Hello, I am T.J. Johnson, a Bible teacher and author. For approximately eight years, I wrote Sunday School lessons for the National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. (NBCA, Inc.) and I've taught Bible classes at Bayview Baptist Church in San Diego since 2000-2001.
I discovered the joy of writing over 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. Even with all this Bible-based knowledge 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. I found that there are no contradictions, only different situations, 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 know the answers.
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 lesson guides for use in Bible study classes. That proved to be very useful for everyone concerned. And so began my new direction as an author and a teacher.