BETHLEHEM, WEST BANK (ANS) -- What was a Hollywood musician, who has worked with entertainment legends from Bette Davis to Michael Jackson, doing at an international Peace Conference in Bethlehem?

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He is Paul Johnson, who attended the recent “Christ at the Checkpoint: Theology in the Service of Peace and Justice,” a five-day conference organized by the Bethlehem Bible College from March 12-17, 2010, that sought to address the intertwining fiber that is Israel and Palestine in general and the Middle East in particular.

An independent music producer, fascinated for more than a decade with the Arab-Israeli situation and the problems faced by Palestinian Christians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip , Johnson was on-the-ground at the recent conference to help “bridge the knowledge gap” for American Christians about their plight.

“I hate to admit it but Americans, by and large, are dumb as a stump when it comes to the realities and history of the Middle East,” said Johnson in an interview with ANS chief correspondent, Michael Ireland. “They are more interested in American Idol than the complex issues of the Holy Land.”

Paul Johnson with Brother Andrew

Johnson, a Hollywood musician who has worked with entertainment legends from Bette Davis to Michael Jackson, attended the Peace Conference in Bethlehem to hear a wide variety of speakers from Brother Andrew – “God’s Smuggler” -- Dr. Tony Campolo, Rev. Stephen Sizer, Dr. Salim Munayer, Dr. Manfred Kohl, Rev, Alex Awad, Paul Alexander, Jonathan Kuttab, Gary Burge, and other notable and international personages.

Johnson told ANS, “I went to the Bethlehem Conference fairly well prepared, having read dozens of books and articles about the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict already. My interest became an obsession during the siege of the Church of the Nativity almost a decade ago. I knew the news wasn't giving the whole picture (I had been to Bethlehem years before and was aware of the Christian population there).

Scene from the first day of the conference

“So I Googled ‘Palestinian Christians’ and was immediately overwhelmed with troubling information I had never heard before. I became convinced that the character of God was on trial in the Holy Land and that prevailing theologies (especially in America) were misrepresenting who God really is -- at least, the God that I had come to know in the Hebrew Bible and in Jesus Christ. This became terribly upsetting to me.”

Paul Johnson is a free-lance record producer and arranger/composer who has produced dozens of Contemporary Christian albums for virtually all the major Christian labels of that time; including Grammy-nominated albums for Andrae Crouch, and Pat Boone, as well as Dove Award-winning albums for Larnelle Harris and Mark Lowry, then explained why the Bethlehem conference was significant for him.

“It was the first time that I had been assembled together with other Evangelical Christians who shared the same epiphany that I had experienced,” he said. “The most important thing that I heard and saw with my own eyes is that the church is very much alive and vibrant on the Palestinian side of the Wall. I was amazed at how fair-minded Palestinian Christians are toward their oppressors and how gracious they are toward Western Christians, even though they have been virtually ignored and marginalized by the West.

“I know that whenever I bring this issue up in America, people sort of glaze over into a coma and wonder what on earth I am even talking about. They don't get that our view of God -- and our witness to Christ in the world -- hangs in the balance with how we view what is going on in the very town of Jesus' birth.

An Israel checkpoint

“Understanding these important issues lets the whole world know which Kingdom it is that we are ambassadors for. Is it a Kingdom of domination? Or a Kingdom that is pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, and without hypocrisy? (James 3:17) I found all of those qualities present at the Bethlehem Conference.

“Issues like occupation, checkpoints, land confiscation, curfews, violent theologies, etc., all have the potential of engendering hostility and making temperatures rise. But the most impressive thing to me is that this never happened at the conference. There was a ‘sweet, sweet spirit in this place,’ as the song says. And that spoke volumes to me.

Paul Johnson with Tony Campolo in Bethlehem

“I've been to secular human rights meetings before where tempers flared (and for all very good reasons). But the spirit in this conference was very much ‘holy’ in every sense of the word. I even commented jokingly to a friend that I had to go all the way to the Palestinian Territories to experience the sweetness of the gospel in an Evangelical gathering. In America it seems like Evangelicals have become so infected with political animus and downright meanness and arrogance, it was nice to be reminded again what the gospel feels like. I had to go all the way back to Bethlehem to find it.”

Ireland then asked Johnson what were the attitudes between participants from around the world toward each other at the conference regarding the topic?

He replied, “There was a peaceful unity between Christians who attended the conference that was palpable and deeply nourishing. It was wonderful to see so many different kinds of Evangelicals present and united in their support of the Church in Palestine. And even though there seemed to be a few ‘plants’ from alternative political/theological perspectives, I never witnessed any friction.

"I have had discussions with friends in America on this issue who get really angry to have their theology challenged. I witnessed none of this at the Bethlehem conference even though differing theologies were represented.

Was the conference a propaganda event?

“No,” he said, “it was not a monologue. It was very much an open dialogue even though it is true that the majority of conferees were sympathetic to the Palestinian Church… I would say that is what we came away from the conference feeling -- the urgency to confront the Western churches with information about the native Christians of the Holy Land and the threat of their disappearance.

“All of the meetings were streamed live on the internet so there was nothing done or said in secret that I'm aware of. Even the lively conversations that were had around dining room tables were captured on video and uploaded on various sites within hours. I think everything was very well documented and is there for all to see and discuss. This is what we hope will happen.”

Johnson went on to say, “I think everyone left the Bethlehem conference knowing that we all have a very important assignment-- and that is to make Christians in the West aware of the forgotten indigenous Church in the Holy Land...and especially to ring the alarm that the native Holy Land Christians are disappearing at alarming rates. Bethlehem Christians have dwindled down to around 15% and that is frightening! That should concern all of us.

“Western Christians make pilgrimages to the Holy Land to visit piles of historic rocks but run right over the 'Living Stones' who trace their spiritual heritage all the way back to the day of Pentecost. This is a tragedy.”

At the end of the conference, the attendees produced what was called the The Bethlehem Affirmation, which can be sent at: www.bethlehemaffirmation.com 

“The Affirmation,” Johnson explained, “simply asserts that addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can no longer be shoved into the future. This cannot be kicked down the road any longer without enormous consequences. What I heard on both sides of the Wall is that everyone knows pretty much what the final status is going to look like with a two-state solution. There just isn't the political will to do the right thing and to see to it that the Holy Land can and must be shared by all three Abrahamic faiths.”

“Really, our most important task is to shine a light in darkness. Personally, I have found that giving the book 'Blood Brothers' (Elis Chacour/David Hazard) is the very best tool in waking people up to the issues that have been kept hidden in the West. It's an easy and thought-provoking read and a moving story of how one Palestinian Christian, who was forced from his home as a child in 1948, has learned how to live with a forgiveness-filled heart in the Holy Land. I think it's the best book on living out the Beatitudes of Jesus that I've ever read. Sharing books like this with Western Christians is one of the best ways I know how to put the Bethlehem Evangelical Affirmation into action. You can't get people emotionally involved until they hear the stories of the people we are talking about.”

Paul Johnson traveled to the Holy Land with Tony Campolo and said that they had a series of high-level meetings with both Israeli and Palestine officials. Meetings with the Israelis were set-up by the Israeli Consulate in Philadelphia, he said.

“I met Tony about a decade ago through our mutual friend, comedian and Christian artist, Mark Lowry,” said Johnson. “Tony does a regular podcast with Mark and I produced Mark's recent Dove award-winning hymns album. Mark likes to put ‘thinkers’ together with each other and then watch the sparks fly. In our case, Tony and I launched into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict within five minutes of meeting each other and we haven't stopped talking about it since.

“So when Tony was asked to speak at the conference (and his wife, Peggy, decided not to go), Tony asked me to go with him. And, of course, I jumped at the opportunity. Just being with Tony, which I try to do two or three times a year, is like re-charging my spiritual batteries. We think pretty much alike on a whole range of issues but I always learn something new from him. And he tells me I do the same for him. So this is pretty much a match made in heaven and one night, while sitting at dinner in Bethlehem, I said, ‘I guess I'm going to have to write Mark a “thank-you” note for putting us together years ago.

“This trip to Israel with the peace conference in Bethlehem will be remembered as one of the most exciting weeks of my life! I had read the books of most of the speakers there and meeting all of them was a thrill in itself. But, most of all, being able to connect with the Palestinian Christians and hearing their stories first hand just meant so much to me.

“Being there with Tony just made it even better. I've often said to Tony, ‘You know what, buddy, I can't imagine having lived this life without having known you!’ And it's the truth. Tony’s mind is just brilliant and his heart is so big. And his courage to tell the truth, no matter what the cost, is so inspiring to me. His message to the conference in Bethlehem was like hearing a prophet speak. He tells the truth about racism whether it's anti-Semitism or anti-anybody. Tony gives voice to the voiceless like a real prophet does. And he has a compassionate heart that feels the suffering of real people in their real circumstances. I am so honored to know him and call him my friend. He walks his talk.”

He then spoke about Dutch-born Brother Andrew who he says he has known since the 1970s when “God’s Smuggler” came out.

“In my mind, he has always been equal to one of those spiritual giants that leaps off the pages of the Bible,” said Johnson. Tony introduced me to him at the conference and just getting my picture taken with him was a thrill. He was so warm and engaging. I'll never forget meeting him. Sometimes when you meet somebody you've admired for a long time it can be letdown. Not so with Brother Andrew -- or anyone else I met at the conference in Bethlehem. I was surrounded by the most articulate and courageous of spiritual heroes. I haven't had an experience this positive in many years!”

More about Paul Johnson:

During the early 80's, Johnson served on staff at The Church On The Way in Van Nuys, CA as Director of Artistic Development. From 1985-1992 Johnson served as musical director for the American Cinema Awards Foundation in Beverly Hills, CA doing tributes to film legends: Clint Eastwood, Elizabeth Taylor, Gregory Peck, Sophia Loren, Gene Kelly, Bette Davis, Jimmy Stewart, Shirley Temple, to name a few. As orchestral arranger/conductor, Johnson had the privilege of conducting for Whitney Houston, Michael McDonald, Donna Summer, Andy Williams, Al Jarreau, The Four Tops, The Temptations, and dozens of others.

The decade of the 90's began with Johnson conducting an all-star musical tribute to Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. As a result of contacts from that event, Johnson was commissioned to compose (music and lyrics) the stage musical, RED RED ROSE, on the life of Scottish poet Robert Burns--cast album of which was recorded at the Jackson family compound in Encino, CA. RED RED ROSE later won one of three 1996 Musical Of The Year awards produced by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation which aired throughout Europe. In the late 90's Johnson was commissioned to be co-composer of BEN HUR: THE MUSICAL which premiered at the Orlando Convention Center Theater in Florida. Johnson's original composition, Christmas Is The Best Time Of The Year,” (music & lyrics) was performed for nine years in the world-famous Radio City Music Hall Christmas Show in New York City.

Johnson has spent the last decade studying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has a passion for peace and justice in the Holy Land and was part of the drafting committee for “The Bethlehem Evangelical Affirmation.” Johnson is a member of Gracepointe Church in Franklin, TN.

Veteran journalist and broadcaster, Dan Wooding, is the founder and chief editor of the ASSIST News Service (ANS) while Michael Ireland is the ANS Chief Reporter. Both were recently in the Holy Land on reporting assignments.

Pictured: Michael Ireland and Dan Wooding with Brother Andrew.