[1] Himes' grandfather was John R. Rice, dean of American fundamentalists for decades until his death in 1980, and mentor to many younger Baptist preachers including Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell, as well as founding editor of The Sword of the Lord newspaper.
After leaving Microsoft, he founded Project Alchemy, a non-profit company providing technology assistance, training, consulting, database and web solutions to hundreds of grassroots organizations working for social justice in the Pacific Northwest.
In 2011, Himes published The Sword of the Lord: The Roots of Fundamentalism in an American Family, a history of the growth and development of fundamentalist Christianity over two centuries in the United States.
In 2012, Himes was founding director of Charter for Compassion International, a global movement to create compassionate cities and communities.
CLF works to research, educate, and foster cross-collaboration to bring embodied carbon of buildings and infrastructure down to zero.