Worship pastor and singer Jenn Johnson, president of Bethel Music, answered tough questions this week about the organization and Bethel Church, the Charismatic congregation led by her father-in-law, Bill Johnson. Worship Ministry Training founder Alex Enfiedjian asked Jenn Johnson to address concerns that some worship leaders have about using Bethel’s songs. When Enfiedjian admitted he was walking a “tightrope” by raising some topics, Johnson said she welcomed the opportunity for honest conversations.
Today (April 10), Jenn Johnson released her single “Mad at God.” It stems from “raw” feelings following the 2022 death of mother-in-law Beni Johnson. This week, Jenn Johnson, 43, also announced that her first solo project, “HAPPY,” comes out May 22.
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Since 2000, Johnson and her husband, Brian Johnson, have served as senior worship pastors at Bethel Church in Redding, California. The couple and singing duo have five children, including two adopted sons.
Bethel Church has sparked controversy for its theology, including beliefs about healing and prophecy, and for recent scandals. In February, leaders placed Ben Armstrong, the church’s prophetic ministry director, on leave amid allegations of abuse. In January, they admitted “mistakes and failures” regarding the handling of various allegations against prophetic minister Shawn Bolz.
Jenn Johnson Has Seen ‘Beautiful, Healthy Correction’ in Bethel Church
Jenn Johnson, who’s been part of Bethel Church since age 16, told Alex Enfiedjian it’s a “very big organization” with people of various beliefs and “good hearts and good intentions, but kind of just doing a lot of different things that necessarily we wouldn’t all on a leadership level vouch for.”
Staff members lovingly refer to Bethel Church as a “zoo” because there’s “a lot of life and…a lot of mess,” said Johnson, adding, “I definitely have seen a beautiful, healthy correction along the years.”
Johnson expressed gratitude for “the heart of the church,” saying she knows the leaders well. “They are very good, trustworthy people who are very human and are trying to live their lives according to the Bible and run the good race and shepherd an insane amount of people,” Johnson said.
“We definitely don’t all believe the same things at Bethel,” she continued, “and there are definitely some very weird things that have happened from people who are in lower levels, especially of leadership, but also higher, [myself] included, because we’re all human.”
Johnson, who said she’s “not a theologian,” then tackled faith-related questions that Enfiedjian had pulled from Bill Johnson’s materials. Citing a controversial chapter in Bill’s book “When Heaven Invades Earth,” the podcaster asked Jenn Johnson if Jesus was “fully God while on the earth, or just a man fully yielded to God.”
She responded, “I believe that [Jesus] was fully God and fully man, and if you read our statement of faith on our website, it says the same thing.” When asked if her father-in-law’s beliefs might have shifted through the years, Johnson replied, “I think if you were to talk to him right now that he would tell you [Jesus] was fully God and fully man.” People often take “one-liners” out of context, she added.
Worship pastor and singer Jenn Johnson, president of Bethel Music, answered tough questions this week about the organization and Bethel Church, the Charismatic congregation led by her father-in-law, Bill Johnson.Click to Post
