Erik Cooper spent twelve years in full-time ministry, then walked back into the business world and could not answer one question. Why does God care at all about renting apartments? The search for that answer led him to a room in Seymour, Indiana, where six grown men wept at the front after he shared some notes he describes as terrible. It also led to The Stone Table, a giving organization that has channeled millions into global missions over the last decade.
Erik is president of The Stone Table and serves in executive leadership at Community Reinvestment Foundation, the nonprofit affordable housing company his father Dave Cooper co-founded in 1992. He is also Darren's older brother, which makes this the second half of a family story that started last week.
➡️ FREE CONTENT CLARITY AUDIT https://link.1898creative.com/widget/bookings/1898-creative/audit
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS:
⚡️ You never feel ready, and readiness was never the qualification for the next step
⚡️ Insecurity in a leader is not a private problem, it costs the people around you
⚡️ The message you assume everyone already knows is usually the one nobody has said out loud
⚡️ You cannot replicate what someone built, but you can replicate why they built it
⚡️ Culture takes three to five years to shift, and moving faster can break what you inherited
⏰ TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Cold open
00:52 Welcome to Create Your Art
01:47 Comparing notes with Dad's episode
02:45 What pulled him out of twelve years in ministry
04:05 A recovering accountant with a degree in it
05:28 The conversations that started before anyone said them out loud
06:57 Walking through the next open door
08:24 What a decade in music ministry actually meant
10:18 Writing songs before every church wrote songs
12:35 Why you only see it in arrears
13:31 The day he walked in as the dumbest guy in the room
15:58 Dealing with your fears before they hurt someone else
16:50 Why are we really in this business
18:08 Was affordable housing the point or the opportunity
20:01 Selling the portfolio and the next pivot
20:45 Sponsor break
21:15 The art of creating a new reality
22:18 Different artistic skills for different seasons
24:13 None of us reflect the fullness of our creator alone
26:23 The artist in us is an insecure little child
27:48 How CRF actually works in thirty seconds
29:12 Pastor Tom Paino and a second mantle
31:49 You do not step in because you are worthy
33:18 Why they named it The Stone Table
36:37 Channeling is the big word there
37:36 Why does God care about renting apartments
38:29 The books that started to answer it
39:26 Six men weeping at the front of the room
40:23 Fifty years in business and nobody told him
41:12 A different seat, the same calling
44:00 Honoring what came before without going stale
46:15 Three to five years to shift a culture
48:09 Be humble, be patient, be courageous
52:23 Your first domino
💼 CONNECT WITH US:
Website: https://1898creative.com
Darren's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darrenandrewcooper
The Stone Table: https://www.thestonetable.org
CRF: https://crf.net
If this episode helped you, please:
💬 Share your biggest takeaway in the comments
🔔 Subscribe for weekly content strategy insights
📲 Share with a fellow entrepreneur who needs to hear this
HASHTAGS:
#createyourart #faithandwork #businessasmission #marketplaceministry #leadership #succession #callingandwork #entrepreneurship #thestonetable #podcast
