Bishop James was born in Louisville, Kentucky and was raised Roman Catholic. He attended a Roman Catholic grade school and it was during the time while he was attending kindergarten that he knew that he had a calling to serve as a priest. His mother had asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up and +James pointed at the priest and said, “I want to do what he does.”

From then on, his calling to serve as a priest grew stronger as the years progressed until he decided to join the seminary and begin his formation.

+James attended St. Meinrad College but because of financial problems, the school had to close its doors. Therefore, he transferred to Loyola University in Chicago and graduated.

He continued his priestly studies by joining Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois. It was during this time that +James began working closely with his spiritual director and through prayer, he decided that God was calling him to serve as a priest within the Independent Catholic Church.

Because of his theological differences with the Roman Catholic Church, +James felt that it was better to be ordained within the Independent Catholic Church. This decision was not an easy one and it was a decision that he made out of respect for the Roman Catholic Church and his calling.

He is currently the Presiding Bishop of the United States Old Catholic Church.