His first marriage ended shortly thereafter and he took custody of his son. His ex-wife got custo-dy of his two daughters. He knew of Jesus, but says he didn’t really know Jesus, until tragedy struck.
Jim had met his current wife Karen, who helped him get past his foul ball stage. They were starting their relationship, and not yet married, when Jim’s son Jonas died in a tragic playground accident. Jonas was only nine years old and it broke Jim’s heart to lose his son.
Jim remembers neighbors and friends praying for him and Karen in the days after Jonas’s death. They attended a program put on by the Trinity Broadcasting Network in San Jose and knew then they were to accept Jesus. The story of the death of King David’s son provided Jim with comfort through that time. Jim knew that God puts everything in our lives for a reason and though he was devastated, the also found comfort in Christ that he would see and be with Jo-nas, his parents, and other family again.
Like David, Jim found peace about the death of his child, a peace which allowed him to praise and worship God at the time of his greatest loss.
Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me. (2 Samuel 12:22)
And so it began that Jim and Karen started attending a local church in the mid-1980s. They had three boys, Daniel, Stephen and Joseph, and Jim was active in the church, serving as an Asso-ciate Pastor. They attended there for several years, but things at the church changed. Jim re-signed as an associate pastor, and they briefly considered attending a new church over the hill, but heard about Mariners Community Church and its “seeker friendly” format. Jim also liked that they had a really good youth group. By now, his boys were in middle school and knew many of the kids attending Mariners’ youth programs. They participated in lots of activities and he saw them flourish. Jim auditioned for the worship team.
Jim and Karen’s decision to attend Mariners was reinforced by the worship team and a Bible-centered program — Jim says it just seemed like the right fit from the very beginning.
Throughout his life, Jim has focused on Christ, and God has helped him in his marriage, always maintaining his faith in Christ and keeping things in the proper perspective. He has never thought of leaving Mariners because church here is comfortable and he considers it home for himself and his family.
His oldest boys are now grown and have married or moved from the coast. His youngest is a sound engineer, following in his dad’s musical footsteps. Jim continues to serve on the worship team and remembers God always has a reason for everything, however paradoxical it might seem at the time.
