Author Information

Jim Willis

Jim Willis, a minister with the United Church of Christ, serves as adjunct professor of comparative religion and cross-cultural studies at Mt. Wachusett Community College. He also finds the time to be a part-time carpenter, writer, and long-distance bicycle rider.

He recorded and produced two albums of gospel music while serving as writer, producer, and host of the Through the Bible series, a daily drive-time radio program. In Journey Home: The Inner Life of a Long-Distance Bicycle Rider, published in 2000, he reflects on his travels across the country.

After graduating from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, during the 1960s, Willis was simultaneously a high school music teacher, a symphony trombonist, a jazz musician, and a choral conductor. He became an ordained minister in 1972 and earned his master's degree in theology from Andover Newton Theological School.