**UPDATED** Petition Against the Wrongful Firing of Dr. Eric Johnson

Very sad, but not surprising. I'm amazed that he lasted as long as he did. As a 1997 graduate of the MDiv in Pastoral Counseling Program, I saw many incredible people treated the same way.

Dr Johnson is as good as they come. Deeply grieved at how he has been treated.

After working at SBTS for several years, I have worked hard to maintain respect for the institution. Dr. Mohler has consistently been the person that has enabled me to do so. As a Christian who works as a masters level counselor, I'm disgusted with Lambert's tactics and greatly saddened by Mohler's actions.

Wrong...

Former Northwestern grad and current Pastor here. This just affirms my growing skepticism with Southern's direction. A decade ago I would have endorsed both Southern and Al Mohler. Not so any more.

Why am I not surprised? The hand writing is on the wall!

I have no words to express my disappointment in this decision. Dr Johnson is a careful thinker scholar. To fire him reveals more about the institution than about his academic work in credentials.

Sam Rima, D.Min., Ph.D. Pastor North Seattle Church (CMA) adjunct Bethel Seminary, St. Paul, MN Former Director, Doctor of Ministry and Faculty in Center for Transformational Leadership Author, Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership, Leading from the Inside Out

Either way -- after listening to the uncharitable handling of Johnson's work in the above-posted youtube video, and the outright questioning of his salvation by Dr. Lambert, I am disappointed that Lambert hasn't issued a public apology (public accusation would beg a public apology). We can disagree on the fundamentals of how to care for souls without those issues being evidence of "faithless living," as Lambert called it. I'm fundamentally in theological agreement with the ACBC, but I don't think removing a text from its context and then cherry-picking statements to make your point is sound in any argument, theological or otherwise. I read the same page that Lambert quoted from and the line of argumentation being presented by Johnson isn't that different from the one I have heard in ACBC circles to defend the use of things like Powlison's X-Ray questions as a pattern for Biblical Counseling. Johnson isn't saying that the Bible fails to address anxiety or provide a pattern to deal with it, but that the majority of passages dealing with it provide a general prescription for remedy and not an exhaustive explanation. Thus, he argues, that there appears to be some level of freedom to develop further thinking and strategies. He may take that too far, and ACBC's official stance would be that he does, but it is unfair and uncharitable to characterize this as the fruit of faithlessness. If failure to hold to the absolute self-sufficiency of scripture in counseling is something worthy of the accusation of unbelief, then I can't imagine that we have long before we are expected to no longer break bread with Reformed Presbyterians over church polity and credo-baptism.

Very narrow and short sighted, Southern.

Poorly handled

SBTS M.Div. Alum - May 2017

I am a Christian Medical Doctor. As someone who has been personally harmed by "Biblical" counseling and HELPED by Christian psychology I find the firing of Dr. Johnson very disturbing!

Pastor, All Saints PCA (Boise ID); MDiv & MA, Knox Theological Seminary

SBTS Current MDiv Student While I haven't taken any classes with Dr. Johnson personally, I have never heard anything but good from fellow students who have. I would like to hear the other side of this before passing judgment. If it is true that Mohler caved to pressure from the ACBC, and worse that Heath Lambert applied the pressure in an uncharitable and unbiblical fashion, I hope that they would recognize their folly and repent of this.

I have both an M.Div. and a Th.M. from SBTS and I am very discouraging to hear this is happening. I was in a mentoring group in my first year under Dr. Johnson guidance and I had him for my intro counselling class. I had heard some grumblings about him having a more secular approach to counselling, but the first thing he did in both environments, was to take us to the Scriptures, so we would be based in a solid biblical foundation, and he never deviated from there. As someone who is situated in a secular environment outside of the Southern Baptist stronghold, Dr. Johnson's teachings have enabled me to be a more effective minister of the Word. It is a shame that we are seeing this happen and this sort of attack is a scar on the church and has dimmed the light of SBTS.

We need to have diverging views while still upholding the Abstract of Principles. This adds onto the Abstract in a way that is not healthy for the future of Southern, who I deeply love and serve.

Dr. Johnson is a real doctor with a real education. Just because Biblical counselors "use" the Bible doesn't mean they use it correctly. Mental illnesses are not always spiritual nor always sin (in my case of PTSD, it was because someone else sinned against me). So many people have real illnesses that require real doctors. If you fire Johnson, then you are handing the bullhorn over an organization that deceives the sick and suffering away from getting the evidence-based treatment that they need. Mohler, you willfully ignore the wisdom and experience of so many Christian brethren who are educated, professional psychiatrists and psychologists who heal the sick. SBTS, if you let an outside organization like ACBC suppress dissent, then you are caving to political pressure and you cannot legitimately call yourself an institution of education. God will hold you accountable for discouraging the sick from being actually healed.

Honored to stand in support of Dr. Eric Johnson and the profoundly important work God has used to advance His kingdom in this broken world.

As a recent graduate of SBTS I'm concerned about the disunity in a common field. I am pursuing ACBC certification but may have to reconsider. I have been a fan of Dr. Lambert but this is not a biblical approach to resolving differences. Very disappointed.