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For years I ran the day to day operations of a large parish staff of well over 50 people. During one staff meeting I asked a “what if” question that changed how we operated. I asked them, “what would we do differently if we stopped making the assumption that just because folks are involved, that they are disciples of Jesus.” Our ministry direction changed after that question.

If you work in a parish, diocese, apostolate, or ministry, then you probably know what it is like to work long hours and feel the weight having to get things done. You probably have a heart for serving God and the Church. But, you may feel over-worked, under-appreciated, and stretched thin. It doesn't have to be that way.

A false diagnosis of an illness means treatments may not work and in some cases can even make the illness worse. In some ways, this is happening in Catholic dioceses and parishes. The symptoms of our problems are obvious - decline in numbers, loss of influence, fewer vocations, etc. But, many have misdiagnosed the underlying illness.

Church renewal is really hard. In fact, just the daily grind of running a parish (or diocese / ministry) can be hard. That means trying to do all of the day-to-day and still make time for growth, evangelization, discipleship, change, renewal, etc is VERY hard. Yet, it is still worth it. If you believe it is worth the time, energy, struggle, and resources, then you should answer these questions.

Have you ever actually read all of the legalize that goes with the terms of use for a new app on your phone? Did you understand it all? Even if you didn't, you probably still checked that you would “read and agree” to everything in the document. This kind of half-hearted consent is similar to what happens for a lot of Catholics every Sunday.

Many Christians aim to make disciples, but there are really two different ways of doing so - spiritual addition and spiritual multiplication. Jesus modeled for us multiplication.

I worked in Campus Ministry for 15 years. It is a place of "hellos" and "goodbyes", due to students coming and going every few months. This constant shifting landscape helped me better understand how to plan for anticipated change. This vision, anticipation, and planning made me a more proactive leader.

The local Planned Parenthood Director had quit her job and walked into the local Coalition for Life offices. It was a welcomed shock to those who heard. But, then it hit national news, because Planned Parenthood was scared. They were scared she would share inside information and that they wouldn’t control the narrative. They were right to be scared, because Abby Johnson had a new mission.

As you may know, there are some species of plants that need fires to reproduce. There are some seeds that lie dormant for many years, waiting for fire to activate them into germination. The Catholic Church in the West is similar to these plants. We have been dormant for so long that it may take God’s fire (the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit + the fire of suffering) to make us fruitful again.

When we entered the E.R., the waiting room was packed, but we didn’t have to worry about the line - they ushered right to the back, because my baby boy turned blue. He really did, he was blue. Dominic (who is now 17), was only a few months old and had RSV. He was having trouble breathing and by the time we got to the hospital, he had turned blue.

"Well that might be true for you, but not for me.” I don’t understand relativism and that means that whenever I talk with someone who is a relativist, even in small parts, it is hard for us to connect. I realized this many years ago and had to switch my tactic in order to be more effective in my evangelization.

Ash Wednesday is a good day to share your Catholic faith with others. In fact, Ash Wednesday Masses generally have more people attend that even Christmas and Easter - which shows a high level of engagement. Below are some suggestions on how to evangelize on Ash Wed.

The Holy Grail of Catholic parish renewal is still being looked for. Publishers, apostolates, organizations, etc roll out programs, books, conferences, and plans that get Catholic leaders to jump on the bandwagon, because they want the ministry magic bullet that will transform their parish easily and quickly. There is one problem - it does NOT exist.

I have seen hundreds of folks I know burnout in ministry. While it is neither cheap nor efficient to have turnover, sometimes we can’t control the fact that people move on. Is there anything we can do about it?

26.2 miles. It seemed like an impossible goal for someone who had never run more than a couple of miles. But, I determined I was going to run a marathon, even though I had little knowledge of what it would take to accomplish that goal. What I found out (months later) was that waking up at 4 AM to run for 3 hours in single digit weather was what it would take.

If you want the TLDR (too long didn’t read) version of this story - if you want to be a saint, then become a great evangelist and if you want to be a great evangelist, you have to be a saint. Holiness and mission are inseparable.

The data doesn’t lie. In what they personally believe about salvation, most Catholics are closer to Universalists than they are to Catholic doctrine – that is they believe that being a “good person” will get you to heaven. Catholics aren’t alone.

You probably don't really want to be a Catholic speaker. I am writing this to those who aspire to a career (part-time or full-time) of being a "Catholic speaker". I hope I don't come across as too negative or preachy. My intent is really to shed some life on why there is a desire there and the reality of the Catholic speaking circuit.

She once worked in full-time ministry jobs, but stopped going to Mass 2 years ago and most of her family and closest Catholic friends don’t even know she stopped. She reached out to tell me her story after reading my previous post on lonely Catholics. But, that isn’t the end of the story.

The more I listen to the experiences of Catholics, the more I get the sense that we are facing a quiet epidemic of loneliness.