“We recognize that this news may bring a range of emotions,” the June 10 email said. “The elders did not arrive at this decision quickly or lightly.”

The dismissal is effective immediately. The email said that the church investigated “a significant allegation” last year and that all three executive pastors serving under Johnson brought additional concerns to the elders last month.

Church leaders did not explain the nature of those concerns, saying only that they included “leadership style,” “interpersonal conduct” and “behaviors.”

Johnson, 41, could not be reached for comment.

Ten days before he was let go, Johnson preached about temptation. Using the Old Testament story of Samson, he urged the congregation of 8,800 to be wary of the ways they might be tricked into not trusting God.

“You will be tempted far greater in the area of your strengths than you will your weaknesses,” he said. “None of us want to admit that we have blind spots — areas in our life that are obvious to others — but we keep making the same mistake. And it’s areas in our strength that we assume we can manage without God’s assistance.”

Hired for his preaching

Johnson took the senior pastor position at Northview in 2021. He replaced retiring pastor Steve Poe, an entrepreneur-turned-pastor who grew the nondenominational church from a single congregation of roughly 500 people in a suburb of Indianapolis to a multi-site with attendance numbers above 10,000.

“It was a goal to reach as many people as we possibly could,” Poe said as he approached retirement. “The motto we use here is that every number has a name, every name has a story, and every story matters to God.”

At the time Poe believed Johnson was the clear choice for his successor. Johnson was one of seven finalists selected by VanderBloemen, a leading church search firm, and widely praised for his effective preaching. Poe watched a sermon that Johnson preached at Southland City Church, an Assemblies of God congregation outside Minneapolis, and really liked what he saw.

Even at Johnson’s hiring, however, there were concerns about his management abilities. Poe told church members that Johnson had been accused of mishandling finances and mistreating people in the Minnesota congregation. But the outgoing pastor said he and the elders were “110% convinced” the allegations were false.

Poe and Johnson worked together for a year to ensure a smooth leadership transition.

Staff departures raise concerns

As Johnson took control of Northview in 2022, however, similar concerns reemerged. Current, a local newspaper covering eight communities in the suburbs of Indianapolis, reported an exodus of dozens of staff members and church leaders. Eight told Current that asking questions about Johnson’s past or present was not allowed at the megachurch.

“I care about Northview,” one former staff member said. “I don’t want it to sink. But I think it’s sinking, and if there’s not enough humility, grace and willingness to have this conversation, it’s going to go down.”

The elders at the time rejected these concerns. They reaffirmed their “unwavering support” for Johnson in a public statement.

“We did do our homework and stand resolute in our conviction that this was God’s choice for our church,” Northview leaders said. “Pastor CJ is a talented leader … His heart for God is full and genuine.”

Johnson received a standing ovation when he preached the following Sunday.

That affirmation didn’t end the turmoil inside Northview, however. According to former leaders who spoke to the Roys Report (RR), 10 campus pastors quit by the end of 2025, citing “toxic leadership.” The former leaders also said that four elders — Greg James, Travis Theobold, Steve Hilger and Scott Meyer — were pushed out for insufficient support of the senior pastor.

Johnson reportedly told one elder to stop “sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong.”

All information about the church’s elders and the elder board was subsequently removed from the Northview website.

New allegation

In January 2025, elders learned of a new allegation that they did consider serious enough to investigate. A woman in Scottsdale, Arizona, said that Johnson propositioned her for sex during marriage counseling.

Kerri Mosher, 55, told the RR it took her months to come forward.

“I didn’t want money. I didn’t want the attention. But it really was so sickening to me,” she said. “It was so creepy. And I was just shocked to learn the church didn’t have anything in place to prevent this.”

Mosher said her husband, Gregg, occasionally attended Northview when he was in Indiana. He liked Johnson’s preaching and the two would talk about business opportunities and financial investments.

When the Moshers had serious marriage problems, Johnson flew to Arizona to help.

According to Kerri Mosher, however, it seemed like he had other things in mind. When Johnson first arrived, she said, she showed him around the house, and he kept making comments that seemed sexual.

He walked into the master bathroom, she recalled, and said “You could have some fun in this shower.” Then he looked in her closet, picked up a pair of boots and commented “Oh you need to wear these.” The statements seemed suggestive, but Mosher shrugged it off.

“It’s just hard to believe that a pastor would be like that,” she told the RR. “Until you’re a part of it.”

She said that Johnson, however, kept pushing and insinuating they should have sex.

At one point he asked her if she’d really “never ever” cheated on her husband, she said. At another point, she remembers the megachurch pastor telling her, “You need to explore your sexual side. … You should be having the best enjoyment at this stage of your life.”

Mosher later told church leaders that “110% he wanted to do something physical that night.”

Law firm investigated

Northview elders hired an Indianapolis law firm that specializes in criminal defense, personal injury and family law to investigate Mosher’s allegations.

An attorney with the firm found that Mosher’s husband and daughter confirmed relevant parts of her story. Both said that Mosher immediately told them about her interaction with Johnson, and they’d never known her to make up stories.

Greg Mosher told the attorney that when his wife recounted what happened, she shook and started to cry.

When the attorney spoke to Johnson, however, he denied most of the allegations. He said he only brought up sex and cheating as a “pressure test,” which he described as a counseling technique.

The attorney said in his final report in September 2025 that Johnson’s account of events was “self serving” and lacked any corroborating evidence. He also advised the elders to remember that where there’s smoke, there is usually fire.

According to the elders’ statement this week, the “findings in the investigation were inconclusive.” In a statement emailed to RR, the elders said they “made the decision not to terminate CJ Johnson at that time based on the third-party report they received.”

‘Additional concerns’

Nine months later, executive pastors Kurt Brodbeck, Mike Polster and Jason Pongrantz met with the elders.

The three men brought up “additional concerns” about Johnson, the church’s statement said, and “the elders determined termination of his employment was warranted.”

The church declined to provide details about the additional concerns.

Current and former members alike were surprised by the sudden change in leadership.

“We recognize that this news may bring a range of emotions,” the elders wrote to the congregation. “Our commitment is to acknowledge the unhealthy culture that developed, learn from our past, support one another, and move forward together in a healthier direction.”

Mark Crull, the discipleship pastor at Northview since 2014, has been appointed interim lead pastor. His brother, Mike Crull, is operations pastor. 

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Mark Crull’s previous role at Northview. 

Daniel Silliman is senior reporter/editor at The Roys Report. He began his two decades in journalism covering crime in Atlanta and has since led major investigations into abuse and misconduct in Christian contexts. Daniel and his wife live in Johnson City, Tennessee.