As many of you already know, my husband Tom Sine passed away on Thursday after a long struggle with dementia. What I realized as I read through the hundreds of prayers, comments and condolences that so many of you posted is that some of you have known Tom mainly through my eyes as he struggled with dementia and I hate to think that this might be the way that people remember him. I would not be the person I am today without Tom’s influence, not just as my partner and encourager, but also as a guide and challenger to a deeper faith with Jesus.
Tom was an incredible man whose life and ministry impacted the lives of many around the world. The outpouring of comments and memories on social media makes that obvious. His books, which included The Mustard Seed Conspiracy, Mustard Seed vs McWorld and Wild Hope, were best sellers, and changed peoples’ lives in ways that always astounded both of us. Tom challenged people to focus more on the outward call of God’s kingdom and people responded. They changed careers and lifestyles to follow Jesus in a more kingdom focused way.
It was this that first attracted me to Tom back in 1984 when we first met. I had just come from working in the refugee camps on the Thai-Cambodian border and was overwhelmed by the incongruity between what I had been taught it meant to follow Jesus and what the horrors of this situation suggested to me. His words and actions rang true and challenged me to commit the rest of my life seeking to bring glimpses of God’s eternal shalom kingdom into being. I had no idea I would spend much of the rest of my life as his partner.
We were married in 1992, and our life together was rich and fulfilling. We particularly loved doing hospitality together and sharing community with others, and in the last few days I loved reading stories and memories from people we have hosted (I cannot imagine how many people we have entertained in our home) or cooked for in other parts of the world. We also enjoyed writing and ministering together in many different ways and many countries too. Here is a beautiful tribute from our friend Michael Frost in Australia that says better than I could how he impacted lives.
Tom was one of those rare voices who could see the future without losing sight of the demands of the gospel. Long before many of us were talking about missional living, the changing shape of the church, or the opportunities posed by our current cultural upheaval, Tom was already inviting Christians to imagine what faithful discipleship might look like in a rapidly changing world.
His books challenged me not simply to think differently, but to *hope* differently. He believed the church’s best days were not behind us, provided we had the courage to listen, adapt, and recover the radical simplicity of following Jesus. He had a remarkable gift for combining prophetic imagination with deep encouragement. Rather than lamenting decline, he looked for signs of God’s new creation already breaking through. I’ve eaten at his table, shared the platform with him in various conferences, and written endorsements for a few of his books (as he did for mine). He was always a kind and inspirational presence. Thank you, Tom. You helped us see the horizon more clearly, and you pointed us, always, toward Christ.
If you want to know more about Tom you might like to check out these podcast episodes from the last couple of years
Goodbye to 2025, Welcome to 2026
Introduction to Celtic Christianity
Or check out these videos on YouTube
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