North Park Theological Seminary is pleased to announce that Rev. Rich Johnson has been named the next director of the C. John Weborg Center for Spiritual Direction. Learn more about Rev. Johnson as he shares about the significance of this transition and the vision he brings to the Weborg Center and North Park Theological Seminary.
What experiences—personal, academic, or spiritual—have shaped you most on the path that led you to this call to NPTS and the Weborg Center?
My faith journey has been significantly shaped by pastoral ministry in a multiracial congregation, as well as navigating seasons of personal loss and sustained engagement with spiritual formation in both private and communal settings. Serving as lead pastor of Sanctuary Church has taught me the necessity for integrating theology, justice, and contemplative practices in daily life.
Over the course of fifteen years, we’ve learned to incorporate spiritual practices in corporate worship, as well as in small groups and one-on-one pastoral counseling. It’s this joyful experience at Sanctuary that motivates me to see more leaders equipped to support their congregations, organizations, and systems in becoming spiritually integrated followers of Jesus.
Here, at NPTS, our pietist roots have a strong, stable theology that informs our spiritual formation and our spiritual witness as clergy, lay leaders, and everyday people who attend to soul care. I’m particularly grateful for the care I’ve received from our Covenant community through spiritual direction and professional coaching, both relationships that have been fruitful in my personal development.
What first sparked your interest in spiritual formation and spiritual direction?
My interest in spiritual formation first took root during my undergraduate years at Morehouse College, where I was introduced to Christian mysticism through the writings of Howard Thurman. Thurman insisted that the inward life and outward struggle for justice belong together. He helped clarify a spiritual path for me that was contemplative and courageous. That path was further shaped by the writings of Henri Nouwen, whose attention to interior transformation, vulnerability, and the present moment gave language to the kind of leadership I longed to embody as a contemplative pastor.
Together, Thurman and Nouwen form a hybrid vision of spiritual formation that connects inner transformation to the pursuit of justice. This integration became urgent as I recognized the limits of performance-driven ministry and the toll it took on my leadership and my soul. At the same time, I saw the broader body of Christ exhibit a persistent deficit: a failure to hold spiritual transformation and justice together in a way that could sustain long-term faithfulness.
As you step into this new role, what is your vision for the C. John Weborg Center for Spiritual Direction? Are there any new initiatives or areas of growth you feel especially excited to explore?
First and foremost, I’m grateful for the legacy of leadership, contributions, and investment that have already been made at the Weborg Center. This community would not be what it is without the long, faithful support of gifted administrators, faculty, and volunteers. I’m inheriting a strong program that has equipped hundreds of women and men who are serving in various capacities within the Covenant and beyond.
In this next chapter, I am especially excited about building onto that legacy by developing accessible pathways for racially and culturally diverse leaders to become equipped as spiritual directors. I’m noticing that access includes developing pathways for bi-vocational pastors, leaders of color, and those serving in smaller or under-resourced congregations to be equipped. I see the Center expanding its reach so that spiritual direction is not a luxury for a few.
I also hope to deepen the integration of the Weborg Center within the life of North Park Theological Seminary and the Evangelical Covenant Church. This includes carefully evaluating the curriculum to be theologically aligned with our Pietist tradition and practically contextualized for diverse expressions of spiritual formation and spiritual direction. Imagine the Weborg Center expanding opportunities for continuing education, discernment retreats, and collaborative projects with local churches. The Weborg Center will become a stronger resource for clergy and churches in the Covenant.
Ultimately, my vision is to help form leaders whose inner lives are resilient enough to sustain the challenges of ministry in an increasingly complex and polarized culture. My prayer is for the Weborg Center to be a community where we pursue systemic change while maintaining a contemplative posture. The world needs spiritually formed leaders.
What excites you about North Park Theological Seminary and joining the NPTS team?
I am eager to join this dynamic faculty and staff of theologians who demonstrate a shared commitment to academic rigor and to becoming more like Christ together in a joyful, Spirit-animated community. What draws me to this community is the quality of scholarship integrated with the pursuit of discipleship. I have witnessed rigorous theological focus paired with visible humility and love for the Church. I look forward to being shaped by their work, both in the classroom and through their broader contributions to the Covenant community.
I sensed a deep connection to this community from my first experience serving as an adjunct faculty member. Now, as I step more fully into the life and mission of North Park Theological Seminary, it feels like a holy calling and a gift to steward this mission in community: to join the Triune God in forming whole and holy persons through the living Gospel, for the sake of the Church and the flourishing of the world.
I am also excited to serve as an ambassador for NPTS beyond Chicago and beyond the Evangelical Covenant Church. There are future students such as pastors, spiritual directors, chaplains, and lay leaders, who have yet to discover the distinctive ethos of North Park. Our program consists of a commitment to justice and pietistic devotion that is a blessing to the global Christian community. I am eager to represent that vision faithfully and to invite others into a place where theological depth and spiritual vitality are held together for the sake of Christ’s mission.
And on a lighter note, I appreciate that North Park is just a few stops away from the greatest baseball park and team in the land (Go Cubs!), which feels like a small but joyful grace to partake in when I’m in Chicago. With the last name Johnson, I suppose I’m at least pietistically adjacent to my Swedish roots. I may lean more “pioneer” than “Viking,” but I’m grateful to join a community that continues to evolve as mission friends.
What spiritual practices or rhythms sustain you in your life and ministry?
The spiritual practices that sustain me are largely practices of attentiveness and slowing down. I keep a weekly examen and take evening walks where I reflect on the day, talk with God, and seek wisdom for what lies ahead. I am nourished by a slow, prayerful reading of Scripture, especially the Gospels. I enjoy journaling with the Psalms as companions that guide and counsel me along the way.
Writing poetry has also become an important spiritual practice. My spiritually formed go-to model of poetry is haiku. It invites me to slow down and to notice what is often overlooked. Here is where I learn from nature, engaging my senses in ways that help me listen more honestly to my body and to the Holy Spirit.
In a similar posture, one of my quieter practices, though you won’t find it listed in Adele Calhoun’s Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, is listening to vinyl records. The physicality of the practice requires patience and presence: lowering the needle, listening deeply to the singer’s story, and getting up to turn the record over. It has become a small but meaningful way of practicing attentiveness by honoring the stories of others and remembering that formation is often shaped through ordinary, embodied rhythms.
What do you do for fun?
I gravitate toward activities that bring people together and converge at the intersection of movement and playfulness. I get excited about group exercise at my local gym – lifting weights, cycling, and yoga. I’ve had the privilege of teaching all three disciplines over the years, including serving as an instructor.
I also love simple, unhurried time with my family, especially game nights or movie nights, although I’ll admit that choosing the movie can be an event in itself. To be completely honest, I’m perfectly content spending half the evening watching trailers.
Music is another deep source of joy for me. I love discovering live, local bands, singing karaoke, and partaking music in all its forms. Occasionally I sing with a small, ecumenical group of middle-age pastors who also debate the greatest artists and genres. If you say “music,” I say “when.”
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