Phil Johnson has been an instrumental figure in Evangelicalism, working alongside John MacArthur for decades. On Wednesday, Johnson made an announcement of his retirement from Grace To You and also a terminal diagnosis.
A BITTERSWEET ANNOUNCEMENT
The end of the month next week will bring a major change for me. June 30 is the end of the fiscal year at Grace to You, and on July 1, I will officially retire.
I’ve had a wonderful career at Grace to You for the past 43 years. My plan in the mid-1990s was to retire from GTY at age 66 or 66, move back to the Midwest, and pastor a small church, perhaps in Oklahoma or Texas.
But then, starting in the first decade of the new millennium, I became a grandfather, and now I have seven grandchildren in California. There’s no way I’m moving back to Oklahoma now. So I’ve stayed on at GTY longer than I once planned to do.
I turned 73 on June 11. I have Multiple Myeloma, which is not curable and has diminished my energy level. I am busy enough with preaching engagements that sometimes involve travel. And at this pivotal time in the ministry’s history, GTY needs to be in the hands of leadership that will steer the ministry into the next generations of technology and strategy.
So I’m retiring.
I’m profoundly grateful for the amazing privilege I had to work alongside John MacArthur for more than 4 decades. I love Grace to You with all my heart, and nothing will ever change that.
Grace To You was instrumental and perhaps ahead of its time in adopting sermon material for online consumption. Johnson’s announcement alludes to changing technologies necessitating the need for different leadership, while he can focus his energies on preaching. At Grace Community Church, Johnson remains on rotation.
