Dr. James P. Gills: Life Lessons from an Ironman
TwoTen Magazine met up with Dr. James P. Gills, founder of the St. Luke's Cataract & Laser Institute and former owner of the Ironman Brand and World Triathlon Corporation. Read the following article to see how this modern renaissance man lead his family and his businesses in Christ...
When you think of a classical renaissance man, images of great historical figures such as Da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo or Copernicus may come to mind, or more recent examples such as Thomas Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin. Great men such as these are not relegated to the past. We had the honor to speak with such a man, a contemporary “renaissance” man, Dr. James P. Gills, Jr.
Dr. Gills is a world-renowned ocular surgeon who has performed more cataract and lens implant surgeries than any other eye surgeon in the world. He founded the St. Luke’s Cataract & Laser Institute with six offices in Florida and over thirty eye clinics around the world, where he has trained numerous resident surgeons. Since St. Luke’s opened in 1974, Dr. Gills has been at the cutting edge of innovation in his field and dedicated his medical practice to the discovery and perfection of cataract surgery techniques that have given clear vision to thousands of patients around the world. He has received numerous medical and educational awards including the Duke Medical Alumni Association’s Humanitarian Award; was elected to the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars; and was also selected to receive the Distinguished Medical Alumnus Award, the highest honor bestowed by Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
His medical career would be demanding for even the most ambitious medical professional, but is just one facet of this amazing man’s life.
Accomplished Author
Drawing his inspiration from his personal relationship with Jesus Christ, Dr. Gills is a prolific writer with over thirty books to his credit, most of which are about sharing the message of hope that God promises all of us. He also has a publishing company, Love Press, where he freely distributes over 40,000 books per month. Many of these books are shipped directly to prisons across the country. With the exception of the Bible, he is the most widely read and requested author in the prison system. Dr. Gills has also written or co-written ten medical reference textbooks and nearly 200 medical articles.
Successful Businessman
Dr. Gills is also a successful businessman and developer and a member of the Explorer’s Club. This is a prestigious society that promotes the scientific exploration of land, sea, air, and space by supporting research and education in the physical, natural and biological sciences. He has been selected as the Entrepreneur of the Year for the State of Florida, received the Tampa Bay Business Hall of Fame Award, the Florida Enterprise Medal and was honored as Free Enterpriser of the Year by the Florida Council on Economic Education.
Dr. Gills is a proponent of empowering others to fulfill God's vision. His close association with the International Cooperating Ministries (ICM) church planters illustrates this principle. ICM buys and donates the land for a new church and contributes forty percent of the building costs to launch the initial place of worship. The future congregation and the incoming pastor must not only fund their sixty percent of the remaining building costs but further commit to launching five new churches in five years under the same terms and conditions. ICM has planted close to four thousand churches in fifty-six countries, and those churches have raised up twenty thousand more daughter congregations! "If you just give something," Dr. Gills explained, "it often amounts to nothing. You must get involved in relationships to ensure that it grows and endures. You see, when you structure all activities to truly fulfill the needs of others, you take the pressure off of yourself. The Lord then steps in and is the One who opens the doors and inspires others to work in relationship with you."
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