Born at the edge of an open-pit copper mine in New Mexico, Jan Thomas comes from a background of working-class people, cultural Christians, but not committed believers. Growing up, he had influences and experiences causing doubts about himself and his ability to become more than his environment would have predicted. Influenced by teachers, Air Force buddies, and others, he began to trust God to do in him what he could not do for himself. As a youngster he thought he had no academic ability, but got BA and MDiv degrees. As a pastor he felt like a failure and began a career working in prisons. Struggling with life, he continued to try to serve. He married Fern, a widow with two children, and they had another child together. He became an administrator after only a few years; but his codependent nature, the desire to fit in, and to be liked at any cost nearly cost him his life. An old alcohol issue came back, at a time he was involved in two of the most amazing ministries of the twenty-first century, Celebrate Recovery and Kairos. Retiring in 1997, he began using CR in the prison he retired from. He was asked to help get the program into jails and prisons and became the first national director of Celebrate Recovery Inside. He also used material from a course he taught at the New Mexico Corrections Academy to develop a curriculum for Christian communication to be used in the program called: How to Say What You Mean: Without Being Mean. His life has been one of service to people who struggle and find real help and meaning from a relationship with Jesus Christ. His autobiography is called: From Blunder to Blessing.Read more about this authorRead less about this author