A winding path: Johnson has had many jobs before becoming a pastor

Before becoming a pastor, the Rev. Daniel Johnson worked as an analyst, a trainer of computer and network technicians and he completed a master's degree in counseling.

"Since this is my fourth career, the story of my call is not very simple," Johnson said. He said the events that led him to his congregation were "so extraordinary that I can only say God was totally in control every step of the way."

Johnson is a self-described "Army brat with roots in Jackson." He graduated from Jackson High School in 1974, attended both Southeast Missouri State University and Mizzou and has graduate degrees from the University of Chicago and Southeast. He has been the full-time pastor at Evangelical United Church of Christ, 33 S. Ellis St., since 2009.

Question: How do you hope to help people in your role at Evangelical United Church of Christ?

Answer: I want to do my part in bringing them to means of the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ; sound preaching and teaching of the word of God, proper administration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper, leading corporate prayers of confession, thanksgiving and intercession.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish at this church?

A: I hope to help people see that they cannot live without Jesus. I hope that our congregation can become more visible in Cape Girardeau so that more people will visit our congregation and find out if we are the right church home for them.

Q: What is the most rewarding part of your job?

A: Deepening my relationship with Christ through preaching and teaching the word of God.

Q: What would you say has been your greatest achievement since taking this position?

A: I have become part of the Jamaican Christian Medical Mission team. This ecumenical lay-led mission team provides a weeklong free medical clinic to a rural Jamaican community every two years. I worked as a pharmacy assistant on the 2009 trip, as well as preaching a sermon at a Jamaican church. I am excited to be part of the team that is traveling to Jamaica on April 25.

Q: Where do you find strength and support to minister and help others?

A: My congregation is supportive and encouraging. My wife, Michelle, is a tremendous support. I meet with several colleagues on a regular basis to "talk shop," including the Rev. Sam Roethemeyer and Chaplain Stan Hargis. My pastoral counselor and adviser, the Rev. Aline Russell at Care and Counseling in St. Louis, is a tremendous help. My colleagues in ministry at my lectionary group, the Cape Ministerial Alliance, and the Downtown Council of Churches are another source of support. I could not survive without the "Body Pump" class at HealthPoint.

Q: What is your favorite verse and why?

A: Psalm 118:22-23: "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes."

There were many times in my life I have felt rejected by people who were unwilling to see me as I really am -- someone Christ died for. Christ is the cornerstone of the universe. Yet he was rejected by shallow, selfish and self-righteous human leaders. As it says in 1 Peter 2:4-5, "As you come to him, the living Stone -- rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him -- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

I want to be one of the billions of living stones who make up the temple of Jesus Christ.

This verse also reminds me not to join in the rejection of those society finds to be useless: the disabled, the homeless, the poor, the addicted, and the mentally ill. It is because of this that I am the chairman of the Sprig of Hope homeless shelter project and I am a supporter of the Samaritan Regional Free Medical Clinic.