew what God had said, and whenever I felt the urge to be discouraged, the Holy Spirit would always refer me back to ‘wherever God guides, he provides’,” said Johnson.
God also provided him the responsibility to be the chaplain for the Memphis Grizzlies which allows him to preach before each home game to the Grizzlies and their opposing team. Johnson said he feels “grateful beyond measure” to have that great opportunity.
As a basketball player at heart he says he loves his job with the team just as much as he loves working with the MPD as a clergy police officer where he and other pastors in Memphis try to “bridge the gap between the clergy, cops, and the community.”
With all that he does he still finds time and strength to take preaching engagements all over the country. “I do an extensive amount of traveling and I’ve preached in a lot of places. I’ve preached in at least 30 states out of the 50. As a result of that I try to take one day a week off, one week a month, and one month a year. I believe in the concept of one of my professor said ‘If you don’t come apart, you will end up coming apart’, ” said Johnson.
His energy in the pulpit to be able to climb the pews and run around sanctuaries shows that his schedule his working just fine for him.
Anthony Miller is a wide receiver at the University of Memphis. After the Tigers ended their winning streak that lasted over a year, Miller agreed to a Q&A over the phone while preparing for the next game in Houston.
Q: What do you think were the important factors of the team’s success for the past year?
A: The reason for our success is our work ethic. We probably work harder than any team in America.
Q: You played a major role in last week’s game. How do you feel about making the only two touchdowns of the game?
A: Those two touchdowns were great, but the fact that we lost takes away from the great feeling I had getting those touchdowns. It's winning over everything.
Q: How did it feel to be undefeated for over a year? Did you get comfortable over time or more anxious for when it would end?
A: I thought we would never lose. The thought of losing never crossed my mind. The Navy game was a wake call.
Q: If you could change anything about how you have done these season so far what would it be?
A: If I could change anything about the season it would be changing that L to a W.
Q: Where do you see yourself going as a student and athlete in the next year?
A: I'm on track graduate with a degree in sociology next year. I also want to be recognized as an All American receiver.
Q: What do you like most about being a college athlete?
A: I like being a college athlete because it takes hard work and dedication just to be apart of the team. It's even better when the hard work pays off in the game.
Q: What are some other hobbies that you consider yourself to be good at other than football?
A: I'm good at playing the drums and what most people don't know is I'm good at fishing.
Q: What you do plan on doing individually to make sure you all bounce back from last week’s game?
A: I plan on bringing a lot of energy to tomorrow's game. The more energy we have the harder it is to play us.
The rate of freshmen students enrollment took a plunge this fall after the University of Memphis decided to raise tuition.
According to the U of M Office of Institutional Research, the full-time student equivalents rate of freshmen was 3,212.07 for the fall of 2013. The next fall, that number rose to 3,345.40, but this fall the full-time student rate of freshman dropped to 3,121.60. One student is not surprised by the rise and fall, and believes he knows the cause.
“The reason the numbers are dropping is because tuition went up this year. (University of) Memphis is the only major public university around, but with new programs like Tennessee Promise, I guess people don’t feel the need to give out that kind of money right now and I don’t blame them,” said Jacob Weaver, a junior at U of M.
In the summer of 2014, U of M proudly announced that tuition would remain the same for the 2014-2015 school year. Students like Weaver welcomed that decision from the University and hoped they would get another announcement like that in the summer of 2015.
That announcement never came as tuition was noticeably higher for this fall than previous years. When comparing the time of the drop in freshman enrollment and rise in tuition, Weaver’s theory looks like a possible answer.
While upperclassmen feel the pain in their pockets, freshman Elvia Watkins says, “This school is still the cheapest and best thing around right now. I heard that it was cheaper last year from my older friends, but I don’t mind because it still beats tuition at other schools in Tennessee.”
Other major, public universities in Tennessee are more expensive than U of M’s instate tuition at $7,056 a year. Middle Tennessee State University is $7,546 a year not including books, supplies and room and board. University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is $8,356 per year, and University of Tennessee at Knoxville is $12,436.
Watkins said that although money was the primary reason for her choosing U of M, the school also had the right program that she was looking for. “I was told many times they had a good psychology program, and that’s what I wanted my major to be,” said Watkins.
Other freshmen agree that despite the increase in tuition, U of M was simply the right fit for them. Emily Jackson is a freshman nursing major who says she came “for their nursing program. It’s one of the best around.”
Many high school friends of Jackson chose not to stay in Memphis for college, but she is happy with her decision to stay. “People don’t consider Memphis the perfect city to go to college. But it is perfect for me. I’m close to my family, but I still get the college experience.”
While Watkins and Jackson both say they did not mind the rise in tuition this fall, they hope to not see another rise for the fall of 2016. Jackson said, “Hopefully the university saw the drop in enrollment and will think about not raising it again. We’ll see next year what happens.”