Divine Nobodies: Shedding Religion to Find God

Welcome to Jim Palmer's world! Putting a troubled childhood behind him, Palmer earned a Masters of Divinity degree and was well on his way to becoming a top evangelical Christian leader. But when a series of setbacks left him heartbroken and wondering just exactly where God was, a string of chance encounters with ordinary folks changed almost everything Palmer thought he knew about God.

Jim Palmer founded and currently leads the Pilgrimage Project, an emerging church in Nashville, Tennessee. His background includes inner-city service and international human rights work. He has an M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He and his wife, Pam, live in Nashville, Tennessee, with their daughter, Jessica.

    Tell us a little about yourself.  Four-way stops stress me out. Would like to visit every National Park. Enjoy listening to the Jim Rome sports radio show. An obsessive compulsive person who is too self-conscious and struggles with depression. Was deeply impacted by McLaren's "A New Kind of Christian" trilogy. Consistently lose to my seven-year-old daughter in Sorry and UNO. Will probably die from artificial sweetner. Tried yoga once and hurt myself. Can't let go of the Braves losing the '99 World Series to the Yankees. Always 10- 15 pounds overweight regardless of how much I workout. Traveled to India, Thailand and Africa. My favorite season is Winter. A conversationalist who never finds a boring subject or topic. We did our honeymoon in Cape Cod in December. Was a Bulls fanatic during the MJ era. Admire people who are gifted artistically. Did my undergrad at ETSU and MDiv at TEDS. Hate roller coasters, ferris wheels and things that spin fast. Wish more people knew about the IJM (ijm.org). Big mistake I've made is confusing religion/"church" with God. Enjoy people watching in malls and airports. I buy three or four different kinds of cereal and mix them all together. Love the public library. I have a MySpace blog. I'm still emerging. Love Vinny's pizza and deceive myself by eating "low fat" ice cream. I once tried giving up coffee. Enjoy knowing and hanging out with neighbors. Hope to meet Tom some day. I have Touretts. I'm a sucker for tear-jerker movies and seem to be becoming a more emotional person in general. I witnessed forced child prostitution in South Asia and made a promise never to forget. Don't like being the center of attention. I have a dog named Jack.

    What was your motivation behind this project?  For all those hoping there's more to God and Christianity than what they've heard or experienced, each chapter of Divine Nobodies gives the reader permission and freedom to discover it for themselves.

    What do you hope folks will gain from this project?  Maybe you're someone who has sat in church for years and silently thought to yourself, "There's got to be more to God than this." Or maybe you are someone highly interested in spiritual things but have always thought of Christianity as legalism or a glorified behavior modification program. Or maybe you are so disillusioned with organized religion that you are considering chucking God and faith altogether. That was me until God sent some unsuspecting nobodies across my path to awaken me to the truth.

    Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists?  Some of my favorite authors are: Wendell Berry, Brian McLaren, Thomas Merton, Anne Rice, Anne Lamott, Ted Dekker, Lauren Winner, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Brennan Manning, Henri Nouwen, Ernest Hemingway, Buchi Emecheta, Thomas Friedman, Stephen King, Davis Bunn, Charles Martin, Walter Brueggemann, Fredrick Buechner, Angela Hunt, Colleen Coble, Walker Percy, Flannery O'Connor.

    Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know:  I am the founder of the Pilgrimage Project, an initiative encouraging the freedom to imagine, dialogue, live, and express new possiblilities for being an authentic Christian. My background includes inner-city service and international human rights work. I have an M.Div. from Trinity Divinity School in Chicago. My wife, Pam, and daughter, Jessica, and myself live in Nashville. Through writing, blogging, speaking, conversation and friendship I dialogue with others about knowing God and spirituality. I can be contacted at www.divinenobodies.com

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