there are actually some ways to downgrade from 1.0 to 1.8.1, so he may be able to join before the update.
also; hey druid, if you end up needing food while you start up on the server(once you join, either by downgrading, or waiting until the server updates) I have a melon farm in a cave near spawn on this server(and others can use it if they need extra melon, just dont forget to re-hoe the area beneath the melons after you pick them)