In a world where people have thousands of social media friends that they've never actually met. I wonder at what point does someone become a friend. Like most of us I have people in my life that I can 100% say are friends. I've also got a lot of acquaintances that I know well, but probably aren't friends.
I've been wondering about this because someone I consider a friend, even though we never spent a large amount of time together, is on his death bed. Regardless of what category he falls into, the time I spent with his was very important to me.
I'm not writing an obituary, or an exhaustive biography, he's already got one of those. John was born to sharecroppers and only had a 3rd grade education. He served his country in Korea during the Korean War, and became involved in the civil rights movement in the '60s due to his friendship with Medgar Evers. He subsequently was involved in the early days of Habitat for Humanity, and ended up founding on organization in Jackson that was involved in multiple areas of serving his community. One of his passions as he aged was to invest time and energy in young men in Jackson, his desire to raise up men who would be strong enough to avoid the temptations around them was impressive.
I was blessed to spend an evening with him around our dinner table listening to him tell stories about his life, and watching my kids learn about history from someone who was there. We were all struck by how much he sounded like my dad, and how many similarities they had. A couple of weeks later I had the opportunity to host him at our local Habitat for Humanity chapter. Having the time in the car with him was amazing as was his presentation.
Imagine my surprise when one of my favorite bands released a song about Dr Perkins, it's a banger.
As we await news of his passing, I cannot help but think that Dr Perkins will be blessed to hear "Well done, my good and faithful servant" soon. He was a wonderful man, and I wish him and his family all the best.
8 comments:
Assuming this is Dr John Perkins, the author of Let Justice Roll Down, I am sorry to hear of this. His words in that book were formative for me in the 1980s. What a privilege for you to have known him and ate dinner with him.
May God be with him and his loved ones in these times.
Yes, he is/was an amazing person.
I think one of your comments accidentally got deleted. I apologize.
Nope, not me (I didn't post a second comment... at least not on purpose). But thanks.
I think that it's pretty impressive in our world today when we can have someone like this who is a uniter and generally fairly beloved by all who know them, rather left or right or other. Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Jimmy Carter, even Obama, to a lesser degree.
Perkins is quite a writer/speaker/philosopher. I'm going to take this chance to read more of his books. Welcoming Justice and Mobilizing for the Common Good both sound great and timely. Have you read either?
It might have been a glitch on my phone display or something. While there are exceptions, and while I can clear it upfront about when I’m going to make one of those acceptance, it’s important to me that I do what I have told you that I will do. Therefore, when I do accidentally delete a comment from anyone who is allowed to comment here, It’s important that I acknowledge the mistake and the comment or the chance to re comment.
I’ve read several of his books, but don’t recall offhand which ones.
Sorry to hear of your friend. Sounds like a good and faithful servant.
Thanks.
I just read the post at the cesspool on this, and I just want to point out that I'm not trying to make Dr Perkins into some social or political talisman. I am quite sure that we differed on many issues. Yet despite that we were able to sit together around a dinner table or in my car and enjoy each other's company and (hopefully) become friends. This isn't about making a political or social point, it's about grieving the coming loss of a wonderful human being.
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