Jim’s Philosophy of Care
A Humble Role in Healing
First and foremost, I realize that I am just a tool of the Great Physician, God. Without His healing intervention, everything I do would not work. Think about it: without His healing, I could never use “temporary,” or dissolving, sutures.
I make the cuts, but He is responsible for the healing, and He should get all the glory.
Medicine as a Dialogue
I also believe that the practice of medicine is a dialogue, not a monologue. It is an opportunity to discuss a problem and come up with a mutually agreeable solution. Part of my role in medicine is to teach about the disease process. This fits well with my personality, as every spiritual gift assessment I have taken places me in the “teacher” role.
I believe that a well-informed patient will better understand their condition and will be able to more accurately describe their symptoms.
Science, Art, and Individual Care
I believe that medical choices should be made with the best information possible. For the most part, we should rely on good, objective scientific studies, not on someone else’s personal experience or preferences. However, I also recognize that there is an art to medicine, and sometimes we must make decisions without the benefit of scientific studies. I will do my best to tell you when we are working from the “art of medicine” versus the “science of medicine.”
In medical practice, we are treating people—not numbers or statistics. Allowances must be made, because sometimes the best treatment for a disease is not the best treatment for a specific patient (we don’t try to win a battle at the expense of losing the war).
Above all, my goal is to listen well, care deeply, and walk with you toward healing—guided by faith, informed by science, and grounded in real conversation.
Jim’s Testimony
Personal Testimony of My Coming to Know Jesus as My Lord and Savior
This is the story of a miracle.
I grew up in a science-based world. My father was a Chemical Engineer, and our family's worldview/philosophy was that everything had a scientific explanation. My favorite subjects in school were math and science.
We didn’t have much use for religion. My father always worked very hard, putting in long hours. But Sunday was his day to sleep in! Because of that, we didn’t go to church. My mother had gone to church for a while when she was younger. When I was 6, and we had just moved to Texas, my mother did take as to church twice. I remember coloring a picture of the three Wise Men. One summer, my sister and I went to a week-long Vacation Bible School with our next-door neighbors. I don’t remember anything about what I heard, but God must have been working on me, as that pretty much summarizes my spiritual background.
Scientific enlightenment still ruled my life. I didn’t go to church, I didn’t have any friends who went to church regularly, and I didn’t have a Bible. I think we had a Bible in the house, but it was packed away in a box. I didn’t see a need for Jesus in my life.
So how did Jesus Christ find me?… That is the miracle.
In the late 1970’s, there was a TV show called “In Search of…”, narrated by Leonard Nimoy (AKA Dr. Spock). Not someone who I would call a great TV evangelist!
One episode of the show was In Search of Noah’s Ark. I always looked forward to that show, and I knew in my heart that the ending would be clear. Science would prove the Bible to be false; the story was just a fable, didn’t happen, couldn’t have happened.
But to my surprise, the conclusion was just the opposite. After careful research and scientific study, it was determined that it was possible, and even probable, that the story was true and could have happened exactly as described in the Bible.
Wow! This turned my whole worldview philosophy upside down. If this story were true, what else in the Bible was true- or could it ALL be true? So, one day I asked Jesus to come into my life and show me who he was. (I didn’t use words like “Lord” and “Savior” at that time, but looking back, I know that was the moment I became His). So, after I said that prayer, you know what happened? NOTHING. Remember, I didn’t have any Christian friends, didn’t go to church, and didn’t have a Bible. I still thought religion was pretty fake and hypocritical.
BUT GOD was gradually working on me and protecting me from my own selfish pursuits. He gradually brought people into my life to help me understand the great sacrifice of His son. Through the godly example of my wife, Cynthia, Sunday school and Bible study, I began to understand the role of Jesus Christ as Lord, Savior, and Protector in my life. I repented and accepted His gift of salvation by faith (not by scientific proof!).
His calling me through a secular TV show, my turning to accept him, His putting a hedge of protection around my life until the time was right, and bringing Cynthia into my life are all true miracles.
