Missional Marketplace The Stone Table

A recent Barna survey revealed that half of all church-going Christians cannot identify the Great Commission. So before we dive deeply into the role of the marketplace in God’s mission in the world, this episode goes back to the basics and unpacks the reality of Jesus’ final instructions to us: “Go and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28:19)

Over 3 billion people are considered unreached with the Good News of the Gospel today. That’s 42% of the global population and rising. A huge portion of these people are what we call “inconveniently lost.” There are no Christians, no churches, no Bibles, no way for them to know about Jesus unless we make extreme sacrifices to go and tell them. This is the greatest injustice in the world today and one we are passionate about engaging as marketplace believers.

In this week’s missional moment, we talk to our dear friend Dick Brogden, the global leader of LiveDead and missionary to Saudi Arabia. Dick and his wife Jenn are on the front lines of the Great Commission in more ways than one. You do not want to miss Dick’s challenge to take up this Great Commission calling. It will encourage and discomfort you in all the right ways.

You can learn more about the incredible work LiveDead is doing in the hardest to reach places around the world by visiting https://livedead.org.

Please share, follow, and rate this show (we prefer all the stars if you don’t mind) on your podcast platform of choice. It goes a long way to help establish us as a new podcast. You can also find more information about Missional Marketplace and The Stone Table here:

The Stone Table:

https://TheStoneTable.org

https://www.facebook.com/thestonetable

https://www.instagram.com/thestonetable_org/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/13673066/admin/

Missional Marketplace Book:

https://www.erikcooper.me

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1733022732/

What was God’s original design for work and rest? Are these two concepts opposites? Are they enemies? This week on the podcast we talk about the “dance” of work and rest, and how embracing both as part of God’s design for our lives is part of living in Gospel fullness.

We also dive deeply into the topic of biblical retirement. This may be difficult for some of us to hear, but the modern Western definition of retirement is not in the Bible. Does this mean we’re meant to work a grinding 8-5 job until our dying breath? Not at all. But reimagining retirement through the lens of the Gospel is an important exercise for every believer.

Our friend Chuck Rapp shares his personal story in this week’s missional moment. After a 40+ year corporate career, Chuck is finding new ways to work, worship, and serve in his late 60s. No matter your season of life, Chuck’s story will encourage and inspire you to think differently about the future.

You can learn more about Chuck’s work at One Mission Society by visiting https://onemissionsociety.org

Please share, follow, and rate this show (we prefer all the stars if you don’t mind) on your podcast platform of choice. It goes a long way to help establish us as a new podcast. You can also find more information about Missional Marketplace and The Stone Table here:

The Stone Table:

https://TheStoneTable.org

https://www.facebook.com/thestonetable

https://www.instagram.com/thestonetable_org/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/13673066/admin/

Missional Marketplace Book:

https://www.erikcooper.me

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1733022732/

Honoring God in our hiring practices seems way easier than honoring God in our firing practices. If the Gospel redeems all things, how can we both hire and fire people to the glory of God? It begins with seeing people the way God sees them.

On this week’s podcast, we talk about hiring and firing employees. People are more than cogs in a wheel or economic transactions to boost our bottom line. All human beings carry God’s Image (Imago Dei), and yet sometimes working relationships have to end. There will never be a warm and fuzzy way to terminate someone’s employment, but when we truly see people and not just transactions, we can love them well even when we have to say goodbye.

This week’s missional moment features Konica Miles, one of our favorite leaders at our sister company, CRF Affordable Housing. Konica has long-managed our housing portfolio’s largest property, overseeing 424 units of multifamily apartments on Indy’s west side. She is both tenacious and loving, bringing her desire to honor God and love her neighbor with her to work each day. You will absolutely love hearing what Konica has to share. I believe it will inspire you in your place of work, too.

You can learn more about CRF Affordable Housing here: https://crf.net

Please share, follow, and rate this show (we prefer all the stars if you don’t mind) on your podcast platform of choice. It goes a long way to help establish us as a new podcast. You can also find more information about Missional Marketplace and The Stone Table here:

The Stone Table:

https://TheStoneTable.org

https://www.facebook.com/thestonetable

https://www.instagram.com/thestonetable_org/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/13673066/admin/

Missional Marketplace Book:

https://www.erikcooper.me

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1733022732/

The movie and TV industry have continually categorized the businessman as the villain. From Mr. Krabs to Gordon Gecko, the marketplace and money have become synonymous with power and greed. Why did this happen, and how does this impact the idea of our work being the fulfillment of the Great Commandment? There are plenty of examples of businesspeople genuinely being the bad guy, but these are the sin-broken counterfeit and not the real thing.

On this week’s podcast we discuss the real issue behind business and greed (hint: it’s not the money). When we elevate anything above God, it hijacks God’s original design for this life. Biblical business is about adding value, problem solving, and meeting needs of your fellow man – to love your neighbor as yourself. Keep God in the forefront and business won't be your idol, it will become your avenue to serve.

For this week’s missional moment, we talk to our friend Matthew Rohrs, Executive Director of Sinapis. Sinapis fosters entrepreneurial development in some of the poorest places around the globe. They believe entrepreneurship and poverty alleviation go together, and Matthew is leading the charge to equip and release thousands of global entrepreneurs to the glory of God.

You can find out all about the incredible work of Sinapis here: https://www.sinapis.org

Please share, follow, and rate this show (we prefer all the stars if you don’t mind) on your podcast platform of choice. It goes a long way to help establish us as a new podcast. You can also find more information about Missional Marketplace and The Stone Table here:

The Stone Table:

https://TheStoneTable.org

https://www.facebook.com/thestonetable

https://www.instagram.com/thestonetable_org/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/13673066/admin/

Missional Marketplace Book:

https://www.erikcooper.me

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1733022732/

Even though our everyday work was created through the glorious energy of Genesis chapters 1 and 2, we experience our everyday work through the “thorns and thistles” of Genesis chapter 3. Most of us feel the exhaustion of a work life that is so far less than what God intended it to be. So how can we reframe that 8-5 (or whatever hours you work each day) through the lens of the Gospel? Redeemed by Jesus, our work actually becomes a daily opportunity to fulfill the Great Commandment – to worship God and love our neighbors as ourselves.

On this week’s podcast, we take a wilderness journey with the Israelites to see what old-school idol worship can teach us about our day-jobs. And we learn a new Greek word often used in ancient business transactions that quite literally changes everything.

This week’s missional moment features my dear friend Darren Messick. After spending 25 years at what some would consider the pinnacle of full-time ministry, Darren found himself back in the marketplace loading airplanes for a global shipping company. This vocational move had nothing to do with burnout or scandal. To the contrary, he truly believes God led him there. Darren’s story is inspiring and his attitude is contagious. You don’t want to miss it!

Please share, follow, and rate this show (we prefer all the stars if you don’t mind) on your podcast platform of choice. It goes a long way to help establish us as a new podcast. You can also find more information about Missional Marketplace and The Stone Table here:

The Stone Table:

https://TheStoneTable.org

https://www.facebook.com/thestonetable

https://www.instagram.com/thestonetable_org/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/13673066/admin/

Missional Marketplace Book:

https://www.erikcooper.me

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1733022732/

What is your Theology of Work? You have one even if you can’t articulate it. For many of us, our work theology is more assumed than taught. Work must be the result of The Fall. Adam and Eve screwed up paradise and we all got stuck with a mediocre 8-5 as part of their punishment. So work is just this thing we have to endure to support our families until Jesus comes back and finally banishes this thing called work to hell with the devil and all his minions. Does that feel familiar at all?

What if we told you that many of the things you believe about your everyday work aren't biblical at all? What if we reframe our theology of work around the truth? Would it solve all our job-related problems? Of course not. We still live with the "thorns and thistles" sin produced in this world. But it could give us a renewed picture of what everyday work can be this side of eternity.

This week’s Missional Moment features a wonderful conversation with our dear friend Ryan Crozier. Ryan was a pastor and an entrepreneur, and the Lord ultimately led him to the mission field utilizing his passion for both the Gospel and the marketplace to push the Kingdom of God forward in Eastern Europe. Agency Boon is a full-scale marketing agency that is driven by an underlying passion for the people of Romania. We think Ryan’s story and perspective will encourage you to embrace your everyday work as part of God’s Great Story.

Please share, follow, and rate this show (we prefer all the stars if you don’t mind) on your podcast platform of choice. It goes a long way to help establish us as a new podcast. Other helpful links related to this show are listed below:

Agency Boon:

https://www.agencyboon.com

Missional Marketplace Book:

https://www.erikcooper.me

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1733022732/

The Stone Table:

https://TheStoneTable.org

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