I remember the first time I met John Christiansen, I was impressed by his welcoming presence. He seemed genuinely interested in me, and he asked thoughtful, probing questions. His gaze, though kind and friendly, was also penetrating. 

As I traveled to his memorial this week, I felt a twinge of regret that I hadn’t had the opportunity to include John in The Ancestor Initiative. When I first conceived of the project, I made a list of those people in my life that I’d most like to help document their life wisdom. John’s name was on top of that list.

Though I hadn’t seen him in nearly two decades since he retired as a pastor, I knew he had precious wisdom to pass on to future generations.

John pastored the church I attended in the 80s when I lived in Orlando. He was among the wisest and Christ-like individuals I have known. 

John passed away this recent New Year’s Eve, surrounded by his wife of 58 years, his children, and grandchildren. He had endured several years of progressive dementia in the same manner he lived his life—graciously and always caring for others. 

Over the past week, since I learned of John’s passing, I thought back over many wonderful conversations we shared. I remember his disarming conversational style as a teacher. I wouldn’t call him a preacher, but his thoughtful messages were always relevant and relatable. 

I couldn’t remember any specific insight or idea that he imparted to me, yet I’m left with such a profound sense of his importance in my life. He was an example of unshakable faith without any pretense or ego. John personifies the power of faith and wisdom as an embodied presence.

During John’s celebration of life, I realized that he had faithfully transmitted his wise spirit to his family. As his daughter, two sons, and three of his grandchildren shared what they had learned from him, each displayed that same embodied presence that John possessed. He had already fulfilled the promise of The Ancestor Initiative by passing on his wisdom to his heirs.

Yet sitting there among hundreds of people whose lives John had touched, I recognized something else: his wisdom had rippled far beyond his immediate family. I was living proof of it, inspired by a man I hadn’t seen in twenty years but whose influence remained undeniable. How many others in those pews carried John’s wisdom into their own families, their communities, their work?