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Joe & Deb James

No Excuses: A Spirit of Servanthood

They could draw on any number of excuses. High-stress vocations. Busy family. Two kids in college. Bills. Aging father. Not enough cash in the wallet.

But Deb and Joe James are not people of excuses. They’re people of faith, of response-ability, of priorities. From the very earliest days of their life together, they have intentionally chosen a lifestyle of stewardship. In a counseling session before they married, a pastor encouraged them to “give back, because of all that God has given us,” says Deb. They took those words to heart — and found deep gratitude. “Each and every day, I feel so blessed.”

Joe’s backyard hobby is square-foot gardening. It’s a way to grow more vegetables in less space. He tends the soil, plants the seeds, minds the water and nutrients. The tender care is much like his understanding of life with God. Everything we have is a gift of God. “It’s loaned to us and we’re not to take advantage of it,” he says. “We have to take care of it. We’re caretakers of the space” that we inhabit.

Deb and Joe craft a life grounded in giving — of their time, their abilities, and their financial resources.

In their daily work with the Department of Correctional Services (Joe as a probation and parole officer, Deb as a counselor in a residential corrections facility), they see it all. Clients have committed violent crimes, have made big mistakes to support substance abuse habits.

“When you work with disadvantaged youth and adults, you don’t take anything for granted,” reflects Deb. “Often they don’t have the social skills to start and carry on a conversation. They don’t know how to ask for help. They need someone to listen to them.”

With such intense daily work, the James clan (including Shawn, 23; Corey, 19; and Tyler, 15) could tally plenty of excuses for focusing on themselves. But that’s not their way. When Shawn was months old in an infant-seat, he perched on a table while his mom monitored a church blood drive.

“We try to explain to the boys why it’s important to serve,” says Joe. They’ve dished up meals at the community free kitchen and delivered cookies at Christmastime. They help at church. Theirs is a spirit of servanthood as “pilgrims on a journey… here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load.” [from a hymn]

Friends who don’t go to church ask them, “Why do you do all that?” Responds Deb, “Well, we really enjoy it. The best thing is to go to church every Sunday. If we miss, the whole family routine is off. It helps us remember what is really important.”

It’s all about modeling a life of Christian stewardship. In Joe’s childhood, faith was more of an “in-home schooling” affair with a Baptist dad and Catholic mom who never found a church to attend regularly. But dad read the Bible in their rural home, mom modeled generosity, and they had plenty of family conversations about the biblical life. For Deb, home life intertwined with a Lutheran church right across the street in suburban Chicago. “Mom was a wonderful role model. She instilled in me not just to be a member but to practice the faith.”

Joe and Deb are givers. “We have a zillion reasons to give less. Financially, we have two kids in college,” says Deb of their modest life. “But every year, we count our many blessings. We believe strongly that God provides. We don’t want to cut the church out of our thankfulness.” If tough times come — and they do — they remember that “God has given us talents. We’ll be resourceful and get through it.”

When the pledge card for St. Paul Daily Ministry arrives in the mail each early November, it makes for “an active family conversation,” says Joe. What will they plan to give in the coming year? “Excuses come up. But the conversation works its way to understanding what giving back means.”

Adds Deb: “We struggle with ‘can we do it?’ We look at our budget and sometimes things we think we need, we really don’t. We pray about it. We look back on the last year, all the ways we’ve been blessed, and it gives us optimism to continue growing our pledge.”

The James boys know that giving is a family priority. They see the weekly envelope that’s dropped into the offering plate, and the amount written on it. “We want them to understand how important this is for us as a family,” explains Deb. “The kids know what we give every week and what a sacrifice that is,” says Joe.

Deb and Joe James set an example of Christ-centered living for their sons and their clients. They know God is the source of all that they have. They sense the intimate connection between faith and finances. And so they give back. No excuses.

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"Sacred means many things to many people. But to me personally it means that which addresses and makes me conscious of my Creator." ~John Nelson