About the Author John is currently an elder emeritus and retired church pastor. He was born in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1943. He lived there during his early years. He graduated from Dreher High School in Columbia in June of 1962. He is a veteran, having served three years in the military, attaining the rank of a specialist fifth class, and served one tour in Quin Yon, Vietnam. He holds a master of pastoral studies from Grace Communion Seminary, a bachelor of arts in Bible from Southern Methodist College, and a bachelor of science in business administration from the University of South Carolina. In addition to being a pastor, he has been an office manager for a manufacturing firm producing plastic pipe, a home-office accountant for a large construction firm, and retired in his capacity as a materials planner from Rockwell Automation that produced reducers for many industries worldwide.