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Jim Wallis Biography
Jim Wallis is an American Christian writer and political activist. He is popularly known as the founder and editor of Sojourners magazine and as the founder of the Washington, D.C.-based Christian community.
Jim Wallis Age
He was born James E. Wallis Jr. on June 4, 1948. He was born in Detroit, Michigan.
Jim Wallis Family
Wallis is the son of Phyllis Morrell and James E. Wallis.
Jim Wallis Wife
Jim is married to Joy Carroll, who was one of the first female priests in the Church of England and upon whom the title character in the BBC sitcom The Vicar of Dibley was partially based.
Jim Wallis Children
He has two sons.
Jim Wallis Educational Background
He graduated from Michigan State University and attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Illinois, where he joined with other young seminarians in establishing the community that eventually became Sojourners.
Jim Wallis Quotes
“Let nobody give you the impression that the problem of racial injustice will work itself out. Let nobody give you the impression that only time will solve the problem. That is a myth, and it is a myth because time is neutral. It can be used either constructively or destructively. And I’m absolutely convinced that the people of ill will in our nation—the extreme rightists—the forces committed to negative ends—have used time much more effectively than the people of good will. It may well be that we will have to repent in this generation, not merely for the vitriolic works and violent actions of the bad people who bomb a church in Birmingham, Alabama, or shoot down a civil rights worker in Selma, but for the appalling silence and indifference of the good people who sit around and say, “Wait on time.” Somewhere we must come to see that human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and the persistent work of dedicated individuals. Without this hard work, time becomes an ally of the primitive forces of social stagnation. So we must help time and realize that the time is always right to do right.”
“The former South African archbishop Desmond Tutu used to famously say, “We are prisoners of hope.” Such a statement might be taken as merely rhetorical or even eccentric if you hadn’t seen Bishop Tutu stare down the notorious South African Security Police when they broke into the Cathedral of St. George’s during his sermon at an ecumenical service. I was there and have preached about the dramatic story of his response more times than I can count. The incident taught me more about the power of hope than any other moment of my life. Desmond Tutu stopped preaching and just looked at the intruders as they lined the walls of his cathedral, wielding writing pads and tape recorders to record whatever he said and thereby threatening him with consequences for any bold prophetic utterances. They had already arrested Tutu and other church leaders just a few weeks before and kept them in jail for several days to make both a statement and a point: Religious leaders who take on leadership roles in the struggle against apartheid will be treated like any other opponents of the Pretoria regime. After meeting their eyes with his in a steely gaze, the church leader acknowledged their power (“You are powerful, very powerful”) but reminded them that he served a higher power greater than their political authority (“But I serve a God who cannot be mocked!”). Then, in the most extraordinary challenge to political tyranny I have ever witnessed, Archbishop Desmond Tutu told the representatives of South African apartheid, “Since you have already lost, I invite you today to come and join the winning side!” He said it with a smile on his face and enticing warmth in his invitation, but with a clarity and a boldness that took everyone’s breath away. The congregation’s response was electric. The crowd was literally transformed by the bishop’s challenge to power. From a cowering fear of the heavily armed security forces that surrounded the cathedral and greatly outnumbered the band of worshipers, we literally leaped to our feet, shouted the praises of God and began…dancing. (What is it about dancing that enacts and embodies the spirit of hope?) We danced out of the cathedral to meet the awaiting police and military forces of apartheid who hardly expected a confrontation with dancing worshipers. Not knowing what else to do, they backed up to provide the space for the people of faith to dance for freedom in the streets of South Africa.”
“Couldn’t both pro-life and pro-choice political leaders agree to common ground actions that would actually reduce the abortion rate, rather than continue to use abortion mostly as a political symbol?”
“Jesus proclaimed, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matt. 5:9). Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us, “True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.”46”
“No historic presidential election, no athlete or entertainer’s success, no silent tolerance of one another is enough to create the truth and reconciliation needed to eliminate racial inequality or the presumption of guilt. We’re going to have to collectively acknowledge our failures at dealing with racial bias. People of faith are going to have to raise their voices and take action. Reading this extraordinary new work by Jim Wallis is a very good place to start.”
Jim Wallis Podcast
Visit Sojo.net to listen to all of Jim’s podcasts.
Jim Wallis Books
Agenda for Biblical People, Harper & Row (1976) ISBN 978-0-06-069236-0.
The Call to Conversion, Harper & Row (1981) ISBN 978-0-06-069242-1, HarperCollins (Rev. ed., 2005) ISBN 978-0-06-084237-6.
The New Radical, Lion Books (1983)
Waging Peace: A Handbook for the Struggle to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (editor), Harper & Row (1982) ISBN 978-0-06-069240-7.
The Soul of Politics: A practical and prophetic vision of change, Fount/HarperCollins (1994) ISBN 978-0-15-600328-5, Tandem Library ISBN 978-1-4177-0619-8.
Who Speaks for God? A New Politics of Compassion, Community and Civility, Delacorte (1996) ISBN 978-0-385-31690-3, Random House (1997) ISBN 978-0-385-31693-4
Faith Works: Lessons from the Life of an Activist Preacher, Random House (2000) ISBN 978-1-879290-23-5 (Rev. ed. with new subtitle: How to Live
Your Beliefs and Ignite Positive Social Change, 2005)
God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It HarperOne (2005) ISBN 978-0-06-055828-4.
Living God’s Politics: A Guide to Putting Your Faith into Action HarperOne (2006) ISBN 978-0-06-111841-8
The Great Awakening: Reviving Faith and Politics in a Post-Religious Right America HarperOne (2008) ISBN 978-0-06-055829-1.
Rediscovering Values: On Main Street, Wall Street, and Your Street, Howard Books (2010) ISBN 978-1-4391-8312-0.
On God’s Side: What Religion Forgets and Politics Hasn’t Learned (2013)
America’s Original Sin (2015)
Jim Wallis Net Worth
Wallis has an income of $200,000 a year. His net worth is still under review.