Retiring, and Leaving an Incredible Legacy
by Josh Duff
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On May 31, 2020, W. David Duff (hereafter, Dad) officially retired from his position as Director of Ecola Bible College. In some ways, this signals the end of a remarkable era. For one, there can be few events in the life of a ministry as momentous as the retirement of the founder. Further, Dad held the position of Director for over thirty years—a long tenure by ministry standards. Further still, everyone who knows Dad recognizes the mark of his unique personality in the very character of Ecola. In what follows, I want to reflect upon that legacy.
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Dad is passionate about the changed life. He traces this passion to his own experience of profound change while he was a student at Capernwray Hall, the flagship Torchbearers school in England. When he talks about his time before Capernwray, he pictures himself as directionless and distracted, wanting to serve God, but unsure of where he fit into the kingdom. He served on staff at the Cannon Beach Conference Center, tried a couple different colleges, shaped surfboards and surfed them, played guitar and wrote music. But it was at Capernwray, while immersed in God’s Word, that life finally clicked. He left England on a mission—and with an idea for a new Bible school on the Oregon Coast.
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It’s funny that Dad pictures himself as a late bloomer. How many 22-year-olds have a vision for starting a Bible school? How many 23-year-olds
actually start one
? How many 20-somethings begin a ministry that will thrive, and occupy them into their 70s? It is astonishingly rare; but Dad is one of those people. Even so, when Dad speaks about the founding of Ecola, he’s always careful to say, “God gave me the idea for Ecola; it’s His school.” I love the way he phrases it because it’s so Dad—giving God the glory, and trusting His providence, while at the same time accepting responsibility for the task that God had given him.
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In fact, Dad has always held the ministry of Ecola with an open hand. Shortly after my parents were married, they sensed God’s call to leave Cannon Beach, and Ecola. They obediently followed, and spent several years pastoring a small Village Missions church in the unincorporated logging town of Valsetz, Oregon (now a ghost town). When that assignment came to an end, Dad took a position at the Village Missions headquarters in Dallas, Oregon, where he put his creativity to work making promotional materials for the mission, and later designing and remodeling the current Village Missions offices.
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I was born shortly after the move to Dallas, and I spent my first twelve years there, along with my two sisters, Hanni and Kristin. Those were productive years for Dad and Mom. Dad was able to finish college, and then graduate school. Throughout those years, Dad continued to serve as president of Ecola’s board of directors, and Mom and Dad, who were heavily involved in our church’s youth ministry, mentored high school students, and encouraged many of them to attend Ecola. (One of those students was Rod Moore, who sent his sons, Sam and Benjamin, to Ecola this past year!)
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As they neared the end of their time in Dallas, Dad and Mom began to feel restless, and they wondered if God might be preparing them for another transition. During that same time, Ecola entered into a difficult season. An opportunity presented itself to move the school to its own campus in another coastal town, and the leadership was divided over whether to accept the offer, or to keep Ecola in Cannon Beach. I remember Dad sitting next to our big rotary phone, talking for hours about the future of the school (this was in the days of high-anxiety “long distance” calls). After months of discussion and prayer, the board decided to keep Ecola in Cannon Beach, and asked Dad and Mom if they would return to lead the school again for a season. They answered the call, and the rest is the thirty-year history many of you know so well.
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Throughout these three decades, I’ve seen Dad’s vision and values shape the character of Ecola—I even see it in the computer I used to compose this letter. Many of you know Dad is an Apple computer geek. He has always enjoyed telling people that when he returned to Cannon Beach in the early 1990s, the school
had no working computer
, but rather a collection of typewriters in various states of disrepair. Today, the Ecola staff can usually take for granted that we’ll have sleek, dependable Mac products to assist us in our work. Beyond this, the soundboards, recording equipment, projectors, visual presenters, the phone system, the several iterations of our website, and all other tech is here because Dad strongly believed these devices and systems would benefit the work of Ecola. (One of that last things he told me before he retired was to update my aging MacBook.)
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We can see Dad’s legacy in our properties, and beautiful offices. During Dad’s tenure, Ecola has acquired the Elliot House, which we use for staff housing, the multi-dwelling property on Spruce where we house our guest faculty, and the Fir Lodge along with its 2.6 acres of undeveloped land. Dad never wanted to build an empire, but these properties have been an enormous blessing to the school. They have helped us to keep operational costs low, to grow the program, and to practice hospitality. Many people don’t know that Dad and Mom carefully remodeled these buildings, and that Dad designed the entire floor plan for the Locust, and for our beautiful offices.
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We can see the influence most of all in many changed lives. Dad and Mom have been involved in a number of ministries over the years, but the lives that have been changed at Ecola will always be the heart of the legacy. They led Ecola through some of its most precarious years, with low enrollments threatening closure; they saw the school through a golden season of expanding programs, record numbers of applications, and long waiting lists. Through good times and troubled times, Dad and Mom have ministered alongside hundreds of guest teachers and their spouses, mentored dozens of staff members, and influenced hundreds of School of Ministry students and thousands first-year students.
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You may wonder what Dad and Mom will be up to in this next chapter of their lives. I’m happy to report that, God willing, they will continue to be a big part of Ecola. Dad will continue to hold his position as president of the board of directors, and he will return to Cannon Beach a couple times each year to teach Marriage and Family, and Principles of Ministry. You may find them out here during the summer visiting their grandkids, helping with a project, or drinking coffee and telling stories in the Ecola office.
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For now, Dad and Mom have settled into their new home just south of McCall, Idaho, where they are resting, reminiscing, and looking forward to the years of ministry that lie ahead. The Ecola staff, and board of directors would love for those of you who have been blessed by Mom and Dad over the years to reach out to them personally with retirement cards, letters, or gifts to aid in the costs of their transition. You may reach them by mail at their new address:
Dave and Drenda Duff
19 Buckskin Drive
Donnelly, ID 83615
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Quality One-Year Bible Education
Cannon Beach, OR
Since 1972
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