Jim Burklo
Husband, father, grandpa, friend, mystic, pastor, organizer, author, educator, activist…
Available now for pre-order from Chalice Press! Publication date: 4-7-2026. The Way of Jesus is otherdox, in Jim Burklo’s coined term – aimed at spiritual union with the Holy and Wholly Other, and at compassionate service to other people. WATER IN THE DESERT is refreshment for those who have been parched by the dead orthodoxy and cruel politics of the dominant form of Christianity in America today. For decades, Jim Burklo has walked and talked a form of Christianity that resonates with compassion and common sense. WATER IN THE DESERT is a dogma-free “catechism” for the practice and expression of progressive Christianity. If you are looking for a fresh wellspring of the faith, you’ll find it flowing out through his new book. To see his seven previous books in print, go HERE.
About Jim
Jim Burklo is the pastor of the United Church of Christ in Simi Valley CA. He was the co-founder and executive director of ZOE: Progressive Christian Life on Campus. After 14 years, he retired as Senior Associate Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life at the University of Southern California in 2022. An ordained United Church of Christ minister, he has served as a pastor, campus minister, community organizer, and nonprofit executive director. He is the author of eight books about progressive Christianity. He and his wife Roberta live in Ojai, CA. They have three children and seven grandchildren.
Jim in 1992 at the Urban Ministry of Palo Alto, which served unhoused and low income people - he was its organizer and then its executive director