Catching Foxes

We are the Syro-Phoenician Woman. You are the scraps that fall from the Master's table. Wait. This sounded better in my head a minute ago. 

In this episode we talk COMMUNITY GROUPS! ...or Life Groups... or Cell Groups, or House Church Groups, or Small Faith Groups, or 242 Groups or Connect Groups or Discipleship Groups or ...whatever.

Then Gomer tells Luke he is done with his need for approval from people at the parish. He's ready to take it to the next level, job be damned! (but pleeeease don't let it be damned! I love working there.)

Here's the talkie talk I gave at the Encounter Houston young adult conference called Intimacy with God.

Support Catching Foxes

This is a fun episode with two moderately decent people. Jackie is a famous Catholic musician and speaker, who performs for groups large and small. Bobby is a Catholic School teacher, a bearded gentleman, and a lover of Mumford and Sons. 

This episode is light-hearted, except that Gomer drank a few beers and started dominating the conversation. 

Support Catching Foxes

Sexual addiction is more than just the acting out, yet we tend to focus almost exclusively on the external results of an internal wound (or wounds). Like many people who talk about their sexual addiction, such as Audrey Assad, a lot of this starts with family of origin issues. 

The man we interview, whom we respectfully call Joey Joe Joe Shabadoo, started attending Sex Addicts Anonymous when he was 19 years old. He was living a double life and hated it: giving a theology of the body talk in the evening, and then meeting strangers for sexual hookups in dangerous places. 

This is a powerful interview.

John Paul II Healing Center

Theology of the Body Institute

Is SAA right for you? Do you have a Sexual Addiction?

Support Catching Foxes

Catholic Twitter was delivered a crushing blow by one of its own members. Turns out, dozens of people, especially a college student and author named Chad, were catfished, which means essentially that you form a relationship with someone via social media and the whole time they are only pretending to be that person. (Here's an actual Catholic News Agency article on it.)

Luke finds it hilarious. I do too, but only because I wasn't involved and am not really a part of Catholic Twitter, being too busy watching the Apple Keynote a few dozen times. But Luke masterfully connects this incident of catfishing to a wider issue, the ANIMA TECHNICA VACUA.

Also, Luke is annoyed somewhat that people are taking this waaaay too seriously. For example: "As I consider ThisCatholicGirl in light of Exaltation of the Holy Cross, I am going to be honest—this is a conversation I am hesitant to have, because behind the public personas of the handle and Chase’s blog," (Marina Olson, Patheos Eating Peaches blog, emphasis mine)

Also, there some South Park references and a whole slew of "tiny penis" jokes, but I can neither confirm nor deny their validity.

Finally, Matt Fradd is apparently catfishing all of us. The real person behind the mask? An actual catfish named Whiskers. 

Also, buy his book, Pints with Aquinas. 

Also, OUR APOLOGIES TO RAYMOND ARROYO FOR THE INCORRECT INSINUATION.

Support Catching Foxes

Everett Fritz likes to lob grenades at our presuppositions regarding large group ministry. He took a long, hard look at his youth group and realized only 10% or less were actually following Jesus Christ. Those that were following Christ were not just youth group attendees, but also personally mentored by him or others. That's when he realized discipleship isn't a program or an event. It's getting involved in people's lives and letting them get involved in yours on a personal level. And that cannot be done for the crowds.

Discipleship matters. He even wrote a book about breaking free from pornography through his discipleship approach. His book Freedom: Battle Strategies for Conquering Temptation looks at victory over porn and masturbation addiction through the lens of following Christ. It's written for men because those are the people he mentors.

This episode has some controversial stuff born out of a frustrations and also out of love. Just give it a listen, take a breath, and snag whatever insight you can. Also be on the lookout for his next book on discipleship in Catholic youth ministry, which should be out by November.

Then there is this... The Big M by Lust Control

Support Catching Foxes