New book captures 'A story every Nazarene should hear'

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Nashville, Tennessee

When Charles Johnson, an African-American minister, went to Mississippi in 1961 during the summer of the Freedom Rides, he had no idea that he would play a pivotal role in the "Mississippi Burning" trial and the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Johnson's story is presented in Called to the Fire: A Witness for God in Mississippi; The Story of Dr. Charles Johnson by author and Nazarene pastor Chet Bush, with the collaboration of Johnson, who has pastored the Meridian Fitkin's Memorial Church of the Nazarene for more than 50 years. Bush, a Trevecca Nazarene University graduate, pastors the Oxford Church of the Nazarene in Mississippi.

The book's national launch will take place during chapel at Trevecca on February 19 at 9:30 a.m., when Bush and Johnson will speak in the service. The special chapel is part of Trevecca's celebration of Black History Month and can be viewed live on Trevecca's website.

Persons in the Church of the Nazarene may have some knowledge of Johnson and his ministry in Mississippi, but Bush’s book will give them a new appreciation for Johnson and the scope of his ministry.

Fresh out of Bible college, Johnson hesitantly accepted a call to pastor a Church of the Nazarene in Mississippi, a hotbed for race relations during the early 1960s. His friendship with two young voting rights activists who were murdered in Mississippi led to him being called as a key witness at the trial after the tragedy. He also became a leader in the civil rights movement in the state.

"Dr. Charles Johnson knew that in order to be called to the fire, one must be called by the fire," Bush said. "His passion flowed from a center more fiery than the furnace of racism."

Forced into the eye of the civil rights storm, Johnson led with love, conviction, grace, and redemption, but his greatest test occurred in a shocking encounter with one of the murderers. Johnson’s faithfulness to his call of faith is seen as he turns from the streets, to Christ, and to a life of faith that places him in the middle of the civil rights movement and ultimately into the courtroom.


Book Review – Called to the Fire: A Witness for God in Mississippi
Chet Bush, Abingdon Press, 2012

Reviewer: David J. Felter, Church of the Nazarene General Editor

Removed as we are from the incendiary era of the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S., it is often difficult to grasp the magnitude of the struggle that engaged both mind and heart of oppressed peoples in the American South. While the marginalization and outright oppression of Black Americans was not limited to the South, the roots of this struggle began with the courageous actions of individuals who did what they could to bear witness against the systemic evil of segregation.

Chet Bush has captured a time capsule and opened it for Nazarenes who need to meet a stalwart in the battle for human rights. The Rev. Dr. Charles Johnson, long-time pastor of Meridian, Mississippi, Fitkin Memorial Church of the Nazarene, has a story every Nazarene should hear.

Bush used his access to historical records to accurately portray the journey of a young, God-called preacher. Growing up on the mean streets of Orlando, Florida, in poverty, Johnson met the Lord through C. R. Smith. Johnson's journey took him from Institute, West Virginia, and the Nazarene Bible college there to an impoverished area in Meridian, where he took the corpse of a church to vibrant life through his love for people and the desire to share the gospel with them.

In the heart-breaking violence of "Mississippi Burning," Johnson heard the calling to expand his understanding of the liberating gospel of Jesus. His faithful response led him to lock arms with others in the marches in Mississippi with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 

Tragedy and sorrow often made their unwanted way into the life of Dr. Charles Johnson. The loss of his young wife, and the frequent encounters with what seemed to be insurmountable need, taught him total reliance upon the grace and power of God.

His calm presence in a Mississippi courtroom made an impact that history will record as a turning point in the pursuit of justice for the innocent victims of the tyranny of systemic evil. Unshakeable and unflappable, Johnson’s testimony led to the conviction of killers and to the inauguration of a long journey toward justice.

Called to the Fire is a page-turning thriller, taking the reader into the depths of sacrifice, conviction, commitment, and the ultimate triumph of faith. For more information on the book, visit calledtothefire.com.
--Trevecca Nazarene University, NCN News

 

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