Jeff Johnson has put more consideration into his faith than most people put into their chosen professions. Along the way, his quest for spirituality has led him down many different paths.
Although born Lutheran, Johnson later joined the Catholic faith. After realizing in the fall of 1999 that his beliefs leaned more toward Greek Orthodox doctrine, he began attending services at the Holy Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church, Sioux Falls.
It was his attempt to convert to Greek Orthodox that led Johnson to spend a week in St. Anthony's Greek Orthodox Monastery near Florence, Ariz., in November.
The pastor of his church, Fr. Benjamin Hendersen, suggested that before Johnson was baptized, he should see a monastery.
He flew into Phoenix, Ariz., then traveled into the desert about an hour to the monastery.
The first thing he noticed when they approached the grounds was the beautiful onion-shaped domes on top of the churches.
The monastery grounds were magnificent; mazes of walking trails led through gardens of palm trees, cactuses, and rose bushes. Several little chapels and shrines dotted the paths.
The monks work very hard to keep up the gardens, the grape trees, the churches and several residential houses on the property.
Their way of life is simple. Vanity about physical appearance is foreign to the monastics. There are no mirrors, even in the bathrooms.
When Jeff arrived, he was wearing a short sleeved T-shirt. He was immediately asked to change to long sleeves. Everyone on the grounds was asked to dress very modestly with as little skin showing as possible.
It took Johnson a few days to grow accustomed to the appearance of the monks, who were all clothed in black and wore long beards.
Everyone spoke almost exclusively Greek. Monks from Mount Orthos, Greece, carried their language and religion along with them to America when they founded the monastery.
There were approximately 50 monks and 10 to 20 nuns at the monastery. The majority of the monks were very young. Johnson said the fact that these men could have had successful lives in the world but gave it all up for God really impressed him.
"The most poignant moment of my trip was when I got to speak to an older monk who was just sitting in the guest house," said Johnson. "We talked about my struggles and about faith in general. A strong sense of holiness came from this man. He had the kindest eyes."
Johnson said the church on the grounds was lovely. Orthodox churches are uniquely designed; the architecture is done in Byzantine fashion, the inside of the church was decorated with icons of Christ, the Mother of God, biblical events, and the saints. The smell of incense filled the air.
Stepping into the church was like stepping back in time 2,000 years, according to Johnson. Services, exclusively in Greek, were reverent and beautiful.
The very heart of monasticism is prayer. Monks do not just pray on Sundays. They pray 24 hours a day, as they work, as they eat - whatever they do throughout each day, they do it with prayer.
Monasticism is as old as Christianity itself and has a very important place in the Eastern Orthodox faith.
Unlike Catholic monks and nuns, who sometimes teach in schools and do social work, Orthodox monastics dedicate their lives to prayer. They spend every moment of their existence in prayer.
Johnson said he left Arizona with a much deeper understanding of his new faith. He plans to return sometime after his baptism.
"I miss the peace, quiet and sanity," he said.