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Buddha
Q
And while Dr. Spencer was still here, that we had twelve people there for the Sunday night services.
And Ms. Garmer said that we really just needed to not have Sunday night services any more.
And tell her what you said out and then cut it out.
And the young singles, we were all, well, so many were older.
And we had to make a change.
Current members that were on the search committee were Gene Ennis, Bill Austin, Alton Brown and Gilbert Dawson.
When we first met as a committee, we compiled a group of questions that we thought we would like to use as we interviewed the ministers to determine their beliefs of scripture.
And we questioned about how they felt about our church being an independent Presbyterian church.
We wanted a minister who was biblical, preached the word and believed what he said.
We interviewed, I don't recall the exact number, but I think we interviewed at least ten ministers during this process.
Terry was brought to our attention by either a relative or a friend of Bill Austin, I don't recall which, that was in Mississippi, told Bill about a minister in Mississippi by the name of Wilson Benton.
And said, thought that we may be interested in him.
So, we did give him a call and we invited him up to speak to us and we like what we heard.
And then within just a few days, I called him and told him we would like to discuss the possibility of a call with him.
And he said, well, I've accepted a call in St. Louis.
So, but he said, there's a young man down in Florida that you may want to look at. His name is Terry Johnson.
You never know how God's going to work things out.
It was kind of like he had a place for Wilson in St. Louis, but Wilson knew who he wanted in Savannah.
So, that's the way it worked out, fortunately for us.
This process went on for almost two years before we issued a call to Terry first recommending him to the session and recommending him to the congregation.
And I met Terry at the airport when he first came to Savannah.
So, I wasn't sure how I was going to recognize him, but I saw this very young gentleman at the airport.
And I finally determined that was Terry Johnson.
My first thought was, my goodness, I don't know if independent prayer team church are willing to call someone this young or not.
We never had a real young preacher.
Most of the preachers were experienced.
You know, they had churches before.
He told me the other day that he was as old now as I was when he first came here.
And he thought I was pretty old.
One of our committee members was wise when she first saw Terry.
She made a comment, of course not so he could hear, but she made a comment.
We wasted our time. We'll never call this young kid.
But that all changed after we heard him preach that Sunday.
In fact, the committee was happy with him and we were excited about him.
And even church members said, we need to call this young man.
Well, the first time I met him was the first time I heard him preach.
He was filling in in August for our interim pastor when he preached.
It was wonderful.
I had not heard preaching like this.
I had sat under many ministers who were very good and true to the word.
He came the second time.
People had asked me as I was coming down from the choir loft,
are you going to call him? Are you going to call him?
I mean, we were all blown away, so to speak.
And we hadn't heard this kind of preaching.
We had come down after the choir sign and we had a visitor who sat with us.
Had come in off the street and sat with us.
She said, just wait till you hear Terry preach.
And she is the mother-in-law and at Hartley and sat with us.
And that was a delight.
Don got on the phone after the voting, after the service,
the meeting, and called Terry and reported.
And my mother, Joan, and I were in the office too.
And our mother said, I would like to speak to Terry.
She said, you've got to come. We want you to come.
And then I got on the phone and I said, you are the answer to many prayers.
And the search committee has prayed each time that we met that you would come.
And so I think it's God's will that you come.
Well, it was exciting to see a PCA guy going to this historic church.
But I first met Terry when he came to be examined by what was then Central Georgia Presbytery.
And the examination, I think, took place at Chapel in the Gardens,
Presbyterian Church in Garden City.
So I'd never met him before.
I heard about him as he was called because I know Morton Smith.
And I think Morton Smith, he was the stated clerk at the PCA at that time,
had been instrumental in getting independent in touch with Terry.
It was a very thorough examination.
And you can tell when somebody really is astute theologically,
when they know what they're talking about.
They're not in doubt about their answers.
They're fairly precise.
And the more the examination took place, the more I could see.
I was going to like that guy.
It was cold and pouring rain.
I feared ice on the road.
But we had a safe trip to Savannah by 5.30 in time for our predatory commission meeting.
At 6.30, the service was held to install Terry Johnson,
this pastor of the great old independent Presbyterian Church.
I preached on 2 Timothy 4, preached the word.
The first seven years or so, there were some real challenges for Terry,
being a young man trying to do ministry in a downtown church that's well-established,
but has its traditions and its problems to try to work through.
It was a difficult year for Terry.
There had been quite a transition as Terry had become pastor.
He'd only been there six or seven years, I guess, when I arrived.
And some of the people that had left the congregation were creating problems for him.
And really, there was nothing he could have done.
So it was fascinating and made quite the impression to see how he responded to that in grace and in prayer.
Just suffering at times without retaliating.
So that made quite the impression.
Those first years that Terry was here was a difficult time, I'm sure, for Terry and for Emily.
We expected that there would be some opposition.
I think it's human nature that a lot of us resist change.
Well, I remember when his children were born, especially the first one, drew.
And a lot of us, congregation, went down to look at this baby boy through the window in the nursery.
And we were just thrilled for them.
And Terry had said all through his early time.
I mean, this was maybe a year after they were here that he wanted twelve children.
And he kept saying he wanted twelve children.
But so often he would come to preach on a Sunday morning with a bad cold that he had caught from one of the babies.
We lived very close to the mats.
And so we had a very close association with Emily and Terry.
We loved them.
We loved as all the babies were coming.
It was a joy to see them and enjoy them.
I don't really have to humanize Terry Johnson.
He has a family that does that very well.
He's actually an excellent father.
His wife and his children are real tribute to their living Christianity and their piety.
The Johnson kids are great.
We've been able to know all of them in different periods of life.
I treasure the memory of our times having tea together in your office, praying with your staff.
And then those trips to Twin Lakes Fellowship when you're so kind to include me on Mr Joe's land yacht.
And the times of prayer we had and how you held court at the table there with tea in hand.
And regaled us with stories of your life at IPC.
And we're thinking just tremendous times.
And I wouldn't be the man I am today were it not for your influence and your friendship.
And I thank God for you and Emily.
And Terry told me one time after preaching on a Wednesday known service at Independent.
Claude, you don't have to worry about it being boring.
It's the word of God itself is the illustration.
I never forgot that.
I can remember exactly where we were standing when he told me that.
He would critique my sermons.
He would critique my preparation.
On two different occasions we ran out of gas.
So we were so wrapped up in our conversation that we just didn't even look at the gas indicator and run out of gas.
On one occasion we had a man stop a 16 driving one of those big trucks, 16 wheelers and pick us up.
So two pastors get in the cab of this 16 wheeler and he drove us to the next exit so we could get some gas.
Terry is very proud of being a graduate of the University of South Carolina.
He thinks there's another USC.
But as a father of two proud Gamecocks, we know that Terry always wished he had been able to go to school in Columbia.
I mean, when I was in school we used to marvel that students at USC could even read.
And it's still said in Southern California that USC is the University of Second Choice.
Terry does, believe it or not, have a sense of humor.
My wife actually thinks he is one of the funniest men in the world.
So all of the seriousness, all of the scowls, all the down personality, it's a shtick according to my wife.
Okay, let me put it in context of what I think Terry is being used most to do.
I mean, any writer could have sort of a diffuse influence and then other writers it's in a particular direction.
And I think Terry's great contribution to PCA and to evangelical Christianity in general,
because he's read in Great Britain and other places, is on preaching and worship.
I think the last 10, 15 years of the 20th century of the 21st century, as time goes on,
he'll be noted as one of the major figures that help to keep alive the best aspects of reform worship.
I know Dr. Scotty Old, Dr. Hughes Old, whom he did a Ph.D. under on worship.
And Dr. Old is probably the leading scholar on reform worship, literally in the world.
He studied under the Ph.D. of Switzerland.
And his knowledge is absolutely unexcelled.
And he told me that Terry was one of the most able young men preaching, teaching and leading worship anywhere in the United States.
And Dr. Old used to teach at Princeton, so he would know.
And I would say that will be his great contribution.
From June of 1993 to June of 1994, I was a pastoral intern under Terry at Independent Presbyterian Church.
That was a very formidable and significant year for me in several ways.
Not only did I get the opportunity to be introduced to ministry in all of its different facets,
preaching, teaching, visiting the elderly, visiting people in the hospital, attending session meetings.
But got quite a bit of attention from Terry, who talked to me about all the different facets of ministry.
So it really provided a great foundation as I went forward to complete seminary and enter the life of the church as a pastor.
And I'm deeply indebted to Independent Presbyterian, particularly to Terry for that labor.
I often ponder Ephesians 4 where Paul says that God gives gifts to the church.
And those gifts are people, and particularly pastors and teachers.
And that's why I like to think about Terry.
He's been a gift to me and my family.
My wife was a product of his ministry.
I ended up marrying a daughter of the church.
And also to our denomination, the PCA, the Presbyterian Church in America, and to me.
So Terry, the way I look at you is you're a gift that God has given to the church.
May God bless you in these 30 years of service.
As I mentioned, I've been a church member for 60 years.
The last 30 years was under Terry's ministry.
I had the pleasure of serving with him on the session.
I've seen him, how he's grown from a young man to a mature man and minister.
Well, when you think about a faithful pastor in a church for 30 years,
you can't help but be impressed that the Lord has blessed him
and he has used the blessings of the Lord very faithfully.
To serve for 30 years, you have to be diligent as well as faithful.
You have to be hard working to stay fresh and alert to what's going on in the world around.
In addition to being a wonderful pastor and a supporter of church plants and missions in evangelism,
Terry Johnson is also known in our communions and throughout the reformed world
as calling us back to the glories and the beauty of reformed worship according to Scripture.
It's an enormous contribution that we'll ask for generations.
I'd say that Terry really introduced me to the Psalms as something more than just a book in the Bible
but actually songs to be sung as a part of your devotional life
and that should be introduced into the life of the church.
What was the reformed perspective on worship?
Most of that I would say I learned from Terry directly or by his instigation.
He pointed me in the right direction to really read that and think about it carefully
and so I owe him a great debt on that.
I think the PCA has been greatly benefitted and not just the PCA but many other churches.
Your ministry has had an enormous impact upon the spheres of influence that God has granted to you.
You've left a deep mark upon your congregation.
I think of independent Presbyterian church
and when I think of that church I think of you of course
and I think of the joy and gladness and exuberant worship that is deeply rooted in the reformed Presbyterian tradition.
I don't think I ever teach on the doctrine of worship without thinking of you fondly
without quoting your famous remark that in our worship we must read the Bible
and preach the Bible and pray the Bible and sing the Bible
and watch the Bible in the sacraments. It's a constant theme in my own ministry.
I think his writings on the worship of the church are particularly helpful and meaningful to me.
I think in a period such as the last few decades in America when we've seen so much change in worship
to be reminded of what the reformers did and why they did it
to see the biblical foundations of that are really important to strengthen the church in serious worship.
And I think he's made a really valuable contribution in that area.
Well, I can't think anything but good is his contribution to the PCA.
He is so steady and he knows the Bible and he lives by the Bible.
Since Terry came we have grown and keep on growing
and so many babies have been born
and we have been so blessed with his preaching and his ministry
and his example and his teaching
and I just think he has been a great influence.
And in our church he and Emily have set wonderful examples
to the young people on bringing up the children biblically.
Probably the greatest influence by way of ministry is what I've already expressed to you Terry
is to say when you said to me we preach the word and we pray.
I mean that's been my life.
That's been the two things to which I've been committed in my ministry.
Terry's own sermons, how he went about it, his demeanor, his delivery,
his confidence in the word, not in himself,
the plaque, of course, going up the steps to the pulpit,
so we would say Jesus.
And I felt that Terry exemplified that,
that he was there to preach the gospel.
When Terry and Emily first came,
shortly after they were here,
my first granddaughter was born.
Terry and Emily showed up at St. Joseph's Hospital where she was born
and the nurse brought her out for us to see her for the first time.
She was brought out by a church member, Margie Jones,
so I thought that was a nice coincidence.
I'm telling this because from the time he got here
I just had become a bedding, I just became grandparents.
For the next 30 years I have seen Terry and Emily
as a wonderful family.
I've seen his children grow up, go through school,
couple of them are now married,
and now Terry is a grandparent.
So it's gone somewhat full cycle, I think.
So I'm glad I had the privilege to see that happen.
