I had a very interesting lunch Thursday.

On Monday night, I got a call from a man named John Monk. John is a member of First Methodist and a member of the "SPR." Within the Methodist church, StaffParishRelations is the group that hires and fires non-pastoral staff. A couple of years ago, John Monk is one of the men who hired me.

He attends the traditional service and from what I understand, he was not a big fan of contemporary worship when I got here. However, over the past couple of years he's been very supportive and encouraging.

About five or six months ago, the SPR decided to create mentors for the staff. A member of the SPR would be assigned to a staff member - for fellowship, accountability, all that mentorish stuff. So, John Monk became my SPR-Mentor.

He's been out of town most of the summer, but called to invite me to lunch. He picked me up at the courthouse in a GIGANTIC suv. So we pull out and he asks me where I want to go. I respond with my usual comment when I'm being taken to lunch..

"You're the driver."

So he suggests "The Grill" at Crown Colony.

Crown Colony. Me, eating at Crown Colony. That just seems wrong doesn't it.

You know, you think about the specifics of this lunch - the massive age gap between John Monk and myself, our financial "differences," the size and dependability of the cars we drive and the style of worship we prefer - and it would seem that the sum of these parts would create a lunch that was a complete nightmare.

But you know what - I loved it. I had an amazing time talking to this man who was so different than me. All of the know-it-alls are ready to post...."see, Todd, you and John weren't really all that different." That's a lie. We're totally different.

The reason why I liked this lunch is that a guy who is SO completely different than me took the time and made the effort to be a positive influence in my life. That impresses me, because for all my hip and trendy "knowledge" about community and authenticity, I would never have dreamed of inviting John Monk out to lunch.

He impressed me because he called me.