Jim McMillan was born in Adelaide and graduated in medicine. He spent twenty years in missionary service in India before returning to Australia. In 1995 he was in general medical practice in suburban Adelaide, and active in Christian work. As well as his creative works, he has published numerous versifications of sermons by Christian preachers, including Sermons in Verse (1989) and Snippets from Sermons on the Family by Brian Cox (1991), theological and moral essays, including Prayer in Everyday Life (1991) and The Face of God (1991), and interpretations of biblical passages.