Date Like You Know What You're Doing, by Michael Johnson
Sharon and I are pleased to help support the ministry of Michael and Julie Johnson through their Future Marriage University. And it was so good to see that Michael was writing this companion book to their important work.
This is an extraordinary book. It has the prophetic edge of Amos and John the Baptist, but the style is disarming. It makes cold logic warm. Nice balance, as when he also tempers gratifying talk of godly relationships—the land of milk and honey” and the “balm of Gilead” if you will—with notes on the hard work involved in finding good pastureland, negotiating beehives, and dealing with flies in the ointment. No, Michael’s not writing inerrant, infallible scripture, but he aptly quotes and applies a lot of the Bible. And he serves up plenty of prudential wisdom of his own. The vast majority of it is elicits a hearty “Amen!”; some of it an “Oh, my!”; and an occasional “Say what?!” But it all takes you places you need to go in your thinking.
It’s a fascinating read, with granular, plain speaking, moved along briskly with entertaining prose, e.g., the “three-step process” for avoiding linkage with fools is “1. Take 2. Your 3. Time” and then the commandment, “Thou shalt not treat red flags like they are part of a carnival.”
We’ve heard that singles should “kiss dating goodbye.” Michael and Julie (his bride of nearly thirty years) urge rather that these folks should “kiss stupid dating goodbye.” Throughout, he’s generously self-effacing, candid about his own missteps and struggles. For all this, we can be grateful that they make their case emphatically and persuasively—that scripture/reason/prayer-saturated dating is doable and urgent, for the glory of God and the blessing of all concerned.