Hello, My name is T.J. Johnson. I am a Bible teacher and author. I wrote Sunday School lessons for the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. (NBCA, Inc.) for approximately eight years, and I've been a Bible teacher at Bayview Baptist Church in San Diego coming up on ten years.
I discovered the joy of writing about twenty years ago when I began jotting down my thoughts in a journal to help me through a particularly difficult time in my life. Aside from providing a way to work through some troubling experiences, I also found writing to be very relaxing. I decided to take some courses to measure myself, and to get a feel for style and substance. I eventually found my own writing voice, and enough bravery to submit articles to my neighborhood paper and to my church newsletter--they were published! My pastor encouraged me to apply to write Sunday School lesson guides for the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. which I did. I also enrolled in Teacher's Training at my church. In teaching I discovered a whole new purpose for my life. I felt that I had finally connected with what God wanted me to do!
I grew up a Preacher's Kid (PK) surrounded by a family of seven preachers. My father was a the late Elder Cavitt C. Haynes of Amarillo, Texas; my brother was a preacher, the late Elder Raphel A. Haynes of San Diego, California and then of Ft. Worth, Texas; and my mother's brother was a preacher, the late Elder Bennie Collins of San Antonio, Texas and later of San Diego, California. I have two nephews (brothers) who are preachers--Elder Cavitt Fowler of San Diego, California and Elder Darris Fowler of Ft. Worth, Texas. One nephew, Rev. Charles Mullen is of San Diego, California, and a brother-in-law Bishop Stephen Fowler of San Diego. There are other Haynes preachers that I've never met, but am told they are part of our Haynes-Collins family tree.
Even with all this Bible-based information in my family, I did not always understand what I heard or read until I became interested in knowing the scriptures for myself. I wanted to find explanations for all the verses that seemingly contradict themselves. Know what I found? There are no contradictions, only different scenarios, circumstances, and backgrounds. I still do not understand all scripture, but I believe that any mysteries will be revealed to me at a time when I'm fully ready to accept the answer.
I began my journey for more knowledge by intensifying my study time; listening to Bible commentary, researching scripture references, breaking down Bible phrases, researching unfamiliar words, places, proper names, etc. I even double-checked the familiar words. What a revelation that was! Words we think we know are not necessarily used to convey the same meanings that we think they should. Sometimes they have an entirely different connotation. This inspired me to experiment with writing my own lesson guides for use in some of our Bible study classes. Even though I am a teacher, I will forever be a student. In teaching, I continually learn something new. You never stop learning!
