Tom Paino is the first man I ever called Pastor. To this day, I still can’t call him Tom. It just doesn’t feel right. He’s Pastor Tom, a title of respect that forever belongs attached to his name. His voice is as familiar to me as my own family. From the time I was a...
My dad grew up in a poor pastor’s home. My grandfather pastored small Assemblies of God churches all up and down the east coast of the United States. Sometimes the church had actual money for his salary and sometimes they would have to pay him in chickens. Live...
We love hearing (and sharing) stories from the field. It helps us to see that this is more than just an idea, but that real people are being touched each and every day by those who are on the "front lines." This is a short story from our good friends at Live Dead:...
This suburban boy from middle America just spent a day in the middle of nowhere. If you know anything about The Stone Table, you know we have a huge passion for the unreached places in the world. We leverage our resources, often through business as mission (BAM), to...
Chuck E. Cheese is a casino for kids. Debate me if you want, but I firmly believe the trail of ownership for this gambling franchise masquerading as a pizza place will lead you straight to Caesar’s Palace, The Mirage, and MGM Grand. The bright flashing lights. The...
Every few weeks I find myself in the same dilemma. Entering a place far from my Christian upbringing right in the middle of my neighborhood. The atmosphere is different from anything I’ve ever known. A staunch golden buddha greets each guest as they enter. Adding to...
Incredible things are happening in certain parts of the Middle East. There is a true awakening taking place amongst Muslims, a sovereign move of God like we’ve never seen in our lifetime. In one strategic area you would know well, Muslims are coming to Jesus in mass...
A white woman from Wisconsin, who in her own words was “all dry-cleaning and catered lunches,” moves hours from civilization to the middle of the African bush and marries a tribal leader from an unreached people group. Some legends are embellished, but not Dolfi....
This is a story of a Business as Mission (BAM) practitioner on the field using business as a mechanism for planting the church in areas of the world where you can’t do that with traditional missionary methods. In order to protect the work being done we will not be...
A few years back, I sat in my car outside our neighborhood Walmart and wrote myself an email. Some people just talk to themselves, but I prefer to put my neurotic episodes in writing. While I was obviously proving every stereotype about the crazy people who shop at...
You know one of the things we talk about here at The Stone Table is how our stories, the story of our life, the story of our careers, really the story of everything as a follower of Jesus, is really part of a much greater story. We talk about our work and the great story and I’ve had some folks ask me, you know, “What does it look like to engage my work and my career and my vocation through that great story? Is it ok if I like my work? Is it ok if I pursue a career that excites me? Is it okay if I make money and profit from my work? Or, does embedding my story in a greater story mean that I can’t enjoy any of those things?”
I just wanted to take a second and talk to all of my pastor friends out there today. You know, I spent 12 years in full time ministry and really, I think over this this last year and a half, have felt such a pull and a longing to encourage my pastor friends because I think this season of COVID and 2020, and now into 2021, has been one of the most difficult seasons to be a leader of any kind but especially a spiritual leader in our polarized world where everything seems to create conflict even within the context of our local churches.
We were so excited here recently to launch this brand-new book, this resource, from The Stone Table called Missional Marketplace: Finding Your Everyday Work in God’s Eternal Plan and want to let you know that the paperback has been available for a little while now, but now the kindle book, and also the audiobook, of this is available now at Amazon and at other retail distributors. So, if you’re into audiobooks, I can actually read this book to you as you kind of go about your business. So, if you’d like to hear me read this book to you, you can download the audiobook right now as well. So, Missional Marketplace: Finding Your Everyday Work in God’s Eternal Plan, go pick it up right now and we pray it’s an encouragement to you.