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A lit candle on the dinner table changed our pace and our priorities. From that small ritual, we trace a winding story—middle school friends who became partners, years of itinerant preaching, a crash course in provision, and a series of holy disruptions that led us to build a faith-driven media company. We open up about why conversations around the table can do work sermons can’t, how we chose family over platform when the two collided, and what it takes to follow a clear word through confusing seasons.

You’ll hear the origin of our media mandate—prophetic words about cameras and global reach long before studios or budgets—and how we kept them shelved to serve others first. Then came the turning point: a church fire, a nudge to learn business, and the surprise $100,000 check in the mailbox the very week we were praying for a studio. That provision became Long Path Publishing, a home for two shows: a Christ-centered take on current events and The Family Table, where thoughtful, honest conversations meet everyday life.

We also unpack why we launched Long Path Creator Academy to empower entrepreneurs, pastors, and storytellers to build ethical influence online. Our full $5,000 training is now free, because we believe kingdom creativity shouldn’t be gatekept. If you’ve ever wondered how to turn lived wisdom into sustainable digital products without selling your soul to the algorithm, this is your roadmap. Along the way, we share the joy of Disney-fueled family memories, the grit of transitions that invited misunderstanding, and the steady refrain that carried us: Christ is light. I am light.

Pull up a chair, meet our family, and see how obedience, generosity, and practical strategy can live in the same room. If this story encourages you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs hope, and consider partnering monthly to help us host guests, keep training free, and build a media house that feels like home.

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Links & Resources:

• Join my free community “Longpath Creator Academy” www.skool.com/wise-builders
• Support the podcast & help fund Longpath Studios → markcasto.co/donate
• Join my weekly email for mindset and business insights → markcasto.co

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Outrage is loud, but clarity changes people. We open with a hard look at a dehumanizing image of Barack and Michelle Obama that traveled through channels of power, then move past the news cycle to ask a deeper question: what is forming our instincts? When Christians minimize cruelty because it helps their side, something fundamental has slipped out of order—and that disorder isn’t primarily political. It’s spiritual.

Across this conversation, we trace how dehumanization works, why it never stays “just a joke,” and how silence slowly tutors the church into defending what once grieved us. We talk about media habits that shape reflexes, the difference between discernment and numbness, and why “Christians first, then Americans” is not a slogan but a needed reordering of loves. We name Christian nationalism as a spiritual disorder that fuses faith to national identity, making cruelty feel excusable if it promises a win. Then we turn to the way of Jesus: refusing domination, protecting dignity, and aligning means with ends so our public witness matches our message.

You’ll walk away with five practical moves for a Christ-shaped response: don’t laugh at cruelty, critique your own side, slow down false urgency, guard dignity while you disagree, and choose witness over winning. Along the way, we draw from history, the early church, and the Beatitudes to show that restraint is not surrender—it’s strength grounded in identity. If you’ve felt torn between silence and outrage, or weary of faith being used as a weapon, this is a path back to calm conviction and credible hope.

If this conversation helps you see more clearly, share it with a friend, subscribe, and leave a review so others can find it. Your voice helps build a different kind of public square—one that tells the truth without losing our soul.

Support the show

Links & Resources:

• Join my free community “Longpath Creator Academy” www.skool.com/wise-builders
• Support the podcast & help fund Longpath Studios → markcasto.co/donate
• Join my weekly email for mindset and business insights → markcasto.co

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What if the guilt you feel for wanting rest, joy, and time with your family isn’t spiritual failure, but a warning light on the dashboard of your soul? We tackle the quiet story many pastors live: being praised for depletion, rewarded for availability, and shamed for limits. From unexamined theology to grind culture leadership models, we trace how “sacrifice” can morph into spiritualized neglect—and how that drift leaves wreckage in marriages, kids, bodies, and communities.

We shift the frame by looking at Jesus, not as a mascot for hustle, but as a model for pace. He withdrew. He said no. He disappointed crowds. He walked everywhere at the speed of conversation and interruption—and while He walked, the kingdom came. We explore what it means to choose direction from communion rather than demand, to protect our interior life, and to trust that fruit grows at human speed. You’ll hear why hurry shortens patience, flattens discernment, and turns presence into performance, and how a peaceful shepherd sets the emotional temperature for a healthier church.

From there, we offer a grounded blueprint: lead from union, not toward it. Let prayer become communion, rest become trust, and limits become wisdom. Reorder your calendar around presence with God, your spouse, your children, and your people. Create sustainable provision without fear by stewarding your wisdom and choosing fewer, deeper commitments. Start small and honest: one brave no, protected margins, slower breathing, and a rediscovered center of gravity in love. If your calling has been costing everything entrusted to you, it’s time to change the pace, not abandon the call.

If this resonates, follow the show, share this with a pastor who needs it, and leave a review to help more shepherds find a livable way forward.

Support the show

Links & Resources:

• Join my free community “Longpath Creator Academy” www.skool.com/wise-builders
• Support the podcast & help fund Longpath Studios → markcasto.co/donate
• Join my weekly email for mindset and business insights → markcasto.co