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Wolves Not Sheep

Ministers/Pastors- Josiah & Jennifer (Jenn) Johnson: Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

Social Media Accounts:

The following are the social media accounts as of 1/13/2025.

Josiah Johnson
Instagram: @josiahfiiiiirejohnson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/josiah.johnson.73
X: @brojosiahsfire
RSS: https://rss.com/podcasts/familyoffireministriesob/

Jennifer Johnson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.mccormick.98

My Overall Conclusions about the Johnsons

After being in such close proximity to Josiah and Jennifer for the last 9 months, I have come to the following conclusions about them and have provided solid evidence throughout this letter:

  • Both are real Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, as mentioned in Matthew 7:15.
  • Both have Athaliah Spirits (Full Jezebels but worse!).
  • Both are highly likely to have Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
  • They Operate as Cult Leaders.
  • Both are Spiritual Manipulators and Abusers.
  • Neither has REAL fruits of the Spirit, as mentioned in Galatians 5.
  • Neither has the qualities of an Overseer, as listed in 1 Timothy 3.

Feel free to jump to any section that concerns you.


Neither is fit to hold any leadership position in the Body of Christ.

Based on personal experience, the experience of others, and the qualifications in scripture, I believe Josiah and Jennifer Johnson are wolves in sheep’s clothing and, indeed, false shepherds.

They are not fit to lead, disciple, or influence anyone in any capacity in the Body of Christ. They need deep deliverance, healing, and discipleship themselves. Any genuine shepherd should guard themselves and their flocks against the Johnsons. They should also guard against anyone actively connected to them or being discipled by them. Currently, it is my preference to share these names privately and not as part of this article, as I still consider them to be victims of the Johnsons. If substantial evidence comes to light of these victims becoming active perpetrators, their names will be added publicly to this article to protect the Body of Christ.

It would be best to exercise caution with anyone connected to them in the past who has not denounced their associations with them and their behavior. These people “in the past” are often spies and information gatherers for the Johnsons.

If you have found yourself under the Johnsons’ leadership or influence in any way, leave and completely sever ties with them as soon as possible. No one except the Lord Himself can help, influence, or “love them” through their issues.

I hope that the length and thoroughness of this article have adequately communicated the danger of the Johnsons. I pray that it helps to open the eyes of the people currently connected to them and prevents others from being influenced by them. I hope this article will bring the Johnsons to deep, genuine repentance and healing.

If you have an experience that you would like to add to this article, please reach out directly to Wolves Not Sheep by email at matthew715wolves@gmail.com.

My Prayer Before Writing This Article

 

As I was considering making this public statement about Josiah and Jennifer, I wanted to make sure that the motive of my heart was pure and not retaliatory in nature. I prayed, “Lord, I do not want vengeance in my heart; please check my heart; I do not want vengeance in my heart!” And I heard the Lord say almost audibly the verse Matthew 7:2, “For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and the same measure you use, it will be measured to you.” At that moment, I felt God’s grace to release this statement. Josiah and Jennifer Johnson desired to “publicly expose” many leaders in the body and thought it was “their duty to protect the sheep.” It is that judgment and the measure that will be directed toward them in the release of this article.

 

For added context to this scripture, here is the Amplified Version of Matthew 7:1-5

“Do not judge and criticize and condemn [others unfairly with an attitude of self-righteous superiority as though assuming the office of a judge], so that you will not be judged [unfairly]. For just as you [hypocritically] judge others [when you are sinful and unrepentant], so will you be judged; and in accordance with your standard of measure [used to pass out judgment], judgment will be measured to you. Why do you look at the [insignificant] speck that is in your brother’s eye but do not notice and acknowledge the [egregious] log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me get the speck out of your eye,’ when there is a log in your own eye? You hypocrite (play-actor, pretender), first get the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

 

Additional Statements to Communicate My Heart and Overall Goal

 

Sharing our story has not been an easy or enjoyable task. It has been challenging emotionally, but it has helped us in our journey towards healing. A journey we are still on, no doubt. It has allowed us to understand how we became involved with the Johnsons and how our vulnerabilities contributed to us being deceived by the spirit(s) at work in them. We have wept over the nature of this situation, our own involvement, and the reality of how wicked, deceitful, and conniving the Johnsons have behaved. I do not say these things lightly or flippantly but with great sorrow.

 

As a believer and ordained pastor, I want to protect the sheep against the deception and dangers of actual wolves, which undoubtedly includes Josiah and Jennifer Johnson’s tactics and leadership. Because the Johnsons are self-appointed “leaders in The Body of Christ” who continue to seek influence and want to add to their numbers, I believe it is my biblical and pastoral duty to release this article.

 

Note:  to be a self-appointed leader means to have never been ordained or sent out by another church or ministry. This is an imperative part of the biblical process when becoming a leader in the church and certainly if desiring to plant a church.

This article attempts to provide a fair warning to all who may become involved with them in the future. We hope its release will prevent others from being spiritually manipulated and abused by the Johnsons. Despite all of their many run-ins in the past, the Johnsons are practically ghosts on the internet. There is remarkably very little about them online, and this article aims to end the silence. Concerned family members and friends of the people in the Johnsons “fellowship” have searched the depths of the internet, hoping to find something to validate their concerns. Until now, there has been almost nothing to find. Having no hard evidence to bring loved ones/friends, they stood by helplessly as the Johnsons manipulated and spiritually abused the people they loved. We pray that the feeling of helplessness ends with this article and that it gives a voice to those crying out for justice.

 

Early in 2024, Josiah started making Facebook posts “exposing” his brother Jeremiah and the Johnson family. In his very first post, Josiah is quoted, “… even if I am exposed as well, let it be for the glory of God!” His statement prophesied this article, and I believe the Lord uniquely prepared me to be able to write it.

 

Lastly, one of our concerns in releasing this article is that Josiah and Jennifer will become more skilled in their tactics, thus gaining more influence with which to harm others. Nonetheless, this article must be released for the sake of those the Johnsons will attempt to influence.

 

The Public Attacks against Me Are Coming

 

The Johnsons will likely come out with a public statement about this article shortly after its release. It is also likely that they will pressure and convince some of their followers to make statements as well. They pressured us heavily to release a statement about The Way Church when Paul Johnson released his statement. See PTMT1 thru PTMT3. I expect the same will be true for those in the fellowship in relation to this article. The statements from the Johnsons and others in their “Family of Fire” will have some, if not all, of the following accusations about my wife and I:

 

  • Their article is all lies and distortions.
  • They are wounded/hurt.
  • They are self-righteous.
  • They are the wolves in sheep’s clothing.
  • They are manipulative, passive-aggressive, total cowards, divisive, sow discord, etc.
  • They’re deficient in scripture.
  • They are prideful, arrogant, and have social anxiety.
  • They were jockeying for position, trying to usurp authority, and have control issues.
  • They don’t know God and have an orphan heart.

 

This list could go on and on. Anyone who has known the Johnsons and their dealings with people they dislike is familiar with these accusations. They use them on every person they disagree with or whoever seeks to hold them accountable for their actions. You will see these evident in many of the text message threads (TMT) that are included in this article. Most of these are projections of themselves, as I will document in this article.

 

So, don’t be surprised when you see the coming public statements about my wife and me. Also, as I will document in this article, most of these are projections of themselves.

Who I Am

 

My name is Stuart Graham. I have been a believer almost all my life. There have been times when I didn’t walk closely with the Lord, but I have always known Him. In the last 13 years, I have been in ministry in some capacity, and I also have been in business. Vocationally, I am in sales and own an insurance agency. In a ministry capacity, I was most recently on staff at The Way Church in Hartwell, GA, as Associate Pastor. I was there until we came to Orange Beach, AL, to join the Johnsons newly established fellowship: The Family of Fire. Before leaving my church family at The Way, they prayed for us and sent us out with a blessing.

 

Moving to Alabama was challenging, as we had to dismantle our lives, which were deeply established in Hartwell, GA. We had to get our house & farm ready to sell, sell all our animals (cattle, sheep, pigs, and horses), farm equipment, sell a business, and more. Needless to say, it was extensive. However, we were then, and still are, convinced that God did indeed move us to Alabama. By the grace of God, we were faithful then and continue to be obedient now to what we feel He was asking us to do. Outside of our situation with The Johnsons and their “fellowship,” moving to Alabama has been everything we have needed emotionally, spiritually, physically, and financially as a family. The Lord thought about every aspect of our lives when He led us here. We feel tremendously blessed to be here and are thankful to God that He uses strange ways to accomplish His will for our lives and that nothing goes to waste in His hands.

 

My Relationship with the Johnsons

 

I met Josiah at a mutual friend’s bachelor weekend and wedding about 7 years ago. However, we weren’t in a close relationship until August of 2023. Since then, we have been very close with Josiah and Jennifer until they excommunicated us from their fellowship on 5/29/2024. The Johnsons often told us we were their “best and dearest friends” and a “gift from God to them for this season.” They showered us with their thankfulness for our friendship often. During our time as close friends, our families vacationed together, and we traveled together extensively. We have had hundreds of hours of conversations, 1000s of text messages, and many hours of fellowship and meetings. One look at our Facebook feeds would prove my statements here.

 

I am not a third party or far removed from the inner workings and goings-on of the Johnsons and The Family of Fire. We were the inner circle and involved in the most intimate details of day-to-day life. The closeness of our relationship and the depth of information we were privy to was not common to others. This is partly why I feel the responsibility and the unique ability to write this article.

Information in This Article

This article’s information and stories are based on our personal experiences with the Johnsons or situations we witnessed firsthand. It also includes and notates the evidence that verifies many of these statements and concerns.

When Josiah or Jennifer is quoted, these quotes were documented within hours of the comments being made or were things anyone in relationship/fellowship with the Johnsons would recognize as true. The reason for such documentation is due to the nature of their accusations and the intention to readdress them at a later date. I do not desire to embellish, twist, or exaggerate in any way. It is my commitment to you as a believer to ensure that none of these things happen in this article.

Why Did I Write/Compile This Article

In our many hours of conversation with them, they assured us that we could correct, admonish, and “press in on them.” They claimed that they would in “no way” lord their authority over us but rather considered us to be brothers and sisters in the Lord. My wife and I genuinely thought this would be a relationship like the one described in Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another.” Sparks would fly, but both families would be better for it. Sparks did indeed fly, and it became increasingly evident that Josiah and Jennifer didn’t mean what they said.

They were only willing to be minimally corrected; for anything weightier in nature regarding theology or doctrine, they would spiritually gaslight us or try to manipulate us into “their way of thinking.” Everything came to a head on 5/29/2024. The result was my family’s excommunication from the fellowship and everyone in the fellowship being forbidden to talk to us. Some of them are our next-door neighbors, and they are not even permitted to wave at us if we pass each other in our yards. This was communicated as “what the whole fellowship agreed upon for the sake of their health, wholeness, and protection.” See ETMT1.12.

To see the full exchange with the Johnsons surrounding our excommunication, see text threads  ETMT1.0 and JTMT1.0. ETMT1.0 is a group thread with all four of us, and JTMT1.0 is a thread between my wife and Jennifer. Here is a copy of the letter we sent them, as noted in these exchanges.

 

Excommunication Text Exchange with The Johnsons on Our Group Chat
Excommunication Text Thread Between Jennifer & My Wife Only

Strangely, on June 25th, 2024, nearly a month after our excommunication, Jennifer sent us a message saying, “I love y’all, and I miss you.” and asked us to  “come back” as if we had left voluntarily. She goes on to say she doesn’t “want to lose us.” She then changes the group thread name back to “Family Forever” in Latin. She then rapidly unsends the message but leaves the group name unchanged. This is textbook narcissistic behavior. They force you to leave, speak evil of you, then say, “I love you, please come back. I don’t want to lose you.”

I want to clarify that we are not “hurt” by being excommunicated. We feel a tremendous amount of peace and freedom! There is no doubt that it has been the best thing for us. We have felt this relief not only in our spirits but also in our physical bodies. I’m not writing this article because I am “hurt and wounded.” If we felt this was only about us, it would be incredibly easy to let all of this go. The writing of this article has been taxing emotionally and physically in many ways. Admittedly, it would have been much easier to move on.

 

However, because the Johnsons would not allow themselves to be corrected, and because of the depth of their spiritual manipulation and abuse, this article became necessary. They have wounded and damaged the lives of many people and young believers, and it must stop. We know of numerous families, including ourselves, who are in professional counseling because of the damage they have caused.

I want to start the article with what I have decided to call The Confession Video. At the request of the Johnsons one night while at their home in Orange Beach, AL, we began searching the internet for this video. They felt this video was a helpful defense against the accusations made about Josiah in a statement released by his brother, Paul Johnson. By a miracle, my wife found it in the deep recesses of the internet. The Johnsons thought this video would be a defense, but it is actually incriminating and supports Paul’s assessments of Josiah. In this video, Josiah confesses to the very concerns that this article addresses. The video is the recording of a Sunday morning service at Paul Johnson’s church, Our Father’s House, in Indiana on 04/23/2023.

A quick side note about Paul Johnson’s Statement: I was personally involved in several of the stories Paul used to confirm his testimony of Josiah. Unfortunately, some of those stories have many holes, are inaccurate, and even have fabricated lies that Paul was unaware of. These inaccuracies allowed Josiah to escape from the weight of Paul’s conclusions. Josiah was successfully able to reframe Paul’s statement as “retaliation” among those closest to him. Learning from Paul’s statement while in the Johnson’s inner circle is why we have tried to include as much hard evidence in this article as possible.

**Audio Disclaimer**

The original audio contains much interference. We did our best to reduce it and added subtitles to help you hear what Josiah was saying.

My Conclusion: This is Confession, NOT True Repentance

I have come to the adamant conclusion that what we see in this video is Josiah confessing, not genuinely repenting. I believe this for several reasons. First and foremost, which is evident in the video, Josiah gets very passionate as he prays and “repents” but immediately regains his composure after his “repentance.” He hands the microphone back to his brother Jeremiah and walks away. I found this to be very strange. I’ve never seen someone “repent” for such heinous sins against his family and the Body of Christ and not be completely undone emotionally. No weeping or apparent remorse is evident in the video, which is typically associated with genuine repentance.

Secondly, as outlined in this article, there has yet to be any real, sustained change in behavior. What may look like a “change in behavior” is simply the Johnsons becoming much craftier and more careful in their conduct. True repentance always leads to a sustained change in behavior. True repentance is a turning away from sin and turning towards God. It is also important to mention that we are “transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2, partial reference).

Even if Josiah’s repentance was genuine in the moment, he desperately needed and still needs deliverance, counseling, and submission to strong, faithful leadership. Repentance from sins of this nature requires time to heal, time to learn godly behavior, and time to practice a new way of life so that it may produce genuine fruit. It takes time to see the fruit of genuine repentance. It does not happen overnight.

Confesses to Manipulation, Intimidation, Control & Rage, Controlled by Jezebel

In this video, Josiah confesses that “… for years and years and years…” he has manipulated, controlled, and intimidated people with his anger, rage, and sales tactics. He confesses to abusing his two sons and Jennifer with his anger and rage. He confesses to using sales tactics to knowingly, intentionally, and willfully manipulate people for his own “evil, ungodly, and unrighteous agenda.” He admits that his “conflict resolution” has actually been “conflict intimidation.” He also acknowledged that a spirit of Jezebel has controlled him, as evidenced by his trying to “cast Jezebel out” of himself.

After confessing all of these things, he rededicates his life to Christ. Josiah says in the video how “easy it is to slip into manipulation,” and I am confident, based on the details provided in this article, that Josiah and Jennifer have indeed “slipped back” into manipulation, intimidation, and control tactics. In fact, they have actually never stopped.


Immediately after Confession, Returns to Orange Beach to Start a Church

Here is the biggest issue about this confession video. The fruit of genuine repentance takes time to be evident. Josiah confesses to all these heinous sins against his wife, kids, and the Body of Christ that he has committed “for years and years and years.” He rededicates his life to Jesus that morning and immediately comes home to start a church that very same week! PIC01 is the Johnsons’ post on their Family of Fire Ministries page. The post is dated 7/23/2023. It says that for 3 months, they have been meeting privately in their home. What is three months before July 27th? April 27th! The very same week of Josiah’s confession! Instead of recognizing his brokenness, his need for healing and deliverance, and that of his family, he starts a church! He starts leading others! PIC02

is the graphic for their first public gathering on August 3rd, 2023.

They didn’t submit themselves to discipleship from other healthy leaders. Instead, they decided, “We are ready to start a church!” He didn’t go to counseling. They didn’t do marriage counseling. TMT01.01 and TMT02 are screenshots of text messages about the continued reality of their broken marriage and home life. It proves they didn’t go to counseling, and they still had significant issues that were unhandled. As the text messages indicate, they desired to “bring us in” to help them work through these issues. TMT01 occurred while at our home in Hartwell, GA, in February of 2024. TMT02 occurred after a blow-up between the Johnsons while both of our families were on a cruise in April 2024. Outside of these two instances, we never talked about these issues with them again.

PIC 03  is a screenshot of the Johnsons “renewing their vows” spontaneously one night in front of the fellowship on January 25th, 2024. My wife and I were on Facetime watching live. Jennifer insisted that they do this. Josiah was noticeably uncomfortable doing it, but Jennifer insisted. Just two days later, you will see in TMT03  that they “were working things out at the building.”

All of this is proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that they have real and deep issues in their marriage that have yet to be resolved and were certainly not resolved when they started “the work” in Orange Beach.

This also proves conclusively that their marital issues began long before my wife and I were in their lives. The Johnsons successfully convinced those remaining in the fellowship that my wife and I were the “Leviathan and Jezebel Spirits” who caused their marital issues. This is certainly false.

No Track Record of Healing & Deliverance from Sin

The Johnsons starting a church immediately after confessing all of these issues is similar to a 15-year-long drug addict who has been sober for 7 days starting a rehab ministry. No one would assume that someone sober for such a short period would be able to lead other people into permanent sobriety effectively. That’s because there is no track record of their own sobriety. They haven’t been sober long enough to prove that they can stay sober. Once a person has been sober for a lengthy period and the other fruits of their life are consistent with continued sobriety, starting a rehab ministry sounds like an excellent idea! But certainly, not before there is time and fruit!

Similarly, with Josiah and Jennifer, there is no track record proving their healing and deliverance from these sins. They didn’t submit themselves to other healthy leaders in the body for any length of time, so there was no time to see the fruit of genuine change in their hearts.

Instead, they decided to deem themselves ready to start Family of Fire. Thereby immediately starting to disciple people on how to run their families, improve their marriages, and walk closer to the Lord. There is tremendous error and danger in this. Please also keep in mind that another church or group of elders did not send out Josiah and Jennifer following the order established in the Book of Acts. Neither have ever been ordained by any leader or church body at any point in their lives. Again, they deemed themselves leaders.

Zero Accountability

Both have continued to claim they are accountable to leaders in the body of Christ and to their local fellowship. But this is not true. 

First, none of the people in the fellowship currently can adequately hold them accountable for anything. All of them are young in age, young in the Lord, and are deeply beholden to the Johnsons. The Johnsons have gone “above and beyond” for those remaining in the fellowship. They have helped them pay bills, buy groceries, start new business ventures, help people move across state lines, provide room and board, etc.

Whenever people are unable (or unwilling) to withstand the Johnsons, they liken it to themselves having the authority attributed to Stephen in Acts 6:8-15. In this story, Stephen spoke with such wisdom that those who heard him were “unable to cope with his wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking” verse 10. See TMT04.0 and TMT04.1.The Johnsons confuse their intimidation tactics with Godly authority. The Johnsons know and twist scripture so well that even many mature believers have difficulty withstanding them, let alone people young in the Lord.

Based on our experience and understanding, my wife and I were the only people who would resist or withstand Josiah and Jennifer. By resisting, I mean telling them they are missing the mark and that they need to change their behavior, tactics, or motives. To resist is to also be unmoved by their attempts to convince you otherwise and continue to withstand their actions. The Johnsons have said many times, “Anyone can question us!” However, merely questioning is not resisting or holding someone accountable. Again, the Johnsons did not then and do not now have anyone to whom they are ultimately accountable. Thus, there was no one we could contact to address our concerns.

If you actually resist the Johnsons while “in the fellowship,” they will gaslight you by saying, “You are prideful, arrogant, usurping authority and jockeying for position.” They will ultimately kick you out of their lives and block your phone number and your social media accounts. This is what happened to us and others before us. To date, there are a total of 18 people who have left, been excommunicated, and been cut off by the Johnsons, specifically in the Family of Fire Orange Beach. This has been since their “fellowship” started in April 2023. Fourteen of these people have left or been excommunicated since November of 2023. They have claimed that these people have either left or been “expelled” because of the following reasons:

  • They are in rebellion against God.
  • They were causing division in “the body.”
  • They couldn’t handle the weightier things of The Lord.
  • They would rather live in sin than give their life to Christ.
  • The refining fire became too much for them.
  • They are in rebellion as Korah was against Moses.


Secondly, the people they claim to be their accountability partners have no real ability to hold them accountable face-to-face, and more importantly, those people deny any true mentoring/accountability relationship exists. They mentioned Michael and Anna Dow, as well as Robert Gladstone, as their accountability partners.

The Dows and the rest of the leadership of Habitation Church deny adamantly that the Johnsons are accountable to them. 

Josiah also claimed that Robert (Bob) Gladstone was a part of his accountability group. See TMT05. In TMT05, you will see a text message Josiah sent to my wife and me claiming that Bob Gladstone was a spiritual father to him. The following images are of a conversation with Bob Gladstone about his relationship with Josiah. Gladstone denies that he has ever been a “father” to Josiah in any way, has “never been a form of accountability,” and Josiah’s text is a “misrepresentation of their relationship.” See TMT06.0 and TMT06.1.

They falsely claimed to be accountable to these leaders in the Body of Christ. At the same time, they disqualify and criticize EVERY leader, including Michael Dow and Robert Gladstone. We’ve witnessed their accusations towards both of them (passive, compromised, etc.), which initially caused us to doubt whether or not they were actually taking their counsel or had ever truly submitted to them. We began to wonder if they had ever really submitted to anyone.

 

I asked Jennifer once if there was anyone in leadership in the Body of Christ she trusted. She very quickly said, “Nope.” This is an extremely dangerous stance to take. In essence, she said, “Mine and Josiah’s voices are the only ones that can be trusted.” If you pay attention to how they communicate, you will notice that they believe this about themselves.

 

The Johnsons: A Recipe for Disaster

 

Josiah and Jennifer are two highly gifted, persuasive, and charismatic people. Both are deeply broken and need major deliverance. Both use their gifts and personalities to manipulate, intimidate, and control others. Neither will allow themselves to be accountable to anyone… this is a recipe for complete disaster!

The Johnsons are REAL Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing.

 

“Beware of the false prophets, [teachers] who come to you dressed as sheep [appearing gentle and innocent], but inwardly are ravenous wolves. By their fruit, you will recognize them [that is, by their contrived doctrine and self-focus]. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?”

Matthew 7:15-16 AMP

As referenced above, Matthew 7:15 tells us to beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. In verse 16 and again in verse 20, it says that we will be able to recognize these wolves by the fruit they produce. This means that, at first, by the outward appearance, we will be unable to distinguish the difference between a real sheep and a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

These wolves will be so well disguised as sheep by their giftings, charisma, prophetic ability, and commonly their teaching ability that you will not be able to spot a “bad costume.” Their sheep costume will be the best you have ever seen! It will be so realistic that they will be indistinguishable from sheep by their outward appearance. It is only when you look at the fruit of their life that you will be able to recognize who they really are… wolves.

This is certainly true of Josiah and Jennifer. They both are skilled speakers, highly talented, and knowledgeable of the Scriptures. Josiah can preach with persuasion and conviction. Jennifer is talented musically, can lead worship, and moves with “the spirit.” Both have captivating personalities. They can “walk the walk and talk the talk” and do it better than most! At first glance and even second glance, they are indistinguishable from sheep.

However, when you examine the fruit they produce, you can see that they are not harmless sheep but ravenous wolves. Ravenous is defined as extremely hungry, voracious, wanting or devouring great quantities of food. It can be confidently said of them both that they are hungry for influence, power, and control of others. The Johnsons will adamantly deny this. Claiming their desire to “leave the ministry machine” and “not have a large following” is proof that they don’t desire these things. However, based on our experiences with them, the temptation of influencing others, exercising their power, and controlling others is too much for them to bear. It is evident in how they lead and what they demand from their followers. (I would add that being able to control a smaller audience makes the controlling and manipulation a lot easier.)

Next, let’s look at 3 Fruits of a Wolf.

Wolf Fruit #1: Prey on The Weak & Vulnerable

A key characteristic of wolves is that they prey on weak and vulnerable animals. Wolves typically have a harder time catching large, healthy animals and instead go after the young, the wounded, and the sick. 

 

You will see this evident in Josiah and Jennifer’s lives. You will not see them in consistent fellowship (living day-to-day, in close proximity) with mature, healthy believers for long periods of time. Nor will you find mature, healthy believers who stay in their “fellowship.” After a short time, they either leave (or distance themselves quietly) on their own accord or are forced to leave when they “will not submit” to Josiah and Jennifer.

 

Their fellowship/followers consist of people young in age, young in the Lord, and/or people wounded by the Church. Most are all three. This is the number one indicator that the Johnsons are indeed wolves. Most of their followers are significantly younger than the Johnsons, and none are “respected as equals.” For accuracy’s sake, at the time of this writing, one woman has somewhat faithfully attended their gatherings and is in her late 50s/early 60s, but we are unsure of the depth of her involvement currently. Even still, the Johnsons would consider her a part of their flock and unqualified to hold them accountable. 

During a hunt, wolves will first try to isolate an animal by separating it from the rest of the herd. Once the prey is alone, they are much easier to catch.

When Josiah and Jennifer start to form a relationship with someone new, in a short period, they will begin to assassinate the character of the church leaders, the family members, and friends in the person’s life. This is an effort to get that person isolated and rely solely on the Johnsons for his/her spiritual guidance and growth. At the writing of this article, almost everyone currently in the fellowship has “cut off” many of their family members or friends and have minimal contact with those from previous seasons of their life. Many of these severances occurred because they (friends or family) questioned Josiah and Jennifer’s leadership. The common sins attributed to those questioning the Johnsons’ leadership include “pride, arrogance, unrepentance, and gossip.” 

Text messages sent to family and friends by the individual will often be edited by or heavily influenced by Josiah. I know this to be true as Josiah often reviewed and approved a few of our text messages. He also heavily edited or wrote almost entirely texts for others. He said that “ghost texting,” as he calls it, was a “part-time job.” See TMT07. In TMT08, you will see where Josiah approved some text messages that we sent.

Those in the fellowship were pressured to sever relationships with family and friends and were heavily pressured to do so. See TMT09 & TMT10 as examples. They attempted to separate me from my parents and any other people in my life who weren’t “seeking the gospel like we were.”

TMT10 is about another woman in the fellowship. The narrative about her is that she was “rebellious, prideful, didn’t want the real gospel, and didn’t want to submit to Josiah and Jennifer.” This is a text about a confrontational meeting they would be having with her. Again, this is additional proof they do cut people off, isolate, and ostracize those who do not submit to them.

ITMT1.0 through ITMT1.7 is an example of Jennifer using “fear of disconnection” to control and manipulate. She successfully convinced this person to “not allow” a family member to attend her wedding.

After isolating a prey animal, wolves use their endurance and numbers to run the prey down until it is completely exhausted and gives up. To accomplish the task of exhausting the prey, wolves often alternate who is actively pursuing the prey (the one closest to the prey and running the fastest). When the wolf in pursuit gets tired, another “fresh” wolf takes over and continues at the same pace. The wolves will continue to alternate until the prey can physically no longer run. It finally lays down from exhaustion, and then the wolves devour it. This hunting tactic makes wolves some of the most successful hunters on the planet.

 

I have been the victim of this tactic with the Johnsons personally, but I have also unknowingly participated with them in this tactic against others in many “confrontational” meetings. These confrontation meetings would last for hours on end, with 3 to 4 hours in length being common. See VTMT5 as proof that this kind of meeting often lasted late into the night. We have been involved in an over 6-hour meeting lasting until 2:30 am! The Johnsons have often said, “We will labor with someone for hours until they see it, man! We are not fighting against them, but rather, we are fighting for them!” See VTMT3.  See TMT11. This text thread was after a multi-hour confrontational meeting about “my pride and arrogance.” You can see that they successfully got me to “lay down.” They also call this “breaking up the fallow ground of someone’s heart.” They quote Hosea 10:12. See TMT12 and TMT13.

In these meetings, Josiah and Jennifer will alternate between one another, confronting (verbally attacking) the person for whatever “sin” they have committed and doing this for hours on end. They often will give the person little time, if any, to respond. Between the two of them, they will talk constantly for hours. The Johnsons will also ask other people in the room to chime in with their thoughts. People’s “own thoughts” were commonly planted by the Johnsons well before a confrontational meeting, as they would meet with others in the fellowship to build their case against “the one in sin.” They frequently did this with my wife and me about other people in the fellowship. See TMT14. Again, this is to allow alternation to occur in the wolf pack. We and others were unknowingly participating in this wolf tactic when we were not the ones being confronted. 

 

After hours of chastising and berating, the person lays down and gives up. They “finally” realize that Josiah and Jennifer are “right,” and the person then “repents.” Jennifer has said many times, “It took a while, but we got there, man!” Again, this is evident in TMT11 when I mention dropping the fig leaf in response to Josiah.

 

It looks like a fruitful meeting when you are unaware of what is happening. However, this is a tactic of wolves, not the Good Shepherd. This is not leading people but rather getting them to give up and be devoured. This is an imperative distinction

Real Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing Conclusion

Based on what I have provided above, it is abundantly clear that Josiah and Jennifer are indeed wolves. However, this is not just my conclusion but also that of the Leadership at Heart of the Father in Lakeland, FL. Josiah was heavily involved with that church and lived in Lakeland. This is their statement warning their church has shared about Josiah and Jennifer. Their statements start at 1 hour & 58 minutes. 

I could expand on other characteristics of wolves that are evident in Josiah and Jennifer’s lives, but for the sake of brevity, I will conclude with these three. 

I encourage you to do additional research on wolves to help you spot their characteristics quickly and prevent yourself and those around you from becoming victims. Remember, a wolf is a wolf. Their tactics are the same no matter who they are.

The Johnsons have Athaliah Spirits.

I recently became aware of the Athaliah spirit after reading an article posted by Nate Johnston. His article can be found here.  Before reading his article, I would have said that both Josiah and Jennifer had Jezebel spirits. However, I now believe that they have Athaliah spirits instead. This explains why neither is an Ahab or needs an Ahab to operate. Jezebel spirits need an Ahab, but Athaliah spirits do not. The biblical story of Athaliah can be found in 2 Kings 8:16-11:16 and 2 Chronicles 22:10-23:15.

Athaliah was the daughter of Jezebel and Ahab. That is why this spirit can be so easily confused with Jezebel… she was raised by her! She takes on all the characteristics of Jezebel but is murderous herself instead of having others do it for her. The Athaliah Spirit is a Murderous Spirit. It is recorded that she murdered all the members of the royal house, including her own grandsons!

How an Athaliah Spirit Tries to “Murder” You & Others:

 

The spirit of Athaliah wants you to forfeit your dreams and your purpose to someone else by:

  • Making you question your validity.
  • Making you question your ability to be a voice.
  • Making you question your authority.
  • Making you question the very destiny that’s on the inside of you.
  • Wanting you to give up your destiny and hand over the keys.
  • Athaliah spirits use endless harassment, intimidation, false accusations, and character assassination as her tools to get you to submit to her and give up.
  • Athaliah uses witchcraft and thrives on information and finding ways to break you down from many different angles. It sweet talks its way into your inner circle and disassembles you from the inside out.

The Johnsons do this very subtly and covertly. It is tough to spot if you are not looking for it or know what you are looking for. I didn’t realize what was happening until I looked back at all our text messages from the Johnsons after we had been excommunicated.

Here is a string of text messages where the Johnsons were subtly undermining our character, our walks with the Lord, the foundations of our Faith in Christ, and were grooming us to fulfill their “apostolic call.” Degrading us while simultaneously promising us influence in the future if we “submit to the process.” Anyone with genuine humility will take what they are saying to heart and consider it. It caused my wife and I to question everything and made our heads spin.

In TMT15.0, Josiah had just started talking with us consistently since August 3rd, 2023. This message was on August 10th. In TMT15.1 Josiah already begins to tell us that our foundation “has bad concrete,” and continues in TMT15.2  saying God is calling us to “MUCH greater degrees of love, humility & meekness,” and we need to “trade-in what we think we know” for “fresh revelation.”

Josiah questioned our validity in this thread because we had a “bad foundation.” He questions our voice because we “think we know something” but don’t and need a “fresh revelation.” At the same time, he doesn’t tell us precisely what the “bad concrete” is or what “fresh revelation” we need. He leaves it in mystery. In fact, the Johnsons never told us. He was trying to subtly get us to give up what we knew and exchange it for what he knew because he knew the “real gospel.”

 

Additionally, you will see how presumptive Josiah is in his text. He assumes that our own foundation is broken and that we need MUCH more love, humility, and meekness. He had only been talking with us for three days at this point. There is no way he “knew us” enough to make these presumptions. We see now that he was actually projecting. He assumed our thoughts and hearts towards the minister being referenced in this text instead of asking questions. We had to defend our position in TMT15.3 and TMT15.4.

All of the devaluation and criticism (See Narcissist Section) eventually fully manifested not just spiritually and emotionally but also in my physical body.

 

I started having symptoms of anxiety randomly, but especially at night. My chest would tighten just before falling asleep, and I would have to breathe through it to calm down intentionally. My heart would race to 120 bpm in the middle of the night and randomly during the day. My Apple watch would alert me when my heart rate would jump. My blood pressure was up and down. I even went to the fire department to have them check my blood pressure. They confirmed that it seemed like anxiety.

 

PIC05 is my heart rate averages before we were excommunicated and PIC04 is my averages now. You can see in PIC05 that I had 10 High Heart Rate Notifications and my sleeping average heart rate high is 41 beat per minute higher! You can read about what the notification mean in PIC06.


Since severing ties with the Johnsons, I have been back to normal. My heart rate is regular, and I fall asleep fast!

Athaliah spirits use endless harassment, intimidation, false accusations, and character assassination as her tools to get you to submit to her and give up. These tactics are documented in the Wolf Fruit #3 of this article. The Johnsons absolutely do these, especially if you disagree with them. You can also see this evident from the Johnsons in the text that ensued when we were excommunicated. See ETMT1.0 through ETMT1.14.

 

Athaliah uses witchcraft and thrives on information and finding ways to break you down from many different angles. It sweet talks its way into your inner circle and disassembles you from the inside out. This “sweet talking,” aka “love bombing,” is well documented in the Narcissistic Personality Disorder Section, and “gift giving” is covered in the Jezebel Section below.

Examples of Jezebel Characteristics Displayed by The Johnsons

 

I also wanted to include Jezebel’s characteristics because the Athaliah spirit will demonstrate many of these. The characteristics of a Jezebel spirit are drawn from Steve Sampson’s book, “Confronting Jezebel.” You can read the characteristics as described in the book for yourself here. I have personally witnessed them both display 38 out of 40 Jezebel characteristics. Some characteristics are more subtle than others, but nonetheless, they are there.

 

I find it very interesting that Josiah and Jennifer are quick to call everyone else a Jezebel! But as you will read below, that is a Jezebel tactic.

The Johnsons fool many people here because they fain repentance and humility. Josiah will certainly confess, and Jennifer will, to some extent, at first. However, they will usually walk it back some or even entirely later. They will also dismiss any accusation they have “previously repented for.”

If confronted about their actions, they often gaslight people by saying things like, “You only feel this way because you are too sensitive” or “Your perspective is wrong because you don’t have the correct lens of the Gospel.” See FBPOS1.

I once gently corrected Josiah using a verse in Proverbs. In response, he said, “That doesn’t apply because Proverbs has to be viewed through the revelation of Jesus. You can’t use proverbs like a Chinese proverb.” He was then able to dodge the correction and turned it around on me—that I was wrong, not him.

However, what is worse is that Josiah and Jennifer both have rescinded apologies they have made to multiple people in the past even though they genuinely missed it, claiming that their apology took away the “sting of discipline.”

Josiah told me, “I hate the day I ever apologized to you. I should have never apologized to a prideful man! I repent for ever apologizing to you!” Please know that Josiah’s original apology was made in tears, and he begged me to forgive him for getting “caught up in the swirl of the accuser.” At times, when Josiah would “repent,” I believe he was experiencing genuine conviction by the Holy Spirit but would later be chastised and hardened again by his wife, Jennifer. We saw this happen on numerous occasions.

The degree to which the Johnsons refuse to admit guilt or wrongdoing is on another level.

The Johnsons do not embody this “fully.” They mostly take credit for things they “accomplish” in confrontational meetings and that “people wouldn’t have had the breakthrough if they didn’t do it.” At the same time, they degrade and disregard everyone else’s “confrontational tactics” as passive or cowardice.

The Johnsons frequently “stir people up” against others. In confrontations with friends and family, the Johnsons frequently write text responses for people in the fellowship.

 

The text looked like it came from the original sender, but in reality, Josiah heavily edited the text. Josiah calls this “ghost texting.” See TMT07 & TMT08.

 

When confronted about how many people have “cut off” friends and family in their fellowship, they claim innocence and say, “It was their choice; we didn’t make them do it.” In reality, the Johnsons were actually the ones writing or heavily editing the text messages that were sent and most certainly heavily influenced their decision.

The Johnsons are very crafty with this one. They use the term “self-disclosure” to pull information out of people that they will then use later against them. If you are not “self-disclosing, ” you are “self-protecting and not being authentic.” This was a common accusation they had towards me and my wife. See SDTMT1, SDTMT2 and GTMT3.

I have also seen in confrontational meetings the person being confronted asking, “What do I need to repent for?” They respond, “You tell me, be self-disclosing, and tell me what you need to repent for.” This is a way to continue to stay in control of the meeting.

Josiah also explicitly confesses to omitting the truth or not telling all the details in The Confession Video above. He frequently does that in his stories. Here is an example:

He told me that Lou Engle was a spiritual father to him and that he used to live with Lou. However, he failed to tell me that their relationship was severed due to Josiah’s destructive cycles.

I have seen this mainly with Jennifer, but the confusion is unbearable when they are both in the same room, and the topic is heated. They will talk in circles over and over, jumping from one thing to the next so rapidly that you can’t even address the topic that it all began on.

I have been at the brunt end of this when discussing doctrine or theology topics with them. They would say I was wrong but then say almost verbatim what I had just said later in the conversation or preach the exact doctrinal stance I was taking later!

Another example of this would be rapidly shifting perspectives and definitions from one conversation to the next. There is no way to legitimately confront them because they will shift the meanings of words they said before or their perspective to “prove you wrong.” See the Spiritual Manipulation Section for a more detailed explanation and examples.

The Johnsons are always volunteering to help people. They are always helping people move, with a project, with finances, etc.

On the surface, this looks great, but it is used to draw people to them. It is hard to turn against them when they have “bent over backward” to help you. It is a way to gain more control.

I want to give them the benefit of the doubt about all their volunteering to help people, but because I believe they are wolves, I can not say that all the “help” they have given to people is from a pure place.

A truly great liar genuinely believes they are telling the truth. They believe the lies they are telling, making others believe them too. The Johnsons are incredible at this. They are so convinced their lies are true that I genuinely believe they don’t realize they’re lying.

In preparing this article, we have spoken with quite a few people about the Johnsons and realized how much they lied.

How do the Johnsons lie? The Johnsons primarily lie in two ways. First, by omission, they leave out details that would otherwise paint a different picture. Josiah confesses to this in The Confession Video. Josiah also does this in response to Paul Johnson’s statement about him. Josiah said, “Everything that Paul mentions in his letter, I have already repented for! He keeps bringing stuff up from my past! He won’t truly forgive me.”

What Josiah doesn’t tell you is that all he did was confess. However, He never experienced full deliverance and healing by submitting himself to discipleship and accountability. He leaves it up to the imagination, and people assume by his statements that he has indeed done those things and is fully healed and delivered from his sin. He is lying by omission, not blatantly lying.

Secondly, the Johnsons lie by their presumptiveness and exaggeration. They start with a small piece of truth and then, with their proclivity to presumption and exaggeration, spin it wildly into a lie. The Johnsons did this when they told people about their “accountability,” Michael Dow and Robert Gladstone. They took a small truth that there was a connection/relationship with these men. The Johnsons presumed these men felt the same way they did and then exaggerated how much influence/input these men had in holding them “accountable.” They then paraded the names and reputations of these men as their accountability to anyone who asked.

The Johnsons end up lying, but it’s possible they do not realize they are doing it.

Josiah confesses to ignoring people in The Confession Video above. I could always tell when Josiah and Jennifer were upset with my wife and me because they would go silent on our group text message thread for a couple of days. They would ignore us, and then they would begin texting us again when we reached out.

The Johnsons have done the same things with people over and over. They will block and ghost people they disagree with. This is a recurring pattern in their life.

I do not feel the Johnsons exemplify this characteristic.

I honestly couldn’t tell you a single person Josiah and Jennifer have not criticized. Here is a list of various insults they commonly use. Anyone that knows them will instantly recognize these to be true. The person has “mixture,” needs “the gospel” (aka the Johnson’s gospel), is passive, a coward, does not know God, is arrogant, prideful, ambitious, self-protecting, manipulative, divisive, and the list could go on and on. You can see many of these evident in the text message threads posted throughout this article.

Most and sometimes all of these things have been said about even their closest friends, their “accountability,” and every single leader in the body of Christ. I have learned how they talk about others in your presence; they speak like that about you to others when you are not around.

It’s a textbook narcissist and cult leader trait known as a denouncing or a denunciation session. See the Narcissist Section for further explanation.

I have not seen the Johnsons exemplify this characteristic as described in the book.

The Johnsons seem to have dirt on everyone. They know intimate details of many people’s lives and stories.

The Johnsons have “spies,” and these people send them information at their request. My wife and I certainly would tell them anything we thought they would find helpful when Paul Johson released his statement.

In a conversation about a couple once in the fellowship, Josiah said, “They were great flies on the wall!” We commonly discerned that this couple was spying on us, but we were accused of operating in a spirit of suspicion when we told the Johnsons this.

The Johnsons give you enough information about their lives to make you trust them. You think they are “self-disclosing,” but they don’t give you the whole story.

If you mention something from their past as a concern, they will say, “Oh, I have repented for that!” but fail to tell you they didn’t do any counseling or discipleship to get complete healing and deliverance. In fact, the Johnsons have never been submitted to another leader for long. They either leave because of accusations against the leadership or that leadership has been forced to cut ties with them because of their conduct.

The Johnsons will take tidbits of truth about your testimony and spin it wildly into their narratives about you with presumption and exaggeration.

I shared with them that I “loved and possibly idolized knowledge” because knowledge made me feel strong growing up without a left hand. They then used that confession to spin a narrative that I was full of only worldly knowledge and didn’t know the gospel. From then on, they dismissed every correction I brought them as “worldly wisdom.”  You can see Josiah alluded to this in ETMT1.9.


With the Johnsons, anything can and will be used against you in “their court of judgment” and their desire to protect themselves from your correction or input.

They also leverage the information they know about you to sow discord in various relationships you have with others. It keeps people from trusting one another and instead trusting the Johnsons.

This is the truest of Jennifer, but Josiah will undoubtedly fill in the gaps. My wife and I have sat through many hours of them constantly talking.

In “confrontational” meetings, Josiah and Jennifer would talk for hours on end, one right after the other. They often interrupt each other to “make a point.” They usually do not even give the person they are confronting time to respond. If the person does begin to respond, the Johnsons will quickly interrupt them to “correct their narrative” because the “details matter.” I also document this in the Wolf Section above.

Here is a 3-hour and 45-minute audio recording of a meeting with my wife in which Jennifer talks for 3 hours and 30 minutes of the 3-hour and 45-minute conversation. The third person in this conversation is another woman in the fellowship who would occasionally interject.

Click here if you want to listen.

The Johnsons pull the “God” card on all their actions. They often say, “If you will pray and search the scriptures, you’ll come to the same conclusion.” or “We know this is the Lord speaking.”

But they also spiritualize most day-to-day events, and certainly, any “attacks” against them are demonic. People who oppose them are “confounded by the spirit we carry.”

See MTMT2.0, TMT04.0, VTMT7, VTMT8.

Josiah and Jennifer have never been submitted to another leader on a local face-to-face basis for an extended period. Usually within 6 months, often sooner (weeks), they will become rebellious and leave. They then travel to another city and do it all over again.

This most recent move to Texas will make them approximately 27 moves in the last 12 years. This number of actual moves has been debated, but what has been well observed is that their average tenure varies between 6 and 12 months. Their most recent stint was in Orange Beach, which was about 15 months.

Proverbs 2:22 says that the transgressor will be uprooted from the land. I firmly believe that their rebellion and insubordination have caused them to be uprooted and driven from the land. This is the reason for so many of their moves.

The Johnsons are quick to tell you their opinion and will tell with such passion that leaves little room to disagree with them. I have often had them tell me that “your opinions are not the gospel” when their opinion wasn’t the gospel either. Opinions are just that- opinions, but the Johnsons will try to force theirs on you. If you don’t change your opinion, you are rebellious against the gospel and God. This happened many times during our relationship with them.

They were also very pushy with fasting. They would give you no room to say no because who wouldn’t want to grow spiritually? See DTMT1.0 thru DTMT1.2

The Johnsons certainly are very discerning. They usually start right in their discernment. Again, as mentioned in this article, they start with a small amount of truth and then rapidly spin it into a false narrative with presumption and suspicion. You can see their presumption in all the text threads we have included in this article.

In CTMT1.0, Josiah somehow “discerns” that his text has been sent to others.

In CTMT 2.0, you can see that he “discerns” this man has spoken with us” since the excommunication.

The Johnsons say most “prophecy” in charismatic circles is clairvoyance and soul reading. Although this may be true, I believe they are projecting here.

I do believe that the demonic is helping them with information. Some of the things they know about people had to be helped along and were not from God’s heart.

The Johnsons first did this to me in a confrontational meeting in October 2023. I called a couple in the fellowship that Sunday and got no response. I began to worry that something was wrong. I finally got a text response from Josiah later in the day. His text message alluded that everything was great, but really, he was coming to confront me. This would be the most intense confrontation Joisah and Jennifer would bring to me. He acted like nothing was wrong in this text message thread, but a knockdown, drag-out fight was coming. He was using the element of surprise. See STMT2.0

Another surprise was most recently displayed in a confrontational meeting with my wife. Jennifer called the meeting under the guise that it was about her and my wife; it was actually about me. Jennifer spent nearly four hours trying to pit my wife against me. Here is the link to the audio.

 

See STMT1.

Then, they sprung a “required” family meeting on my wife and me to confront me about my “regression in pride and arrogance” without giving me details of when and where until late in the day. The whole “fellowship” was prepared with letters they wanted to read, but when we refused to come unprepared, we were “cowards not willing to face the family of God.”

 

Notice that the “whole fellowship” had letters they wanted to read to us. This is proof that they spoke with others in the fellowship to “set the narrative,” as we had very few interactions with others in the fellowship.

Because Josiah and Jennifer are so critical of everyone, they sow seeds of discord into everyone’s hearts. They often belittle people in group settings, and for people who do not have a mature heart to hear it, it creates massive division. Proverbs 16:28: “A perverse person spreads strife, and a slanderer separates close friends.”

You can see in ETMT1.6, JTMT1.1, TMT14.0 are all proof that they had sown seeds of discord into the fellowship about us.

They ultimately divide everyone against one another so that people only look to them. In private conversations, the Johnsons belittled and criticized every person in the fellowship. We were also told all their intimate sins. They told us details that we should never have been told. We knew intimate details about people’s lives long before those people told us those same details. We would act like it was the first time hearing these details to protect the Johnsons.

The Johnsons certainly commands and even demands attention. As it relates to the book, what I have seen them do is downplay other people’s accomplishments and accolades.

Josiah downplayed my ordination as a pastor as “nothing but a piece of paper that means nothing in the Kingdom.”  I believe his stance on ordination is certainly influenced by the fact that Josiah has never been ordained.

Josiah also criticized the “sending out” ceremony The Way Church did for my wife and I when we left for Alabama.  He said it was “garbage” and “charas-mania” (charismatic craziness) and the prayer Pastor Riley prayed over us was “cliche and all a show with no anointing.” Again, I now know that Josiah has never been “sent out” by a church body. I can now see that these statements were not just his views on the “ministry machine” but likely from a place of jealousy.

Josiah and Jennifer are both vengeful. You are beloved if you agree with them or are subservient to their leadership. However, they explode with insults and character assassinations when you disagree and push back on them.

The many text message threads included in this article more than articulate my point.

Josiah and Jennifer have called so many people a Jezebel. Anyone who knows them well knows this to be accurate, and they have made posts about it on Facebook.

Anyone who “comes against them” is automatically labeled a Jezebel trying to “shut the mouth of the true prophets.”

Josiah, in The Confession Video, confesses to being controlled by a Jezebel spirit.  Mark 3:23 says, “How can Satan drive out Satan?”

So, how can Jezebel drive out Jezebel?

Josiah and Jennifer insinuate disapproval in two different ways. First, they insinuate your alleged sin issue (pride, ambition, etc.) even if one does not exist. They may also insinuate that God is cleansing you or has you in “the refiner’s fire,” or God has you “rediscovered who you really are.”

There may not actually be anything wrong with you, but the Johnsons think there is, and calling it out in you equates to “God is putting His finger on this in your life.”

Anyone with genuine humility will take what they hear and certainly consider it. However, they have intentionally degraded you and your walk with the Lord so that you will rely on them to tell you when you are “good.” This is also classic narcissist behavior.

Then they promise that “when you submit and have come through this discipleship fire, you will be raised up in DUE time.” So, they degrade you and simultaneously promise you significance if you submit to “the process” that is ultimately submitting to the Johnsons. However, they have never been faithfully submitted to anyone or raised up or sent out by anyone. See TMT16.0, TMT17.0, TMT18.0, TMT19.0 and TMT20.

Secondly, whenever you genuinely disagree with anything they have to say, they will immediately come to “squash it.” So much to the point that I didn’t want to share my opinions about much because of the backlash it might cause. I also didn’t want to talk about scripture or The Lord because I didn’t want it to be a fight. I was then ridiculed that I “didn’t desire the deeper things of God and only wanted to talk about worldly things.” The gaslighting and blame-shifting were unending.

Another manifestation of this in the group was disclaimer statements. Before anyone shared an opinion that may be disagreeable to the Johnsons, they would make a disclaimer statement like “I may be wrong” or “This may be my flesh.” These statements are subconsciously used to prevent the backlash from sharing their genuine feelings.

Doctrinally, the Johnsons believe they know it all or at least know it best. You will never be able to correct them “doctrinally.” They have appointed themselves as Apostles and repeatedly tell people to “submit themselves to the apostle’s doctrine.” (Acts 2:42), aka “Their doctrine.”

The Johnsons feign that they have “no ambition,” but in reality, they want to be able to influence others constantly. Their ambition is influence, not attendance, numbers, or a building, but influence, also known as control.

In The Confession Video above, Josiah confesses to heinous sin and brokenness but immediately feels “called” to start a church to influence others… and control them. This is certainly unsanctified ambition.

Josiah and Jennifer are very “generous people.” They frequently pay for people’s meals no matter how large the party size may be. Josiah has paid for parties of 20 or more on multiple occasions. Some people would Venmo or Cash app him, and others would not. I often helped him cover the cost of lunches and dinners privately. See VPIC1 and VPIC2.

He also purchased $1,700 worth of groceries for everyone living in their home. Most of the families in their homes were in financial hardship, and he would help them with groceries, money, borrowing his cars, etc. Most needed the Johnsons to make it through. All of the people left in the fellowship, with the exception of one couple, lived in the Johnsons’ home for an extended period of time. See PIC05

Josiah often “treats” people to expensive experiences like eating at costly restaurants. See VTMT4.  He also gifted me a $125/shirt that I loved but couldn’t afford.

Some of their gift-giving may be from a pure place, but it certainly endears people to them and makes it hard to turn against them in disagreement.

From the outside looking in, it would look as though this one also doesn’t apply to the Johnsons. However, the Johnsons will only allow agreeable input in the long term. They may “allow dissent” but will not do so in the long term. They ultimately alienate, block, and cut off every dissenting voice.

They may return to those same people and apologize, only to repeat the cycle. They consistently do not allow dissenting input or allow their minds to be changed.

This is one of the most dangerous aspects of the Johnsons. They can seemingly say and do the right things at the right time. They pray, fast, read their Bibles, preach, etc. They appear to be masters at it all. This is what makes them look like sheep!

However, they do not possess the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. These “fruits” may be present in their lives towards you in varying degrees if you are submitted to them and agree with their actions/agenda. However, when in disagreement, their true colors are shown, as the text message threads in this article have shown.

Josiah and Jennifer both preach repentance, which is why it may seem this one doesn’t apply. However, true repentance is not saying “I’m sorry” but an actual change in thought and behavior. They will even teach and preach this. Meanwhile, they have not come to true repentance.

Neither of them has had sustained, transformative change in behavior. They repeatedly go back into the same cycle, “Repenting,” only to do the same thing over again to the next person, in the next city, town, or church.

Josiah and Jennifer will say they forgive you and “it’s under the blood,” but they never forget. They will bring the same things up repeatedly but usually spin a new narrative about it.

This happened to me quite a few times surrounding “my pride, arrogance, and ambition to usurp Josiah’s authority.” You can see them bringing these accusations up in the texts surrounding our excommunication.

If you correct Josiah and Jennifer and hold your ground, the gaslighting and character assassinations quickly come. This is well documented throughout this article.

Josiah and Jennifer both do this. When they confronted my wife and me about various issues, they added, “… the whole fellowship feels the same way.” In reality, they had gossiped to the whole fellowship about us to get them to think that way in the first place. This is called “consensus building,” a key narcissistic trait.

See TMT14.0, ETMT1.6, and JTMT1.1 for proof of consensus building.

Josiah also does this when he tells stories about other leaders. We saw another leader in the body of Christ on the beach one day. That leader had one beer the entire day at the beach bar. However, when Josiah retold the story, he stated that the leader “was going back and forth to the bar all day.” He greatly exaggerated the story and painted a picture of this leader getting drunk on the beach, which was simply not true. However, the narrative served Joisah well in degrading this leader to others.

For the record, Josiah has had a drink on many occasions.

Anyone who has known the Johnsons for any length knows that they are constantly “confronting” something or someone. My wife and I, on many occasions, told the Johnsons, “Y’all wear us out! When is all the mess going to stop?

They responded, “It doesn’t stop, but God will just increase your capacity to handle it and give you the grace to walk in it.” They often told us that this was the “real work” of “true 5-fold ministers” and that we were not well-equipped for it.

Again, they spiritualize their drama in the name of calling out, confronting sin, exposing, etc., and then when you disagree with them, they gaslight you and position themselves as spiritually superior. Similar to when the Pharisees put a yoke on others, they could not carry themselves.

The Johnsons are the two most presumptive people I know. They credit their “discernment” for “knowing people’s motives.” This is another significant pointer towards clairvoyance. Scripturally, this is referred to as “having a bad eye,” as mentioned in Matthew 6:23. To have a bad eye is to cause evil, have wickedness, and create hardship for others. They will readily tell people “Why they said or did” something but NEVER ask the person the intent of their heart.

They also frequently quote 1 Corinthians 6:2, “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” as justification that their “judgment/discernment” is correct.

These two are so good at this. Everything they say about someone else is almost always true about themselves.

Josiah would often “hear the Lord speaking to Him” about pride or some other topic and then project that onto the rest of the community. I believe that God was speaking to him, but it was for Josiah only, not then to be projected as everyone else’s problem.

They are doing the very things they accuse other leaders in the body of Christ of doing, as well, maybe even more so. I believe the entirety of this article will prove that.

Both Josiah and Jennifer would say they “hate labels and titles” but have self-proclaimed themselves to be Apostles and have said, “The reason we move and operate the way we do is because of our apostolic call and election.” In the fall of 2023, Jennifer went on and on about their “election to do what they are doing.”

They frequently quote Acts 2:42 about “submitting to the doctrine of the apostles” and that’s why people should submit to the Johnson’s understanding of the gospel as they are Apostolic.

They most certainly love labels and titles, so don’t let them preach the opposite fool you. It is very important to them that they are rightly identified as leaders and a specific kind of leader.

The Johnson’s most definitely display a critical spirit and their criticalness is describe in other areas of this article. Their critical spirit related to the examples in this book section came out around food/restaurants.

As a group, we were always pressured to go to the restaurants they liked, and any other restaurant was “trash.” People are frequently ridiculed for taking them to a “terrible restaurant.”

This may seem petty, but it is another form of controlling the people they interact with.

Josiah and Jennifer are both major offenders of venting. My wife and I have sat through many hours of them telling us “all the drama” and “details of events” and then only to repeatedly spend additional hours and hours hearing the same stories told to others.

It would be fair to say that 90% of our conversations were about their dealings with others and all the drama surrounding it. 

This one is very sneaky, and it is typical for Narcissists as well. The self-pity they use is “we are always being attacked and hated for preaching the real gospel.” They use this to rally people around them and to get others to defend them. They quote scripture to justify the reason for their attacks, of course.

They frequently use Mattew 26:59, where the chief priest and Sanhedrin sought “false testimony” against Jesus. They claim any attack against them is completely false or a distortion of the truth.

They also frequently use Matthew 10:22, which says, “You will be hated by all for my name’s sake..” Therefore, everyone who comes against them hates them for the “sake of Jesus and the Gospel,” not for legitimate reasons.

I have included this section to explain the actions of the Johnsons in more detail. Because many of these points are expanded upon and well documented in other sections of this article due to the overlapping traits of Wolves, Athaliah/Jezebels, and Narcissists, I will only expand on a few things specific to this section.

The Johnsons use a variety of Narcissistic tactics to gain control over people. These tactics are sometimes subtle or overt but often pretty obvious when you know what you are looking for. Before our interactions with the Johnsons, we knew nothing about NPD or how to spot someone with NPD. We have recently learned more about this subject through counseling, reading, and additional research. This has been highly revelatory in understanding and untangling ourselves from the Johnsons.

Here are some standard methods narcissists & the Johnsons use to gain control of others:

Building Trust & Connection Early with Self-Disclosure, Charm, Charisma & Love Bombing

Early Self-disclosure to Build Trust.

The Johnsons are masters at this because they know they must self-disclose to maintain relationships. There is too much damage in the past that will surface pretty quickly. They will readily “self-disclose” some of their past sins early in the relationship to ensure they get to “set the narrative” about their past.

Then, if someone brings their past to your attention, you’ll say, “Yeah, they have told me about that already. They say they have repented, and the Lord has harshly dealt with them.”

They then parade their self-disclosure as “transparency and authenticity,” but as depicted in other places in this article, they aren’t telling the whole story.

My wife and I fell prey to this tactic and often defended them to others who brought their concerns to us.

Additionally, because they are “self-disclosing” and “transparent,” there is an expectation that you will divulge all of your past sins to them as well. If you don’t disclose your past, or maybe you don’t have a “bad, sinful past,” they gaslight you as “self-protecting” or “self-righteous.” If you share about your past, they will most certainly use those sins against you if they ever confront you.

See SDTMT1, SDTMT2.

Initial Charm: Narcissists often start by being incredibly charming and likable, making others feel special and valued. This helps them build trust and admiration quickly.

This is true of both Josiah and Jennifer.

Love Bombing: They shower their targets with excessive attention, compliments, and affection to create a strong emotional bond.

See LBTMT1 thru LBTMT8

Gaslighting: They manipulate reality by denying facts, twisting the truth, or making the target doubt their own perceptions and memories, leading to confusion and self-doubt.

Emotional Manipulation: Uses guilt, fear, or pity to manipulate others into complying with their wishes.

Examples of these are well documented throughout this article.

Identifying Weaknesses: They identify others’ insecurities, fears, and weaknesses, which they exploit to gain leverage and control.

Remember that weaknesses may be good things on the surface. A genuine desire to follow Jesus without maturity can be a weakness when others use it to control. A person not mature in Christ is easily swayed to do whatever the Johnsons desire. The believer may say in their heart, “I want to follow Jesus; it is costly, but He is worth it!” Their willingness to follow Jesus pulls them in, but they are really following the Johnsons. The Johnsons make it look like they are following Jesus.

For us specifically, they preyed on our desire for a like-minded community and the loneliness we felt while living in Hartwell. I vividly remember Jennifer face-timing us to show us “all the friends that our daughter will have once we move.” It moved me greatly, as I desired for her to have friends her age to play with. Now, all of those kids are gone.

They also “sang our song,” so to speak, when it came to plurality of leadership and church structure. So much could be said here, but ultimately, our desires were pure, and the Johnsons exploited them as weaknesses.

Playing the Victim: Narcissists often portray themselves as victims in situations to elicit sympathy and manipulate others into supporting them.

Here are some examples of when Josiah “Played the victim” card:

  • Josiah and Jennifer are victims of Paul and Jeremiah Johnson’s letter and the persecution from the “ministry machine.”
  • Josiah often spoke about being a victim of his brother Jeremiah growing up and as an adult.
  • Josiah and Jennifer often shared stories of being victims of each ministry they were involved in.
  • Josiah and Jennifer have numerous stories of how they were victims of their families/parents.
  • They have already painted themselves as victims of us and will undoubtedly amp up that narrative at the publishing of this article.

Isolation: They may isolate their targets from friends, family, and support networks, making the target more dependent on them.

At the time of this writing, they have successfully moved their entire fellowship to Texas, far away from all their family and friends. Where they are now in Texas, they “only have each other.” Previously, they “prophesied” many in their fellowship into their “ministry work” in Orange Beach, AL, including my family.

A total of 12 people moved across state lines to become a part of their fellowship in Orange Beach, AL, of which only 4 remain. A couple of families in the fellowship were local to Baldwin County, but now they have all “started over” in the Dallas, TX, area. We have recently been made aware that others who didn’t move to Orange Beach are instead going to move to Texas.

They successfully lead others in separating from their friends and family through spiritual manipulation.

This is well documented in other areas of this article.

Control of Resources: Gains control over financial resources, information, or other essential aspects of the target’s life, making it difficult for the target to leave or resist.

The Johnsons primarily control “spiritual resources.” Their approval is equated to God’s approval; their doctrine is “the Apostle’s doctrine,” and ex-communication by the Johnsons means the person is bound for Hell.

See VTMT2

Devaluation: Once they have control, narcissists often devalue their targets, criticizing and belittling them to undermine their confidence and self-worth.

Here are some examples of their devaluation of my wife and me. See TMT16.0, TMT17.0, TMT18.0, TMT19.0 and TMT20.

Discarding: When the target is no longer useful, they may discard it abruptly, often quickly moving on to new targets.

Once a person will no longer “submit to the gospel of the Kingdom” as determined by the Johnsons, they are discarded and denounced to the group.

See ETMT1.0 and JTMT1.0.

  • Projection: They project their negative traits or behaviors onto others, accusing them of the things they are guilty of.

    • The Johnsons are pros at this, which is well documented in other sections of this article.

  • Blame Shifting: Shifts blame onto others to avoid taking responsibility for their actions, making the target feel guilty and responsible.

    • See Here are a few examples of statements the Johnsons have said to me and my wife personally to blame shift:

      • “It’s your perspective that is wrong.”
      • “You’re too sensitive.”
      • “The truth is offensive.”
      • “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.”
      • “Discipline is painful in the moment.”
      • “The truth hits differently when you are sober.”
      • “What you’re saying is missing context.”
      • “Our tactics are biblical; it’s your lens through which you see this that needs to change.”
  • Perfectionism: Sets unrealistic expectations and standards for others, ensuring they always strive to meet these unattainable goals and feeling inadequate when they fail.

    • This is not prevalent physically but very much spiritually and doctrinally. They both communicate “very high standards” as they pertain spiritually and doctrinally, though they themselves are commonly unable to meet them.

  • Conditional Approval: This approach offers approval and affection only when the target meets these unrealistic expectations, reinforcing the cycle of control.

    • This is most prominent with the Johnsons when you don’t do what “they think” you should/shouldn’t do.
  • Unpredictable Rewards: This strategy provides intermittent and unpredictable rewards, creating a cycle of hope and dependency. The target remains hopeful for positive reinforcement despite frequent negative experiences.

    • This happened to me many times, mainly with Jennifer and leading worship with her. Initially, she highly encouraged me and love-bombed me with how amazing we led together. This was based on the first time we led together at The Way Church, where I was initially on staff. She listened to the recording of that service over and over and even sent it to people.

      Once in Orange Beach, Jennifer never formally asked me to help with worship but would randomly, without notice, ask me to come up and sing with her in the middle of a service.

      So, even after our many arguments (negative experiences) with the Johnsons, she and Josiah would give me just enough affirmation and “reward” to think, “Ok, they do approve of me. We can get through this! I need to stay committed to the process!”

       

  • Hot and Cold Behavior: Alternates between kindness and cruelty, keeping the target off balance and constantly striving for the positive attention they once received.

    • Josiah and Jennifer do this, but Jennifer is far worse. You never knew what Jennifer you would get from day to day, maybe even hour to hour. She would be fantastic and loving and perhaps a few hours later, cold and distant, with no indication of what happened to “make her that way.”
  • Authoritative Stance: Projects an image of authority and dominance, using their position or perceived superiority to intimidate and control others.

    • They are “elect” and “Apostles.” For more on this, see Section 6.

  • Demanding Loyalty: Requires unwavering loyalty and often tests the loyalty of others, punishing any perceived betrayal or dissent. This is also referred to as Loyalty Testing.

    • The Johnsons demand loyalty to their “doctrine,” and any dissent results in excommunication. The person is then denounced publicly to the others in the fellowship. See Section 6 for more.

    • Josiah tested our loyalty through his many “confrontations” and “pressing in on us” to see if we would leave. My wife once confronted Josiah about trying to push us away, to which he confessed that he was, in fact, trying to do just that. He further confessed that this was rooted in his own past traumas.

Traits of Narcissistic Pastors in Church Congregations

I have included this section to help give you some more language for how narcissists lead churches. Every trait certainly describes the Johnsons. 

  • Spiritual Manipulation: Uses religious teachings and scripture selectively to control and manipulate congregants. They may claim divine authority to justify their actions and decisions, making it difficult for members to question them.

  • Emotional Manipulation: This technique exploits the emotions of congregants, using guilt, fear, or shame to maintain control. For example, it might imply that doubting one’s leadership is equivalent to doubting faith or God.
  • Divine Chosen One: Believes and often asserts that they have a unique, elevated role or special connection with God. They present themselves as irreplaceable and indispensable to the congregation’s spiritual health.

    See VTMT10.

  • Public Recognition: They seek constant public admiration and validation, often boasting about their accomplishments and emphasizing their importance to the church’s success.

    This particular trait is not evident OVERTLY but is not off the table of possibility from a COVERT perspective.

  • Expecting Special Treatment: Assumes they deserve special privileges and unquestioning loyalty from the congregation. They might expect special accommodations, financial benefits, or personal services beyond what is typical for their role.

  • Above the Rules: Narcissists believe they are not subject to the same rules or moral standards as others. They may excuse their own behavior while condemning similar actions in others.
  • Insensitive to Congregants’ Needs: Shows little genuine concern for church members’ feelings, struggles, or needs.

  • Exploitation of Vulnerability: Takes advantage of congregants’ vulnerabilities, such as their faith or personal crises, to further their agenda or reinforce their control.
  • Defensive and Vindictive: Reacts with defensiveness, anger, or even vindictiveness when faced with criticism or opposition. They may publicly shame, ostracize, or retaliate against those who challenge their authority.

  • Suppressing Dissent: Creates an environment where dissent is discouraged and punished, fostering a culture of fear and silence within the congregation.

According to Dr. Janja Lalich, the International Authority on Cult and Coercion, how Josiah and Jennifer lead their fellowship would classify it as a cult. Janja was once part of a cult and now leads the way in educating people about cult tactics and frequently helps law enforcement on high-profile cases. You can read her personal story here and her brainwashing theory here.

Characteristics of a Cult

The following characteristics of a cult are found on her website here.

 

  • The group displays an excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the truth.

     

    • Everyone in the fellowship is/was deeply committed to the Johnsons, including my wife and I. While we certainly saw flaws and issues, we were still “in their corner and committed” to them. We even repeatedly said that, “God called us to them.” I still believe that, in some ways, we were called to them. We thought we were to help them soften their jagged edges, and we felt they could sharpen our dull edges. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t allow their jagged edges to be softened.

      To question the Johnsons was to question the Gospel Itself because “They have it right!”

  • Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished.

     

    • The Johnsons will “allow” and say they encourage “clarifying questions” but will certainly not allow real doubt in their leadership or true dissent. Actual disagreement (dissent) is “rebelling against the gospel” and is “pride, arrogance, and usurping authority.” If you don’t “repent and get re-aligned with the gospel of the Kingdom,” you are excommunicated. And are, therefore, going to Hell. See the screenshot of the text message that confirms this belief.

      They are minimally “confrontable.” They are highly skilled at convincing their followers that their perspective/opinion/input is wrong and not Biblical.

  • Use Mind-altering practices (denunciation sessions) to suppress doubts about the group and its leaders.

     

    • The Johnsons frequently use denunciation sessions to secure their support and keep people believing their narratives. A denunciation session publicly declares a person as “wrong or evil.” The Johnsons do this to every leader in the body of Christ. If a leader’s name comes up in conversation, the Johnsons are always quick to declare their faults or declare them “fake” or “wicked” or a part of the “who’s who in the charismatic zoo” or “a part of the ministry machine.”

      The Johnsons also do this to every person who leaves the fellowship. They will do this for hours on end, and shortly after a person/family leaves, it will consume much of their time and attention. As a fellowship, we spent most of a “Sunday Service” talking about and denouncing a couple who left the fellowship. We then even continued the conversation at lunch. My wife and I were also denounced when we were forced to leave.

      The denouncing will always first be character assassination (passive, cowards, prideful, arrogant, unwillingness to die to the flesh, divisive, etc.) and will include statements like the ones listed below:

      • “They are cowards! There is a special place in hell for cowards!”
      • “They are unwilling to live for Jesus.”
      • “They have too much pride to die to their flesh.”
      • “They are just unwilling to repent and humble themselves.”
      • “They are unwilling to give up their comforts for the gospel.”
      • “They are unwilling to pay the price of the gospel; it is costly, but Jesus is worth it!”
      • “They want the benefits of community without the responsibility.”
      • “They are in rebellion to God and the gospel. I/we are concerned for their salvation.”


All the statements produce fear in the people’s hearts still in the fellowship and preemptively shame them if they think about leaving or doing something that the Johnsons disapprove of.

  • The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel.

     

    • This is not explicitly communicated as a requirement for the Johnsons, but everyone in the fellowship consults Josiah before they do anything. Jobs, big purchases, homes, etc. If Josiah disagrees with what a person did, he may or may not communicate that directly, but he will commonly tell others in the fellowship that he disapproves. This further creates pressure to come to him first before doing anything.

      His disapproval is sometimes communicated passively through silent treatment. His approval is communicated with praise and statements like “I feel the Lord on this for you.” However, he may also communicate his disapproval aggressively.

      While my wife and I resisted the Johnsons’ pressures in some ways, we often felt compelled to text or call him to “clear it” to ensure he didn’t get upset.

  • The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s), and its members.

     

    • The Johnsons frequently talk about the “narrow way of the gospel” and how many people “think they are saved but are actually going to hell.” In doing so, they communicate, “We have it right, and they all have it wrong. We will give our lives for the gospel, and they won’t.” This is an exalting of spiritual status.
  • The group has a polarized, us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the broader society.

     

    • The Johnsons are constantly attacking and “exposing” other leaders in the body of Christ. When the backlash comes, they spin it to polarize the fellowship and say, “We are being rejected because of the real Gospel, just like Jesus.”

      They turn the fellowship against anyone who “comes against them” in any way.

  • The leader is not accountable to any authorities.

     

    • This is well documented in other sections of this article, but the Johnsons are not accountable to any other leadership or authorities in the Body of Christ.
  • The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary.

     

    • The Johnsons mainly spin this as “dying to your flesh and comforts for the gospel.” No matter the pain (emotionally, physically, financially) or difficulty of a situation, the gospel is always worth it.

      While any true believer would agree, the problem comes when the Johnsons determine what “The True Gospel” is and what God may or may not be asking them to do. This causes the person to undergo pain and suffering that God does not require them to endure.

      • A perfect example would be convincing the entire fellowship to move to Texas. People who recently started businesses in Alabama are beginning from scratch in Texas or changing careers entirely. People are moving further away from family, creating additional strain on those relationships. Others were giving up promotions to uproot and move to Texas.

        The Johnsons spun a narrative that Orange Beach was full of “comforts,” that moving to Texas meant “dying to the flesh,” and that everything people were giving up to move was “the cost of the gospel.”

        People are enduring undue hardship because of the Johnsons’ manipulative tactics.

    • Leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt to influence and control members. This is often done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion.

       

      • This is undoubtedly true of the Johnsons and is well documented in other article sections.

    • Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends and radically alter their personal goals and activities before joining the group.

      • This is not an explicit requirement of the Johnsons, but “if the person doesn’t live for the true gospel,” the Johnsons will encourage the fellowship to cut ties with them not to be “associated with the immoral or divisive brother.” and “to turn them over to Satan for the destruction of their flesh.”

        Most, if not all, of the people remaining in the fellowship have severed ties with families and friends, not speaking to/blocking them, not allowing them to attend weddings or births, seeing children/grandchildren, etc. These things occurred after the members became associated with The Johnsons, NOT before.

        This was actually a big rub between us and the Johnsons. They began to heavily suggest and pressure us to cut ties with our family, which led to a verbal argument when we didn’t. Again, they never explicitly asked us to cut ties but would degrade our family and say, “We have no hope for them to change.”

        When we disagreed with their narrative, they got very elevated and ignored us for several days.

    • The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members.

      • The Johnsons would deny this completely, and I would say that they are not preoccupied with bringing in new members, but their actions prove otherwise. They would also evangelize other young people locally and consistently invite them into their fellowship to be discipled.

        They would often talk about traveling the country with us to “go get” people from previous seasons in their lives that they “knew were called to them.” When my wife and I first began our relationship with the Johnsons, they asked us to travel with them to “go get people that were called to them.” We did just that. They used my wife and me as “proof” that God was doing something different in Orange Beach. They used our story to convince others they were “really doing it this time, and the cycles were over.” We went to Florida to meet people from their past. We successfully got one couple to move to Orange Beach, but they could not move before the Johnsons moved to Texas. We portrayed the trip as just coming to “see them,” but the goal was to “win them back to the Johnsons and get them to join us in Orange Beach. They are now moving to Texas instead. We also met people in Atlanta, and we met with people that my wife and I knew.

        The following screenshots were taken after we visited this couple in Florida. Many hours and dollars were spent recruiting new folks to join “the work in Orange Beach.”
  • Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities.

    • Anytime the fellowship was having an activity, there was massive pressure from Josiah to be there. When people living in their home took a “family day,” Josiah often communicated his frustration about their absence passively. There was one family in particular that would take regular family days. While they were away, Josiah would criticize the wife to us because “she couldn’t handle community” and she was “codependent” on her husband.

      There is a tremendous amount of unspoken pressure to attend gatherings and events.

  • Members are encouraged or required to live and socialize only with other group members.

    • Many people still in the fellowship have lived with the Johnsons for extended periods, and living together is encouraged if it “opens the door to get someone here.”

      Because the Johnsons expected to “do life together,” there was very little time, if any, left to spend with people “outside” the fellowship. External relationships were passively discouraged unless they were for the purpose of “evangelism.”

  • The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave—or even consider leaving—the group.

    • As communicated above, anyone not living like the fellowship is “not living for the True Gospel and is likely going to Hell.” This certainly causes people to feel they can’t or shouldn’t leave.

      A couple who said they were leaving was berated by the whole fellowship about leaving, forcing them to feel they needed to leave in secret and blocking all communications from people in the fellowship. Unfortunately, my wife and I participated in this barrage and deeply regretted having any participation in such. Looking back, I see how controlling and manipulative it all was.

Here are examples of Josiah and Jennifer spiritually manipulating and abusing their fellowship.

Josiah uses Sales Tactics to Convince People of His Personal Stances on Scripture & His Opinions

Josiah admits in The Confession Video that he has manipulated and controlled people using sales tactics.

I have extensive sales training, as I have been in the insurance industry full-time for the last 10 years. I have personally watched Josiah use “Question-Based Selling,” “Closing Techniques,” and “Overcoming Objections” in meetings and confrontations. He did this to “lead” people to his conclusions on scripture, what he thinks a person should do in a situation, and even to convince people of his accusations for themselves.

Josiah and Jennifer use the Reverse Close the most often. Here’s an example. The Johnsons will communicate a desire, concern, or suggestion for you. They may want you to fast or pray or worship a certain way or move to Texas.   If you respond, “I don’t want to do that.” or “I’m not feeling I should _______.” The Johnsons’ response is, “That’s exactly why you should! The very fact that you don’t want to/are not feeling it proves that God is putting His finger on the part of you that needs to die.” You can see the Reverse Close from Josiah in GTMT3.

Other Sales Tactics the Johnsons have Used:

  • Discussed in “The Art of Closing the Sale” by Brian Tracy.
    • Assertions are Not Proof:
      • Josiah uses the Bible to “back-up/prove” his assertions. He used some of the scriptures out of context, as discussed further in this section, while others were in context but weaponized for manipulation and control.
    • Assumption Close
    • Ignoring Customer Skepticism
    • Reverse Engineering Your Presentation & Requirements for Closing
      • Josiah uses this exactly to get people to come “into the work.”
    • Testimonials Are Proof
      • Josiah uses others’ testimonies and stories to get people to “believe” what he is saying. He did this with my wife and me when we went to “get people that were called to them” in Florida. He used our testimony as “proof” that they were “different now.”

    • Discussed in “Zig Ziglar’s Secrets of Closing the Sale” by Zig Ziglar
      • Wheeler Which Close
      • Obligation Close
      • Questioning to Persuade and Apply Internal Pressure for Action

Read the excerpt covering the topics here. Brain Tracy. Zig Ziglar.

I watched the Johnsons use these tactics over and over again. They sound so good and spiritual while doing it, most people fall right into it. This is not the leading and guiding of a good shepherd, but Salesmanship 101.

 

I gave some sales books to two people in the fellowship who were starting their businesses. Josiah rebuked me by saying I was giving them “worldly wisdom” and telling them not to read those books. The truth is that Josiah has most likely read the books I was giving to them. Why would he not want them to read the books that helped him to hit all those records at the car lot? I don’t know for certain, but I believe it is a legitimate question.

The ONLY reason I was able to see what Josiah was doing was because I knew his sales techniques! I would hear what he was saying, but I wouldn’t let those techniques work on me. Josiah and Jennifer would then paint my resistance as my “pride, arrogance, and uncrucified flesh that didn’t want to live for Jesus.” They were lashing out at me because they couldn’t control and influence me with their sales tactics.

 

Another person who was very trained in sales through his job at AT&T was a part of the fellowship for a short time. He saw all the same techniques. He also confirmed that Josiah and Jennifer use sales tactics to influence and control people.

Everyone in the fellowship has heard these stances many times. All would be familiar with them and the context in which Josiah and Jennifer have used them. Most recently, many of these were brought up in relationship to moving “the work” to Texas.

 

The Levites’ Inheritance Was God

Jennifer said, “The Levites didn’t get an inheritance of land; God’s presence was their inheritance. I want to be like the Levites. I just want Him. I want to be priesting before Him, and I want Him to spend my life like currency.”

She has said this many times, including in the initial “family meeting” about moving. The context was Jennifer saying that Orange Beach, a physical land, is not our inheritance, which is why we can/should move.

At face value, this statement sounds excellent, and for people who genuinely desire to live for Jesus, it can sound like the right course of action. However, if we dive in deeper, this statement is only part of the whole Biblical picture. Additionally, it can lead people to forfeit what God has promised for them to have.

 

Jennifer is referencing two passages in Scripture, Deuteronomy 18 and Joshua 13. Her statements have some major issues.

 

Indeed, the Levites didn’t get an inheritance of land, but ALL the other tribes did! 11 tribes out of 12, or 92%, of Israel got an inheritance of land. The overwhelming Biblical precedence is that people do get an inheritance of land.

 

By her statement, Jennifer raises the tribe of the Levites to the highest spiritual position because they received God’s presence as an inheritance. At the same time, she diminishes the Godly promise to the other 11 tribes that they will inherit a physical land. Taking her statement to heart, you might say, “I want to be like the Levites! I just want Your presence, Lord!” While the statement is noble and the heart is pure, you may be forfeiting what God has promised you and start “striving” to be something He didn’t ask or call you to be! You may find yourself one day burned out from the striving instead of walking in the grace of His promise to you.

 

I also find it concerning that Jennifer feels we can assign ourselves to whatever tribe we want. First, I’m unsure that we can even be in a tribe of Israel, let alone pick the one we want to be in. We are gentiles. Yes, we have been grafted in (Romans 11:17) because of Jesus, but we have no birthright to a particular tribe. The truth is our inheritance is in Christ, and we are His reward for His suffering.

Secondly, the decision of what tribe you were as an Israelite was based upon your birth, not a personal choice. If you were born in the tribe of Dan, you couldn’t say, “I want to be in the tribe of Levites.” It was based upon your birth alone. So, to say, “I want to be like the Levites.” really means nothing and may set you up for significant disappointment as you forfeit God’s promise for you and strive to be someone God never created you to be.

 

The good news is that Jesus’s sacrifice tore the veil (Matthew 27:51), and now we all have access to God’s presence that was only accessible to the Levites for centuries. He already is our inheritance, and we get to partake in Him right now! His Spirit is and continues to be poured out on all flesh. (Act 2:17)

 

Jennifer used this story in scripture to manipulate people to give up their desires, wishes, and even what God promised them and move to Texas with the Johnsons.

 

“Jesus, The Apostles, and Paul moved around all the time.”

 

Josiah and Jennifer frequently mention that Jesus and the apostles went from city to city to justify their move to Texas and their moves in the past (27 moves in 12 years). However, this only tells a small part of the Biblical story. It is important to note that Jesus’s earthly ministry was only about 3 years. He is thought to have been 33 years old when He was crucified. So, for 30 years, Jesus stayed in one location and worked a business as a stone mason or skilled construction worker. Let that sink in. 30 years in one location!

 

He “had no place to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20) during his ministry years, but the context of what Jesus was doing versus what the apostles were then commanded to do after His ascension is very different. It is also important to mention that the move the Johnsons continue to make are cyclical and is the fruit of their instability, not fruit of them “obeying The Lord.”

 

The apostles certainly did missionary/evangelistic travels from city to city. But all of them stayed in specific locations for years at a time. Many of the Apostles remained in Jerusalem even under heavy persecution (Acts 8:1).

The Apostle Paul traveled frequently but stayed in places for long periods. He was in Damascus and Ephesus for 3 years in each city, respectively. He was in Corinth for 1.5 years, and Galatians 2:1 says he stayed somewhere for 14 years (location unknown).

 

All the apostles eventually settled in a specific area or had some type of “home base” until they were martyred. They were working missionaries embedded in the community. Peter had a very large house in Bethsaida, which was recently unearthed. It could host the whole local church!

 

So, using these evangelistic campaigns mentioned in scripture as justification for the type and frequency of moves the Johnsons are making is erroneous and manipulative.

 

 

“I want to be a son like the wind mentioned in John 3:8.”

 

Josiah said that he wants to be a son like the wind, as quoted in John 3:8. He uses this verse to justify his moves, including the move to Texas. The verse reads, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

 

The context is a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus about how a person can be born again. “Context is key!” Josiah and Jennifer have often said.

 

This verse clearly communicates to Nicodemus that there is going to be no formula for who will be born again. It will come from a place that he, as a Pharisee, will not know, and it will happen in a way that he cannot explain how. Nicodemus was considered “The Teacher of Israel,” and Jesus was telling him that he wouldn’t be able to figure this out. People of all tongues, tribes, and nations are going to be born of the Spirit.

 

This has absolutely nothing to do with moving physical locations. Using this scripture to justify moving from place to place is erroneous and manipulative.

 

 

 

Josiah Using Member’s Fruit Basket Dream as Justification to Move

 

A member of the fellowship (no longer) had a dream about a fruit basket on the counter at Johnson’s house. The person picked up an orange that looked great on the outside but was rotten on the inside. On the bottom of the orange was an expiration sticker with a date of 5/24.

 

There were enormous amounts of conversations about this dream. The members felt like the dream was specific to them, to move, and that it may have a corporate meaning regarding the “work” in Orange Beach. However, the ORIGINAL consensus from the fellowship was that this dream may have actually been about the member’s inward life, not corporately about the work in Orange Beach. This is the stance Josiah and Jennifer both agreed on, and they used this interpretation to try to get the member and his family to stay in Orange Beach. In additional conversations after the members returned to their home state, Josiah and Jennifer confirmed that “those members were indeed the bad fruit.”

 

In the initial fellowship meeting, Josiah announced the move to Texas and completely reversed his stance on the dream. He used the now-former member’s dream as a “corporate Orange Beach word” to justify the move. He wielded whichever interpretation best suited his motives at the moment.

 

“The fruit is the member” interpretation served the purpose of trying to get them to stay and later effectively turning the entire fellowship (though a denouncing session) against the member’s family. Then, Josiah uses the “the fruit is the work in Orange Beach” interpretation to justify the move to Texas and leave Orange Beach because “our time here has expired.”

 

While I do believe that dreams and visions can have multiple meanings, Josiah’s use of these interpretations was disingenuous, self-serving, and ultimately manipulative.

 

Josiah said, “All of the family is in agreement.” (In relationship to a move to Texas)

 

Josiah used/said this statement many times. However, it is just not true. My wife and I, and initially one other member (whom I will refer to as CP), disagreed with moving. But they said, “CP is just spiritually immature, but he can be brought along.”

 

Josiah later told me in a meeting with my wife and me that he communicated this move to Michael Dow. He said to Dow, “The whole fellowship was in agreement with this move.” and “Michael Dow was in agreement with us moving.” I believe that neither Josiah nor Jennifer communicated to Dow (Josiah’s proclaimed accountability) that my wife and I were in disagreement about the move, even though they knew we were. We believe that The Johnsons had already written us off at this point.

 

If this conversation had taken place, I don’t believe Dow would oppose an entire group of people wanting to move. If all the people in the group wanted to, why would he? But Josiah and Jennifer both used Dow’s agreement to further pressure people in the fellowship to move by saying, “Our accountability/oversight agrees with us.”

 

I believe Josiah and Jennifer knew they wouldn’t convince my wife and me to move and had already “cut us off” in their hearts. Therefore, to them, we were no longer “a part of the family.” However, that would be a major misrepresentation to Dow and to others about this move, as we have been very much committed to the fellowship up until the excommunication. Again, This statement was manipulative and used to pressure people to move.

 

 

Jennifer said, “I don’t want to move; I love it here. I would stay here another 5 years if I felt that’s what God was asking me to do.”

 

This statement was made in the first family meeting about moving. It is simply not a true statement. Even before my wife and I moved down here in Feb 2024, we had frequent talks with Josiah and Jennifer about possibly moving the work to Foly, Lillian, or anywhere but Orange Beach. It was frequently mentioned that high rent in Orange Beach made it hard for people moving here to find affordable housing. This was brought up again when trying to justify a move to Texas, as the housing is more affordable in Texas.

Jennifer also complained that they didn’t have a place for the kids to play outside, the HOA was horrible, the neighborhood hated them, etc. See MTMT2.0

 

It seemed she was always looking to move, not the other way around. We even looked at buying a house that all 4 of us could live in together on multiple occasions, none of which were in Orange Beach.

 

The fellowship looked at a camp in Lillian, AL, that was for sale. Jennifer was the biggest proponent of possibly purchasing the camp. This led to a pretty big argument between the four of us. Josiah, my wife, and I opposed some of Jennifer’s ideas, and she lost her temper, stating that she would talk to Josiah privately later and didn’t want to talk about it in front of other people.

 

Here are the screenshots confirming that she did indeed want to move “the work” to the Camp in Lillian. See MTMT1.0

Here is another set of screenshots that Jennifer indeed wanted to move, and Josiah asked if “the work” was supposed to be in Foley.

 

 

The statement that Jennifer “didn’t/doesn’t want to move” is not true; she clearly did. This lie was used to manipulate people in the fellowship by communicating that this move was a “sacrifice” that Jennifer was willing to make for the “sake of the gospel.”


Josiah, “I know I feel the Lord speaking, and if you study the scriptures and pray, I feel you will come to the same conclusion.”

This statement is very manipulative. First, it communicates the superiority of Josiah’s ability to hear God over everyone else in the room. It also simultaneously shames people who “don’t come to the same conclusion.” If you “don’t come to the same conclusions” as Josiah, then you must not have studied the scriptures or committed yourself to prayer. This is textbook spiritual gaslighting and manipulation.

This statement communicates that people can hear God for themselves if what they hear agrees with what Josiah hears. If what God tells you disagrees with Josiah, then you didn’t read your Bible or pray enough, or maybe it’s because you aren’t willing to “die to your flesh.” Another common presumption is that the person may have never “truly been a part of them” in the first place. Again, this is spiritual gaslighting and manipulation.


Josiah demeans ministers who have been in the same place for long periods.

This statement came in the initial family meeting about moving as well. I do not remember Josiah’s exact words here, but I remember specifically that he demeaned pastors who stay put for long periods and specifically mentioned 50 years.

The problem with Josiah’s statements is that “faithfulness” is a fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5. Yes, this faithfulness is talking about the faithfulness to God. But God asked Jesus to stay put for 30 years because his time had not yet come. If God had called those leaders to stay put for 50 years, they would have exhibited the Spirit’s fruits! They are staying faithful to what God has asked them to do. Demeaning them would not only deny their fruit and the Godly character they possess but also shame them for Godly obedience!

Again, this position was used to justify Josiah’s desire to move and manipulate people to move with him, and it was also used to shame people who decided to stay.


Josiah glorified the crime rate of Galveston compared to Orange Beach.

During the initial meeting, the possibility of moving to Texas was brought up, and Josiah looked up the crime rate in Galveston. He looked up Galveston specifically because my wife and I would soon visit there for a cruise. Another member there that night had a dream specific to “ministering in the hood.” The crime rate in Galveston is very high, particularly in comparison to Orange Beach. Josiah commented, “Oh wow! The crime rate in Galveston is so high, we might actually have to lay our lives down for the gospel instead of living here in the safety bubble of Orange Beach.”

How Josiah said this was very concerning. He seemed intoxicated by the thought of dying for the gospel. Some of us might have to lay our lives down for the gospel. But to revel in it as Josiah did was strange. Josiah and Jennifer commonly talked about laying their lives down for the Gospel. My statement here may be presumptuous, but I believe that their reveling in martyrdom comes from a place of having a “death wish.” See VTMT6. The gif of William Wallace had an undertone that supports these statements.

This statement was another form of spiritual shaming to people who would/want to stay in Alabama. “If you stay here, you must not be willing to lay your life down for the gospel.” This is spiritual manipulation.

It also groomed the fellowship to possibly be “martyred” while living out the “true gospel” the Johnsons preached. This is a cult practice.


Jennifer’s Vision: Josiah’s Roots Go into the Heavens

 

 

My wife and I confronted them about moving the fellowship to Texas. We told them we felt this move to Texas wasn’t the Lord but another “cycle of Josiah and Jennifer moving again.” Again, this is approximately the 27th move in 12 years. I told them both that I believed they were “root bound and unable to be planted. And they needed God to break up their roots so they don’t continue in this cycle.” Both told me it was worldly wisdom and not rooted in the scriptures.

Jennifer then proceeds to tell us about a vision she had a few years back. She saw that Josiah’s roots do not go down into the ground like everyone else’s but instead go up into the heavens. (Grandiose Self- Image: See Narcissist Section) Therefore, he doesn’t have to stay in one place because he is “deeply rooted in God, in the heavens.” He can go wherever physically and still be rooted in God.

Let’s look at the scriptures to see that this vision is not “rooted in the scriptures.” Romans 1:20 says that God’s invisible attributes can clearly be seen in what He has made. He has made not just His physical creation but also the author of how things work and move naturally. He is the designer, so it makes sense that His character and nature are infused throughout creation.

In Mark 4:30, Jesus says, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?” Jesus proves Romans 1:20 because of the parable he tells throughout the gospels. He starts by saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like…”  and then he describes something that God made, or how the world operates, and relates it to how the Kingdom of God works. Because Jesus uses something we can see, it helps us take what we can’t see, the invisible truths of God’s kingdom and makes them clear in our minds.

Jennifer’s vision is completely erroneous based on the Biblical precedence set by Jesus himself and Romans 1:20. There has never been, nor will there ever be, a tree with roots “deep into the heavens.” This vision sounds spiritual but cannot be Biblically back in any way.

What is so concerning is that Josiah and Jennifer have used this unbiblical vision to justify their lack of faithfulness to stay in one place or submit themselves to anyone for any length of time. They use this vision to gaslight others and dodge correction. “You are wrong because your perspective is wrong.” It is ultimately another example of their spiritual manipulation.


Josiah, “We don’t have any favor from the Lord here. People’s businesses are not gaining traction; everyone in the fellowship is struggling financially. If we are going to stay here, we need the Lord to show up in a major way, but I feel the favor of The Lord is not here.”

Josiah and Jennifer used other people’s situations in the fellowship to communicate that “God’s favor” was no longer in Orange Beach. The problem is that these statements were not factual.

Multiple people in the fellowship had newly started businesses that were gaining traction and doing well. One person was up for a big promotion at her job. Others were finally making great money at their jobs serving at a local restaurant.

When my wife and I confronted Josiah and Jennifer about these truths, Jennifer’s response was, “Oh, that’s not favor; that’s prospering! God can prosper you financially without giving you favor. God will prosper you wherever you go, but that doesn’t mean you have favor there. Prospering financially and favor for effectual ministry are two different things.”

When confronted with the truth of people’s situations in the fellowship, the Johnsons just changed their definition of favor. This is a significant twisting of definitions. They utilized their perceptions of other people’s situations in the fellowship to justify moving. Then, when confronted with the truth, they just changed the definition of favor to fit their desires to move.

We now know that leaders in the Baldwin County area (ministerial and governmental) greatly opposed the Johnsons. The Johnsons, of course, didn’t disclose this to the fellowship but instead just said that “God’s favor isn’t here.” There were multiple pastors locally who warned people about the Johnsons, and there is also an ongoing police case investigating them as a cult.


Josiah’s statement: “Sometimes I don’t like processing this stuff with people because if they are immature in the spirit, it may look like we are unstable.”

The context of Josiah’s statement above is stretched over two phone calls with the Johnsons several days apart. My wife and I were on a cruise at the time, and the first call came while we were in Cozumel, Mexico. The second phone call came several days later while we were on our way home from the cruise port in Galveston, TX.

On the first call while in Cozumel, Mexico, the Johnsons, who were traveling home from a visit to Tennessee,  said, “We haven’t heard from the Lord about a direction to move, so we are going to dig our heels in, and keep doing what God asked us to do in Orange Beach. I’m returning to the car lot, and Jennifer will focus on real estate.” (At the time of this conversation, Josiah had been unemployed for 8 months except for a short stint (+/- 2 weeks), during which he worked at a local restaurant before being fired.

My wife and I were overjoyed with this news as we still felt strongly that they were not supposed to move from Orange Beach at that time.

Then, several days later, on another phone conversation while on our way home from a cruise, Josiah said, “We have now heard crystal clear, and we are moving to Texas.” Later in the conversation, he said, “Sometimes I don’t like processing this stuff with people because if they are immature in the spirit, it may look like we are unstable.”

The Johnsons undoubtedly knew that the rapid shift in “what God was saying” would look unstable (because it is) and attempted to silence objections. Now, anyone who may disagree with them or call into question their rapid shifting of conclusions of what “God has said” is now “spiritually immature” and “unable to comprehend what God is saying” like them. This is elitism and spiritually manipulative.


Jennifer said, ” You must submit fully to us and to our understanding of the scriptures, or you can no longer be in fellowship.”

In a four-hour meeting with KayCee, Jennifer stated that we must “fully submit to them for discipleship and submit to their understanding of the gospel/scriptures, or we would no longer be able to be in fellowship.” Here is the recording of that meeting if you want to listen.

 

Based on the examples provided in this article, their conduct and “understanding” of scripture cannot be trusted. Their tactics to get people to “believe like them” are riddled with spiritual shame, manipulation, and control.

 

I would not submit to them or any man’s sole understanding of scripture, even if they were healthy. 1 John 2:27 says that I do not need a teacher, but His anointing teaches me all things. While I do believe that earthly leaders are helpful, trusting their leadership solely is very dangerous. No one man has it all “right,” but the Johnsons clearly feel like they do.

“You can’t build on Another Man’s Foundation”

 

Josiah made this statement in a conversation about my staying on staff at The Way Church in August 2023. I was on staff as an associate pastor, and it was no secret that I would eventually step into a senior leadership role at the appropriate time.

Josiah said, “You can’t be successful building on another man’s foundation, and the scriptures are clear that you can’t do it.” He used this scripture to justify starting a church in Orange Beach.

Josiah referenced Romans 15:20: “And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named so that I would not build on another man’s foundation.”

Upon reading the verse, you can see Paul personally aspired to preach the gospel where Christ hadn’t been named so as not to build on another man’s foundation.

The error in Josiah’s statement is that this is not a scriptural commandment but Paul’s personal aspiration. Further, if this were indeed a commandment, you would need to go where Christ has never been named to be compliant.  To obey this “commandment,” you would be forced to go to the areas of the world that have never heard the name of Christ to start a ministry. Orange Beach doesn’t qualify. They have most certainly heard the name of Jesus.

This is yet another scripture that Josiah takes out of context. It sounds very spiritual, but he uses it to justify his desire to start a church in Orange Beach. He has elevated himself in his mind to believe that “no one in Orange Beach has heard the real gospel like we preach and live it!” It is spiritual elitism and the characteristic of a cult.

  

“Apostles make an Apostolic People. Apostles make Teknons (Children).”

I bring up this statement because the Johnsons use it to manipulate and coerce people to be like them. They use it to get people to change their minds/opinions about their giftings, callings, and passions and instead submit to those of the Johnsons. This section may be a little technical for some, but it is important to include.

First, it must be stated that the Johnsons have self-appointed themselves as Apostles. This is a significant problem by itself, but it is not the focus of this section. The Johnsons use the word teknon when talking about making an “apostolic people.” Teknon is the Greek word for children or offspring. Paul uses this term to describe Timothy in his opening address in 1 Timothy Chapter 1. As we all know, children are made in the likeness and image of their parents. In essence, Paul is saying in the text that Timothy is like himself, having the same spiritual qualities, convictions, theology, etc., as Paul.

Likewise, when the Johnsons say, “Apostles make an apostolic people,”  and use it in conjunction with teknon, they are saying that the people around them or under them should be made in their likeness and image to be like them!

True Apostolic leaders should undoubtedly influence the body of Christ to be “more Apostolic” in how The Body moves and operates. However, to “produce apostolic teknon (offspring)” is not the purpose of any five-fold ministry gift outlined in Ephesians 4.

The purpose of the five-fold ministry gifts, as outlined in scripture, is the perfecting/maturing the saints. With all the ministry gifts present, they present a balanced church leadership structure and a full expression of God’s nature and character. A leadership structure that is balanced and a full expression of God produces people who are more mature in Christ and are no longer tossed to and fro by every wave and wind of doctrine, as noted in Eph 4:14.

The Body of Christ needs all the ministry gifts so that we might be mature. Apostles should recognize and help mature each saint’s gifts, calls, and passions, not try to make that person their apostolic child (teknon). We all have different gifts, calls, anointings, and passions. God created and honors those differences and wants us to be mature in what He has already given us. Being an apostle’s offspring is not the goal… being the offspring of Yahweh is the goal!

The goal is to be a mature son who has stewarded well the things that God has entrusted to him. The goal is to produce the fruit of the Spirit and impact the world around you for the gospel in the way that God has uniquely called you to do!


The Johnsons Teach that “Pulling Out” as a Form of Natural Birth Control is Wickedness

There was a newly married couple in the fellowship. The wife had an IUD for many years. The couple agreed that the wife should take out the IUD. However, both felt as if they were not ready to have children.

Based on conversations we had with the couple, it is my understanding that they were going to be using the “pull-out method” and natural family planning as a natural form of birth control until they felt ready to have children.

Through other conversations with the couple, it was clear that Josiah and Jennifer counseled them that “pulling out” was wrong and sinful. We have personally heard Josiah take this stance. I have also heard Josiah say proudly, “I’ve never spilled my seed!!” thereby certainly expressing his disapproval of the practice. Josiah also told me personally, “Well, she (the wife) got her IUD out! Babies are coming!” He expressed excitement about having another baby in the fellowship, thereby “expanding the kingdom of God.”

Josiah and Jenn are referencing scripture in Genesis 38:8-10 Then Judah said to Onan, “Go into your brother’s wife, and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, so when he went into his brother’s wife, he wasted his seed on the ground in order not to give offspring to his brother. But what he did was displeasing in the sight of the LORD, so He took his life also.

Onan’s brother Er had died without a son, and according to Levitical Law, Onan was to lay with his brother’s wife to raise a son for his dead brother. The son wouldn’t be considered Onan’s but would be recorded as Er’s son. This was so Er’s name would “not be blotted out.” See Deuteronomy 25. This was also done so that the widow would be provided for and land/other inheritances could be kept in the family line as women couldn’t own property.

When Onan “pulled out” and chose to “spill his seed” on the ground, he was incredibly selfish and wicked according to Levitical law. First, he was taking advantage of the intimacy with his deceased brother’s wife but denied the fruit of it for her. Keep in mind that barren women were believed to be cursed by God and were shamed by the community. Secondly, he was denying her the ability to be provided for, which would eventually cause her to lose her family inheritance.

The wickedness of Onan’s heart is what was displeasing to the Lord! That does not translate to a young, newly married couple that wants to delay having children. It is a massive stretch of scripture to apply a statement made about Onan’s actions, a wicked, selfish man, and impose those statements on a newly married couple that wants healing before having to care for a child. It is stretching scripture and putting a heavy yoke on a young couple just trying to get life figured out.

Additionally, the Bible is silent about birth control. While I do hold the opinion that hormonal birth control is not a good idea, saying that you can’t practice natural birth control methods is not Biblically supported in any way. I believe Josiah and Jennifer are teaching this incorrectly and causing people to stumble. Further, I believe that the Johnsons counseled this young couple out of their desires and not what was best for the long-term spiritual health of this couple and that of their future children.

Mathew 7:15 tells us that we will recognize wolves by their fruits. I believe Jesus is talking about the fruits of the Spirit mentioned by Paul in Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law.”

 

The Johnsons do a great job of temporarily and sporadically feigning these fruits on the surface, especially to people subservient to them in the fellowship. Once you are on the “outside” or “rebellious,” all these fruits go out the window.

 

Love

 

The first and most important fruit is love. The word used for love in this scripture is the Greek word agape. Agape love is an unconditional love that is focused on others and is not retaliatory.  So long as you agree with the Johnsons or “submitted to them,” the “love” they give flows freely. But once you disagree or are deemed “in need of repentance to them,” their love is far from unconditional, and they are quick to retaliate against you so they can “correct or take back the narrative.”

 

It then becomes abundantly clear that their love is self-serving and not agape-type love. Agape love is others-focused. They love so long as there is agreement and submission and you are serving their desires. Again, they withhold love and banish you from fellowship if you “get out of line.”

 

This is not Jesus’ love. This is cult love. This is wolf love.

 

Peace

 

Peace in Gal 5 is defined as a state of tranquility (free from disturbance) and exempt from the rage and havoc of war.  The Johnsons are far from a state “free from disturbance.” They are constantly in battles or contentious conversations, “confronting” people. They are continually waging war…

 

They try to justify their position by saying, “Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of Jesus,” and quoting Jesus when he said, “I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” in the Gospel of Matthew. These are true statements, but Jesus was not in a constant state of confrontation. They abuse these statements to justify their lack of tranquility to people who follow them. They teach that such confrontation is the “true work of the ministry.”

 

Patience

 

Paul specifically speaks of patience in bearing trouble and ills and slowness in avenging wrongs. The Johnsons do not have patience for people they disagree with or people they deem “unrepentant.” They quickly cut them off and excluded them from their lives and/or their fellowship. They demand everyone in the fellowship to do the same for the “sting of discipline.” This is not the patience mentioned in Galatians.

 

Gentleness

 

In Galatians, gentleness means having a mild or soft disposition (inherent qualities/character). Based on the other stories and text message threads provided in this article, it is well documented that neither Josiah or Jennifer are gentle. Anyone that has known them for any length of time, could not deny this either. They are not gentle people.

 

Self-Control

 

Self-control in Galatians means mastering one’s desires and passions, especially sensual appetites. One area in which Josiah and Jennifer have little to no self-control is food. This especially applies to Josiah.

 

Both will talk about how they fast as evidence of their self-control. Josiah has done a 40-day fast in the past. However, in the day-to-day, it is very evident that, by their physical appearance, neither of them has mastered their appetites. As a friend, I admonished Josiah many times about his idol of food. Those admonishments turned into continuous conversations quickly.

 

Their lack of self-control is also obvious in their quick temper and overall inability to be slow to anger.

 

Josiah and Jennifer Johnson do not possess genuine fruits of the Spirit.

The qualities of an overseer/shepherd are listed in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. It reads, “It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

I will first state the qualifications that I feel Josiah and Jennifer do meet: a man of one wife, respectable (in relation to appearance), hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine, and free from the love of money. These things are true about Josiah and Jennifer when I was in a relationship with them. One qualification that may apply to the Johnsons but is debatable is the requirement of not being a new convert. Josiah did rededicate his life to Christ in April of 2023, as documented in The Confession Video posted in this article. Whether or not you consider a “rededication” a “new conversion” is where the debate could be had. It’s a debate I will not make here. No matter your opinion, I believe it is safe to say, and many would agree, that someone who has recently “rededicated their life to Christ” should not be in a leadership role.

 

Now, let’s look at the other qualifications listed in scripture that the Johnsons do not meet.


 

Above Reproach

 

The very first quality listed in 1 Timothy is that an overseer must possess it to be above reproach (blameless or no reason for rebuke). Strong’s concordance further defines this as “cannot be laid hold of, cannot be reprehended, not arrestable.” This is certainly not the testimony of Josiah or Jennifer. There are many testimonies all over the country about their inappropriate conduct. All it will take is some calling around for yourself to people in their past (and reading this article), and you will quickly hear the testimonies of verbal and spiritual abuse, manipulation, rebellion, and pride.

 

Josiah and Jennifer will both say. “We have repented and reconciled with many of these people.” While this may (or may not) be true, it seems to be only remorse, not repentance because it hasn’t translated into a sustained change in behavior. They are continuing to conduct themselves in these ways.  This is certainly not the testimony of an overseer that is ABOVE reproach. There is plenty to reproach about their conduct.


 

Temperate

 

An overseer must be temperate. Strong’s further defines temperate as “sober-minded.” This is not the case with Josiah or Jennifer. Both are presumptuous and will quickly spin into delusion and suspicion. I watched this over and over again during confrontation meetings and conversations.

I also saw the presumptiveness and suspicion when meeting new people. After meeting new people, they would spin wild stories of “what they felt in the room over” this person or that person. Again, they would always spin this as “they were confounded with our wisdom and the spirit we carry.”

 

It is safe to say neither of them is temperate.

 

 

Prudent

An overseer must be prudent, further defined by Strongs as safe in mind and self-controlled (moderate as to opinion or passion). Everyone who knows Josiah or Jennifer will say this is the exact opposite of their personalities. They are incredibly passionate about their viewpoints and opinions. So much so that they will force them on other people as “The Gospel of the Kingdom,” and if you don’t submit to “their understanding of the gospel,” you “don’t really know God,” have “worldly wisdom,” or are “prideful and arrogant.” This led to the most contentious moments we experienced with them.

The Johnsons are not prudent.


 

Not Pugnacious, but Gentle & Peaceable

 

An overseer must not be pugnacious but gentle and peaceable. Pugnacious means contentious, quarrelsome, a bruiser, or ready for a blow/fight. Again, an overseer must NOT be this type of person but instead be gentle and peaceable. Any honest person who has known them for any length of time will confirm that both of them are always ready to fight and certainly not gentle or peaceable. In fact, they are always quarreling.

 

We and many other people have admonished them about their harshness of tone and language. They turn this around on the person bringing the complaint, saying, “You are just too sensitive. Go read the words of Jesus to the Pharisees and tell me if you think his words weren’t harsh?” They would commonly insult the person’s “lens” through which they were viewing them and state that their tactics are biblical. It was always an immediate dismissal of the admonishment and spiritualization of their behavior as if they were “acting like Jesus!” See FBPOS1

 

But, as stated in other parts of this letter, this is not the complete Biblical picture but rather the snippet that serves their desires.

 

See ATMT1.0, ATMT2, ETMT1.0, JTMT1.0, CTMT1.0 & CTMT2.0. (Please note. ETMT1.0, JTMT1.0, CTMT1.0 & CTMT2.0 are included in this article in other areas. The below set of images is ATMT1.0 & ATMT2.)

No one would classify the behavior demonstrated by the Johnsons in these text message threads as gentle

Manages His Household Well

 

An overseer must have his own house (family) in order and have obedient children. By Josiah’s own admission in The Confession Video, his household was a mess; as witnesses, we can confirm that it is still a mess. Twice (that we know of) during our 9 months of friendship, Jennifer threatened to divorce Josiah, and we witnessed many arguments. Their marriage is far from healthy. Ultimately, they blamed the fights we witnessed on my wife and me by accusing us of having a leviathan spirit that stirred them up against each other. We have included text threads TMT01.0, TMT02, PIC03, and TMT03 to prove their marriage troubles and that it was not our fault, but it has been going on for a long time.

 

I love their boys tremendously, but they are not obedient, well-behaved children. I do not fault the boys in any way for this but rather place the responsibility solely on their parents. Their boys have been through tremendous amounts of trauma induced by their parents. Josiah admits in VTMT9 that “our boys can be a lot.” In VTMT7, Jennifer tries to spiritualize her son’s dysfunction instead of taking personal responsibility

 

Josiah admitted to us that Jennifer was abusive to the children physically by excessive spanking. Sometimes, Jennifer would want Josiah to spank the boys, but Josiah would disagree. Josiah would then fake giving the boys a spanking by hitting the bed with his belt or their “spanking spoon” and telling them to scream. He was inadvertently teaching his boys to be deceivers. One of the boys struggles with this sin greatly.

 

One of their boys ran away during a Sunday morning service, and they made him repent in front of the whole church. They told him, “Repent or get a spanking.” He wouldn’t repent in front of everyone, so Josiah took him to the bathroom to spank him.

One son said, “He didn’t want to follow Jesus because he wanted friends, and no one wants to follow Jesus.” I have no doubt this stems from all the people in his life that his parents excommunicated from fellowship and were told, “They don’t really want to follow Jesus.” We watched this happen so many times in 9 months. I know it was said of us when we left as well.

These stories and the text messages do not indicate someone with “their household in order.”

Good Reputation with Outsiders.

 

The Johnsons do not have a good reputation in the communities that they are currently in or the ones they leave. Their neighbors in Orange Beach wanted to throw a block party because they left and moved to Texas.

 

Once again, the Johnsons spin it for self-pity by saying, “We are hated for the real gospel.” However, it proves they do not have this quality of an overseer.

 

See VTMT11.

Wolves not sheep

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