Tony Helps Curious Seekers Find Meaning in the Outdoors
Tony Jones is a former pastor who found his meaning and purpose in the outdoors. He connects to audiences with messages that are engaging, humorous, and poignant, helping them to find meaning and spiritual fulfillment in nature.
Author of a dozen books, Tony is an accomplished speaker with experience in front of audiences large and small, all around the globe. Although he holds advanced degrees, he’s known his commonsense, practical communication skills. Read more about Tony here.
Tony regularly speaks to:
Faith Communities
Conservation Organizations
Businesses and Civic Organizations
Undergrad and Graduate Classes
Tony’s popular topics include:
Finding God Outdoors
The Spirituality of Hunting
The Sacred Geometry of a Canoe
Writing Memoir
Nature Writing that Sings
Download Tony’s One Sheet and share it with your team here.
Contact Tony about speaking to your group at the contact page.
Testimonials
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"Tony Jones spoke to the Rotary Club of White Bear Lake with humor, insight and authenticity, drilling down on the undeniable spiritual force of deepening our connection to the outdoors."
Bob Timmons
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"Tony is such a compelling speaker; I still think about his message a whole year later. You could hear a pin drop in the room as we were all on the edge of our seat eagerly anticipating the next riveting detail. Tony really leaves you thinking differently and feeling viscerally moved."
Theology Beer Camp Attendee
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"Excellent speaker and presentation, I really liked the fact that it was about the 'why' of canoeing rather than the 'how' or 'where,' and I hope that he can come back sometime!"
Canoecopia Attendee
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"Tony is a dynamic speaker who always brings a great balance of humor, intellect, and introspection to his presentations for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever events. "
Bob St. Pierre, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Pheasants Forever, Inc. and Quail Forever
TONY'S UPCOMING SPEAKING SCHEDULE
TONY'S UPCOMING SPEAKING SCHEDULE
Grace Episcopal Church
Tony will be speaking and preaching at Grace Episcopal Church in Kilmarnock, Virginia.
First Baptist Church of Richmond
Tony will be speaking at First Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia
Lemuria Books
Join me at one of the greatest bookstores on the planet for a reading and signing event.
Theology Beer Camp
Join Tony at Theology Beer Camp 2024 for a zesty three days of theological mischief and beer.
Nature Writing that Sings
ONLINE CLASS: The tradition of American writing about the outdoors is long, rich, and deep. From Henry David Thoreau and Phillis Wheatley to Kao Kalia Yang, Hanif Abdurraqib and Mahogany L. Browne, the stable of authors who write about nature is diverse in background and perspective.
In this single-session class, we will look at the writings of these authors and poets, as well as Annie Dillard, Sigurd Olson, J. Drew Lanham, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gary Snyder, Erin Sharkey, and others, mining from their words the essential elements that transfer our experiences of nature onto the page.
Antioch Church (Bend, OR)
Tony will be preaching at the 9:00am and 10:45am worship services at Antioch Church.
Paddlin' for the Boundary Waters
Join Tony at Paddlin’ for the Boundary Waters, the biggest fundraiser of the year for Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters.
Michigan Conference UCC
Tony will be interviewed by the Rev. Lillian Daniel, the Conference Minister for the Michigan Conference of the United Church of Christ. Details forthcoming…
Open Circle Spiritual Community (Grandville, MI)
Tony will be speaking at the Open Circle Spiritual Community in Grandville, Michigan. Details fortcoming.
C3 Spiritual Community (Grand Haven, MI)
Tony will be speaking at the C3 Spiritual Community in Western Michigan, details forthcoming.
A Conversation with Suzanne Stabile (Dallas, TX)
Tony Jones will sit down with Suzanne Stabile, bestselling author and host of the Enneagram Journey Podcast to talk about The God of Wild Places, with opening music by Ronnie Fauss. This event is free and open to the public!
Rotary Club (White Bear Lake, MN)
Tony will talk about his new book with the Rotary Club of White Bear Lake.
The God of Wild Places Book Launch (Edina, MN)
Join Tony and friends, including special guest Sean “Shug” Emery, to celebrate the launch of his new book, The God of Wild Places. There will be books for sale, drawings for free gear from many sponsor organizations, and food and drink. Don’t miss it!
Canoecopia (Madison, WI)
Tony will be speaking at Canoecopia, the largest paddlesports consumer event in the world, on “The Sacred Geometry of a Canoe.”
PheasantFest (Sioux Falls, SD)
Tony Jones will be speaking each day of PheasantFest on the Path to the Uplands Stage. His talk is titled, “Finding Friends to Hunt With and Land To Hunt.” Tony will also be delivering the invocation at the Pheasants Forever National Banquet on Saturday night.
Beyond the Memoir Writing Class (Online)
Join Tony for an online class from the Loft Literary Center.
Write what you know, they say. But it turns out that's harder than it looks! Memoir writing is a unique way to embed your own story in what you write. In this class, we will explore memoir, but we'll also look at first-person narrative in journalism, essays, and even "auto-fiction" as methods to tell your story in writing. The goal of the class will be to discern how best to tell your story—in what genre, style, and voice.
Texts read will include The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr and The Situation and the Story by Vivian Gornick. We will also consult the work of Jeff Sharlet, Jon Krakauer, Anne Lamott, Ben Lerner, David Carr, and Ta-Nehisi Coates. We will work under the premise that any good memoir, like a novel, needs a plot that builds to a climax and reaches some kind of resolution. The class will consist of teaching and discussion, and students will be provided with links to additional reading and video resources to support further learning and development following the class.
