You would'nt know me, but I'd just learned of John's
passing and wanted to share with you my little story from one who admired him.
I apologize in advance for the long preface, but I'm
not sure I can condense this any better.
In 1975, having been raised Roman Catholic, I'd
just gotten saved at age 15 when I was invited to a High School Bible
study by a friend of mine that was held at David & Margie Mortons
home in their "upper room" here in Yorba Linda. (coincidentally my wife and four son's have
lived just west on that same street as the Mortons since 91)
It was there at the Mortons home that I first
met Bill Pfeifer who would latter become my dear friend. Bill then was
the youth leader of the group and he proceeded to turn the evening
over to John for sharing and teaching.
I was instantly struck by John's to the point
style and honesty, not to mention his wisdom, and the relevancy of his teaching
that night --after all, the topic of sex
is timeless and most pertinent to a group of young hormonal teenagers and an
odd kid like me who quickly developed an
insatiable appetite for learning about God and His book and the
practical wisdom around personal responsibility and respect toward the way
God made sex to be enjoyed in marriage and not outside of it. What John shared
that night was quite a departure from my well formed Catholic experience I can
tell you. It made an indelible impression on me as if he were sitting down
with his own kids in this big den, not parsing words ... Looking back on it I
somehow knew even then, that he was, as he would continue to be, a
significant spiritual father to many .
Fast forward to around 1992 and John came in one
day into my Dad's Auto Wrecking yard where I had
been working to find some parts for his car. A Cadillac as I recall
(?) Albeit 17 years had gone by, I immediately recognized him and jumped
out from behind the counter beaming with excitement to see him. Even as I
recount the story now its a little puzzling that I even lit up that way as
though I seen an off camara celebrity. He hadn't remembered me, but I
began to recount that night in the "upper room" and the impact his
sharing had on me. He became so animated and excited in turn, that it must have
been a good hour or more that we exchanged names and updates of people we both
knew. I went on to gush how deeply appreciative I was that God had
provided me a YL Friends connection that would latter lead to my
involvement and affection toward my pastor and mentor, John Wimber and the
impact he continued to have on my life and development as a young man and
Christian.
It was clear that my report greatly pleased him
as he too spoke highly and lovingly of his all the relationships he'd
cultivated through the years particularly with John &
Carol and those who were leaders and elders in The Vineyard as they
were at Friends.
For some reason, I had this weird need
I guess to let him know that I'd perceived him as
a true spiritual father at age 32 as I did at
15. There evidently was such a connection, that
John reached out to me, as fathers often do, and asked me if I would like
to began to meet with him at Lakeview
Cafe over coffee and just talk about the Lords perfect plan
for life and marriage--what works and what fails. I have never
forgotten those months he'd invested in me. True to form, John was
direct yet gentle, with little or no pretense the best I could tell.
During that time he'd stress to me the imperative of developing Godly
integrity and character and how vital it was to maintain the sanctity of
marriage and communicated all that in terms that I could
relate too. He even gave me his own syllabus and curriculum
that he and Virginia had put together ---an "owners
manual" as it were on marriage and family that I still have packed
away somewhere and really need to go back and review.
Finally, let me conclude with this as
I think it wonderfully fits. I recently heard another leader that I admire
say
The legacy of a spiritual father is not in his gifting, his significance, his annoiting, or in his acheivement, but in the sons and daughters that he leaves behind.
As I see it, in the short and very abbreviated
way that John intersected in my life and reading through many of
the testimonials posted, John Parker was a living epistle and a true
spiritual father that touched and influenced many more far reaching beyond
those in the community and in the Church he both served and loved.
I write to you,
fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you,
young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear
children, because you have known the Father. 1 John 2:13
Thank you. Blessings Upon Blessings.
