Joshua Becker
10 min read ⭑
“I started noticing how differently I read Scripture when I began putting into practice exactly how Jesus called us to live. Passages about money, possessions, generosity and contentment sounded different — more attractive — once we actually started living them out.”
Joshua Becker was cleaning his cluttered garage when a simple comment from a neighbor made him wonder, Would life be better if I owned less stuff? That thought sent him and his family on a journey toward discovering “rational minimalism” and sharing what he learned along the way on his blog. Since then, his website, Becoming Minimalist, has grown to 1 million annual readers, launching his career as an international speaker and bestselling author of books like The More of Less, Things That Matter and his latest, Uncluttered Faith.
For Joshua, Becoming Minimalist is about much more than merely inspiring others to own fewer things. It’s about following Jesus in the radical way he calls us to in the Bible. Join us now as Joshua gets honest about how vital his faith is to his message, how 15 years of serving as a pastor have impacted his writing and speaking, and how biblical minimalism changes how we work and rest.
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
Food is always about more than food; it’s also about home and people and love. So how does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind your web bio?
Well, my favorite hometown restaurant would be an enjoyable, inexpensive Mexican joint with my family at the table.
But to get there, I need to take a step back. I live in Phoenix now, but home, for me, will always be South Dakota, where I grew up and my extended family still lives.
It was a simple upper-Midwest upbringing in a town of about 20,000 people. Long winters. Friday night football games. Small-town Americana at its best.
One of my grandfathers was a pastor. The other was a farmer. Neither of my grandmas worked outside the home. All that to say, I didn’t grow up with extravagance, but we had warmth and both food and conversation at the table almost every dinner. I am thankful to have grown up enjoying and appreciating simple tastes.
Today, I live in Phoenix, which is different from South Dakota — but even more different from the six years we lived in Vermont before moving here.
Dinner wouldn’t be fancy, but stable (we’d probably order the same thing as last time). And the focus would be on the relationships as the four of us ate — me, Kim (my wife of 26 years) and our two kids (now 23 and 19).
We’d talk about work and school and church and friends. Or we’d laugh about things that happened years ago.
To understand me is to know that I love having simple tastes and trying my best to keep my focus where it belongs.
And then, probably ice cream. My wife would want ice cream on the way home afterward.
Evan Wise; Unsplash
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
What “nonspiritual” activity have you found to be quite spiritual, after all? What quirky proclivity, out-of-the-way interest or unexpected pursuit refreshes your soul?
For me, it’s lifting weights at the gym.
That might not sound particularly spiritual. And honestly, for most of my life, it wasn’t. It was just exercise. I’d put loud music in my ears, rush quickly between sets and treat it as something to get through so I could get on with the rest of my day.
But a few years ago, during a sabbatical from work, I made a small change. Instead of rushing my workouts, I slowed them down. It was nice not having anywhere else to be afterward.
I stopped listening to workout music and started listening to old sermons. I don’t want to overspiritualize this answer because I know you’re asking about something specifically “nonspiritual.”
But the gym I go to is fairly quiet, especially in the middle of the day. And I started listening to old sermons from decades that have long since passed us by.
There’s a verse I heard in college that has stayed with me ever since: “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things” (1 Tim. 4:8).
What surprised me was how natural it felt to focus on both. I’d be straining under a weight, and a preacher’s voice would challenge my pride, my priorities, my assumptions. The gym for me became a symbol and a place of both physical and spiritual growth.
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 all broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite and how do you confront its power?
For me, it’s comparison — specifically with my twin brother.
We grew up together, doing many of the same things, and from an early age, I felt an internal pressure to keep up. He was always taller and bigger and excelled more in sports than I did growing up. I’m not sure I’ve ever outgrown that.
I know for a fact that desire didn’t disappear when I became an adult. It just matured. It shifted from sibling comparison to a broader temptation: measuring myself by accomplishments, platform, productivity. Wanting to impress my family … wanting to be seen as successful by them and others.
I should also mention that with that as my kryptonite, I have a tendency to hide weakness or failure. I prefer portraying an image that everything is just fine — all the time. To admit otherwise would validate everything I fear in comparing myself to others.
The problem, of course, is that we get to know others best through weakness and vulnerability. That is where relationship finds itself growing the most. So I try my best.
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your current obsession? And why should it be ours?
For nearly 20 years now, I’ve invested my professional life in a simple message: We can live a better life by owning less stuff.
Becoming Minimalist, my blog, started at my kitchen table as a means to share our story of intentionally owning less. I loved my career as a pastor and thought it would be my life. But God had other plans.
Over time, the message of owning less began to resonate with others — both inside and outside the church. A large online following followed. So did books and speaking and social media. A community formed around the idea that owning less could lead to living more.
But my passion for God, his Word and the Church never waned. And I always knew God was calling me to something important.
I started noticing how differently I read Scripture when I began putting into practice exactly how Jesus called us to live. Passages about money, possessions, generosity and contentment sounded different — more attractive — once we actually started living them out.
That realization became the foundation for “Uncluttered Faith.”
This isn’t just another book on minimalism or decluttering your home. It’s an invitation to fully experience all the wonderful spiritual blessings that God offers us when we intentionally own less.
It’s a message to fully live out our fruitfulness as individuals and the Church — rather than allowing our fruitfulness to be choked out by “life’s worries, riches and pleasures” (see Matt. 13:22).
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Whether we’re cashiers or CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need God’s love 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’m really glad you asked about work, because it’s such an important topic. There’s an entire chapter in “Uncluttered Faith” devoted to it. We spend most of our waking hours working. It shapes our schedules, our stress levels, our relationships and, often, our identity. So if we misunderstand work, we misunderstand a huge part of our lives.
One of the surprising things minimalism (intentionally owning less) did for me was change how I viewed my work. When we own too much, work easily becomes about earning more, upgrading more, maintaining more. But when we intentionally own less, something shifts. Work becomes less about accumulation and more about contribution, service and love. The very way the Bible explains it.
For me personally, that means when I sit down to write now, I don’t see it primarily as content creation or career advancement. I see it as service. I see it as love expressed through words. And when I approach it that way, I don’t have to constantly ask, “How can I make more from my work?” I get to ask, “How can I best serve others today?”
That is a selfless approach to work that can be taken from top to bottom — and needs to be!
When my work transitions from “how much I can make?” to “who can I love best today?”, that is a divine switch that results in not just more fulfillment at the end of the day but also more glory to God at the end of my life.
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied habits that open our hearts to the presence of God. So let us in. Which spiritual practice is working best for you in this season?
Since college, the spiritual practice that refreshes me and changes me the most is solitude.
No music, no books, not even a Bible (although I read that at other times). Just stillness, quietness, alone with God, allowing him to speak to my heart however he desires.
When I’m doing this best, it’s one hour per week.
There’s something about intentional silence that exposes what’s really going on in our hearts. When the noise and distractions are gone, we’re forced to evaluate our direction, our motivation, our use of life’s resources.
In the quietness, I can better see where the world is pulling me (and I’m following) and where God is inviting me instead.
It is a spiritual discipline I learned 30 years ago in college. And it is the clearest marker of when I’m growing the most spiritually. When I practice it, I grow. When I don’t, I suffer.
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Looking backward, considering the full sweep of your unique faith journey and all you encountered along the way, what top three resources stand out to you? What changed reality and changed your heart?
Looking back over my faith journey, three resources stand out clearly.
The first isn’t a book or podcast and likely not accessible to anyone reading this. But no retelling of my spiritual journey can overlook them.
It’s a couple: Jack and Linda Arant in Omaha, Nebraska. When I was in college, they welcomed me into their home. My faith was already strong because of my parents and grandparents, but Jack and Linda showed me something deeper. They showed and taught me how to live out my faith consistently every day and in every way. Their words, their love, their passion for the Church and God’s Word. I learned countless life lessons from them — no doubt they were the most important couple in my life, other than my own family. Their life was a resource and example I still draw on today.
The second is a book by Gary Thomas originally titled “Seeking the Face of God” (now “Thirsting for God”). The book dives deep into classic Christian writings from John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Thomas à Kempis and others and emerges with practical and unexpected ways to know God more intimately and grow in him. I’ve used it countless times with small groups all over the country.
The third is the preaching of A.W. Tozer. His sermons are easily accessible today through podcasts and YouTube. But I find great spiritual challenge in his persistent calls to holiness, reverence and deeper devotion. Tozer doesn’t allow comfortable Christianity. And his preaching may be more needed today than when he first delivered it.
Those three, among countless others, come to mind first.
Certain things can be godsends, helping us survive, even thrive, in our fast-paced world. Does technology ever help you this way? Has an app ever boosted your spiritual growth? If so, how?
I’m grateful for technology. Truly. The wealth of Christian resources available today at the click of a mouse is remarkable. Sermons from decades ago. Worship music from around the world. Bible commentaries, devotionals, podcasts, study tools — all instantly accessible.
The Bible app, in particular, has been helpful to me. I’ve used it while traveling, sitting in an airport or during a quick break between meetings. It keeps Scripture close. It removes excuses. And I appreciate that.
But if I’m being honest, the most spiritually fruitful moments in my life rarely happen while staring at a screen. It happens when I’m alone with God without a screen.
So I’m thankful for digital tools. They’ve helped me access sermons from A.W. Tozer at the gym, read Scripture on the go, listen to podcasts in my car and stay connected to meaningful teaching.
But the practice that has shaped me most is sitting alone in a quiet room with no device at all. And I think we’d all benefit from less screen time and more face-to-face time with the Holy Spirit.
QUESTION #8: dream
God’s 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?
To be honest, I don’t know.
Right now, what’s driving me is a deep commitment to the message of “Uncluttered Faith.” I truly believe it can strengthen the Church here and around the world. It is a message and an invitation to exchange this world for the kingdom of God. And we all need it.
So for now, I want to take this message wherever God wants it to go. Conversations. Churches. Individuals who sense that something feels distracted in their faith but can’t quite name it.
I hope God blesses the message and uses this story he’s given me for his glory.
I’m sure another project will come in time. But right now, this is the assignment in front of me.
Few Bible stories are as subtly tragic as that of the rich young man. Imagine you’re listening to Jesus teach when a young man walks up. A quick glance at his brightly colored tunic and freshly oiled hair is all you need to realize he’s a man of status, wealth and privilege.
But there’s a serious look on his face. Concern, or confusion, perhaps.
He asks Jesus what he has to do to be saved.
After listing the commands, each of which the young man says he’s followed perfectly, Jesus says something entirely unexpected: “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Mark 10:21, ESV).
You’d think the man would be thrilled to hear how he could put Jesus’ teaching into action. But no. The price was too high. Because ultimately, the price wasn’t simply his wealth and his possessions — it was his everything.
Reader, before we judge this young man, we have to ask ourselves: “Is this my heart, too? Do I resist the call to give all I hold dear for the sake of following Christ?” O Lord, may our hearts be willing.
Joshua Becker is the founder and editor of Becoming Minimalist, a website that welcomes over 1 million readers each month and has inspired millions around the world to consider the practical benefits of owning fewer possessions. He is an international speaker and the No. 1 Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of several books, including The More of Less, Things That Matter and Uncluttered Faith: Own Less, Love More, and Make an Impact in Your World. A former ordained pastor for 15 years, he’s also the founder of The Hope Effect, a nonprofit changing how the world cares for orphans.