Becca Ehrlich
8 min read ⭑
“Since simplifying my life, I have found God through the simplest things that we typically take for granted or miss because we are so busy—a hug, a laugh, a glimpse of sunlight through the trees.”
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
There’s much more to a meal than palate and preference. How does your go-to order at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?
Although I grew up near Albany, New York, and live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, (and I'm currently in the process of moving to New York City!) I served congregations in Western New York State for five years. In Western New York, it isn't truly a party or get-together unless there are chicken wings (or some version of chicken wings, like chicken wing dip). This is because Buffalo, New York, is the birthplace of the chicken wing. I ate more chicken wings in my five years there than I have in my whole life put together.
I spent much of my time in Western New York eating Duff's char-becue wings (BBQ wings charred to perfection on the grill) and watching Sabres and Bills games with the friends I came with to the restaurant and my new best friends at the tables around me. Though Anchor Bar is where chicken wings were invented (and that's where tourists flock to), Duff's is where the locals tend to hang out and bond over Buffalo sports teams while chowing down on delicious wings.
No matter where we traveled to in those five years, when my husband and I returned home to Buffalo, we would always eat at Duff's to ground ourselves and mark our return home. The wings were a tangible way to mark our return to the Buffalo community, watching local sports games and bonding with everyone around us over our local eats.
Jon Tyson, Unsplash
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests, but we tend to hide them. What do you love doing that might surprise (or shock) people?
I love to move my body and dance improvisationally to praise and worship God. My dancing can be to music (with lyrics or without), to a Scripture reading, or in simple silence. It is a way to feel joy while abandoning my self-consciousness in worship and connection to God. I'm able to get out of my own way and just enjoy God's presence.
In many Christian traditions, it is mostly a brain and a "heady" experience to worship God. Our bodies, except for maybe standing, sitting, and maybe kneeling in a worship service, aren't really engaged in what's happening.
In praise dance, my body, mind, heart, and soul are all connected in the action of worship. It's my way of living out Mark 12:30, which says, "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." When I dance, my whole being is involved in loving God.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness. Every human, too. We're just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite and how do you hide it?
After my infant son, Gideon, died and chronic illness made my life difficult, I became addicted to online shopping. Whenever I wasn't feeling well physically, emotionally, mentally, and/or spiritually, online shopping was that dopamine hit for me. I got a rush when I discovered the bargain, another rush when I clicked to buy, and yet another rush when I received the item in the mail.
But a few days later, that rush was gone, and I had to chase the next rush from online shopping. It was a vicious addiction cycle that emptied my time, energy, and wallet.
Living as a Christian minimalist by putting Jesus at the center and focusing on what matters most has helped me to be more intentional with how I use my God-given time, energy, and resources—and break my bad habits and find better ways to direct my focus. But once an addict, always an addict; I find myself drawn back into my online shopping addiction when I am having a hard time. With God's help, I continue to find ways to cope so that I don't fall back into that addiction. It's a life-long process.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your obsession? And why should it be ours?
Connecting minimalism (a focus on what matters most while intentionally removing everything else) and Christian faith/spirituality has helped me to live the abundant life Jesus is calling us to live (John 10:10). I discovered minimalism while watching a Netflix documentary on a bad health day, and felt both God's conviction to turn my life around by living more simply, as well as God's nudge to connect it to Jesus' teachings and lifestyle.
Consumer culture tells us that the abundant life lies in more—more stuff, more wealth, more time commitments, more worldly accolades. But Jesus teaches us that the abundant life he's calling us to is found in living with less—less stuff, less wealth, less busyness, less worldly "success." Christian minimalism pulls back the damaging curtains of consumer culture to show us what truly matters.
Jesus is calling us to a more intentional life, one that is simple yet full—full of God, relationships, self-care, and stewardship of our God-given resources. We are invited by God to stop living on autopilot and start living deliberately by focusing on what's most important.
This calling and invitation from God to simplify and focus on what matters most directly inform my blog (christianminimalism.com) and my book (Christian Minimalism: Simple Steps for Abundant Living). Living as a Christian minimalist has completely changed my life, and I want to help others change their lives, too.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Cashiers, CEOs, contractors, or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it's God when it happens?
I've already talked about my Christian minimalism turning point—when I heard God calling me to live a more minimal life while watching the minimalism documentary on Netflix and calling me to share that lifestyle with others. In the last 3.5 years, my husband, Will, and I have been living this Christian minimalism journey—continuing to pare down our lives to focus on God and what's most important.
Since simplifying my life, I have found God through the simplest things that we typically take for granted or miss because we are so busy—a hug, a laugh, a glimpse of sunlight through the trees. I am so much more aware of the Spirit's presence and movement in my life since I've made more space to notice and listen.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Some people divide things sacred and things secular. But you know, God can surprise us in unlikely places. How do you find spiritual renewal in so-called "nonspiritual" activities?
Since starting a more minimal and intentional lifestyle, I especially find spiritual renewal through community and other people. It can be a dinner get-together with friends, a smile from a stranger as we pass on the street, reading an encouraging post to someone on social media, a knowing look from my husband as we communicate wordlessly across a room.
Simplifying my life has made me much more aware of seeing Christ in others, and recognizing how I can be Christ to others. We are created and loved by God, and that shines through in our interactions with one another. Seeing God through other people, especially in non-churchy settings, is one of the ways I've experienced God deeply.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Our email subscribers get free ebooks featuring our favorite resources—lots of things that have truly impacted our faith. But you know about some really great stuff too. What are three of your favorite resources?
Joshua Becker's books and writings have continued to inspire me to live as a minimalist, and to push through even when living counter-culturally gets tough. His blog (becomingminimalist.com) and books (The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own is my favorite) give plenty of rationale and inspiration to live more simply.
Cassandra Roberts' podcast, “Needed and Known,” features interviews with a wide range of experts. Her caring and insightful questions help draw out incredibly helpful tidbits from her guests, and more than once, I've put into practice the advice I've heard from those interviewed on the podcast.
The Creative Brain, a short documentary (less than an hour long!), has completely changed how I understand how our brains work and how creativity occurs. I've found it much easier to foster creativity in my own work after watching this film.
We all have things we cling to to survive (or thrive) in tough times. Name one resource you’ve found indispensable in this current season—and tell us what it's done for you.
The YouVersion Bible app has been my go-to when it comes to engaging Scripture through reading plans. The app is completely free with no ads, which is a huge deal for me as a Christian minimalist! The many topical reading plans offered in the app have been especially life-giving during the chaos of the pandemic when I needed to hear God's voice clearly.
QUESTION #8: dream
God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So, give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
I have felt the pull from God both internally and from others to work on some small-group curriculum around Christian minimalism and living more simply. I've been hesitant to do this in the past since the Christian minimalism journey is very personal and specific to each person and their call from God. But God keeps reminding me that although how each person lives out Christian minimalism is unique to them, having a structure in place to discuss, work and pray through the minimalist lifestyle with others can only help people grow in their faith and relationship with God.
So I'll definitely be working on that Christian minimalism small-group curriculum!
How do you think the rich young ruler felt when Jesus told him to sell everything he owned and give the money to the poor? Matthew 19:22 tells us he “went away sad, because he had great wealth” (NIV).
Jesus’ calling to follow him wholeheartedly was difficult for the rich young ruler—and it’s difficult for many of us in the Western church. We grow up hearing that our success is wrapped up in earthly wealth, and we live in a culture that values shopping for shopping’s sake. The average American spends around $18,000 on nonessential items each year.
We need to ask ourselves: Do I have an unhealthy attachment to things? Do my possessions distract me from enjoying the life Christ designed me to live—a life of deep relationships and joy in the Holy Spirit?
However the Spirit speaks to our hearts as we answer those questions, let’s choose to say yes to him. Instead of going away sad, let’s purpose to follow Jesus wherever he leads—even if it means letting go of things we don’t need.
Becca Ehrlich is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She blogs about minimalism from a Christian perspective at christianminimalism.com and shares inspiration and encouragement to live a more minimal life on the Christian Minimalism Facebook page, Twitter (@jesusminimalism), and Instagram (@jesusminimalism). Her book, Christian Minimalism: Simple Steps for Abundant Living, was just released in May.