The buzz phrase "Meet people where they are!" has been around for a while now. Pope Francis often concretizes this in a call to go out and be with those who are suffering. While many of us are no stranger to caring for the physical needs of others, we know that the spiritual poverty of the United States is where the greatest need lies. So, how do we meet people where they are when the need is intangible?

One tool that my team, The Parish Support Team, has found to be very useful is the Thresholds of Conversion and Discipleship. These Thresholds give us a common language for evangelization and help us to identify where people are at on their spiritual journey.

Join me for the conversation!

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This week I talk to a friend in the Diocese of Houma Thibodaux. If you couldn't tell by the hard to pronounce spelling, that's in Louisiana. There, they also have a Parish Support Team tasked with helping pastors and parishes become missional communities. I've looked to them for more than a year now as an example for my team. One of the most surprising things we've learned? How to pray more intentionally about the work that we do.

Tune in to hear some really practical advice for hearing the voice of the Lord.

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As much as I would like them to, our episodes on stewardship do not do as well as our episodes on evangelization. We are so used to thinking about stewardship as just giving money to keep the lights of our parish on. While this kind of generosity is good, a cultivating a Culture of Generosity takes so much more.

In fact, we know, through parables such as the rich man and Lazarus, that generosity is one of the keys to sanctity.

So, I encourage you to give today's episode a chance. Dave Baranowski from the Archdiocese of St. Louis talks about how to gather and form leaders for generosity, and I promise, it's more than a pitch for money!

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The end to abortion is here! ...Legally...at the federal level.

While we should celebrate a major victory in the fight against abortion, the work has really just begun. If we want to end abortion, not just make it illegal, then we have to change minds and hearts. Today's guest, Katherine Burow, tells us "A lot of people are pro-choice because they've never heard a compelling secular argument."

Katherines work as the Executive Director of the Abortion Dialogue Academy is to end abortion by changing the culture. They spend much of their time on Nebraska college campuses changing hearts on the topic of abortion through the use of a 7 minute argument.

She shares some of her wisdom with us today.

Want to hear more from Katherine? Check out her podcast Pro-Life in 7 Minutes.

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Let's talk about productivity. There is this lie that is a two-edged sword in the Christian world. For some, getting tasks done does not come naturally, and so it can rob them of the peace that comes with a relationship with God. On the other hand, we often deeply feel the urgency that comes with a call from God causing us to "over produce" or to work ourselves to the bone in order to "achieve" His will.

Neither is good.

Growing in skills of execution can help us be productive without falling into either lie. Thus, I want to offer you an 8-minute skill demo. Nothing too deep, just some tips from one of the executors on my team.

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The Archdiocese's Big Goal, each parish in the Archdiocese of Omaha will be a missional community, has three characteristics: collaborative leadership, a clear path to discipleship, and a culture of generosity. I believe we can't talk about these enough.

So today, I have another episode on the clear path to discipleship for you. In many ways, the clear path isn't a new idea; it's just a new expression of something that is as old as the Church. Thus, people don't respond negatively to it, but I have encountered quite a few misconceptions that seem to trip people up. They think the clear path is just the newest buzzword, a quick fix that puts people on an assembly line and cuts all ministries out of a parish. 

If you've thought these things (or if you know someone else who has), let me mythbust for you!

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With the Journey of Faith underway, the words “flourishing” and “missional community” have become buzzwords in our diocese. Many good people have been asking, “Wait…ARE we a missional community? What does it even mean for an entire parish to be missional?”

We have a definition: an outward looking group of disciples, under the care of a pastor, sent by Jesus to make disciples.

However, a definition is only a starting point for understanding, so today, I bring you You Might Be a Missional Community If… Calvin Mueller and I discuss some indicators of a missional community so that you might know if you are or not.

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Making the shift towards becoming a missional community, whether that's in a parish or a ministry, often means taking steps into the unknown. It means opening ourselves to new the things that God desires for us, and as silly as it might sound, good meetings are important to discerning the steps to following his will.

But, have you ever had the experience of going to a meeting, having good discussion, getting through the entire agenda only to discover that you didn't actually talk about the most important topics.

Today, I'm going to teach you how to set a real time agenda to help ensure you and your team have the most productive meetings.

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As the archdiocese goes through the pastoral planning process called Journey of Faith, I'm sure you've heard some of the statistics. One of the most striking is: Since 2003, Mass attendance in the archdiocese has declined by 42%.  This is more than a number; it's souls.

Who comes to mind when you think about that reality? A friend? Neighbor? Siblings or children?

We all have someone who has left the Catholic faith, and I hazard to guess that this causes all of us some grief. We want to know why people walk away, and where they go. We want some way to talk to them and to, hopefully, bring them back.

Today's conversation is about just that.

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I’ve got a program this is going to change hearts and transform lives! It builds relationships, causes conversions, and could be a real blessing to your parish, BUT there’s a catch…

Program’s aren’t silver bullets, and they can’t survive in a vacuum.

A program that works has:

All this may seem like a lot, but today’s episode provides some easy first steps for fostering good programs that flourish.

(Note: No actual program is being promoted in this episode. We simply hope to impart some wisdom around using programs in a way that they will truly thrive at your parish.)

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