Believing in God
James talks about how he came to believe in God and why it's perfectly acceptable for a physics professor from Cal to do the same.

Favorite Bible Scriptures
Reading and memorizing verses is just the beginning.  Interpreting, understanding, and living God's word is the end game.

Role Models
The child of a cook and a seamstress, James talks about finding role models, learning how to take risks, and gaining the confidence to do both little and big things in the world that awaited him beyond the walls of San Francisco's Chinatown.

Dealing with Disappointment
Experience, mindfulness, and an intentional effort to preserve your emotional batteries can help you navigate rough waters with some finesse.  

Jesus
Jesus was both fully human and fully divine.  To accept Jesus as Lord and Savior is to acknowledge that God has rightful authority over our lives.  

Eternal Life & Heaven
Eternal life begins when we enter into a relationship with God and does not end when we die.  Heaven is where God is.

Greatness Redefined
Being a Christian is not about you and what you can accomplish for yourself.  It's about how you allow God to use you to enrich and bless the lives of others.

Suffering
For no one is life free of pain and suffering.  In the midst of that suffering we have the opportunity to find God.

Predeterminism & Free Will
Man inserts his intention into the cause and effect of nature.  On a grander scale lives the will of God. 

Other Faiths
After fulfilling the great commandment to share their faith, can Christians accept and affirm people of other faiths who believe that they too have access to the Divine?

Good People
Being a Christian is not primarily about being a "good person."  God yearns to be in relationship with all people (including "good people") who do not know Him.

Zen Buddhism and Paul Tillich:  A comparison of their views on man's predicament and the means of its resolution.
Click here for James' doctoral dissertation submitted to the Department of Christian Theology at the Pacific School of Religion in 1962.

Videos by grandson Evan Lessler
James 80th Birthday 
Greatness Redefined

Reflections on James' life from friends and family

"Days of Grace"
James' farewell message

Want to be more like James?
1.  When you wake up in the morning, think first of God and say to yourself,  "I am grateful for meaningful work and the strength to do it." 
2.  Ask yourself, "How can God use me to make someone's day?"
3.  On a weekly basis, choose 2-3 people who need to hear from you and reach out to connect with them.