"Grace reached where striving could not.”

- Joshua J.

My name is Joshua “JJ” Johnson. I am a newly baptized son of our Heavenly Father, a husband, a father, and the Founder & COO of Black Flag International, an elite protection company specializing in executive and political protection, high-value transport, extractions, and training.

But it didn’t start that way.

I am the product of a “rehab romance.” Both of my parents struggled with substance abuse, and that pattern ran deep through my family. I started young, smoking, stealing cars, doing drugs, drinking, skipping school. I barely made it through. I was suspended often and constantly surrounded myself with the wrong people. I attended youth groups here and there, but I never surrendered. I walked my own path and I assure you it was not God’s.

As a young adult, I worked in the restaurant industry, waiting tables and bartending, which fed my lifestyle. Eventually, I developed an opiate addiction. My life became unmanageable. I couldn’t hold a job. I isolated myself and became a liability to everyone around me.

I thought I hit rock bottom.

So I joined the Army, believing it would fix me. It didn’t. I carried the same chaos with me. I made poor decisions, went against authority, and lived recklessly. I married my daughter’s mother, got stationed in Alaska, and continued drinking heavily, getting into trouble with both law enforcement and my unit.

When my contract ended, I came back to Florida without purpose, without direction, and without the brotherhood I once had. I felt lost, disrespected, and broken. My drinking escalated, and my marriage ended in divorce.

That’s when I knew I needed help.

I checked myself into a state-run rehab. After completing it, I moved into sober living, got a job, and joined AA. I thought I had fixed everything.

I hadn’t.

I started working at a high-end rehab center and quickly moved into leadership. At the same time, I was bouncing at nightclubs on weekends, living two completely different lives. During the week, I helped people heal. On the weekends, I caused chaos, fighting, feeding my ego, and chasing that sense of brotherhood.

I traded substances for other addictions, work, the gym, money, women, anything to fill the emptiness inside me. A void only God could fill.

Because of my reputation for violence and control, I was introduced to the protection industry. I accepted the opportunity and began taking contracts. That turned into a full-time career, traveling the country and the world in high-level security roles.

During that time, I married my wife, Mariana, but I neglected her. I neglected my responsibilities. I chased money, freedom, and the road.

I worked on high-level protection details, including traveling the country during President Trump’s re-election campaign. I later served as a tribal police officer in upstate New York. I then returned to Florida and led the protection teams for Governor DeSantis for several years.

From the outside, it looked like success.

Inside, I was falling apart.

My marriage was failing. I was unfaithful. I was reckless with money. I avoided every problem at home by taking another contract, another assignment, another escape. I even deployed as part of a Quick Response Force in Indianapolis, running from accountability.

Eventually, I had nowhere left to run.

When I came home, I was defeated. My marriage was on the brink. We started counseling. I started therapy. I was even put on antidepressants because I couldn’t function in my own home. I couldn’t “turn off the switch.” I was irritable, disconnected, and a liability to the people I was supposed to love most.

At that point, I decided to start my own company. I thought building something of my own would fix it. But I was still doing things my way, on my timeline, trying to force a five-year plan into months.

One night, unable to sleep, I saw a Bible sitting on a shelf in my man cave.

I picked it up…and I broke.

I fell to my face and begged God to save me from myself.

I started reading.

What I didn’t know was that my wife was in the other room doing the exact same thing.

After a few weeks, we talked about finding a church. We tried several places, nothing felt right. Then someone recommended Reveal Fellowship.

The moment we pulled into the parking lot, I felt it.

When I walked in, I was greeted by people who had a joy I didn’t understand, but I wanted. I sat down and knew…this was it. This was the beginning of something different.

After service, Pastor Michael walked up to me and said, “Nice to meet you, JJ.”

He knew my name.

I never asked how and I don’t need to.

We committed to 777 that week. It changed everything. Shortly after, my wife and I were baptized together.

And from that moment on, everything began to shift.

Not overnight. But powerfully.

God transformed my heart, my marriage, my leadership, and my purpose. He taught me how to live with discipline, how to lead with humility, how to serve my family, and how to finally turn off that switch when I come home.

Today, by His grace, I am no longer a liability.

I am a husband present in my home.

A father engaged with his children.

A leader who serves his team.

A man walking with God.

I am incredibly grateful for a second chance and for Reveal Fellowship being part of that transformation.

All glory to Him.