I-61 Ministries

I don’t know exactly how it happened, but one morning I woke up with the realization that I was tired.  It wasn’t the kind of tired like I hadn’t had enough sleep – it was bone weary tired.  Somehow life had gotten away from me.  For the past few years I had been giving it my all, yet not accomplishing half of what I set out to do. In many areas of my life I felt I was spinning my wheels. All that I had been doing was important; sitting on various boards, building a wonderful growing church in Boise, constructing a mountain cabin with my family, and working on a country home with my wife Nancy.

As a Regional Director, I had been overseeing nearly a hundred churches in nine states. I was traveling across the country and around the world teaching seminars and encouraging and training church leaders. I was also a husband, a father, a grandfather, and a son to people that I deeply loved and cared about. I was juggling what felt like a hundred balls, not wanting any of them to fall. And suddenly, I was tired.

That morning as I looked out my front window at the distant snow covered mountain I realized something had to give. My life had become too complex, too busy and basically out of control. I realized the things that truly gave me joy, and the things I really wanted to invest my life in, were being pushed aside for dozens of good things. Honestly, they weren’t just good things, they were things that I had felt privileged to be a part of. It became very clear as I sat there pondering all of this; it was time to re-evaluate, re-organize and re-focus.

During that same year both of Nancy’s parents had passed away. Amidst the mourning and sense of loss, we realized that life truly is very short. It is like the psalmist once said, “You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath”. [Psalm 39:5] Our lives had clearly become too complex. Deep within both of us was a yearning for a life that was rendered down to God’s good, pleasing and perfect will, a life that wasn’t going at such a breakneck pace that it missed the very gift of life itself.

A number of years ago Nancy and I felt the Lord was calling us back to a life of simplicity, a life that we once knew but had innocently drifted from somehow. Through the years our lifestyle was slowly overcome by the complexity of urgent schedules, pressing responsibilities and a fast moving technological society that robbed us of the peace we experienced in our earlier days of marriage. In our quest for a simplified life, we realized that a deliberate process of change must be pursued; a process that would first require an awakening to the reality of our condition, followed by a decision to invest the time, perhaps a lifetime, to change.

In Hebrews chapter four of the Bible it says that scripture is living and active and it can penetrate our innermost being like a sharp double edged sword. [Heb. 4:12] Because of this truth, the Bible has the amazing ability to speak to every condition we face – regardless of our age, gender, ethnicity or the time in history we happen to live. It is always relevant and pertinent in every challenge and situation. We are called to be a people of both truth and spirit, and because of it the Lord often speaks to us by his Spirit when we read the truth of scripture. I say this to bring clarity to an experience Nancy had a few years back. She was reading a passage in Deuteronomy 4 which warned the Israelites saying, “Be very careful never to forget what you have seen the LORD do for you. Do not let these things escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.” God was exhorting the people not to forget what he had done for them, and how he had done it, as they had moved into a new time and place of life. He instructed them to pass on these truths and values to the new generations. This passage was especially meaningful to both of us as we are grandparents. Much had transpired in our lives since we had met the Lord over thirty years earlier. The world had definitely become a more complex place, and in turn our lives had as well.

Nancy and I met at the end of the 60’s in a time when our culture was going through much transition and turmoil. It affected all of our lives. We were right in the middle of the “Baby Boom” generation, a generation that was searching for answers concerning morality, world peace, an uncertain future and the meaning of life itself. The issue of caring for the environment was at the forefront of our social causes because it was visibly degrading. Honestly, it frightened us to see this and we didn’t know what to do about it. Few in our generation had any real knowledge of Biblical truth and as a result, there was no comfort from knowing that there was a Creator and he was still in control. Rather than looking to God for answers we read men like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman and Henry David Thoreau. In what seemed to be an out of control, complex world many of us sought a simpler life. We wanted a Walden Pond, a place where the clutter and clamor of life would pass us by, where the answers to life’s questions could be found. Some from our generation attempted homesteading in Alaska while others sought communal living on the coasts of California or Oregon. But in the end, we found no utopia and no true answers to be found through escapism. The “peace” that was being preached with hostility through protests and demonstrations was elusive, always just out of our grasp. It became evident that it must be found somewhere deep within us; it would never manifest itself through a world caught in crisis.

In 1971 Nancy and I took up residence on an isolated ranch that had been in my family for 70 years. The small cabin that became our home for the next twenty years was heated with an open fire place and a wood-burning cook stove in the small kitchen. Water was gravity-fed from springs on the mountain, which actually was a wonderful convenience. But we lived for the first fourteen years without electricity and much longer without a phone. For all of those years we had no television or computer – only books and each other for entertainment. We had a bountiful garden and orchard and in those first years on the ranch, we grew the majority of our food. Nancy canned and stored our reserves in a root cellar that I dug in the mountainside behind the cabin. It was a rich time for us and our two children, Kate and Brook. Life in those days was quite simple and often filled with adventure that provided us all with fond memories we cherish to this day.

Although our physical life was isolated and basic we quickly came to the reality that the complexity that robs one’s peace doesn’t solely come from a confusing world but also from within. Through our desperation for truth and healing in the solitude and simplicity of Robinson Canyon Ranch we discovered an authentic relationship with Christ. Our church community became not only a source of discipleship and spiritual grounding, but provided meaningful and lasting relationships. Those early years were stretching for us in many ways, but the isolation of our lifestyle stimulated a season of growth and maturity both in our relationship with the Lord as well as with each other. Even our faith in God was without complexity. A simpler life gave us opportunity for a pure and simple devotion to Christ. It reminds me of Paul’s warning to the Christians in Corinth who were trying to grow in the confusion of their complex society: “…I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” [2 Cor. 11:3]

For the first twelve years we lived on the ranch, I worked as a teacher at a junior high school nearly an hour from home. Nancy held down the fort as a homemaker and full time mom. Later we entered the ministry as volunteer laymen until we were called to a full time ministry position in the Lancaster Vineyard. That was when I entered into the pastorate. Reflecting back on that season in our lives makes me realize again how quickly time flies.

In 1989 we left the ranch establishing ourselves in Idaho where we pioneered a new Vineyard in Boise. Our work in Idaho was both demanding and rewarding and our lifestyle took a major turn. Planting a church takes everything you’ve got, especially in the first years of its conception. Our home became a center for church business, counseling and leadership training. Kate and Brook were now in their teens and enjoying a new life of social activity, athletics and outdoor recreation. For the first time we had a television in our home, a computer, and a telephone that continually interrupted our privacy with telemarketers, especially at family dinner hour.

The times were definitely changing; simplicity was becoming hidden in the conveniences of life. It wasn’t long before cell phones became a common part of the culture and email was the accepted form of daily communication. The promise that email would simplify communication proved untrue as I fought daily to keep up with it; it just seemed to multiply and often hindered my work. Another change was that Nancy and I had a mortgage on our home for the first time. We also entered into a partnership with a close friend on two rental houses for extra income. This required a fast learning curve due to my ignorance concerning such things as buying and selling properties, building codes and permits, escrows, interest rates, capital gains, and all the potential pitfalls of state and federal income and property taxes. Up until this time we had only a simple checking and savings account – now we had to establish credit, take home equity loans and periodically refinance for lower interest rates. With our kids beginning to drive and own vehicles, plus the properties we owned, we had to learn much about insurance: auto insurance, homeowner’s insurance, landlord’s insurance, mortgage insurance, title insurance, fire and flood insurance, and not to mention health, dental and supplemental insurance. With material ownership comes responsibility so I took out life insurance for the first time, started a serious retirement savings plan, made out a will and eventually established a family trust with the help of a lawyer. It became evident that life could be very complicated and complex.

In addition to the demands of our personal life I was now the senior pastor of a rapidly growing church that continued to require every bit of leadership ability I had to offer. Although most of what I have described above is necessary in today’s world, the simple life of solitude was gone and with it something precious had been lost. Our devotion to Christ and our love for his church hadn’t diminished in any way, but the time to enjoy his presence was becoming an intentional discipline instead of a natural outflow of our lives.

By 2002 both of our kids were married and we had our first grandchild. We were dealing with the empty nest and characteristically found a new baby to spoil – a Golden Lab puppy. It was during this time that the Lord began to speak to Nancy through her devotions, calling us to “return to the things we did at first” and to remember what God had done for us in the beginning. It was then that the Lord miraculously opened the door for us to once again move to a quiet home in the hills about 50 minutes outside the city of Boise. At that time I took a short leave from church and spent about a month building fence lines, putting in an irrigation system and constructing a barn.

Every morning I found myself sitting on the deck watching the first light of day cast its rays on a distance butte, feeling a cool morning breeze that was caused by thermals from the valley below. I sipped black coffee and embraced the lost luxury of unhindered silence. In those days something was restored in me, something was recaptured that I hadn’t even realized had been lost. I began to look forward to spending time with the Lord; it was no longer a scheduled discipline. I had somehow returned to that quiet refreshing peace of solitude and with it my zeal for life and creative juices began to flow in new and fresh ways. Nancy and I reevaluated how we spent our time. We changed our priorities so that our energy would be expended on the things that were most meaningful. New ideas for ministry began to emerge as God again had access to my thoughts and prayers. It was because of this new season of solitude that I decided to begin “Let’s Tend the Garden”, Vineyard Boise’s environmental ministry, and the “Compassion in Action Team” (CAT), our fast response disaster relief ministry that so effectively worked among the Hurricane Katrina victims in 2005.

In addition to ministry the Lord began to speak to us about our personal lives.  I began to feel a need to return to the joy of a simpler life, growing and raising our own food, becoming once again less dependent on the complexity of a technological world. I felt challenged to become more self-reliant when it came to energy, water and food sources. I knew from our previous life at the ranch how rewarding and invigorating it is to be at home with creation, and how refreshing it is to work hard with your hands doing purposeful creative work. [see Ephesians 4:28b]

Seven Considerations for a Life of Simplicity

A simpler life isn’t something that can be achieved overnight. We have worked years to get into the complex, seemingly out-of-control places that we find ourselves; places of great indebtedness, unhappy relationships, unfulfilling mundane occupations, and the loss of peace. The simplified life doesn’t come without intention; it is first motivated by desire and requires a strategic plan if it is ever to be realized. Sharing from my own experience I want to discuss a number of “life” areas that require reformation in order to achieve a life of simplicity and peace.

1. Simplicity requires less physical complexity.

Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb nail…Simplicity, simplicity. Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but one; instead of a hundred dishes, five; and reduce other things in proportion.”

This might be one of Thoreau’s most famous quotes written while spending a year of solitude and contemplation in a small cabin in the woods on Walden’s Pond. Although not a Christian writer, Thoreau tapped into a Biblical truth; what really counts in life can’t be found or claimed with too great of distraction. Over and over again the Gospel writers noted how many times Jesus went to the mountain or to places of solitude to spend time with the Father in order to get direction and clarity. Complexity has a way of distracting us from simple truth and peace.

The world constantly communicates that we need to buy more material possessions to make our lives easier. Ironically they are some of the very things that have a tendency to clutter our lives. Rarely do we return from a trip to the store without bringing home something we couldn’t live without. Those “things” generally end up on shelves untouched or unused until it is time to make room for more unneeded possessions, at which time they are removed and discarded. In this day it takes great discipline not to be duped by advertising and clever displays. It is much like the discipline of passing by a plate of chocolate during the holiday season knowing that the momentary pleasure of taste will only be added to the storage of unwanted calories.

The complex life often leads us unexpectedly to financial stress. We want things, so we find ourselves conveniently buying “on time”, promising to pay it back later. In today’s world of financial bondage you can find a payday loan store on every corner or easy money at high interest just fingertips away.

The life of simplicity requires financial freedom. Jesus said it simply, “No one can serve two masters…You can not serve both God and money.” [Luke 16:13] A good way to begin on the road to a simpler life is to clean out your cabinets and closets of the clutter you never use, even though they may be good things. Donate the items to a place that can help the poor or to someone who can actually find use for them. You may also have a garage sale and use the money you earn against your debt. The blessing is that you will have a cleaned out organized home, but beware of buying more than you need and storing up clutter once again. One way to avoid this is to make a list before you go to the store, and then be disciplined and stick to it!

Make a plan to become debt-free so that money no longer occupies your mind and distracts you from the things that really matter. Look at how you spend your money on a monthly basis and ask yourself what things are really necessary and what things are not. One truth I have discovered is that possessions have a way of taking ownership of your life. Once, Nancy and I owned an old boat that my son Brook and I restored. We found great joy working together to make it sea worthy. We dreamed of the day we would put it on some lake and speed across to distant places. The project took us two years to complete, but finally after a number of failed attempts the boat was ready. We used it a good deal for the next year or two, but eventually it just sat in its relegated spot, as other recreational activities took our attention and interest away. The boat had become just another “toy” that made us feel guilty when we weren’t using it. Now and again I found myself working on it, keeping it maintained so it was ready for use. But for the most part, it just sat there in the way. The joy was in the creativity of the project, the richness of working together with our hands. It was the dream of what it could be rather than the possession of something that eventually owned us. I have discovered that many “toys” are like that.

The author of Proverbs begged two favors of God before he died, first he asked, “…help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name”. [Proverbs 30:7] Solomon, reflecting over his life in the book of Ecclesiastics, came to the final conclusion that “Those who love money will never have enough. How absurd to think that wealth brings true happiness.” [Ecc. 5:10]

Simplifying your physical life in the areas of finances and possessions is anything but simple – it will take planning and work. But it will help you to discover a new freedom and a peace that you probably haven’t experienced in a long time.

2. Simplicity requires less internal complexity.

There is nothing that damages a simplified life more than being a complex person. Internal conflict is the great thief of tranquility. When our life is out of sorts with God or others, everything else is out of sync, the natural rhythm is gone. If we are dealing with issues of guilt, shame or anger and rage, we can become paralyzed, losing the freedom to pursue the dream of inner peace and a simplified life in its purest sense. Unresolved issues cause us to lose our vision for the pursuit of a life that requires the freedom to initiate change; and simplicity requires a commitment to all kinds of change.

The simplified life is a life that is moving into harmony not just with the natural environment, but with personal relationships and most importantly with God. Through our relationship with God, he gives us freedom, healing and a new beginning, all of which are prerequisites to a life of peace. Jesus’ stated mission was “to set the captive free” and we all have been captive in one way or another due to sin. This may be because of our own sin or because we have been sinned against. These bad choices and actions have stifled our lives and quenched our vision, putting us into a perpetual state of status-quo. Our only hope for change is found in the provision of Christ. Through this incredible gift of grace we can experience the forgiveness, healing and freedom to restore our wounds, our marriages and important relationships.

One reality I’ve realized is that if Nancy and I don’t have harmony in our marriage we lose our ability to share vision. Sin and unresolved issues can cause us to focus inward and we lose sight of a preferred future together. The times that we seem to move ahead the fastest are the times when we are both experiencing internal freedom. It is because of this that Christ must be central in our relationship together. When we are free we can dream together of our future and plan how to get there. I love those times because they are challenging, exciting and empowering. When we are evenly yoked together in vision there is nothing we can’t do. A life of simplicity requires vision, and vision requires freedom, freedom that is only available in Christ.

For the life of simplicity to work there must be clarity about who you really are; you must know your role in each relationship in your life. Not knowing who you are as a person at any given time causes internal conflict and can damage relationships. For example, being the parent of an adult child can throw families into a tail spin. There comes a point when the parent is no longer the directing authority having permission to parent the child and it isn’t always clear when these roles begin to change. While the law says it is at age eighteen, the maturity level of the child may be older or younger. Every person and every relationship is different, but simply knowing and understanding your role will help. If you want to move into the life of simplicity you must have clarity as to who you are and who others are as you relate to them at any given time.

Relationships and roles may change, but personality and character must remain stable and consistent. The most complex of all people are those who struggle with their identity, not knowing who they really are. It is easy to confuse the changing of roles with the changing of personality. A man who is henpecked at home but is an aggressive demanding tyrant at work is a confused and unstable man. Family men, for example, are called to be loving, caring husbands and fathers at home but also loving, caring employers or workers in the marketplace. Their roles may change, but their character does not. If a person struggles with their identity they will never achieve the simplified life. The truth is, the only way to be stable and unwavering is to have your identify solid in Christ.

Through the years I’ve watched people who have had identity struggles suffer with emotional stability. I’ve seen people who try to take on various counter culture identities such as cowboys, bikers, gang members or musicians, confusing identity with livelihood or unique areas of interests. You can often tell by the way they dress, the way they talk or the vehicle they drive. On the other hand I’ve known many Christians who just happen to be musicians or ranchers or enjoy riding motorcycles. There is a big difference. When someone is lost in their identity, they are generally lost, confused and unstable. They often bounce from one identity to the next trying on different personalities and character types to see what feels most comfortable. This is most prevalent in the teen years, and justifiably so. But the mark of authentic adulthood is stability and consistency.

Jesus came to free us from our confusion and to give us a true sense of identity. He fills the believer with his Spirit to give us inner peace as a person so that we are no longer motivated to frantically try to discover who we are. With his Spirit comes the fruit of a righteous character, integrity and behavior. Paul wrote in Galatians 5, “When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” The fruits of the Holy Spirit will provide the kind of attributes that will bring harmony to a person’s life, allowing them to be consistent and stable no matter what the circumstance or station of life. Only then will we be people for all seasons – unchanged by the pressures of a society continually trying to get us to conform to the world’s way of thinking about who we should be. Instead we will daily yield ourselves to the process of being transformed into Christ’s image. This is “Christ-likeness” and it is the only way to internal tranquility and being at peace with who we are. It is a prerequisite for the life of simplicity. i61

Tags: Environmental Decline, growing, isolation, simplified life, sustainability