Spiritual Coach and Counselor: 安东尼•约翰逊, MA '19

安东尼•约翰逊, MA ’19 has enjoyed three careers — one as a successful NFL running back, 另一位是长期担任NFL球队牧师, 现在, 在…的帮助下 汤森研究所 他是一名辅导员，在佛罗里达州的一家新兴诊所工作.

“上帝改变了我。 汤森德研究所的咨询项目这位11岁的职业运动员说. “当有人走进我的办公室, 不管是什么问题或诊断, 我现在有能力和他们一起面对他们正在经历的一切. That speaks to the counseling aspects I learned [from Concordia Irvine].”

作为一个职业中期的专业人士, 约翰逊并不急于转向另一项任务，回到学校——至少是这样, 一开始没有.

“My thought was, ‘No thanks, I already did that,’他说. “Especially going back to school in an online situation. 我想，‘不可能.’”但他毅然投身汤森德研究所，发现自己经历了一段改变人生的经历.

他说:“这始于第一批学生。. “我们在那里讨论了真实的事情, things you normally would not disclose to someone you’re just meeting. The Institute’s professors did an awesome job in our cohort modeling that process. They had been transformed by the same process and were leading us through that... You cannot lead someone to a place you haven’t gone.”

但在他成为辅导员或球队牧师之前，约翰逊踢的是最高水平的足球.

国家冠军企业

Born in Indianapolis, Johnson grew up in South Bend. 他父亲在他很小的时候就去世了. 他母亲在他10岁时改嫁了, and he became the second of nine children in the blended family. 约翰逊获得了圣母大学(Notre Dame University)的奖学金，在橄榄球项目的巅峰时期，他曾在战斗爱尔兰队(Fighting Irish)担任跑卫和后卫. 他帮助球队赢得了全国冠军, 还有未来的NFL球星托尼·赖斯, “火箭”伊斯梅尔和蒂姆·布朗. “It was a fun time to be an Irishman,” says Johnson.

虽然他是在一个改革宗长老会教会长大的，八岁时就把自己的生命献给了上帝, 约翰逊偏离了上帝，“挣扎着”, “伟大的时刻”，直到他进入二年级训练营的某一天.

“I’d had a decent first year and started half the games as tailback,他说. “我们是后起之秀, 但我很痛苦, 不仅因为卢·霍尔兹的训练很艰苦, 这就是生活. 我应该站在世界之巅, but I remember walking off the practice field and literally told God, “我做的. 我希望你现在就来接我.我准备好了.”

God transformed me through the 汤森德研究所的咨询项目. 我现在有能力活在当下...

神告诉约翰逊，他的生活与天父的关系是脱节的. 为约翰逊, 改变立刻发生了:他开始每天早上花几个小时读圣经，寻找与上帝交流的方式.

“这是真的，毫无疑问，”他说. “When I’m convicted about something, I go all the way in.”

He began attending church again, and there he met his future wife, Shelley. They were married right before the national championship game. 作为一个前途光明的年轻人, Johnson set his priorities: “It was God 现在 my family, 我的职业. 我要尽我所能，”他说.

Drafted in the second round by the Indianapolis Colts in 1990, 约翰逊“不会在这件事上乱来,他说. “我想尽可能做到最好.”

他和四分卫杰夫·乔治一起打球, “可能是我玩过的最好的投球手, 到目前为止,约翰逊说. But overall, his years with the Colts were frustrating. “It was not the entree into the league I had hoped for,他说. “Personally, I was struggling, hanging on by the skin of my teeth and nails. If I hadn’t been a second-round pick I would have been cut, definitely.”

NFL systems were very different from what they ran at Notre Dame. “当我进入联盟时，我必须学习一种全新的比赛，这很难，”约翰逊说. “我努力.”

Things started clicking by his third year, and then Johnson “learned how to run.”“我没有跑跑道, 所以我在大学四年级的时候雇了一个运动发展的人，他教我如何跑步,约翰逊说.

训练使他跑得更快，他跑得很低.即使在他职业生涯的后期，40码冲刺中也有4次.

“感觉自己可以成为一名1000码长跑运动员，感觉自己可以跑得更快，这是一种有益的感觉,他说.

Perhaps the most valuable thing he brought to teams was a strong mental game.

“我总是知道我应该做什么，什么时候应该做，”他说. “这是让我进入联盟的部分原因，也是让我一直留在联盟的原因.”

这些年轻人有这样的需求……在某些情况下，他们没有意识到他们错过了什么. They would grab hold of the pursuit of Christ and jump in.

他在纽约喷气机队待了一年, 另一个是芝加哥熊队, 在卡罗莱纳黑豹队效力四年，在杰克逊维尔美洲虎队效力一年，总共11年, 对一个跑卫来说是永恒的.

“I got out of that time without any significant injuries. 我真的很幸运，”他说.

在1997年的一场比赛中，他打出了142码，感觉“从未有过的好”，他说.

The highlight of his playing career was the 1996 NFC Championship game, which the Panthers played in their inaugural season.

“我们离超级碗还差一场比赛, and we got beat by the Packers in the hallowed halls of Lambeau,他回忆道. “那是神奇的一年，有趣的一年. 化学作用使它起作用. 这是一个团队的经历.”

他在黑豹组织中经历的团队团结帮助他成为了NFL的牧师.

他说:“那一年我们团队的核心成员都是对基督有坚定信仰的人. “They were knitted together not just individually but with families. 这是那次经历的核心, 它迫使我成为一名牧师, to create and cultivate that in the individual lives of the guys.”

从玩家到精神教练

In 2000, as he waited for a call that never came from a team that wanted him to play, Johnson sought God every morning about his professional future. The Lord guided to his mind the Great Commission in Matthew 28.

“我知道他在召唤我，让我成为他的门徒. 所以我说，‘天啊，我加入了.’”几个月后, 黑豹队的长期牧师, 迈克·邦克利, 邀请安东尼做他的学徒. "Mike was instrumental not only in what I experienced as a player, but in mentoring and challenging me to be a chaplain,约翰逊说.

但很快, 约翰逊接到了杰克·德尔·里奥的电话，他正在为他刚刚受聘执教的球队——杰克逊维尔美洲虎队——寻找牧师. “毫无疑问，我听到了上帝的召唤，所以我们来到这里，履行了这个角色。”

约翰逊说. 他说，他和雪莱这样做了15季，基本上就像“国内传教士”.

“我在那里的头几个月，有人对我说，‘你就像这个组织的牧师.’ I went, oh, my gosh, I guess I am,约翰逊说. “There was an awful lot to learn in terms of the Bible, 如何沟通, 如何布道, 怎样学习圣经. All those things and more I went, oh, man, I don’t know if I can do this. 我必须学习.”

Then he realized he had been doing discipleship all along. “你是一个跟随基督的人，跟随一个跟随基督的人. I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I’d already been doing that,他说. “我从联盟里联系过的牧师那里得到了一张照片, 特别是迈克. 这是一种巨大的解脱，也是一种巨大的动力，因为我觉得，也许我真的能做到.”

15年来, Johnson “brought Christ to the guys’ experience as they were playing, 在赛季和休赛期的节奏中寻找机会, 注入基督和基督的东西, 查经信息, 还有一次令人鼓舞的坐下来交谈.”

His ministry encompassed not just the 100 or so players, 但是20多个教练, 前台人员和许多体育场员工. His schedule brimmed with Bible studies and chapels for players, 教练, 夫妻, plus tons of personal interactions — including on the sidelines during games.

“这些年轻人有这样的需求，”他说. “In some cases, they didn’t realize what they were missing. They would grab hold of the pursuit of Christ and jump in, 说我全心投入, and do their best to share Christ with the guy next to them.”

莫里斯·威廉姆斯, a right tackle and right guard with the Jaguars for nine years, 我在约翰逊人生的关键时刻遇到了他.

“As I started having all the success and money and a certain amount of fame, 意识到这些并不能让我完整, the thing I was getting more passionate about was my faith,威廉姆斯说. “我不是在教堂里长大的，也不了解成为一名基督徒是什么样子, 所以安东尼对我来说是至关重要的关系, 特别是精神上. 有一个上帝的人，一个正直的人的榜样真的很强大. He was there to answer all my questions and encourage me in my gifting as well. That’s one of his strengths — understanding people and working with them. It was one of the anchoring pieces I needed, to have the right perspective.”

Later, Johnson invited Williams to an Athletes In Action meeting where 约翰·汤森 发表讲话, 当约翰逊开始全职咨询时，威廉姆斯决定成为美洲虎队的牧师.

“Anthony’s been a tremendous blessing to me as a chaplain and a brother,威廉姆斯说。, 谁也是教会的牧师.

更深入地帮助别人

But before Johnson embarked on his counseling career, 他觉得有必要获得额外的技能来帮助那些在现实世界中挣扎的人. 他们可能把约翰福音3:16背得很熟, 但他们仍在与创伤、损失、生活问题和经历作斗争,他说. “我发现自己在某些方面不知所措. It needs to be more like John 4, when Jesus talks to the woman at the well. I was doing enough walking alongside guys, but I needed more tools.”

He sought out resources, and ultimately found the 汤森研究所.

“雪莱是这一切的催化剂，”他回忆道. “Townsend和(Henry) Cloud提供了一个参加为期一周的集训的机会. I’d heard some things about it, so I encouraged Shelley to go.”

谢莉回来后对这次经历赞不绝口. 最终, 安东尼接受了她的建议，他和谢莉在NFL老板会议上见了约翰·汤森.

“他触及了我生活中的一些事情，46年来我都没有意识到这对我的影响有多大, 就像失去父亲一样,安东尼说。. “下个月，我参加了为期一周的强化训练，经历了和雪莱一样的事情:戏剧性的转变. 我称之为挖掘我内心的某些东西.”

他进入汤森学院学习，“看到上帝在我生命中做的事情比与约翰的会面更深刻。, 我不知道他能做到,他说. “这真的是一种转变.”

每一堂在线课程都给了他“某种联系，在某种程度上鼓励或装备了我.” It also helped him minister to pro players experiencing injuries, 减少天数和其他不良生活事件.

“当男人们清理他们的储物柜并走出大门时，我喜欢尽我所能地成为一种安慰,约翰逊说. “受伤真的很难，尤其是职业生涯或赛季结束的伤病. 我(在汤森学院的项目中)了解到，即使你没有一句话要说，也要活在当下.”

Johnson soon felt called to go into full-time counseling. After graduating from the 汤森研究所 in 2019, he opened up 金合欢咨询 in early 2020 to provide individual, couple, and group counseling services. 今天, 他和谢莉有5个孩子和6个孙子孙女，安东尼开始了他的第三份事业.

“我很享受看到人们的改变，”他说. “I hope they are being changed to the depth of transformation like I experienced. 而是要把基督的生命带给他们.”