Jim died unexpectedly on May 2, 2020 followed by his wife, Charlene, only 2 months later. He had just recently sold his business and retired at last with plans to spend his time and passion on the ministry he had started 5 years before called "Understand God's Will". Jim's friend and fellow board member, Ron Meyer, carried the torch for the next 3 years and did amazing things to build on Jim's and the Lord's work. Through Ron's direction and loving dedication, more translations were completed and many many more books were printed and distributed throughout the world through Understand God's Will's incredible partners. For various reasons, the Understand God's Will nonprofit organization was closed at the end of 2023. Now the torch has been given to each one of you to carry forth the Word of Jesus Christ and make disciples of all nations. You are free to download Jim's free book and print and distribute it freely as you are led, as long as you adhere to one simple requirement underlined here in this page.
A Tribute to Our Beloved Jim
Jim's daughter, Meredith, wrote the following tribute to her father which reflects the wonderful person that he was while he was here among us.
"We can still hear his laugh and feel his genuine, warm presence. And see his eyebrows raise, forehead crinkle and let out a belly laugh when it was *really* funny. And feel his incredibly tight hugs because he loved to love. It doesn’t feel real, and it won’t for a very long time. There should’ve been more time. And memories. He was so excited to be retired so he could travel with Mom. And spend more time with his girls. His smile, laugh, and humble, jolly nature will forever be in all of our hearts.
He was simple yet complicated. Jolly yet stoic. Positive yet pragmatic. Hardworking yet easy going. Vibrant yet grounded. Stubborn yet understanding. Incredibly faith-filled. He lit up every room he walked into. He was humble and incredibly genuine. He was the king of giving nicknames. He valued his Woodridge Church family and greeted everyone at the door with a huge smile every Sunday. He wrote a book! It has changed hundreds of thousands of people’s lives. He loved laughing and sharing dad jokes and sometimes pulling pranks; he was often called ‘a big kid at heart.’ He loved being a father; he was a wonderful influence, very supportive, and looked forward to any family/friend gathering we had. He couldn’t wait to hear about the house/yard projects he could contribute to. He was handy and hands-on. He was a grill master and a boat captain. He has been a positive, constant rock for our family through Mom’s journey with cancer, the surgery, and chemo. We’ve heard many times that we should be proud and honored to have him as a dad and husband.
For the past week, the main phrase we continue hearing is that ‘he made a big impact,’ and this couldn’t ring more true. There are few people who are loved by people all over the world and he was one of them.
In the shortest of explanations, he was a wonderful person.
He would’ve also wanted you to know that he wrote a book out of faith. He would’ve laughed and said he’s not a writer, but felt compelled and continued to get urgings to write this book. One day, he just sat down and started writing. It is called Understand God's Will. The book is completely free and is being read in over 50 countries (so far); it has been translated into 21 languages. It has been distributed, for free, across the entire world; it has been downloaded on his website tens of thousands of times AND over 650,000 copies have been printed and delivered to so many countries. He has changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
We truly thank you for all of your support and the messages we’ve received. He would’ve wanted everyone to know how much love he has for all of you.
And as he would’ve said to his girls, “Luv ya more.”
https://obituaries.startribune.com/obituary/james-harper-1090169087/