This little piggy went to market
In the last few days I have seriously reconsidered the way that At God’s Table interacts with you, its supporters. Someone anxious to help expand the resources and reach of this ministry suggested that its marketing model might be better served as with a membership model rather than its present donor form. The suggestion had appeal, principally because it could increase revenues for the cause. Many other Hebraic roots ministries operate under the membership model. But after some discussion, prayer and reflection, I have decided not to go that way. I think you need to know why.
At God’s Table is really a journey, not a library. It is not really about providing information to a mass audience. Yes, there are videos and audios and books and plenty of word studies, but the driving force behind all these is not revenue. It is the passion to know the truth. At God’s Table is simply my personal journey, written in a way that I hope allows others to have a voice for their own journeys. I try to articulate what I feel on this road so that you can put into words what you are feeling and discovering. At the end of the day, it really isn’t about the money. Of course, it takes money to visit readers all over the globe, to provide for those who fall through the cracks, to publish, to gather together in Israel or Africa or wherever. But if there were no followers at all, I would still go forward. I would still think, write, teach, encourage and more than anything else, provide a safe place where you can talk about what you are learning, struggling with, hoping for or failing. At God’s Table exists because I need that kind of place, and I am pretty sure others do to.
The numbers of At God’s Table really defy the typical marketing model. The truth is that there are only about 200 or so regular monthly supporters. Yes, there were 6000 on the mailing list. We challenged people to make a commitment and ended up with 187. Then, a few years later, we did another purge. From 3400 to 650. Then from 2200 to 908. But of the current 934, only about 200 are really offering financial support. That’s OK with me! People come and go. This journey isn’t for everyone. Sometimes it is just too much to bear. I know. I no longer teach at Master’s because of this pursuit. Other significant supports have decided not to keep traveling. Circumstances change. But I am thrilled to have 200 people who want to go down this road. I never expected that. It is an honor to serve you.
So I have decided not to pursue the membership model. At God’s Table is unique because it is about traveling, not collecting. Those who want to travel together may decide to help, but they don’t have to. I am just enjoying the company.
Thank you so much for allowing me to walk with you.
Skip
Dear Skip,
Thank you, too! For your faithfulness to your Master and mine, and all of us. This is my community (I guess that is easy to tell), and I went decades trying to find this Body. This is really thank you to all who are here. Thank you for your presence, and your bravery for that presence. The Spirit delivers that collective presence to all from all, and I am most thankful to YHVH for His Spirit and His Presence, without which the rest could not be. I am humbled into the dust every day because of all of this, and vastly encouraged, too. What would we do without this faithfulness? Much has been given to us. To get the full benefit of this banquet, we have to bring ourselves, and the loaves and fishes in our hands, too. The multiplying cannot occur if we don’t show up with what we have in our hands. As always, we get what we give. That is only right.
Skip I laud your decision for I believe that kind of attitude is what many other ministries may lack. I feel guilty that I have made very sparodic contributions both financially and personally – the worn out phrase ‘…. life just gets in the way’ is all I can say but I hope that will change in the future and I can donate some funds.
I learn so much from you and others on this site which I found by accident looking up a Hebrew word and was sent to your site in 2009! ( I have sent many others there and know four people who are still reading – one is my dear friend Arnella and her hubby Mike who met in your site!!)
I sometimes wonder how others manage to write regularly with deep and informative insights… I have been moving around the world and taking on other challenges that just seem to eat my time! But just to say a few weeks ago I was praying about an injustice done to my husband years ago that severely affects his life and by extension, mine (Being in the U.K. At present means your TW is in my inbox around 9ish in the mornings but I often don’t get to it till later! ) I prayed a very specific almost demanding prayer ‘ Yah please show me if we are to address this injustice and corruption once and for all please Yah, should I go ahead with my submission to………’ etc (I even said show me today please….time is running out etc etc but only want to do what YOU WANT). I went to the kitchen to get a coffee….. my phone went ping and there was today’s word …. all about Justice and how it is beholden for us to bring righteousness where there is injustice etc.
I could not believe it…..a direct answer within an hour!!. I spent the next two weeks putting the case together I had not doubts (my former legal background found its voice)… we await a response and possible arbitration/intervention and hopefully justice!
Sorry it’s a long piece today but it’s just to say Thank you – YHWH uses you and many of us in amazing and unbelievable ways! Please keep on ‘writing/telling’ your journey – I’m right there with you.
We hope to make a financial donation soon.
Blessings
Christine
Skip, thank you for all you do. Thank you for your transparency and you “realness.” Thank you for a safe place to ask questions and explore. Thank you for letting Gd work through you! I’m so glad we are on the this journey with you, and even when I’m super frustrated with my inability to understand something or wrap my head around my own thinking, it’s good to know that I’m not alone. You are not alone. And I know that my family has been transformed through the things Gd has taught you and that you have had the courage to share. Hugs and love from the Youngbloods. 🙂
(For what it’s worth, I’d have gladly paid a subscription to keep learning. And I hope others will see supporting this community as a bit of a thanks offering in gratitude for your willing work and in anticipation of what more there is yet to learn.)
Thank you Skip for letting us contribute. It was a desire for the truth that brought me to this community. Today’s Word takes me on a daily journey sparring me to think differently.Your insight along with the community comments have changed my walk.Some days I am moved to joyful tears as I discover the compassion of our creator.
Skip,
I am so thankful for you and your work! I have learned so much and been encouraged quite often! I know what it is about! When I started the school Father told me that it would be for HIS glory! That it would be used to show others how HE does things- the Kingdom way! I have not been able to raise funds in the “usual” way. It has been hard! If I had known how hard. 🙂 It is sometimes a very lonely path.BUT, He IS getting the glory! Hallelu YaH! I want to quit more often these days as it gets harder. And yet I know that I must continue until HE completes the work. I’m thankful for others like yourself and the few who get it. May you continue to be blessed as you travel the path He has laid out for you, brother. Shalom Shalom!
I am like many others on this site in that many times I have had the feeling that what was written on a particular day was written just for me. I have been rescued several times from crisis situations. I can only attribute these rescues to answers to prayer. I can only speculate that many who read this site and then abandon it are living in the chaos that surrounds us all and are never able to discern the voice of God when it smacks them right in the face. They run to and fro looking but never seeing, reading but never understanding. They want to be spoon fed the answer to all life’s problems, but refuse to open their mouth.
OK. Now with the cliches. We all know that money talks and BS walks as well as the road to hell is paved with good intentions. If God answers my other prayers, I can surely count on Him to answer my prayer (if I pray it) to provide financial assets that will allow me to share with you.
Thanks for all you have provided to me over the years I have been on this site. When I look back, I am not sure I would have made it to this point without your insight into what God has provided to you to share with us.
Hello Skip and Others,
Thank you for making At God’s Table a personable place of gathering not only with this update, but also by the manner in which you have been blessed to communicate your journey. I have a friend of over four decades who always impressed on me and others the job of a follower of Yeshua is to fit into His program not design one. Small and steady communicates much over the long haul! By the way, that last statement – is something this believer often needs to be reminded of.
David Russell
Hi Skip. I don’t leave comments very often because I usually read then move on to the next thing. I don’t stop and engage with the text or my feelings as I should. I know that needs to change. I began this walk in 2012 after a 7 year search of “what’s wrong with the church” and “why am I feeling this way”? After Gd told me to start asking questions, He used you to answer the first question the Spirit gave me: What patterns of this world am I not to conform to? (Romans 12:1-2) I happened upon an interview you did on Hebrew Nation Radio about living the biblical worldview. Hebrew vs. Greek. I knew immediately this was the answer to my first question (I am to live according to the Hebrew pattern not the Greek pattern). I began to pray for Gd to teach me “think” Hebraically. Fortunately, I have a small community of believers here in NC with whom I meet and study and celebrate Feast Days. Unfortunately, no one in my family is with me on this walk.
Thank you for your faithfulness to provide these word studies and the other materials you make available. I am ALWAYS challenged to peel away another layer of the old paradigm and gain a new perspective. Thank you. It takes a lot of courage to do what we are all doing – sitting in our rowboats battling the strong current that is ever against us – with our backs to the future, of course. For most of us, we are battling the culture, church friends and even our own families (both immediate and extended) and even people who are searching for truth in this “movement”. Being misunderstood is a lonely place, so it’s nice to have all of you to accompany me on this journey. Hope to meet more of you one day. Maybe in Jerusalem or Africa???
Skip,
I appreciate this community and the way the site is organized and participation is allowed. Your willingness to choose contributions over memberships causes me to value this site more than those that employ typical business models of “membership.” It’s entirely possible that I have commitment issues. 🙂
Many sincere thanks for sharing your journey, your struggles, and your understanding with us.
Abraham is the role model.
Skip, God has revealed your journey and simply said “Go!”
And you have. No directions needed. The compass is the heart.
It’s His way.
Thanks for sharing His gift to you . . . as you, in turn, are His gift to us.
Many blessings!
I’ve heard the phrase. When the rubber meets the road. It does have a lot of applications. But as of recent it seems to be the paradigm shift. When it happens you know it. Is it that we need to continue to be shifting to stay in constant communication and in the presence of the Lord I’m sharing this with many in my close Fellowship and they seem to understand. Shalom
Thank you Skip. I need this too.
Thank you for walking and talking and writing and traveling. Strangely, in my 30+ years of walking, I have not encountered a discussion that challenges me to do what He simply says to do and to challenge the culture of Christianity in relationship to Torah.
I need this too. Thank you
“Thank you so much for allowing me to walk with you.”
Oh how your words are reciprocated!
There is such great freedom in learning the Hebrew word meanings and in the simplicity of God’s instruction without all the man made fine print. Never before did I understand the joy we were meant to have, or the purpose. Finally I am free of the crushing responsibility, that somehow I have to make others believe & behave (as if that were even possible!). I and a few sisters here in NW Minnesota came to this discussion through Guardian Angel. Other teachers & preachers have often promoted themselves or their message and proved to be false. I encourage you, Dr Moen, that God is pouring you out for great good. Be true.
In only 2 plus years, your work always mean mountains to me; the Israel trip is deep in my heart; TW is the very first thing I open on my e-mail each morning ~ with HIS mercies brand new at that time, I am always Blessed. I thank YHWH for every minute you have put before us
Skip; I see a good and faithful servant ~ always seeking truth and loving in all ways! May the Lord Bless and Keep You!
Skip what needs to be said is said.
May God guide you in your journey and bless your efforts, and may your hearts desires keep burning so that you may not loose your faith.
Skip, thank you. I try to bless you when I can. I am in the same boat doing inner city ministry and am exactly where you are. The Lord told me to trust Him. Last year we were thousands short, I didn’t freak out. God picked it up this year. I will always try to bless you as I can and I think I speak for those who are in places around the world who may not even be able to give all they would like that we appreciate your ministry and transparency. For me, your words have affirmed me when I have felt the exact same way and reassured myself through your words that, “I’m not crazy.” I believe the Lord will continue to bless you in ways that defy finances. I can’t believe how God has stretched dollars for my family through discounts and rebates when we’ve least expected it. I pray the Lord blesses you in ways that you least expect so that you always know His Handprint is on what you’re doing. Shalom.
How do we help financially if we choose to do so?
Easy. Just go to skipmoen.com/donate
Thank you. It all helps!
Skip, When I consider the works of your hand and the fruit of your heart I am amazed. You have been faithful to your giftings and we who have reaped abundantly of your bounty are obligated by Torah and Shaul to support you. I am ashamed of my meager and sporadic gifts to you throughout the past 6 years. So I repent and ask your forgivness. In keeping with the laws of tushuva I have taken actions today to rectify this shortcoming. If anyone has reaped from your labor and this site it is me. I couldn’t begin to enumerate the number of life challenging paradigms that you lovingly confronted this community with that I have personally wrestled with, ultimately won and gained new ground. I have lost track of the number of times I had to chuck everything I knew and believed only to start over and be born anew. Thank you. From you I have learning how to become a human being, a man, a husband, a warrier and a tzadik. It was on this site 6 years ago I learned what an ezer kenegdo was, and as Christine pointed out, I met my wife, Arnella (her best friend) on this site. Our nickname for you is “the unwitting shadchan!” (matchmaker)
And as a bonus, I have gained a community of awsome, intelligent, caring and loving brothers and sisters from around the world. My heart is full. While I believe you are not about “numbers” , throughout the Scriptures numbers are important (the 144,000 overcomers, the 12 tribes and 12 apostles, the 6 wise virgins versus the 6 foolish) and I am proud to become one of the increasing numbers of monthly subscribers to your ministry and this site that has made such a HUGE difference in my life. May YHWH continue to abundantly bless you, your ezer Roseanne, your children and their children now and forever more. In admiration, affection and gratitude, Michael
No need to apologize. It is an honor to share some part of your story of the perfect match. Makes me joyful to think that I was used that way.
I’m so glad God has put you on this journey Skip! Although TW is typically about a daily Hebrew Word, I found something else…healing.
When I began reading, it was as if somehow you (and others) turned all those deep-down heart matters that I never allowed myself to utter or discuss- into words. I can only compare it to the child who learns a new word and then is able to identify its whole substance.
It was (and is) tremendous healing when we can witness that others feel what we feel. I am reminded that we are all connected and never alone. So, thank you building a bridge and sharing the road –
I remember how a few years ago someone posted a reply that cut to the heart of a matter that resonated with me. I could relate to and identify with that response that made a significant impact on me and it still does.
We never know how, when, where or why something we do or say can change a person’s life for better or for worse, so keep on keeping on Skip, you do make a difference, a big difference.
What a relief….what a relief. So many have gone the route of ‘paid membership’ .. that to be truthful … I no longer even follow them. The pay to play has wound its slippery grasp into everything. Yes, I understand it takes $’s to continue … but few actually believe that if it is needed Yah will provide. Thank you for being of the few who choose to follow the Master no matter what. You have been such an encouragement to our family – both on a spiritual and a physical level, and yes, we are sporadic in our donations – we hope you can forgive and understand our situation. As one gets farther along in life….well, we will be contributing more regularly and knowing that you sincerely do it as a ‘journey’ a journey you have invited us to join in means more than you will ever know.
By the way – I don’t care (and I would bet no one else does either) if you have a fancy dancy website – or one made 20 years ago … it’s the content that is so important to us – not the graphics, nor the ‘best thing out there’. Just saying.
May the Holy One bless you abundantly!
Hello Pam,
I totally hear you and agree with what you’ve said. I just want to point out a couple small things, though, just so people have an understanding of it. And of course, because it’s what I do, the website. 🙂
This website is by no means all that fancy. Again, I understand what you’re saying about it but, in all reality, if this website wasn’t up to the modern required internet standards and technology, then it would be barely even usable. If it were even 5 years old and used technology as recent as 5 years ago, most people’s internet connections would take forever and a day to be able view a page, TW post or comment. Keep in mind that just the storage alone for all the comments people have left and posts Skip has made, takes huge amount of space. And requires every bit of modern technology to use it. There are almost 47,000 comments, 6,200 TW posts, and 87 pages with images, icons etc. A 5-year-old website would typically crash and collapse with the 18,000 plus visitors that use all that content each month.
So, I just felt I needed to share that for you or anyone else’s knowledge. It’s not a matter of luxury, it’s a matter of necessity to have the modern website that’s presented here.
Thank you for your comment and participation.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and decision ~ TW is always a meaningful walk to take with you every morning. It has been shared with our hospital worship group on Monday mornings for the past 3 years. You are the real deal and I want to thank you for your book “Crossing”, I couldn’t put it down.
I am so glad you liked Crossing. Now to write the book about Solomon.
Thank you Skip, My wife live on a whopping 1800 a month social security. Their are other ministries we would love to enjoy the education of their studies presented… for a price. When Ministries go that route my wife and I suffer the loss of much needed learning which we cherish and value very highly. We are new to this movement and when ministries charge we go hungry for knowledge. Again we thank you for this decision. We do save up to purchase seminars and mp3 studies and are truly Blessed.
Skip, I appreciate having a place where questions and dialogue are welcomed. Learning is a journey; an infinite journey. I’m glad this community is more about that journey and less about providing information for a mass audience. Knowing it’s purpose is about the journey has made me more relaxed and not so threatened or combative when new information challenges my pre-existing perspectives. Do you think that some of the criticism of you and Today’s word are because people don’t understand the personal journey aspect? It doesn’t follow the pattern of most teaching ministries out there. Unless people are reading and contributing to the dialog regularly I can see how they may get the wrong impression about it… which makes me sad. Sad because the misunderstanding causes them to miss out on this valuable Journey of discovery.
Membership ministry sites are models, IMHO, of organizations that follow a worldly view of “making money”. Typically but, not always. And I think by and large it shows when you go to them. They have these cute modern flashy advertisements that when clicked on tell you “if you want to see this… pay for it”. And they don’t provide any content for free, other than teasers. Well, I just don’t see how that’s a healthy model to follow for community blogs or websites designed to discuss thoughts and perspectives of people’s individual journeys with the Creator of heaven and earth. Or peddling the word of God for profit is disgusting to me.
That said, though. There’s a time, place, and function for everything. As an added feature for stuff like providing access to streaming videos or quality made recordings that would show conferences, seminars, special teachings, to be able to be a part of a trip across the country or world, to be able to have a part in or the pleasure to watch, yes that would be something people should be pleased and willing to pay for. Why? Well, because you wouldn’t have to shell out 100’s or 1000’s of dollars to personally attend or worry about whether or not you could possibly fit that time into your schedule. So, it would actually be an awesome way to reasonably afford to be included in those events or trips. And all that doesn’t have a single thing to do with, related to, the community blog interaction.
On top of the reality that it takes an awful lot of funding(yes, hard earned cash) to pay for all the equipment like cameras, editing software, experienced personnel to run said equipment, educated people to be able to properly work through all the complicated processes of video production and editing, knowledge and skill to be able to deliver all that content, etc.
So, while I totally agree that it doesn’t fit in with charging a membership fee for an interactive blog community like TW, it would still be a very useful and valuable “addition” to such a place. Giving someone a choice on whether or not they’d like to help fund or pay for such a feature isn’t the same as “requiring it” to be a part of conversations related to our journey of faith. And most definitely it should be looked at and considered. I personally would much rather have an option to pay a small monthly fee to view all that content rather than to have to shell out large one-time fees for each individual recorded or streamed event, teaching, or trip.
That’s my two cents…
Membership has its privileges… in country clubs and man-made institutions, to include the Church.
Thank you for choosing the more narrow ‘journey’ way instead. Community is richer and giving more rewarding when following the Owners manual!
Hi Skip we have come a long way down the road. I found your early Hebrew Words on the Bible .org site, I think it was somewhere is the depths of time around 2003/4 and have been receiving TW since then. I have not been regular in posting comments, but that doesn’t mean that I do not value the fruits of your exceptional labour. Not only has the daily teaching been invaluable but the connections and the references add additional meaning and understanding.
How can we effectively convey our thanks and gratitude for all your endeavour and dedication to the task of producing this teaching on such a frequent basis. That ensures I keep studying on a regular basis when in the normal course of events I may have been overcome with outside circumstances.
There are not enough words in the English language to effectively convey my heartfelt gratitude to you and your team, who are involved in the production of ties unique source of teaching.
Many thanks
Jim
Thank you, Jim. There are only a few of us. Me, my wife and Mark Randall now, Cyndee who does the proof reading and Patrick who set up the original web site. Of course, there are truly great friends and helper around the world, and without them I would never be able to spend time with some of the readers. I owe each and every one of these people a lot–and you and others are blessed by their efforts.
Thank you, Skip, for listening to the voice of the LORD in this matter and not falling prey to what so many other “ministries” have done. Keep pursuing truth and “sh’ma-ing!” You are an encouragement to all of us!