Joshua Becker

Last updated
Joshua Becker
Joshua Becker.jpg
Joshua Becker in 2019
Born (1974-12-11) December 11, 1974 (age 50)
Alma mater University of Nebraska Omaha
Occupation(s)Writer, Pastor
Known for
  • ‘’Simplify’’
  • ‘’The More of Less’’
  • ‘’The Minimalist Home’
Website www.becomingminimalist.com

Joshua Becker (born 1974 [1] ) is an American author, writer, and philanthropist.

Contents

Becker has written four books on minimalism and intentional living, which have collectively sold hundreds of thousands of copies and have been translated from English into several languages including Chinese, Spanish, German, and Polish. In particular, his books The More of Less and The Minimalist Home have been named best sellers by the Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, USA Today, Audible, and Amazon. [2]

He has appeared live on Huffington Post Live, the CBS Evening News and the Wall Street Journal. Becker has spoken publicly on his writing and on minimalism throughout America and internationally. [2]

He maintains the website Becoming Minimalist which was named one of the top ten personal development websites by SUCCESS Magazine in 2015. [3] [4] He is currently a contributing writer at Forbes. [5]

Early life and education

Becker was born December 11, 1974, in Aberdeen, South Dakota as one of twins. With a sister born about a year later, the three were close in age and had a great influence on each other. His grandfather Harold Salem, a well-known pastor in Aberdeen, instilled a strong work ethic into the children. The family moved frequently. [1] [6] Becker attended junior high and high school in Wahpeton, North Dakota between 1987 and 1992. [7] He finished high school at Burke High School in Omaha, Nebraska, [8] and stayed there to attend the University of Nebraska Omaha, where he met his future wife. [9] [3] Becker completed a master's degree in theology at Bethel College and Seminary in Minnesota. [10]

Career

Becker began his career as a pastor in Vermont. [7] [11] In 2008, after a frustrating weekend of cleaning out the garage, Becker realized he was spending more time caring for his possessions than with his family. After this breakthrough, Becker became a writer and pioneer of the minimalism movement with his website Becoming Minimalist, which has garnered a following over a million readers a month and over a million fans on Facebook. [12] [13] He cited that “the practical benefits of owning less are more money, more time, more calm, more freedom.” [14]

Becker has since downsized 75% of his possessions and written five books and a course detailing his experiences and methods of living a minimalist lifestyle. [15] [16] Becker moved from Vermont with his wife and two children to Arizona, where they have remained since. [7] [9]

He shared his family's experience as minimalists in the 2013 film Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things, by American filmmakers Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, known professionally as The Minimalists. [7] He also played the role of his pastor grandfather Harold Salem in the film Heart of a Shepherd. [6] [17]

Inspired by his wife Kim Becker's own experience being adopted, in 2015 Becker and his wife founded The Hope Effect, a non-profit organization for orphan care. [15] [18]

Publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minimalism</span> Movements in various forms of art and design

In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in Western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-minimal art practices, which extend or reflect on minimalism's original objectives. Minimalism's key objectives were to strip away conventional characterizations of art through bringing the importance of the object or the experience a viewer has for the object with minimal mediation from the artist. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Donald Judd, Agnes Martin, Dan Flavin, Carl Andre, Robert Morris, Anne Truitt and Frank Stella.

The historicity of the Bible is the question of the Bible's relationship to history—covering not just the Bible's acceptability as history but also the ability to understand the literary forms of biblical narrative. Questions on biblical historicity are typically separated into evaluations of whether the Old Testament and Hebrew Bible accurately record the history of ancient Israel and Judah and the second Temple period, and whether the Christian New Testament is an accurate record of the historical Jesus and of the Apostolic Age. This tends to vary depending upon the opinion of the scholar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simple living</span> Simplified, minimalistic lifestyle

Simple living refers to practices that promote simplicity in one's lifestyle. Common practices of simple living include reducing the number of possessions one owns, depending less on technology and services, and spending less money. In addition to such external changes, simple living also reflects a person's mindset and values. Simple living practices can be seen in history, religion, art, and economics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Johnson (composer)</span> American composer (1939–2024)

Thomas Floyd Johnson was an American composer and music critic associated with minimalism. After a religious upbringing in Colorado, he studied at Yale with Allen Forte and in New York City with Morton Feldman. There he covered the work of several noted composers, bringing them to wider attention in The Village Voice. He was the first to apply the term minimal to music in his 1972 article "The Slow-Motion Minimal Approach".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joshua Harris (author)</span> American writer, former pastor

Joshua Eugene Harris is an American former Evangelical Christian pastor. Harris' 1997 book I Kissed Dating Goodbye, in which he laid out his ideas concerning a Biblically based Christian approach to dating and relationships, helped shape purity culture for many Christian millennials. Harris was lead pastor of Covenant Life Church, the founding church of Sovereign Grace Ministries, in Gaithersburg, Maryland from 2004 until 2015. In 2018, Harris disavowed I Kissed Dating Goodbye and discontinued its publication. The following year, Harris announced that he was separating from his wife, had "undergone a massive shift in regard to my faith in Jesus" and had given up on his Christian faith.

Minimal music is a form of art music or other compositional practice that employs limited or minimal musical materials. Prominent features of minimalist music include repetitive patterns or pulses, steady drones, consonant harmony, and reiteration of musical phrases or smaller units. It may include features such as phase shifting, resulting in what is termed phase music, or process techniques that follow strict rules, usually described as process music. The approach is marked by a non-narrative, non-teleological, and non-representational approach, and calls attention to the activity of listening by focusing on the internal processes of the music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Stanley</span> American pastor and televangelist (1932–2023)

Charles Frazier Stanley Jr. was an American Southern Baptist pastor and writer. He was senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta for 49 years and took on emeritus status in 2020. He founded and was president of In Touch Ministries which widely broadcasts his sermons through television and radio. He also served two one-year terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, from 1984 to 1986.

Less is more is a principle found in several traditions. Its basic meaning is to keep things simple, similar to the concept of minimalism. Its use in architecture emerges from the idea that simplicity and clarity lead to good design. The concept is often associated with the modernism movement in architecture and design, although it can be applied to many fields, including art, literature, music, and lifestyle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugene H. Peterson</span> American translator (1932–2018)

Eugene Hoiland Peterson was an American Presbyterian minister, scholar, theologian, author, and poet. He wrote over 30 books, including the Gold Medallion Book Award–winner The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language, an idiomatic paraphrasing commentary and translation of the Bible into modern American English using a dynamic equivalence translation approach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nehemiah</span> Central figure of the biblical Book of Nehemiah

Nehemiah is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. He is portrayed as governor of Persian Judea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joshua Cohen (writer)</span> American novelist and story writer

Joshua Aaron Cohen is an American novelist and story writer, best known for his works Witz (2010), Book of Numbers (2015), and Moving Kings (2017). Cohen won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel The Netanyahus (2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louie Giglio</span> American pastor

Louie Giglio is an American Christian pastor. He is the leader of Passion City Church in Atlanta. The founder of the Passion Movement, he is an author and public speaker.

Intentional living is any lifestyle based on an individual's or group's conscious attempts to live according to their values and beliefs. These can include lifestyles based on religious, political or ethical values, as well as for self-improvement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ed Young (Fellowship Church)</span> American pastor and author

Edwin Barry "Ed" Young is the founding and senior pastor of Fellowship Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Cole</span> American poet (born 1957)

Peter Cole is a MacArthur-winning poet and translator who lives in Jerusalem and New Haven. Cole was born in 1957 in Paterson, New Jersey. He attended Williams College and Hampshire College, and moved to Jerusalem in 1981. He has been called "one of the handful of authentic poets of his own American generation" by the critic Harold Bloom. In a 2015 interview in The Paris Review, he described his work as poet and translator as "at heart, the same activity carried out at different points along a spectrum."

Mark Batterson is an American pastor and author. Batterson serves as lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. NCC was recognized as one of the Most Innovative and Most Influential Churches in America by Outreach Magazine in 2008. Batterson is also the author of the books Win the Day,In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, and Wild Goose Chase. Batterson's New York Times bestseller The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears was released in December 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Minimalists</span> American duo promoting minimalist lifestyle

The Minimalists are American authors, podcasters, filmmakers, and public speakers Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, who promote a minimalist lifestyle. They are known for the Netflix documentaries Minimalism (2016) and the Emmy-nominated Less Is Now (2021); the New York Times bestselling book Love People, Use Things (2021); The Minimalists Podcast; and their minimalism blog. Educator T.K. Coleman joined The Minimalists as podcast co-host in August 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Jeffress</span> Pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas

Robert James Jeffress Jr. is an American Southern Baptist pastor, author, radio host, and televangelist. He is the senior pastor of the 14,000-member First Baptist Church, a megachurch in Dallas, Texas, and is a Fox News Contributor. His sermons are broadcast on the television and radio program Pathway to Victory, which is broadcast on more than 1,200 television stations in the United States and 28 other countries, and is heard on 900 stations and broadcast live in 195 countries.

Saverio Guerra is an American actor, best known for his roles as Bob in the sitcom Becker and Mocha Joe in Curb Your Enthusiasm, along with numerous other roles in films and television series.

Minimalist cinema is related to the art and philosophy of minimalism.

References

  1. 1 2 Ehman, Mandi (2014-08-25). "Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow in the Life of Joshua Becker". Life Your Way. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  2. 1 2 "About the Author: Joshua Becker". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  3. 1 2 "OETC Community Interview: Joshua Becker". Educational Technology Purchasing Consortium. 2016-09-16. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
  4. "And the 2015 #SUCCESSBlogStars Are…". SUCCESS. 2015-09-17. Archived from the original on 2019-09-10. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  5. Valliant, Michael (2019-01-15). "Uncluttered:Less Stuff and More Adventure". Tidewater Times. Easton, MD: David C. Pulzone. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
  6. 1 2 Pharris, Kelda J.L. (2017-12-04). "Biopic captures pastor's deeds: From 10 to 96, Harold Salem has led a full life". AberdeenNews.com. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Floersch, Alexandra (2017-09-11). "'Distraction from happiness'Writer encourages people to live with less". The Jamestown Sun. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  8. Lange-Kubick, Cindy (2014-02-06). "A minimalist comes to town". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  9. 1 2 Andrews, Avital (2019-03-07). "Q&A with Minimalist Author Joshua Becker". AAA Via Magazine Arizona. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  10. Becker, Joshua (2016). The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own. About the Author: WaterBrook Multnomah. p. 231. ISBN   9781601427960.
  11. Hall, Derek (2018-12-15). "Feeling holiday stress? Consider a minimalist approach..." AZ Central for USA Today. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  12. Becker, Joshua (2019-01-25). "The Top 5 Ways to Declutter Your Home—and Keep It That Way". Parade. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  13. Chandramouli, Devishobha (2016-06-08). "The More Of Less: Craft An Intentional Life With Minimalism". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  14. Armstrong, Lisa (2018-10-22). "How to Raise a Minimalist". Real Simple. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
  15. 1 2 Black, Michelle L. (2019-03-26). "I Tried Minimalism—and I Saved $150,000 in the Last 10 and a Half Years". Reader's Digest. Retrieved 2019-04-30.
  16. Kaysen, Ronda (2019-03-29). "The Gurus of Tidiness: If You Like Marie Kondo …". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-04-30.
  17. Amundson, Barry (2018-05-13). "'Movie to premiere about Sunday morning regional TV staple who's still preaching at almost 97'". Duluth News Tribune. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  18. "How Joshua Becker Plans To Revolutionize Orphan Care In 2 Years". Frugaling. Retrieved 2019-05-09.