John recently graduated from CVCA and is about to head off to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. For the last two years, John was in my CVCA Connections group (a small group of men who met every Thursday for thirty-five minutes). John is a fantastic young man; he is funny, and talented in music, and truly wants to follow Jesus. He is pretty remarkable in my eyes. I am honored that, for whatever reason, John looks up to me and admirs me. I am at a loss as to why, but after thinking long about it, I decided to take it as a gift, and I appreciate it.

John’s father, also named John, e-mailed me last week and asked if I would join him and John at a dinner to wish John well as he went off to college. John, Sr., was assembling many of the men who were strong influences on John, Jr., and wanted to thank them with a meal, and to have us give John parting advice and a favorite Bible verse or two. I was happy to accept.

The meal was at a local diner, Eddie’s Deli and Diner, and was held last Thursday. This was a restaurant that John and his friends and several teachers would frequent on occasional Thursdays, when it was “wing night” – when you could get unlimited wings as well as soup, rolls, potato, and dessert. It’s quite a deal, and the long meal encourages fellowship. In all, there were about twelve of us. Most of the men present were CVCA faculty, but there were a couple of non-CVCA men there as well. John’s best friend and future roommate, Ben, was also there.

We put in our orders, and then John, Sr., had us go around one at a time to encourage John. We told him something we liked or admired about him, and shared a Bible verse, and gave him some advice. John, Sr., wrote everything down for John in a book for his edification when he was at college. People talked about John’s willingness to serve, and his faithfulness to his friends, and his willingness to reach out to people. Good things were said. I told John that he was a friend, and I hated to see him go. I told him that when things get rough or I get confused, I always go back to Peter’s asking Jesus, “Lord, you have the words of life. Where else shall we go?” For advice, I reminded John that  I had given him three pages of bullet points of life lessons in our last meeting in Connections.

I think the meal was good for John, but it was also good for us. There were a lot of good men at that table, and I enjoyed being there. I will miss John, but I am excited to see what he will do as he moves ahead. He has many gifts, and he is eager to serve God. That is a magical combination.