User:GrahamSmith/Douglas Johnson (theologian)
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Douglas Johnson (1904-1991) was a Physician, Surgeon and Theologian who became the first secretary of the Inter-Varsity Fellowship,[1], which he was instrumental in founding, along with the Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF) and the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES).
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| Born | 31 December 1904 |
|---|---|
| Died | 10 December 1991 (aged 86) |
| Alma mater | Kings College London |
Biography
Johnson was born into a Christian family on 31 December 1904.[2]
As a young man, he took his evangelical Christian faith very seriously and hoped to work overseas as a medical missionary.[3] Whilst still a student at King's College Hospital in 1928, he helped found the IVF (now UCCF). Johnson went on to qualify as a doctor, being awarded the London Royal Colleges conjoint diploma in 1931.[3] Johnson then practised at an inner London medical mission, a role he undertook alongside his IVF responsibilities, until he conceded that the growing IVF required a full-time General Secretary.[2]
He was also the the inspiration behind the founding of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students,[4] becoming its first General Secretary.
Retiring from IVF in 1964,[2] Johnson continued to act as CMF's General Secretary for a further ten years. At the time of his death, CMF has 4,000 British doctors as members.[3]
In his autobiography, John Wenham pays tribute to Johnson as "though almost unknown to the world at large [he] was one of the great influences on the church in the twentieth century – perhaps the greatest."[5]
Family
Johnson had a wife, Dorothy, a daughter and two sons.
Johnson's son Alan (1938-2006) was a gastrointestinal surgeon, and past president of the Association of Surgeons of Great Britain and Ireland, whose achievements included pioneering new treatments for conditions of the gullet, stomach and biliary tract. He shared his father's faith and died of a heart attack in the churchyard of St John's, Wotton, near Dorking, where he was about to preach a sermon for St Luke's Day on compassion in medicine.[6]
Published Works
- Capper, W. Melville and Johnson, Douglas, Arthur Rendle Short: Surgeon and Christian. London: Inter Varsity Fellowship.
- Johnson D (1979), Contending for the Faith: a History of the Evangelical Movement in the Universities and Colleges. London: IVP.
- Johnson D (1987), The Christian Medical Fellowship - Its Background and History, London: CMF publications.
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