Dr Johnny Green on Biblical Leadership
The conversation in this episode centers around the insights shared by Dr. Johnny Green, who brings a wealth of experience from both his military service and his pastoral leadership. Dr. Green articulates the challenges and rewards of transitioning from a structured environment to a spiritual leadership role, emphasizing the significance of understanding and connecting with diverse individuals. He shares the essential qualities of love and belonging that he strives to foster within his community, illustrating how these principles have guided his approach to ministry. Throughout the podcast, we explore the importance of peace and mutual respect, particularly in the context of today's fractured societal landscape. Ultimately, Dr. Green's narrative serves as a beacon of encouragement for those navigating similar transitions in their personal or professional lives, underscoring the transformative power of love and community.
Takeaways:
- The podcast emphasizes the importance of creating an environment where individuals feel loved, known, and valued, which is pivotal in effective leadership.
- Dr. Johnny Green's transition from military service to pastoral leadership demonstrates how experiences in one domain can enrich leadership qualities in another.
- Listeners are encouraged to embrace their unique backgrounds, as personal experiences can significantly influence one’s ability to connect with diverse communities.
- The discussion highlights the necessity of cultivating trust in leadership, as well as the profound impact of mentorship and support in personal and professional growth.
Transcript
Hey there.
Speaker A:Welcome back to the Clarity Podcast.
Speaker A:This podcast is all about providing clarity, insight and encouragement for life and mission.
Speaker A:And my name is Aaron Santemaier and I get to be your host.
Speaker A:Today we have the phenomenal opportunity to sit down with Dr.
Speaker A:Johnny Green and have a phenomenal conversation about life and leadership.
Speaker A:Dr.
Speaker A:Green has his degree in a doctorate in Biblical leadership and he served in the Air Force.
Speaker A:Now he's currently a pastor.
Speaker A:He is somebody when you're around him, he makes you feel loved.
Speaker A:He makes you feel known.
Speaker A:I share often when I speak.
Speaker A:You know, we want to feel like you belong, you matter and are known.
Speaker A:And if you've ever been around Johnny Green, he makes you feel all three of those.
Speaker A:And just had a phenomenal time with him back in January and asked him to be on the podcast and so just got to ask him some questions today about the transition.
Speaker A:I know a lot of the people that listen into this podcast are missionaries and have made the transition maybe from the public sector or the private sector into missions.
Speaker A:And sometimes that can be a challenge.
Speaker A:And so Dr.
Speaker A:Green will share some of the wisdom and insight he learned from that and just his story and just had a great time with him.
Speaker A:Do and ask you to continue to send in your questions for Back Channel with Foath.
Speaker A:That's where I get to sit down with Dick Foth, get to learn from him his wisdom, his insight and experience, and ask you to subscribe to the podcast.
Speaker A:I know the podcast I subscribe to are the ones I listen to.
Speaker A:They they show up on my iPhone on Monday or Tuesday and I know what I'm listening to throughout the rest of the week.
Speaker A:And also my book, A Caring Family.
Speaker A:It's out, been out since December, and it's a book that I wish I would have read 20 years ago, speaking to the realities of the world we live in today, how we can care better and love longer, and how in the family we have the opportunity to speak to our kids or whether you're a grandparent or a mom or dad or aunt or uncle, how we can encourage them to follow Jesus, care for others, and help change the trajectory of the uncle caring world we live in.
Speaker A:Well, there's no time better than now to get started, so here we go.
Speaker A:Greetings back to the Clarity podcast.
Speaker A:So excited to be here today with a new friend of the podcast, Dr.
Speaker A:Johnny Green.
Speaker A:Dr.
Speaker A:Green, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker B:It's a pleasure to be here and I'm really excited to be okay with knowing my friend Aaron.
Speaker B:Aaron's a good friend of mine.
Speaker B:We've been knowing each other for a little while and I'm just excited that he thought enough to ask me.
Speaker B:I don't know why, but I'm glad he did.
Speaker A:Well, I don't just ask anybody to be on the podcast.
Speaker A:We were, we were together.
Speaker A:We were together in January.
Speaker A:I just love being around you because you bring joy into a room and you love on people and you love Jesus.
Speaker A:And so I'm excited, I'm excited about our conversation today.
Speaker A:Will you share just a little bit about yourself and then I'm going to start asking you some questions.
Speaker B:I sure will.
Speaker B:I am, I've been the pastor here at Bethel.
Speaker B:If I start with that area, been the pastor at Bethel.
Speaker B:This is my 22nd year and I've been here and watched the church go through quite a few things and do some major changes and some major setbacks and some major rah rah moments.
Speaker B:So it's just been good on that point.
Speaker B:I'm an old country boy from Georgia.
Speaker B:I lived in a place called Thomasville and Thomasville is a place I'm not going back to, but I will go visit.
Speaker B:I am married to Alice.
Speaker B:We have been married.
Speaker B:This year will be our 46th year of marriage.
Speaker B:And we have two girls, two adorable girls, Chanel and Kim.
Speaker B:They are married and both of them, Chanel has given us four grandchildren and Kim has given us three grandchildren.
Speaker B:And then Chanel's daughter has given us a great grandchild.
Speaker B:So we have a great grandchildren.
Speaker B:So life is good and it's all good.
Speaker B:I've been here at this church.
Speaker B:We have a church.
Speaker B:As you see, I support my basketball team.
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker B:CEO of Bethel Ministries and Bethel Christian Academy is our basketball team and we're Eagles.
Speaker B:And I just figured I'd just show them off today.
Speaker B:But that's me in a nutshell.
Speaker B:I love life.
Speaker B:I love having fun, love people.
Speaker B:Because I think one thing that I guess if I was talking for me, it best described myself as people person.
Speaker B:I just love people.
Speaker B:So that makes it all easy for me.
Speaker B:I love Aaron.
Speaker B:So God bless you.
Speaker A:So Dr.
Speaker A:Green, you started off, you served in the military.
Speaker A:So how did being in the military, how did you end up in the military and how did that impact you?
Speaker A:I know that's a lot of years of your life.
Speaker A:It's hard to condense that all down.
Speaker A:But you went into the military.
Speaker A:How did you get end up in the military?
Speaker A:And then what did, what were some lessons you learned in the military?
Speaker B: ell, I joined the military in: Speaker B: Because in: Speaker B:The only thing you can go to back in those days was tech school.
Speaker B:And tech school, you either had to go into nursing, LPN or ordinary arts or mechanics or H Vac.
Speaker B:Neither one of them impressed me at all.
Speaker B:So I went to work and I started selling shoes.
Speaker B:And that didn't impress me.
Speaker B:I was a manager at a grocery store.
Speaker B:That was.
Speaker B:So I said, okay, I gotta do something to make me a better me.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And so I went to the recruiter and I was actually going to the Marines.
Speaker B:And the only reason I wanted to go to the Marines was don't tell anybody is I love their uniforms.
Speaker B:They were just absolutely sharp.
Speaker B:I'd be really sharp.
Speaker B:But those boys have to climb on dirt and go over mountains and let me go somewhere where it's a little bit more conducive to me.
Speaker B:So I joined the Air Force, and I'm glad I did.
Speaker B:I did 20 years in the United States Air Force.
Speaker B:I was a human resource personnel guy.
Speaker B:I was working with A10 aircraft, F15 aircraft, and things like that.
Speaker B:So I had a great time.
Speaker B:H3 helicopters too, as a matter of fact.
Speaker B:Time learning all the things I could.
Speaker B:And it impacted me a lot in the mere fact that, you know, loyalty, respect, love for country.
Speaker B:And I think two things importantly for me was discipline.
Speaker B:I was not an undisciplined person, but I think we all need to find out what it is and what it takes for us to be kind of in a place where we need to be.
Speaker B:And that discipline was something for me.
Speaker B:Not that I got yelled at a lot.
Speaker B:I really didn't.
Speaker B:I had a great career.
Speaker B:I only had four assignments in my career, but I traveled all over the world.
Speaker B:I did this chart and showed all the places I've been since I was in the military and since I got out and retired and when I was on the church and I've been all over this great world of ours, and I'm just thankful to God for that.
Speaker B:And it showed me a lot.
Speaker B:So that told me something else.
Speaker B:There's an aim in the world and there's an aim in the military.
Speaker B:The aim is peace.
Speaker B:We want peace at all costs, and how will we get it?
Speaker B:But you have to be the person to bring about peace.
Speaker B:So it taught me a lot in that area.
Speaker B:Had some great people to teach me, to talk to me.
Speaker B:So the Military was absolutely.
Speaker B:It impacted the way I lead here at Bathroom two, by the way.
Speaker B:I might as well say that because as a leader, I was a first sergeant for a little while as well.
Speaker B:And as a first sergeant, you are the top enlisted person in the group.
Speaker B:And as first sergeant, I got to know more people.
Speaker B:And it makes a whole lot of sense when you walk.
Speaker B:People walk into the church and it's in the same basic vein that you get to know them and what's their family like, what's their platform, where do they come from?
Speaker B:What's your groove, what makes you you?
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And those things have worked and they impacted all the things I do.
Speaker A:So you talked about making being a peacemaker any.
Speaker A:Any more on that.
Speaker A:I mean, that you said that the military impacted you there.
Speaker A:And in the world we live in today, man, that's super important.
Speaker A:Any more thoughts on that?
Speaker B:I do.
Speaker B:I think, you know, I can be biblical and go.
Speaker B:Barnabas was like the chief of peacemakers.
Speaker B:And it just.
Speaker B:When someone is angry at me, it does something to me.
Speaker B:I'll do everything I can to help out and say, you know.
Speaker B:You know, you can say, I'm sorry, but if you're not sorry, it doesn't mean anything.
Speaker B:And if you're saying you're sorry, what are you sorry for?
Speaker B:So I always ask myself, is there any truth to what they're saying about me?
Speaker B:If it is any truth to it, what am I going to do about it?
Speaker B:And if there's no truth to it, what am I going to do about it?
Speaker B:Because apparently I've made an impact on someone either negatively or positively, and I'd rather make a positive impact.
Speaker B:So peace is what we need.
Speaker B:And the church.
Speaker B:Oh, my goodness, you can get, man in the military, you know, that's okay.
Speaker B:They're getting out after a while.
Speaker B:But the church, as a pastor, I can say this, and I'm pretty sure most pastors will understand, and those of you who are on the mission field understand, too.
Speaker B:When people leave under your covering and they're angry, nothing hurts worse.
Speaker B:Nothing.
Speaker B:I'm telling you when.
Speaker B:When you can't.
Speaker B:When you can't.
Speaker B:I've had people leave from under my leadership, and they tell me they can't trust me.
Speaker B:That is like.
Speaker B:So I had to build my trust, and I did everything I could.
Speaker B:I'm gonna keep doing everything I can.
Speaker B:And I don't know.
Speaker B:And sometimes it's just one thing that just kind of toes them off the edge.
Speaker B:I don't know what it is or you can't have your way, or you can't do what you want to do, or you can't have as much as you want.
Speaker B:And so how's the best way I can garner from this person a sense that I'm for you, I'm not against you?
Speaker B:I want to do my best to help so that we both can see where we're going.
Speaker B:Because if we walk together, we'll be agreed and we can make things happen.
Speaker B:So I like peace.
Speaker B:Let me just say this right here, too.
Speaker B:Aaron meeting you because I asked you to come and join us for our first Sunday this year, Get Fit Sunday.
Speaker B:And I know you were like, what in the world is this man doing?
Speaker B:I had Aaron in a sweatsuit, and I guess he was kind of like, is that true?
Speaker B:Yeah, that's true.
Speaker B:And he came, and I had a few other pastors from the leadership of Potomac Ministry come, and they said, it's an awesome thing because it kind of takes the weight off of.
Speaker A:Yeah, it does.
Speaker B:Aaron's one of us.
Speaker B:He's like us.
Speaker B:And it was easy to accept what was said, and what he said was powerful.
Speaker B:And there was a man named John.
Speaker B:That's it.
Speaker B:And it just made all the sense in the world to me, Tim, that that happened.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker A:Ye.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Good word.
Speaker A:Good word.
Speaker A:It was an awesome being there.
Speaker A:And you're right.
Speaker A:But you kept sending me messages, hey, make sure you show up.
Speaker A:I wanted to make sure.
Speaker A:I didn't want to be the only guy walking in, and everybody's saying, who's this.
Speaker A:This missionary?
Speaker A:He showed up just like he came from the gym, but it was fun, and, you know, it went along with the theme, and, yeah, it was.
Speaker A:It was impactful.
Speaker A:I thought maybe, hey, every church, we should.
Speaker A:We should all come to church in our sweatsuits, but I'd probably get in trouble for that.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker B:So you can't do it all the time, but you do it and you do things.
Speaker B:I've come in overalls.
Speaker B:I've come in f waiters.
Speaker B:You know, the funniest thing was me.
Speaker B:And you should try this.
Speaker B:Every pastor listening to this podcast, try this.
Speaker B:It worked, and it was great.
Speaker B:I had a George Foreman grill, and I put some smoky apple maple bacon in there, and I closed it down, and I was preaching my sermon and letting the bacon cook, and the aroma filled the room.
Speaker B:I said my sermon title today is Let the Aroma of God Fill this Place.
Speaker B:I got some kickback and said, God is eating pork.
Speaker B:It was a great walk in it.
Speaker A:Yeah, it was.
Speaker A:For sure.
Speaker A:For sure.
Speaker A:So you were in the military and then obviously there was.
Speaker A:There was a transitional period from being the life in the military, traveling the world, serving the, serving in.
Speaker A:In that capacity.
Speaker A:But you're now you're serving in the military.
Speaker A:I mean, you're serving in the church.
Speaker A:So what were some of the challenges you faced in that interim time between being in the military and then serving in the church?
Speaker B:Well, I would say everyone's not like me.
Speaker B:Everyone didn't go to the military.
Speaker B:Everyone doesn't have the same rigid requirements that I have.
Speaker B:I think I'll stay until the job gets done.
Speaker B:Everybody doesn't think that way.
Speaker B:If you come at 5:00 and the meeting is at 5:00, you're late, and that's those.
Speaker B:So everyone's not like me.
Speaker B:I had to learn that and I had to learn that when it's done, it's done, but you don't leave until it's done.
Speaker B:And I had to understand that this is a new generation, a new culture that we're in right now.
Speaker B:And becoming a senior pastor, it was tough because I like people doing things.
Speaker B:If you're sitting around talking all day long, I have an issue with me paying you a certain amount of money and you're doing nothing because you're using God's funds for your enjoyment.
Speaker B:That's not the way.
Speaker B:But I think if a workman is worthy of their hire.
Speaker B:So the word says, I want you to work, I want you to do what you need to do.
Speaker B:And if you, if we talk and it's something we talk about and it's energetic, that's fine.
Speaker B:But understand when the win is.
Speaker B:And so that was a big challenge for me, understanding that right there and learning that because I didn't want to come across as a first sergeant, I want.
Speaker B:Those were tough obstacles for me.
Speaker B:And like Paul, when Paul was transitioned from what he used to be to what God made him, those were some of the same issues I found too, because everybody said, well, he's just a military guy.
Speaker B:I mean, you know, you know, and sometimes when it's Memorial Day or Veterans Day, oh, man, I get all the kudos in the world.
Speaker B:But anytime after that, you're just a military guy.
Speaker B:So it just, it was, it was not bad.
Speaker B:But how I.
Speaker B:How I told my story as a military person is just as genuine as I listened to someone else's story.
Speaker B:That's just not just, but that's a person working in a government job or in a grocery store.
Speaker B:It doesn't matter.
Speaker B:Everyone Has a story.
Speaker B:And I had to figure out how do I enhance or take advantage of what they know and make it a part of what we know.
Speaker A:Yeah, but I would imagine, I mean, Those listening in Dr.
Speaker A:Green's church is in a military area.
Speaker A:Area.
Speaker A:You're, you're right there in, in the hubbub of it all.
Speaker A:But I would imagine that experience kind of gives you opportunities as people come to the church to speak into their lives.
Speaker A:Maybe that if you wouldn't have had that military experience, because I would imagine that's an instant connection.
Speaker A:Somebody who's been in the military, they understand that.
Speaker A:Is that true?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Camaraderie is always, is always.
Speaker B:Once you've been in the military, I don't care what anybody says, you have camaraderie because if you spent six weeks in basic training or 12 weeks in basic training like some of them, and you guys are.
Speaker B:I don't want to use any military term, so I'm just going to keep it clean here.
Speaker B:You got to.
Speaker B:In the same place, in the same showers, in the same walking the same halls, doing the same march, same exercise, you get to know something about people and how they are and what they act like.
Speaker B:And when the people come to church that are pro military, ex military government workers and you tell them, let me back up from where I am assigned now here at Bethel, right down the road from us, is a government agency that just loaded with people.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And you would say, man, every church in this area should have at least a thousand people in it or more because there's that many of them, but that many of them don't come to church.
Speaker B:When they do come to church and they find out that you are military, they ask you two questions.
Speaker B:One, what branch of service were you?
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:And if you say what they are, you know, which has hardly ever happened, there's been a few airports, just a few.
Speaker B:But most of my army are either Marines.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:We have a few Navy, but we have all the services in our church.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:But on the flip side of that, not keeping it military, but from a cultural side, I've got 35 nations in my church, people from all over the nation, so they come here too.
Speaker B:So there's cultural differences that you have to figure out.
Speaker B:And you know what you say to them?
Speaker B:How you say some of them are very educated, so many PhDs, so many doctors and so many nurses with high qualifications.
Speaker B:So they're very intelligent.
Speaker B:That's the word I use.
Speaker B:But so I'm going to still be in my little country self My little country Georgia boy, this is who I am.
Speaker B:The military changed me and gave me a footing and a foundation, and I took advantage of that.
Speaker B:But the church has also kind of given me something to kind of lift myself up on.
Speaker B:It's just never enough time to get to know everybody.
Speaker B:But once you get to know them, oh, man, it's just a wonderful feeling because the challenges, there's some that are great because some people.
Speaker B:One story.
Speaker B:This guy came to me once, and he was a government service worker, and he asked me the question on the.
Speaker B:On the side.
Speaker B:He said, I just have to ask you a question.
Speaker B:I was.
Speaker B:Pastor Dan, received my doctorate.
Speaker B:He says, at what grade level do you preach?
Speaker B:I said, oh.
Speaker B:I said, I've never been asked that question.
Speaker B:I said, that's a great question.
Speaker B:I said, if I had to say what grade level?
Speaker B:I would say second or third.
Speaker B:And he was just appalled.
Speaker B:He said, what do you mean, second or third?
Speaker B:I said, on any given Sunday, there's a young person in our church that doesn't want to go downstairs, doesn't want to go to the youth center, doesn't want to go to the child.
Speaker B:Said, I wants to stay with their parents.
Speaker B:And if they're in there, I want to say something that impacts them as much as I say something that impacts someone's got a PhD two times over.
Speaker B:So that's my take.
Speaker B:He stayed at the church for four years before he moved on.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker A:Good word.
Speaker A:And so you went from leading a positional in military.
Speaker A:You were leading positionally.
Speaker A:You had the authority of the military behind you then.
Speaker A:You're in the church now, and you're leading as a spiritual leader where it's influenced.
Speaker A:How did you navigate some of that?
Speaker B:I think it made it coming out of the military.
Speaker B:I went.
Speaker B:My first job was not the church, by the way.
Speaker B:Aaron.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:I left military and I went to.
Speaker B:I had a management job with US West Communication, and I had come out of telecommunications long time ago as an HR person.
Speaker B:And they hired me as a manager because I knew a lot about telecommunication.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And they gave me a lot of money to do a little or nothing.
Speaker B:And it was really just.
Speaker B:And I was, like, loving that.
Speaker B:But I got the opportunity while I was there for that short period of time to talk to all those people.
Speaker B:I was only there for, like, nine months.
Speaker B:And when I told them I was leaving to come to Bethel to be an associate pastor, they gave me the biggest going away because I must have impacted them, speaking into their lives when they had problems.
Speaker B:They come say, hey, hey, Pastor, let me talk to you.
Speaker B:Hey, hey.
Speaker B:And they knew what I did and how I did it.
Speaker B:So coming here, that impact, again, the.
Speaker B:The transition was not as hard for here.
Speaker B:And the primary reason is because when I was stationed in Maryland, I came to church here.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker B:And so they knew me.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So having some prior knowledge of who I am, I taught Sunday school classes, I sang on the worship team.
Speaker B:I did all kinds of things for.
Speaker B:So they knew me.
Speaker B: And when I came back in: Speaker B:And those people, they lifted me up for me, but I didn't have to do as much as possible, so I don't want to have a great answer, and said, well, did you come up with some theory?
Speaker B:No, it was just people knew me, and it kind of helped me a lot.
Speaker A:It's a good word.
Speaker A:Good word.
Speaker A:So, you know, you mentioned a little bit about some of the changes in the church and generational.
Speaker A: f being a spiritual leader in: Speaker B:All the questions.
Speaker B:That's a tough one, I think, as a spiritual leader, especially using my degree as a.
Speaker B: I went back to school in: Speaker B:My sister kind of gave me a little push and said, you need to go get it.
Speaker B:You need to go get it.
Speaker B:Because I'm.
Speaker B:I'm in the finance, and I'm into hr, and that's my area.
Speaker B:I like that.
Speaker B:And so when I did that and I got my doctorate, that was a tough transition year when I got it, because you have.
Speaker B:You have people that only knew you as pastor and only knew you as, you know, Mr.
Speaker B:Green.
Speaker B:And so now your PhD, and they're like.
Speaker B:I don't know whether it was envy, jealousy, whatever it was, but either way, they just couldn't see the change.
Speaker B:And I said.
Speaker B:They said, what do you want us to call you?
Speaker B:I said, just don't call me late for lunch.
Speaker B:That's all.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:So, you know.
Speaker B:But I think in the military, the travel and all places I've been, commitment, education, asking more questions, it was always time to do that.
Speaker B:I would do that.
Speaker B:I would ask for questions.
Speaker B:And in the church, we just don't have enough time to get to know enough people because they keep coming in and understand how to be trusted, as I said before, and understand how to fully commit to one another, to show your heart and what you believe.
Speaker B:Those things matter to me more than Anything.
Speaker B:I think as a.
Speaker B:As a person that understands biblical leadership, it's about how my characteristic kind of fills the space where they are.
Speaker B:How can I help you better at who you are?
Speaker B:How can I help, you know, Christ in such a way that you don't forget him?
Speaker B:And it's just something that I say through the Holy Spirit from what I'm preaching just impacts you.
Speaker B:And that can happen.
Speaker B:I think you start trying to fill your own tank up, and you don't fill everybody else's tank up so they can kind of grow a little bit.
Speaker B:So I don't know if I answered that properly, but that's good, that question.
Speaker A:Good, good word.
Speaker A:So you, you got your doctorate in biblical leadership.
Speaker A:Somebody's listening into this and they're saying, biblical leadership.
Speaker A:What's biblical leadership?
Speaker A:And so how do you see biblical leadership?
Speaker A:And is there certain parts of the Bible that you.
Speaker A:When you explore more, when you're looking at biblical leadership?
Speaker B:Well, the navigation of biblical leadership today is hard.
Speaker B:It is hard.
Speaker B:Especially with our cultural shifts, our political shifts, the things that we have in front.
Speaker B:It's different that many young people nowadays.
Speaker B:They really don't want to hear everything you're saying unless you can back it up.
Speaker B:What is the benefit for me if I do this and if I don't do that, and you're gonna have extra questions, so you have to ask all those questions out.
Speaker B:Of course, I see that sometimes the purpose of what we do has to be in front of us.
Speaker B:And this is where one of my toughest areas is, and that's in casting a vision and making a vision just work.
Speaker B:If all the things I can say as a spiritual leader, that is the toughest you can say.
Speaker B:A vision doesn't have to be.
Speaker B:I'm going to build another building.
Speaker B:I'm going to.
Speaker B:I'm going to.
Speaker B:A vision doesn't have to be.
Speaker B:We're going to see.
Speaker B:So many people say you got to have a mission to do that, but you got to have a vision.
Speaker B:How are you going to do that?
Speaker B:What's the process?
Speaker B:What are we going to take and put into place?
Speaker B:And if you cast it correctly, they'll be following you.
Speaker B:If you don't, they'll be questioning you.
Speaker B:And you have to figure out which one you want to attack, which one you want to go.
Speaker B:It's a joy in being a biblical leader because you have so many examples in the Bible.
Speaker B:That would kind of work for you.
Speaker B:Of course, I already said Paul a little while ago, and I said Barnabas a little While ago.
Speaker B:You know, sometimes it's the incognito one, like John the Baptist.
Speaker B:What kind of leader, John the Baptist had people following him because he, John the Baptist, they'd never been baptized before.
Speaker B:He's walking people into the water, come do this.
Speaker B:They did it.
Speaker B:Something worked to where he could do that.
Speaker B:So that makes sense to me.
Speaker B:And so I look at the leaders that are in there, David, and you go through that.
Speaker B:Elijah, Elijah, these guys are.
Speaker B:What is it about them?
Speaker B:I'm reminded of Jeremiah.
Speaker B:God told Jeremiah, you fussing at me.
Speaker B:You can't run with the horsemen.
Speaker B:How you gonna keep up with the footman?
Speaker B:How are you gonna keep up with the horses?
Speaker B:What's wrong with you?
Speaker B:He's giving them this logic.
Speaker B:Jephro telling Moses, hey, look, man, I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Speaker B:I'm just an old sheepherder.
Speaker B:But you're going to kill your fool self.
Speaker B:And so this kind of thing.
Speaker B:So I think spiritual leadership has a lot to do with common sense leadership.
Speaker B:You got to what's the best thing for what these people are going through, what we are going through, how we do it together, what can we do to make our church, our neighborhood, our community so much better?
Speaker B:And I think that's.
Speaker B:To me, that's been like an apex for me.
Speaker B:Just keep loving people where they are to see how they can be where they need to be.
Speaker A:Yeah, good word, good word.
Speaker A:So you mentioned you in the military.
Speaker A:You learned you had hr, finance, business administration.
Speaker A:And many of the people listening to this podcast and more and more missionaries are not necessarily coming, saying, I was a pastor called to be a missionary, but they come out of maybe finance or they come out of maybe computer science, or they become out of nursing and they make that transition.
Speaker A:And sometimes they have a.
Speaker A:It's a challenge for them to be able to take the skills that they were using maybe in the public sector and how do they translate and use those skills in the church and in biblical leadership?
Speaker A:What are some lessons you learned in using those?
Speaker A:Because you used your giftings of ministration and finance and those understandings and you blended those into the giftings of leading in the church.
Speaker A:Any wisdom for somebody listening in and saying, Dr.
Speaker A:Green, I'm struggling trying to figure this out.
Speaker A:I have these giftings and talents, but I'm struggling to put them into the place, in place as a missionary or as a pastor now in.
Speaker A:In the chur or on the mission field.
Speaker B:One of the key things for me is that I'm so thankful To God for the people that he placed in my life before I did anything.
Speaker B:I did not.
Speaker B:I did not aim to go into finance, but I was in Fort Meade, as a matter of fact, and I was.
Speaker B:They needed someone to be quality control coordinator.
Speaker B:And the quality control also handled the budget.
Speaker B:It's kind of like what we're doing now, trying to figure out, where's the money going?
Speaker B:What are we doing?
Speaker B:And they.
Speaker B:At the time, I had to rank that filled that position.
Speaker B:So Colonel Tabor put me in there, and I went in there.
Speaker B:And one thing about me, if you put me in there, I'm going to learn it.
Speaker B:I'm going to figure it out.
Speaker B:I can make it work, make it work well.
Speaker B:And I did.
Speaker B:And I understood, oh, this is how you read these statements, and this is how you make this work.
Speaker B:And this is what's going on.
Speaker B:So coming into Bethel, my predecessor, he immediately said, you've been doing that all along.
Speaker B:Because he read what they used to call back in the military reports.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:He saw the things I did.
Speaker B:He said, you can take over the finance department.
Speaker B:That's fine.
Speaker B:You can.
Speaker B:You can be the pastor over financing.
Speaker B:And so I worked with Mark Conklin, who was a great guy, kind of.
Speaker B:He was a cpa, and I was not.
Speaker B:But he was quite impressed with what I knew and what I did not know.
Speaker B:And I was willing to learn what he was teaching Bob Tuttle.
Speaker B:They taught me things and made me look Anita Coleman.
Speaker B:And I took that, what they have.
Speaker B:So financially, I can do stat sheet with the best of them.
Speaker B:I've been on the board at the finance board with Potomac ministry for 18 years, and I've been watching, doing that and helping them figure out their budgets and how to make that work.
Speaker B:So I think the transition from the military was just, to me, by accident that put me in that.
Speaker B:But part of it by accident was by divine intervention, really.
Speaker B:And then in the areas of human resources, learning how to treat people, how to talk to people.
Speaker B:When you're in a unit of a thousand people and you're the first sergeant, there's a lot in that.
Speaker B:There's a whole lot in that, because you're not gonna know them all.
Speaker B:A third of them are probably gonna be officers.
Speaker B:So there's 2/3,600 some people that, hey, I'm just.
Speaker B:You're an acting first sergeant, and that could be a very kind of telltale thing.
Speaker B:You're acting so you're not real.
Speaker B:And so you have to really understand how to.
Speaker B:How to meet them, where they are and what they're doing because you're the guy that has to give them negative information as well as positive information.
Speaker B:So I think that transition, if you're listening today and you.
Speaker B:You say, hey, I got these skills that I had before I came into the military, and I had quite a few, too, as well.
Speaker B:Sometimes you have to wait till the position opens up for you and not try to force yourself into it.
Speaker B:I never tried to do that.
Speaker B:Pastor Cox put me into finance.
Speaker B:Pastor Cox put me into working with the HR people, and who knew he would.
Speaker B: When I came back in: Speaker B:He said, I'll just leave it with you and you take care of it.
Speaker B:I'm the senior pastor.
Speaker B:I'm the associate pastor.
Speaker B:That's what he said to me.
Speaker B:And I said, I didn't think anything wrong.
Speaker B:He was the man in charge.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And we.
Speaker B:And we.
Speaker B:And things kept running well.
Speaker B:So when it was time to select a new leader, they automatically just.
Speaker B:I got 98% of the vote.
Speaker B:And, you know, those other sick, I'm praying for them that they don't go to hell.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker A:They.
Speaker B:All right.
Speaker B:I still talk to them to this day.
Speaker B:I do.
Speaker B:But I think that's what it is.
Speaker B:You have.
Speaker B:Every single one of us are gifted.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:In some way.
Speaker B:And some of those gifts, you don't.
Speaker B:You don't go to school to learn.
Speaker B:You just have them.
Speaker B:You just.
Speaker B:I'm not a singer.
Speaker B:I know I've been on the praise and worship team.
Speaker B:One of my members told me.
Speaker B:She said, come here.
Speaker B:I said, yes, ma'am.
Speaker B:Her name is Mary.
Speaker B:And Ms.
Speaker B:Mary said, who told you you could sing?
Speaker B:I said, nobody.
Speaker B:She said, well, maybe you need to listen to them.
Speaker B:Lesson learned.
Speaker B:I'm not a singer.
Speaker B:I just don't do it.
Speaker B:But you follow your gifting.
Speaker B:God has given all of us a gift, and I think that's what happened to me.
Speaker B:So if you're out there, you're listening, allow God to show you the steps that you need to take, because he'll get you where you need to be.
Speaker A:So also, you shared.
Speaker A:The pastor saw that you had those giftings and talents and gave you opportunity to do that.
Speaker A:Maybe there's a leader listening in today, and maybe they see some people around them that have giftings and talents, but maybe because of insecurities, maybe because of fear, they're afraid to give opportunities for other people like you shared Pastor Cox.
Speaker A:He said, hey, this is what your giftings and talents I want you to run in this area.
Speaker A:What did that mean to you?
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And any words of encouragement, maybe from a leader listening into this, and they're struggling with some insecurities because maybe they have a Johnny Green that knows a lot about finances, but they don't want to ask him to do it because they're afraid if they ask him to do it, he might shine.
Speaker A:Any wisdom on that, on the other side of that, to leaders that are listening in on how they can open doors for people don't close doors.
Speaker B:You know, I would say, Aaron, all of us are weak in this area.
Speaker B:I really would.
Speaker B:And what I mean by that, there's some.
Speaker B:There are some who are sharp and they figured things out, but no one wants to be shown up.
Speaker B:I don't care what anybody said.
Speaker B:They just don't.
Speaker B:They don't want to be, oh, well, I do this better than you do, or I, you know, I have a better idea, or I see this different way.
Speaker B:And you got to check yourself.
Speaker B:You know, old pastor back in Georgia used to say, always have a checkup from the neck up because that's where your problems are.
Speaker B:So if you, if you let your Brian say, okay, it benefits us.
Speaker B:It behooves us to get the right people doing the right thing.
Speaker B:Because if we don't get the right people doing the right thing, you're doing everything.
Speaker B:Always remember that.
Speaker B:And I just said, you know, I still have to check myself from the neck up because there are times that I say, well, I don't want this person doing this, but they may be more skilled than that.
Speaker B:And you have to check and see what is the best thing for me to do.
Speaker B:And releasing that is hard.
Speaker B:It is hard because you want to always.
Speaker B:We all are typical.
Speaker B:We want to have control.
Speaker B:We're flesh.
Speaker B:We know that we want to have control.
Speaker B:And if you can see the benefit of what it means to the establishment or what it means to your church or to your ministry, to the community, if you see what it means to them, that's when you make a better decision, you know, and then I think the other thing I would do, and this is what I do, so I would talk to him.
Speaker B:I said, you know what?
Speaker B:I think you do better at this than I would, or we probably would do the same.
Speaker B:It really doesn't matter.
Speaker B:But I would like you to handle this.
Speaker B:You have any question I'm here that gives that person that.
Speaker B:That ability to do something and not feel afraid that I can't go back to them and I can't do Something and do well at it.
Speaker B:And I'm going to be the first one to go.
Speaker B:Bravo.
Speaker B:Both.
Speaker B:Yeah, they need to feel that.
Speaker B:A person needs to feel that.
Speaker B:And you may have someone that doesn't have the iq, quote unquote, the intelligence, but they're willing to learn.
Speaker B:I'll tell you this right here.
Speaker B: When I came to Maryland in: Speaker B:When I was stationed in Alaska, and we came from Alaska to hear.
Speaker B:And I was in this church, and I was greeter, young adults pastor, young adults leader, seniors leader.
Speaker B:And I came here and I became the superintendent of Sunday school.
Speaker B:I did the youth group, and our youth group went from seven to 69 in a matter of four months.
Speaker B:And it's because they start talking and they said, I don't know what happened, but something happened.
Speaker B:And it worked like that.
Speaker B:And then you go from that, and you do hr, you do finance, you do this, you do that, you sing in the choir, you work with the children.
Speaker B:And before I knew it, and I came back here and I was asked to be the senior pastor master.
Speaker B:It's as if God has already been setting it up.
Speaker B:Why, if you know all these things and know how to make all these things happen, you know, big shot, but you know enough to make big shots.
Speaker A:That's a good, good word.
Speaker A:Good word.
Speaker B:Oh, man.
Speaker A:So, Johnny, you love missions.
Speaker A:You love seeing the touching the nations.
Speaker A:You and I, we were.
Speaker A:When we had lunch together, you were talking about some of the different opportunities you've had to travel the places, been to minister and share.
Speaker A:Where does that genesis story for your love for the nations and love for missions?
Speaker A:Now, you shared, you grew up, and I think you said Thomasville, Georgia, probably not a multicultural mecca, I wouldn't think.
Speaker A:But you, you have a heart for the nations.
Speaker A:Where did that come from?
Speaker A:And your love for missions?
Speaker B:Thomasville.
Speaker B:Black Thomasville.
Speaker B:White tracks in the middle.
Speaker B:There you go.
Speaker B:That's Thomasville.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker B:I came at some places I was too light to be black and too black to be liked.
Speaker B:So I tell people a lot.
Speaker B:I said, you don't understand prejudice.
Speaker B:Like, I understand prejudice.
Speaker B:I want to play basketball, which I was pretty good at, but we don't want you to play on our team.
Speaker B:Too light.
Speaker B:We don't want you to play on the team.
Speaker B:Too dark.
Speaker B:So I understood that, and I learned how to get past that.
Speaker B:And the military showed me a lot of that.
Speaker B:I met my first redhead person in the military.
Speaker B:I mean, he was red freckles.
Speaker B:And I looked at Him.
Speaker B:And he was strange to me, very strange.
Speaker B:But we became such good friends in spite of our differences, such good friends because we were in that unit for a long time.
Speaker B:And he was telling me about his life.
Speaker B:I never asked him, what do you feel being a redhead?
Speaker B:I never asked him, but he was just.
Speaker B:And I just turned to love people.
Speaker B:But I believe if I had to give.
Speaker B:All jokes aside, if I had to give a reason behind that.
Speaker B:When I used to go to life of the lost banquets and they used to have all these nations on the wall, and we pull one of these tags off the wal and I'd support them, and I just said, hey, I never been there.
Speaker B:I support them there.
Speaker B:And I got offered a trip to Ecuador, and I went to Ecuador with Pastor Allen.
Speaker B:Pastor Allen has a.
Speaker B:Had a ministry interview.
Speaker B:And we were building this church wing on this.
Speaker B:On this school.
Speaker B:They had.
Speaker B:I don't.
Speaker B:I cried every night because I saw the.
Speaker B:What they had to go through, what they had to deal with, what they had to, you know, these people only.
Speaker B:And I say these people, I don't mean to separate anyone, but they only wanted to live life.
Speaker B:They just wanted life.
Speaker B:And we introduced God to him.
Speaker B:We introduced the presence of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, walking in the place and change happened and they saw themselves and they were doing things.
Speaker B:And I went to that mission trip, and when I became senior pastor, I made a vow to the Potomac ministry that we will support as many missionaries as we can can.
Speaker B:And, you know, and.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker B:We had already been supporting some, but I realized they were giving them.
Speaker B:Giving five or six of them a large amount of money.
Speaker B:And I said, I think that's great and everything, but.
Speaker B:And they finally kind of weaned off.
Speaker B:And I said, I would rather cut that down a little bit and do more with less.
Speaker B:So instead of giving everybody $250, and this May.
Speaker B:It may hurt some of you, but it worked.
Speaker B:If every church took this mindset and give them $80, give them $80, and out of 250, you can do three missionaries and you can.
Speaker B:And I just started that premise.
Speaker B:And right now we still do well over 120 missionaries now.
Speaker B:And we go places.
Speaker B:I've been to Israel, I've been to Honduras.
Speaker B:I've been to Honduras many times.
Speaker B:We have a church we built over there and also El Salvador.
Speaker B:Been there, going to places like that, been to Bolivia, trying to just see what God does.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And every time I go, I come back with such a renewed emphasis that somebody needs to know if we understood the blessings we have.
Speaker B:Yeah, we understood we got to share these blessings.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And you can't keep them to us.
Speaker A:Good word.
Speaker A:So one last question for you, and I'm going to ask you to pray for us.
Speaker A:So you shared about your upbringing where you said you were too, too light for these people, too dark for these people, but somehow in that process, you love people.
Speaker A:People.
Speaker A:How is that?
Speaker A:Was that the work of Christ in you?
Speaker A:Because when you explained that, I'd never considered that.
Speaker A:But you're honestly one of the gifting, I think spiritual gifting.
Speaker A:You love people and people love you.
Speaker A:So how was that a work of God in your life and maybe somebody else's experience where they didn't feel like they fit in here.
Speaker A:They didn't feel like they fit in here.
Speaker A:But you don't walk in bitterness, Johnny.
Speaker A:You've turned that experience into loving and how to bring people together rather than to separate any, any words of wisdom on that.
Speaker B:I appreciate that.
Speaker B:I think, you know, I listen to a lot of people, a lot of people online listen.
Speaker B:You know, one of my favorite preachers, Chuck Swindoll and Alex, the big.
Speaker B:Those guys are awesome.
Speaker B:I like Rick Warren.
Speaker B:My oldest charter member in my church is 101 years old.
Speaker B:And I asked her, I said, I said, eleanor, do you like my sermon?
Speaker B:She said, well, Pastor Green is like this, this.
Speaker B:I'm like a smorgasbord.
Speaker B:I take what I want and put back what I don't want.
Speaker B:So you got.
Speaker B:And she's, she's a 101 year old white woman who just loves me.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:She sees nothing in me but the heart that I have for her.
Speaker B:And on her 100th birthday, she personally invited me to come and be at her.
Speaker B:So, you know, to see.
Speaker B:I think we need some, Everybody needs some, some, some, some victories.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:Somebody that said, hey, you know what?
Speaker B:I like you because I've had those negatives that I've had those name calling, I've had those.
Speaker B:But when I think about Lanny Clark, you probably never heard of, but Lanny Clark was a great mentor to me.
Speaker B:Dr.
Speaker B:Bob Roden, a great mentor to me.
Speaker B:These guys, we spent the night together in Africa and Nigeria in the hotel rooms.
Speaker B:And it's just the two of us.
Speaker B:And I said, doc, you're not going anywhere.
Speaker B:Let's talk.
Speaker B:And we talked.
Speaker B:And he just loved on me.
Speaker B:And to this day, he still loves on me.
Speaker B:And I think the more you pour into people, the more you have to pour out.
Speaker B:I just believe God would just continue Filling your tank to help people.
Speaker B:When people walk in our church and they see the mixture of races and the mixture of cultures and countries and like I said, when we do our missions banquet and we do our, we have everyone to come in there, culture, cultural attire and everything.
Speaker B:And it's so colorful, all the flags are waving and everything like that is happening.
Speaker B:And I get to be the pastor over this.
Speaker B:I get to, I get to, I get to love this.
Speaker B:I get to, I get to be in Africa and not be in Africa.
Speaker B:I get to be in India not being India.
Speaker B:I get to be in Egypt, not be in Egypt.
Speaker B:I get to be in Pakistan.
Speaker B:And now these nations are here.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And, and if you can't have a, an aha moment within yourself that wow, look what God is doing and not.
Speaker B:Not Johnny Green is what God is doing and you relate to that.
Speaker B:So my, my trip to Ecuador started it.
Speaker B:All these people in my life helped me get that.
Speaker B:Show me how to, how to, how to be love.
Speaker B:And my wife, she loves everybody.
Speaker B:Me, she loves everybody.
Speaker B:And it's just amazing that the two of us, we just want to just see things happen, see God just get the glory in it.
Speaker B:And what we do and we sit down with people, we don't have a problem.
Speaker B:And going to people's houses.
Speaker B:I am the godfather of so many kids that again, I'm not boasting, I'm just saying God has done all these things for me.
Speaker B:And the funny thing is, thing is what my church says.
Speaker B:How do you remember all their birthdays?
Speaker B:How do you remember their middle name?
Speaker B:How do you.
Speaker B:I don't know, I don't, don't think about that.
Speaker B:Just, you know, you just love where you need to be loved.
Speaker B:So if you're listening out there and you stop, stop trying to see whether this person is of this color, this death, dictity, this culture, whatever it is, if that person is a blood bought person of Christ, that's all you need to know and that.
Speaker B:That have good word.
Speaker A:Will you pray for us?
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker B:Thank you so much, Aaron for allowing me to be on this podcast to share with wonderful missionaries, wonderful people, pastors that may listen to this podcast.
Speaker B:I always have a question that I ask God, why'd you call me?
Speaker B:And you may have that question too.
Speaker B:What did you see in me?
Speaker B:Did you see my best?
Speaker B:Because if you saw my best, you could not have missed my worst.
Speaker B:You could not have seen me when I was this way or that way.
Speaker B:But you forgave me and you lifted me and you made me one of yours and God.
Speaker B:All I do now I do for your grace, your mercy and to give you glory.
Speaker B:To all my friends who are listening, God, give them the glory that they deserve that comes from God.
Speaker B:I pray blessings upon you protection.
Speaker B:I pray the peace of God that comes upon you.
Speaker B:And I pray you know for yourself there's no greater blessing than serving in his kingdom.
Speaker B:Do it.
Speaker B:Do it well.
Speaker B:In Jesus name, amen.
Speaker A:Be there.
