Year of Plenty -- Review
YEAR OF PLENTY: One Suburban Family, Four Rules, and 365 Days of Homegrown Adventure in Pursuit of Christian Living. Minneapolis:
Sparkhouse Press. 2011.
Americans
live in a land of plenty. Even during an
economic downturn most of us who live in this country live fairly well, especially considering what
was considered normal a generation or two earlier. We can get a wide variety of food and other
products at relatively inexpensive prices throughout the year. I can get blueberries from Chile in the
winter and then get more local Michigan grown berries in the summer – no need
to deprive myself of the pleasure of fresh fruit and vegetables, even if they
have to be shipped thousands of miles, burning large amounts of fuel to provide
for my “needs.” But what if we were to
do an experiment and try to live not only more simply, but closer to the sources? And if we were to do this, would it have
theological or spiritual implications?
These are the kinds of questions raised by Craig Goodwin in Year of Plenty.
Goodwin is a
Presbyterian pastor in the Spokane, Washington area, and a graduate of Fuller
Theological Seminary. I need to note
that Goodwin began his seminary career at Fuller just months after I left the
school with my Ph.D. As far as I know
we’ve never met, but life is full of interesting connections. The book itself is Goodwin’s first, and for a
first book this is an excellent example of writing, and I think readers will
find the book to be enjoyable and a blessing.
As for the book itself,
Goodwin has mixed narrative with theological reflection, seeking to find a
connection between his evangelical Christian faith and his daily life. The narrative begins with what might be
considered a rash response to a feeling of discontent at the emptiness of a
consumer-driven observance of Christmas.
Many of us feel empty after Christmas – all the build up and then let
down at the realization the expense of trying to “keep with the Jones” brings
us little joy. Thus, as Goodwin and
his young family sat in a Seattle area Thai restaurant, just days after
Christmas, feeling empty, they decided to embark on an experiment – to not only
live more simply and more economically, but to “break free of that hunger, that
need for more. We were fed up with being
stuck on autopilot and longed to be more intentional about what we bought and
consumed” (p. 6). Theologically this
experiment would be rooted in a theology of plenty, where following Jesus could
have serious implications for living daily life. He confesses that it didn’t start out as
distinctly Christian effort, but as Christians, this experiment would both draw
upon and test their faith.
Moving from the Thai
restaurant to a Starbucks, the family decided on four basic rules that would
guide their year-long experiment. First
they would buy local goods and
products, especially their food. For
them, this meant limiting their purchases to products from northern Idaho and
eastern Washington (no blueberries in winter!).
Part of this effort was designed to help them connect with the
producers, which meant committing themselves to not only purchase local goods
but go on field trips. The second rule was to buy used products. Thus, Craig’s List and garage sales became
central to their lives. Third they would
embrace “homegrown” foods. This included pulling out a lawn and planting
a garden as well as raising chickens in the backyard. Fourth, they embraced the
“homemade” rule. When they couldn’t get what they needed in
other ways, then they would try, if possible, to make it at home. To implement this rule they did allow some
flexibility in finding the raw materials.
Finally, they added a modifier of sorts.
Since Goodwin’s wife, Nancy, had once taught in a mission school in
Thailand, they decided to use Thailand as a source of products, especially
coffee, that were difficult to obtain otherwise.
Goodwin writes that the
goal of this effort wasn’t “to reject the economic realities of the world, but
rather to enter them intentionally with eyes open to the impact of purchases,
even if it’s a can of tuna fish or pineapple, the majority of which we would
learn originates in Thailand” (p. 17).
The one major problem that they faced in this experiment is that they
were committed to starting January 1, 2008 and it was December 27, 2007. That gave them little time to prepare –
something that they would quickly learn made the experiment difficult –
especially since they were embarking on this effort in January in a region
heavily impacted by winter weather. This
meant they had to be resourceful as time went on. There would be interesting implications –
like when his young daughter needed a present for a birthday party and the
rules didn’t allow going down to Wal-Mart to buy the expected toy. They worked it out and actually found a gift
– a handmade gift from a local artisan – that proved to be a hit, but it was
one of those complications that make living locally difficult.
In the course of their
journey they would face many hurdles and even some conflict. They faced temptation to go around the rules,
but in the end they experienced a life-transforming engagement with real people
and real realities. They discovered the
implications of the choices they made.
Indeed, the decision to raise chickens even had some important dietary
implications. They also discovered what
is truly “necessary,” such as community and authenticity. They also discovered
– though it wasn’t on their minds when they started – what it meant to be
green. The decisions they made to live locally
and buy used meant that they entered into the conversations about
sustainability, carbon footprints, and recycling.
One of the lenses
through which Goodwin views the efforts undertaken during this year-long
experiment is the missional movement. As
he was embarking on this work, he was a student in the Missional Leadership
Doctor of Ministry program at Fuller. He
notes that even as he was having his eyes opened to the environmental movement,
the missional church movement was also moving in this direction. He notes that he learned from Alan Roxburgh,
a leading figure in missional church work, that in the modern era the church
had dematerialized and spiritualized Jesus, so that the spiritual and the
material worlds no longer intersected – and thus as a result the church lost
concern for the environment. He notes
that the “good news of the gospel is that God comes into the world not just as
a spiritual being, but that God comes embodied in the flesh, spirit, and
material wedded in an inseparable unity.”
As a result, any honest engagement with Jesus “disrupts efforts to
imagine a world neatly divided between the spiritual and material” (p.
166).
The book ends with an
account of their trip to Thailand, where they were confronted by two very
different worlds in Thailand itself.
Having already been sensitized to the impact of one’s decisions on the
environment and one’s neighbor, they faced the contrast between what they
experienced visiting a mission school and villages outside the urban area, and
the resort where they stayed at the end of their trip. This experience only further confirmed what
they had discovered living by the four rules.
Now, when the year ended they did add back some flexibility to the way
they purchased goods and services, but their lifestyles and their faith had
been transformed.
The reader will
experience a challenge to consider embracing at least some of the “rules” so as
to be more connected to the community and the world. We know we live in a consumer-driven world,
especially in the United States where the economy is based on our purchasing
goods and services. Oh, and if you get
inspired there are appendices that cover a number of “issues” including turning
your lawn into a garden and raising chickens!
So read and be challenged in life style and in faith.
Comments
Thanks again for taking the time to read through Year of Plenty and give it such a thorough and thoughtful review. I'll add a permanent link to this post at my blog in the review section.
All the best,
Craig