The Writings of Lynne Johnson-Yohnk

Lynne Johnson-Yohnk and her ex-husband pastored for 10 years in two different states. Lynne operates the Paradigm Shift Facebook Page, where you may view more of her writings.

The Woman at the Well- A Tale: "When Jesus spoke the words to me 'If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water,' it went deep into my soul. I felt the words. I felt the living water. No one had ever touched my soul like that, not ever. When he said I would never thirst again, I wanted this living water so badly."

I Was So Robbed: "I was first robbed as a small girl and was told 'You weren’t so robbed', 'It wasn’t that big of a deal'. 'Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill.' And so I listened to others. Parents. Relatives. Society. I tried it on for size. 'I wasn’t so robbed'. 'It wasn’t that big of a deal' I wore it. I believed it."

Michal's Story 1 and 2 Samuel: "My name is Michal. This is my story. I was King Saul’s daughter given to David to wife. I have been much ostracized over the years because of my despising David and criticizing him. Few have looked at this from my point of view and so I want to speak out now in hopes of finally being heard."

2 Samuel 11-Bathsheba's Story: "This is my story. I have heard it told that the story of David and Bathsheba was a love affair. But it is a story of King David's lust, of murder and of a man who repented when he was told to do so by the prophet. He didn't even recognize his own sin. This story, the story of my life, happened in a time when women didn't have any rights and we were seen as property."

The 55 Mile An Hour Church: "It was obvious to the man and his followers that these people were simply not hungry for God. They wanted to waste gas and think only of themselves. They did not care about the environment. Oh, they may recycle, but *this*! This about driving 55 was scriptural! And they rejected it."

Undershepherds, Sheep and Fences: "One day, he stuck his foot outside. Nothing happened. He decided to jump into the other "safe" fences and try them. It was all pretty much the same except for differing fence lines. He didn't understand why they all thought they were right when the fence lines differed."

Conservative Views Vs. Legalism: "Again, there is a difference between a conservative view and a legalistic one. How many times have we heard it said, “Standards are not salvational”? This is often said, but then we heard these phrases right behind it: “She is wearing pants again. She backslid.” This is a judgment about one’s salvation because of the wearing of pants."

The Walling in of a Reprobate: "More and more rumors about the elder were flying. There was hard preaching about gossip and the spreading of rumors and how it hurt God's Kingdom. "God's people should not be gossips and rumormongers!" they preached. Soon, the rumors were silenced and anyone who mentioned anything about the elder or anything else was shunned as proud and a rumormonger. No one dared speak anything negative, especially about the elders."

The Transplant: "The first little tree began to feel disgusted with the transplant. "I've lived here all my life and I've never struggled" said the first tree. 'I don't know what your issue is. Can't you see the nice river and the sun? You have all you need for sustenance. Can't you see the big trees here? You make the river look bad, the sun look bad. You make the bank look ugly.'"

It's A New Day: "I think those of us who have left legalistic churches have a problem with giving. Once upon a time, we gave and gave and gave. We gave of our finances, our time, our emotions and our lives. We gave until we were exhausted and spent. We gave until the well ran so dry, there wasn't one drop left."

Chrysalis: "So, those left behind aren't always any more guilty than we were when we were yet innocent, doing the things we thought we were supposed to be doing. I know that I believed what I believed with a full heart, until I began to see....and then I didn't believe it anymore."

Identity: "According to Erikson's stages of development, our identity is supposed to develop in the ages between 13-21 years, but what happens if we don't develop that identity in those years but instead take on an identity that isn't truly who we are? What if that identity is superimposed upon us externally?"

Grief: "We grieve the loss of relationships we once had, dreams we once had. We grieve that we were lied to. We grieve that we believed it. The loss becomes greater over time, not less, at least for a time as we realize the significance of the losses. We realize somethings will never be the same again."

APOSTOLIC BOOK REVIEWS

Getting Out the Old Books: The Literal Word by M.D. Treece

Getting Out the Old Books: Guardians of His Glory by Gary & Linda Reed

Getting Out the Old Books: Questions Pentecostals Ask Volume 2 by David F. Gray

Getting Out the Old Books: A Call to Holiness by Joy Haney

Getting Out The Old Books: What a Difference a Line Can Make by Larry L. Booker

Getting Out the Old Books: Power Before the Throne by Ruth Rieder-Harvey

Getting Out the Newer Books: Wholly Holy: The Vital Role of Visible Devotion by Darin Bowler

Search For Truth Bible Study pertaining to Holiness

LOVE AND RESPECT BOOK REVIEW

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part One: "In other words, 'It's you, woman. You are the problem. He CAN'T love you, because you won't 'respect' him. All you need to do is change and the world will be yours.' And so begins what I call 'Ensmallinate yourself.' That is a word I made up for when women begin making themselves small. Ensmallination. She ensmallinates herself."

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Two: "He sells equality but he is saying that she makes sacrifices and he doesn't. She speaks up when she feels hurt and he resents it and the CURE for this is for her to do what he claims is biblical 'respect' which is actually ensmallination which without saying it out loud, apparently she must not speak up or ask for the wet towels to be once again not left on the bed because this makes him feel disrepected."

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Three: "So Eggerichs touts his book as unique because he says all the books say to love but they are missing the magical ingredient for women to be happy-giving respect to her husband, according to Eggerichs definition of said word. He says "The best way to love your husband is to show him respect in ways that are meaningful to him." Huh. So is he talking about love or respect? He seems to make a difference between the two and then not make a difference."

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Four: "The bait and switch is that now, if you don't believe what Eggerichs is teaching about love and respect, you are denying God's Word itself. You wouldn't want to deny God's Word now, would you? At this point, if the reader is not thinking critically, they are constrained to agree with whatever is written next."

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Five: "There it is again. Men do know how to love their wives, he says. They just refuse to. Men will sit in silence because you as a wife are not respectful. They will not pick up towels, they will stonewall, they will withhold what they gave your during courtship and ignore your anniversary because what is missing....is you are not giving them 'respect.'"

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Six: "There isn't really a clear definition given about what respect really is but by the anecdotes given and the disparaging comments about women 'hammering' their husbands over jobs not done around the house or ignoring their anniversary for a decade and then buying a birthday card, a woman gets the idea that even though she may be exasperated and overworked and has asked for help repeatedly, that she can't really trust what she sees and feels with her own eyes and her own mind."

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Addendum: "Before I go on with the commentary on Love & Respect, I mentioned a few times that I do agree with Eggerichs about unconditional respect being something that should be given (however to all people, not just husbands). However, we are worlds apart about what this actually means and how it plays out."

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Seven: "This is the fake 'respect' that Eggerichs is touting. A 'respect' that ensmallinates which is desired by men for control and by women for safety. Reading this is infuriating! But these are the types of messages given to women who need help on the daily."

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Eight: "If the end result of the 'respect' that is practiced makes a woman smaller, makes her cow-tow, second class and less than, that is ensmallination. If the end result of the 'respect' that is practiced is empowering and creates accountability, that is, in my opinion, what is godly respect."

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Nine: "For women raised in homes with entitled fathers, these patterns feel very, very natural. Scratch the serial number off, plaster the word 'respect' on it, find some scripture that seems to match, call it biblical and voila! You have a recipe for church supported dysfunction."

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Ten: "Eggerichs excuses men and degrades women."

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Eleven: "Eggerichs blames women for beginning this crazy cycle and calls respect the 'missing piece' of how to stop it but I believe it actually starts with male entitlement towards women."

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Twelve: "Eggerichs gives more advice to husbands. Some of it isn't bad. Some of it is downright good. What I find issue with are the interspersed comments that seem to do away with the good he just said."

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Thirteen: "Firstly, I find it interesting that Eggerichs equates saying 'I'm sorry' with a loss of respect. That's not really how this works. Eggerichs still thinks that being equal with a woman and admitting wrong is some sort of cow-tow and browbeat on him from the woman. This is dangerous."

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Fourteen: "Teasing and joking when asked for reassurance is an indicator of immaturity and wives know this. Could it be that what some men think of as 'disrespect' means his wife sees him for who he is and this is why he doesn't want to be 'questioned'?"

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Fifteen: "So, apparently the idea is for men to throw some sort of bone in their wife's direction so at least he can say he tried."

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Sixteen: "I want to look in depth at this idea of a 'husband who has basic goodwill' and what Eggerichs means by it."

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Seventeen: "Keep in mind that what Eggerichs is saying is that if you disagree, you are disagreeing with how GOD has made men. Therefore, if you disagree, you are really disagreeing with God."

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Eighteen: "Eggerichs again talks about a 'good willed man' as he mentions workaholism. He states it is a 'real and serious problem'....'what he needs is support and respect for his work efforts. If he is a good-willed man....he will realize it, and you can talk through it and work it out.'"

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Nineteen: "Ironically, after making pages of points about how he is the boss, Eggerichs states 'This does not put you down or undermine your equality; in fact, it will create real equality.' And that wives should 'go on record that your husband is 51% in charge.'"

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Twenty: "Apparently, her bringing up issues is criticism and contempt and his bringing up issues is just 'time to be honest.'"

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Twenty One: "Ok, so women, sit and watch your husbands work even though you have work to do and don't say anything and he might not look at you, might not talk much, and even though it does nothing for you, he will be energized by this. According to Eggerichs this is a 'male need.'"

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Twenty Two: "It seems to me that whenever Eggerichs wants wives to do something, he talks about 'differences' and therefore wives can't possibly understand, right? I think wives understand a lot more than Eggerichs gives credit for."

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Twenty Three: "Eggerichs begins to talk about 'The Rewarded Cycle.' This is Eggerichs out if his philosophy doesn't work on your marriage. First, he says that both spouses must be of 'goodwill' but remember he lumps in cheaters, workaholics, alcoholics and a man who threw a dish in his wife's face in this category.

Love And Respect by Emerson Eggerichs Part Twenty Four: "I believe that Eggerichs mixes and matches a bunch of advice and turns it into a confusing concoction. There is no real clarity on which way to go for wives. Should they 'follow' their husband and do what he says? Is that 'respect'? I am sure there were couples who this book did help. However, I believe these couples had enough critical thinking skills to wade through the confusion to a good outcome."

POEMS

I Gave It My All: "Give more. Give more," the preachers would cry, And I knew just what to do. Sacrifice more than ever before, and hope that I would break through."

Puppies and Kitties and Swings: "I have been on a long trip far from my home, Where many evils and wolves all roam, Sadness prevailed and I was alone, Far from puppies and kitties and swings."

The Simple Things: "The presence of God, Sweet Spirit in my soul so hot, Making me into what I am not, Hands raised high, what He has wrought!"

Let Me Build A Bridge: "For there is a gap that must be closed, a bridge that must be built. A hole between two worlds closed, where needs are not met nor felt."

I Like to Be Alone: "So I live for those great moments, Quiet, lovely and sweet. Alone with Him and only Him, Preview of heaven, so neat."

In The Silence: "Why bother!! It's been too long! You're wasting your time!" They try to overcome me with guilt and fear."

These writing are the copyright of Lynne Johnson-Yohnk and were posted with her permission.

Page added February 4, 2006 & Updated January 3, 2026

Shop at our Amazon store! This website is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.