EquipCast

Episode 31: The Golden Question

Episode  |  September 22nd, 2020  |  50 mins 33 secs

How do you practice the “everyday preaching” that Pope Francis calls us to without being weird? I’ve grappled with this question throughout my life. At one point, I would have been offended at the thought that I was one of those people who walked around talking to others about Jesus. Offended because I had in mind the awkward Christian and the Bible Thumper. Now, I love proclaiming the Good News to those around me, but I know it takes a few relational pre-requisites before another person will receive me and the message well. Continue the conversation with us as we discuss these pre-requisites.

The Clear Path to Discipleship: Steps 3 & 4

Episode  |  September 15th, 2020  |  53 mins 36 secs

We spend a lot of time on the EquipCast talking about reaching the lost and that parishes must be outward focused in order to grow. But I hear from many of you, "What about the already converted? We can't leave them behind either!" Steps 3 & 4 of the Clear Path to Discipleship focus on just that. How do we help disciples grow in their relationship with God, and how do we prepare them for mission?

These Dry Bones Will Rise

Episode  |  September 8th, 2020  |  55 mins 56 secs

As a leader in your parish, it is easy to get bogged down with the day-to-day work of maintaining the parish. But if you have a heart like Fr. Lorig, you want to “major in the mission” instead of the maintenance. If you are a lay leader, you have to win the heart of your pastor in order to do this. And if you are a pastor, you feel the weight of the daily tasks as well as the people trying to influence you. Today, Ron Huntley, brings the energy and wisdom to dispel some of this discouragement. He tells us about his time at St. Benedict’s Parish in Halifax, Nova Scotia as well as his work with Divine Renovation.

Episode 28: The Clear Path to Discipleship: Step 1

Episode  |  September 1st, 2020  |  45 mins 20 secs

We all know that there is no silver bullet, no one program that will completely renew our parishes. Even the best programs fail if our parishioners don’t know what’s next. Parishioners will simply hop from program to program if we don’t tell them the process that will lead to growth in their relationship with God. We call this a clear path to discipleship. When a person enters a parish, do they know what steps to take in order to grow in their relationship with God? Today, Andy Dejka tells us that the first step on the clear path is Relational Outreach. Relational Outreach is the efforts of a parish to meet people who don't yet have a relationship with Christ and to build trust and arouse wonder at way that we live as Christians. That is, witnessing to the love of Jesus.

Episode 27: The Amazing Parish

Episode  |  August 25th, 2020  |  51 mins 9 secs

How long do you think it takes to change the culture of a parish? While we know that change ultimately takes time, it’s often easy to look for a “silver bullet”, a program or curriculum that will suddenly make all the difference. But we know that behind every program is the people running it, and it’s the people that create culture. So today, Fr. Lorig and I sat down with Kevin Cotter from the Amazing Parish, and he told us about how they help parishes build a healthy culture that allows the pastor and his people to flourish. 

Episode 26: Step Out of the Boat (Jeff Cavins Part 2)

Episode  |  August 18th, 2020  |  32 mins 29 secs

I experienced a second conversion when I was a FOCUS missionary. I loved making friends and developing a relationship. And I loved the more catechetical moments where I was able to teach someone about the faith or teach them how to pray the rosary, but talking about Jesus and what he had done for my life…that made me uncomfortable because it didn’t fit with the culture I was trying to reach. However, I was convicted by the writings of JPII when he says that the proclamation of Jesus Christ and the salvation that he offers all people is the “hinge on which all evangelization turns.” Today, I was renewed in this conviction by the words of Jeff Cavins. He tells us, “The proclamation of the gospel is about going into a hurting world and telling them the truth about life.” This may seem daunting at first, but Continue the Conversation and hear how Jeff makes it so very simple to do!

Episode 25: The Activated Disciple (Jeff Cavins Part 1)

Episode  |  August 11th, 2020  |  50 mins 47 secs

I had the privilege of sitting down with Jeff Cavins to talk about his latest book, the Activated Disciple. And while he shared so many important truths, I feel like he really shared a bit of himself. Every insight comes with a story from his own life. Continue the conversations with us as we talk about everything from his conversion story to having a posse of saints.

Episode 24: Alpha Nebraska

Episode  |  August 4th, 2020  |  40 mins 55 secs

I was blessed to encounter Jesus in a deeper way in college, but not all people, and certainly, not all cradle Catholics have had this opportunity. So today, we talk with Jodi Meyer, Network Director for Alpha Nebraska. Alpha is a program whose purpose is to propose anew the core of our faith, the Gospel message. If its content were to be summed up into an elevator speech, it would be this: God loves you. He sent His son to die for you, and this truth brings meaning and purpose and hope and joy for your life…and that matters. And, this is a gift so big we have to share it with others. Alpha’s goal is to invite people back to a decision point and to decide for Christ. But, there are so many other aspects to this program that make it work. Continue the conversation with us!

Episode 23: Leadership Lane

Episode  |  July 28th, 2020  |  43 mins 22 secs

Fr. Lorig and Fr. Dan Andrew both possess GallupStrengths that make them very natural leaders. They love to dream about the future and to figure out how to help people move into that new vision. But is leadership something your just born with, or is it something even these two had to learn about and grow into? They would say that it's definitely that latter. Listen as Fr. Lorig and Fr. Andrews muse on all things leadership.

Episode 22: A Pastor's Conversion

Episode  |  July 21st, 2020  |  51 mins 15 secs

Moving a parish from maintenance to mission is easier said than done. You can have all the best programs and all the best people on staff, but the key ingredient will always be the pastor. We know our pastors truly desire that their parishes to thrive, but before a pastor can change the culture of a parish, he will have to consider the culture of his heart. This week, Fr. Lorig sat down with Fr. Damien Cook, and they discussed Fr. Cook’s process of continued conversion, the things he’s pondered and the lessons he’s learned in the last few years of his priesthood.

Episode 21: The First 180 Days - A Pastor Plans His Transition

Episode  |  July 14th, 2020  |  44 mins 52 secs

Have you ever heard the old adage: A pastor should never change anything in his first year…except his socks and underwear? Well, we think you can’t wait that long to make changes! 40 percent of executives hired at the senior level are pushed out, fail, or quit within 18 months. (“Rise of a headhunter” Financial Times, March 30, 2009 ) So if you can’t wait to make changes, you should manage the transition.

Episode 20: Redoing Religious Education - A Family First Approach

Episode  |  June 29th, 2020  |  53 mins 52 secs

Imagine with me a parish where Religious Education is no longer simply content found in a book, a subject to be picked up once a week on Wednesdays. Imagine instead a parish where Religious Education is centered around the formation of each person’s faith life.

Gone would be the days of begging for catechists and of struggling to engage tired students. Gone would be the days of sacramental “graduations” where families disappear after confirmation. And gone would be the days of the pastor introducing children that he doesn’t know to the Archbishop.

I know that these fruits (and many many others) follow, because I had the joy of sitting down with Fr. Loseke and Jackie Schuler from St. Charles Borromeo. Over the past few years, they have transformed the way their parish does Religious Education, and by doing so, they have transformed the lives of their parish families.