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1: What is the Vision?
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https://www.dbqjourneyinfaith.org/
Journey in Faith Prayer
Lord Jesus,
You accompanied your disciples on the way to Emmaus.
As we journey in faith,
we trust in your Spirit
to open our eyes
to set our hearts on fire
and to transform our parishes.
Make yourself known to us
through breaking open word and bread,
that we may travel together on mission;
to grow disciples, cultivate leaders, and unify parishes,
with our journey ending in You,
who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
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Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:14
Speaker
Welcome to episode one of the DeBucharistic Revival Podcast season two. Because that's the name we're going with. My name is Father Jacob Rouse, and I'm the pastor of Notre Dame Parish in Cresco, Iowa. And ah today i have a very, very special guest with me today.
00:00:32
Speaker
His name is Father Kevin Earlywine. ah wait, also host, but he's also my guest. Kevin, can you introduce yourself and where you're at? Yes, hello. I'm Father Kevin Earlywine, pastor of St. Mary's in Ackley and St. Patrick's in Hampton, co-host of the Dubuque Church of Revival podcast, and today we're a special guest, because that's the name we're going
Podcast Goals and Topics Teaser
00:00:56
Speaker
with. And also a special guest today.
00:00:58
Speaker
You are a special guest. You're always a special guest. Thanks. God made us special. He did. So in the last point five episode, we had, ah I guess you could call it a commercial, maybe a teaser, an appetizer talking about what is the point of this podcast and some of the things that we might be talking about. Basically, we're going to be learning about different podcasts.
00:01:19
Speaker
movements of the Holy Spirit in the Archdiocese through different prayer, ministry, um just various things that are going on, kind of the the happenings that are happening. And one of the happenings that I think everybody's talking about is journey in faith.
Journey in Faith Initiative
00:01:35
Speaker
And ah that's why we have our very special guest, Father Kevin Earlywine, who was on the Envisioning Committee for Journey in Faith. So if just pretend our audience has never heard of Journey in Faith before.
00:01:49
Speaker
What is it? Great question. So Journey in Faith. um Some of our listeners may have heard ah letter from the Archbishop about this that was read about a month ago, or in the last couple months at a Sunday Mass, introducing this new initiative called Journey in Faith.
00:02:08
Speaker
And of course, that image of journey in faith is inspired by the road to Emmaus, to walking with Christ on this journey where the apostles didn't necessarily, or the two disciples didn't necessarily recognize Christ right away, but he opened the scriptures and broke the bread. It was made known to them as breaking the bread. So this idea of walking with Christ on this journey.
00:02:25
Speaker
um But in this Journey of Faith initiative, we'll be talking more about what it is, but I was on, some listeners may remember we filled out this big survey last December and called the Disciple Maker Index.
00:02:41
Speaker
And also a couple years before that, there was a synod survey under previous Archbishop, J. Coles, that we did. And and also the Archdiocese has been doing a lot of data analysis, number crunching, things like shifting demographics and numbers of priests and projections of populations movements and things like that into the future.
00:03:02
Speaker
so And so there are some things that need to be addressed, which is partially what has inspired this initiative. so And if people want to learn more about this, they can go to the Journey and Faith website, which is dbqjourneyinfaith.org.
00:03:19
Speaker
um one of the things it has on this website is just some of the statistics of numbers so the archdiocese dubuque where the northeast quadrant of iowa which consists of 30 counties um and there's about a million people living there and 18 of that which is population which is catholic about 180 000 parishioners registered seen decline in but since two thousand and six we've seen a decline and mass attendance in infant baptisms we've seen the increase in funerals generally speaking uh catholic marriages are down and less priests being ordained so kind of if those trends continue as they are um you know that uh that's
00:04:04
Speaker
Basically, we can't keep doing business as usual. We need to do something.
Thriving Parishes vs. Managing Decline
00:04:07
Speaker
But I'm not saying this in alarmist way. I'm saying it in a proactive way, you know, of um ah how do we really look towards, and this is from the Archbishop very much, trying to think, well, how do we look to the church 30 years from now?
00:04:21
Speaker
And how do we build something that's not just managed decline, but something that can really move us into thriving parishes? And that's what this whole thing of Journey of Faith is all about. And as was said, I was invited to be on the envisioning committee, which kind of looked at this data, especially looking at the disciple maker index surveys.
00:04:40
Speaker
And through that, we kind of articulated a ah mission, a vision, um and identified our values, which led to identifying of three particular priorities. And that's what we'll be digging into today.
00:04:53
Speaker
Excellent. Well, I really appreciate the the proactive approach to this because I think um anyone who we asked ah and we did ask quite a few people ah through those surveys that um something needs to change.
00:05:07
Speaker
And now for following the scientific method and our logic, we've collected data and we have looked at trends and now it's time to ah put a plan into action. And before you go ah journeying or adventuring,
00:05:23
Speaker
You need to have a mission, something that focuses us, the reason for what we're doing. So what what's our mission? Great question. So this was a little bit of a learning thing for me because we articulated a mission statement and a vision statement.
00:05:39
Speaker
And had you asked me before I was on this envisioning committee, i would have said those are basically the same thing, but I learned that they are different. So a mission statement essentially defines an organization's present purpose. This is who we are right now, the the what and how of what we do right now and how we achieve our goals as we are in the present moment.
00:05:58
Speaker
A vision statement is kind of looking to the future. Where do we want to go? mission statement is speaking to this is who we are. A vision statement is this is where we're going. So I find that very helpful in understanding.
00:06:11
Speaker
so So we kind of we were kind of guided through this process through through an organization called Catholic Leadership Institute that guided us through this. So first, the mission statement articulating um who ah who we are right as an organization.
00:06:28
Speaker
what we do. So, so I don't know if you have it, do you have it in front of there? You, that mission statement, Father Jacob Rouse? I do. You read us the mission statement out loud. All right, here's the
Mission and Vision Statements
00:06:39
Speaker
mission statement. Here's where we currently are.
00:06:42
Speaker
Empowered by the Holy Spirit through prayer, sacraments, and scripture, our archdiocesan mission is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, thereby transforming our communities to become more like him in thought, word, and deed.
00:06:59
Speaker
Thank you. Yes, so this is us trying to articulate who we are as the archdiocese and what is our purpose, right? As an archdiocesan church, right? So we try to kind of take all those things to understand. So empowered by the, where community is animated by the Holy Spirit, empowered by the Holy Spirit through prayer, right? That's important, through prayer, sacraments, and scripture.
00:07:21
Speaker
and And that's all to animate us to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and transform communities to be like Christ. Thought, word, and deed. We might say to Christify the world, right? To transform the world in Christlikeness. Thoughts, words, and deeds.
00:07:35
Speaker
but more like it So that is who we are as an archdiocese, right? So... Yes. I would guess that the ah that mission statement could probably apply to us ah maybe 10 years ago, maybe 50 years ago, maybe even at the beginning of the archdiocese in the 1800s.
00:07:54
Speaker
um But I think as we'll find out that a lot of things have changed. ah The secularization of culture, um the in internet, different things like that. So it sounds like the mission is exactly the same as when Jesus told his disciples to go and make disciples.
00:08:10
Speaker
However, how we do that has changed. Is that accurate? Yes, I think that would be true. So yeah, this mission statement is who we are as an archdiocese, and it certainly could be applied to when the archdiocese started by Matthias Loris in the 1800s, and we will continue to be that.
00:08:26
Speaker
But that kind of sets up nicely to then the vision statement, So thank you for setting that up, Father Jacob of, okay, yes, so this is who we are, but also we have to engage this new reality.
00:08:37
Speaker
And that's kind of what the vision is. How do we and move as a vision to to where are we going to continue to live that mission? But but kind of how we moving into that.
00:08:48
Speaker
So what do we want to grow into? So it's not it's not like changing from the mission statement, but it's it's building on, you might say, the mission statement. This is who we are and how do we want to continue to grow into that?
00:09:01
Speaker
So that leads us then to this vision statement.
00:09:06
Speaker
So as I said, the definition of a vision statement outlines a desired future state. So where do we want to get to? Okay, would you read that vision statement for us, Father Jacob? I'd love to.
00:09:17
Speaker
We are an engaged archdiocesan community of joyful missionary disciples centered in our Eucharistic relationship with Jesus Christ and united through our legacy of faith.
00:09:32
Speaker
Thank you. So, yes, so as we said, the mission describes who we are, and then the vision statement is aspirational. What do we want to become? So we want to be an engaged archdiocesan community.
00:09:44
Speaker
So this is the whole idea. We don't want to just be blah or lukewarm Catholics, right? We want to be engaged and as joyful missionary disciples. And that was very intentional language.
00:09:56
Speaker
We are disciples of Jesus Christ, right? We sit at the feet and are formed by him. And we did that disciple maker index survey, which showed something very positive. It showed is we have really strong disciples here. The majority of the people who filled out this survey have a strong faith, especially in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, um you know, which maybe our last season podcast helped with, who knows, but strong faith in the Eucharist.
00:10:22
Speaker
Um, but strong belief in the scriptures the Word of God who have a regular prayer life so that is That awesome, and it does a pastor's heart proud, right? But we're called not just to be disciples, we're called be missionary disciples.
00:10:35
Speaker
So also on that Disciple Maker Index survey, we saw that the questions involving that missionary impulse is certainly an opportunity for growth, right? Things like inviting people to Mass, sharing the story of Christ, ah inviting young men to think about priesthood or young women to think about religious life.
00:10:55
Speaker
right? um Sharing the story of Christ with others or sharing my own story of how God's worked in my life. um Those, unfortunately, tended to be, um we were weak in those areas. So while we have strong disciples, there's certainly a growing area to become missionary disciples, right?
00:11:11
Speaker
A missionary impulse. And so we'll be kind of unpacking that further. So what you're saying is, i can't just keep all this to myself. Right. Okay.
00:11:24
Speaker
We're called to go out to the world. And make disciples of all nations. So there's this mission connection. And that was not just intended for priests and nuns, right? But for the average person the pew to be a missionary disciple. So that's what we want to grow in.
00:11:39
Speaker
um and And joyful missionary disciples, right? We don't want to just, you know, the joy is a very important part of our Christian witness, that we are animated by something that gives us life and is expressed in joy, right?
00:11:52
Speaker
And of course, as as we've already talked about for the Eucharistic revival, it's all centered on our Eucharistic relationship with Jesus Christ. That is the animating force. it is It is Christ's life in us, his body and blood that fills us, that animates us, that has to be at the heart of all of this.
00:12:10
Speaker
So this is really building on, we might say, Eucharistic revival, right, as the foundation of it. And then we also said, and united in our legacy of faith. So it's also recognizing ah that we're not saying that what's happened in the past is bad or anything, but we're building together.
00:12:26
Speaker
on things of the past as we move into the future. Like a foundation was laid by our forefathers before us, the people who founded this diocese, and we are continuing to build and grow on those foundations that were given to us with the recognition, yes, some things things things will have to change as we engage new realities, um but it's not a complete rupture with things in the past.
00:12:47
Speaker
We're growing and building on what we've received.
00:12:52
Speaker
Yeah, it sounds like progress and improvement and adapting actually to what the world is offering us right now. What are some of the values that are guiding us in this process? Great question.
Core Values of the Initiative
00:13:03
Speaker
Yes. So after we articulated the vision mission of vision, that was precisely the question we were asked.
00:13:08
Speaker
What are our values? Of course, there's many things we value as a church. So we had to we were challenged to articulate ah four primary values. so And they kind of talked about our values as these are the resources things we'll continue to draw upon that will help help us grow into our vision. right So we identified four.
00:13:30
Speaker
ah Prayer. Worship. Charity and lifelong learning. Prayer, charity, and lifelong learning. So prayer, this recognition that we are continually growing in our relationship with God through conversations with him.
00:13:43
Speaker
Worship, we praise and glorify God with all our heart and glorify his name. ah Charity or works of charity, we see and respond to the needs of others by imitating Christ. And lifelong learning, we realize that our formation as Catholic Christians is never complete.
00:13:59
Speaker
Um, so there's a lot we could say about all of these things. And in fact, uh, as we articulated these visions, then we, we, um, uh, we actually made several bullet points under each of these values, uh, kind of expounding upon what, what does that mean? You know, what is worship and, um, kind of expressing that more fully, why do we need worship or, or this is what we will do to engage with that value.
00:14:24
Speaker
Um, Like prayer, like having conversation with God, but teaching and others to be engaged in diverse methods of prayer. Encourage of all prayer groups, right? ah Lifelong learning, that that also means we have to provide opportunities for people to learn and grow in their faith.
00:14:39
Speaker
Charity, right? So we particularly highlighted the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, which is a handy-dandy, nifty-nifty list the die that the church gives us, the works of mercy, to help us to know how to live mercy, and so on. So that's kind of just that. And so I wanted to highlight those.
00:14:56
Speaker
We could spend a lot of time on those, but I think we want to move into talking about then where this all goes and what's our priorities, because these priorities kind of then flow from this and we identified three priorities that kind of articulate what are we going to be focusing on in the next like five years, let's say.
00:15:16
Speaker
what Where is this going and what are we focusing on? What are our priorities? Thank you for that question, Father Jacob Rouse. um So we identified from all of this, so this was, ah like I said, a group of us. There were 16 of us lay people and clergy from across the diocese ah who were with the Archbishop.
00:15:36
Speaker
we And we're working in this process on the Envisioning Committee. So we articulated our mission, our vision, our values, mission. So that's like, okay, so what do we need to, to make all of this happen and build on this? Where are we going? So we identified three ah
Key Priorities for the Initiative
00:15:49
Speaker
priorities. And these are the probably going to be the big things people are going to be hearing about in the coming months, right? So these priorities as three were one, pastoral planning, ah two,
00:16:02
Speaker
ah leadership formation, and three, evangelization. Not necessarily in that order, but those three things, right? Passover planning, leadership formation, and evangelization.
00:16:13
Speaker
And so, and these are interrelated things, and so that's what I kind of want to unpack a little bit. So, First, the I mean, the big thing that's probably on everybody's mind right now is pastoral planning, right? That's what people are hearing.
00:16:26
Speaker
They're hearing about pastoral planning. They're hearing about, you know, this a bit of a restructuring of the diocese and the pastorates and what those will be. ah And so more details will be coming out on that. And we'll be talking more about that.
00:16:41
Speaker
and future episode but i just want to give this is and in spelling out the vision that we're doing here is kind of giving what's the why behind it so um so part of this movement is to better uh capitalize on the gifts of uh the priests and the laity right so in the idea is hopefully in a new structure we can put administrative burden on fewer priests and so then the majority of priests can focus on other forms of ministry preaching teaching sacraments, spiritual accompaniment, like spiritual direction, pastoral counseling, those kinds of things. And more free to, and and it gives us more freedom to better capitalize on the gifts of our priests and and and and also be more collaborative in that.
00:17:26
Speaker
But, so we'll be hearing more about pastoral planning in future episodes and our listeners will be hearing more things. Archdiocese will be rolling out more about this. But again, I want to focus on the why of this before we get into that the what.
00:17:42
Speaker
So this takes us, this capitalizing gifts, this is only made possible with leadership formation. So that's another one that we want to better capitalize on the gift of the lay people, right?
Forming Lay Leaders
00:17:52
Speaker
The people in the pews to form them as leaders, to for them to help take some of the administrative burden off of priests, for example.
00:18:01
Speaker
Like it capitalized on people's gifts for business management, finances, buildings, and grounds to better help distribute that administrative burden. But also not just that, but cultivate leaders in faith, lay leaders to help lead prayer, help lead evangelization, right? To, like I said, that missionary impulse to help proclaim the gospel, which leads us into the third priority that I really wanted to focus on, which is evangelization.
00:18:27
Speaker
So, um, So this whole thing can only work that that that if we think about this isn't just about a change in parish structure, but a change in mindset, right?
00:18:39
Speaker
It's a paradigm shift, a shift in parish culture, in our diocesan culture, a shift from a maintenance to a missionary mindset, right? So as I already said, we did those disciple maker index, saw we had strong faith, strong disciples, but weak on some of the ah missionary impulse, which I find interesting.
00:18:58
Speaker
You know, I have people come to me and say, Father Kevin, we have less people in mass than we used to. And then I look at this survey and majority of my ah people have never invited someone to mass.
00:19:09
Speaker
Father, we have less priests than we used to. Over 80% have never invited a young man to think about priesthood. right So there's clearly some need in culture, a mindset that I am not just a member of a club, a community club of my little parish that I go to and that's all I do, but that I am part of a team of missionaries.
00:19:30
Speaker
Like it's this mindset shift to think about our parish, not as my community center club, but that my parish is part of a network of missionary outposts in a shared missionary territory.
00:19:41
Speaker
So it's kind of the shift to this team of missionaries And then that's both for the priests and for the parishes, right? that We have to shift to this team collaborative mindset of of missionary, right? So it's kind of where we're going with this evangelization. And that's kind of the rationale, the reason behind all of this.
00:20:01
Speaker
but That makes sense. ah In kind of a ah team building model or a business model. But another model that I like is is thinking about us as a family, um a household, because we are, we're brothers and sisters in Christ. And I remember when my brother and I were growing up, we were asked to do certain chores. For instance, if the lawn needed to be mowed, um I would use my gifts and talents of actually running the lawnmower. And my brother would use his gifts and talents of wandering around the yard and picking up sticks.
00:20:32
Speaker
Each of us didn't like doing the opposite job. And so we did what we were good at and what we were called to. So um and the chores got done. So yeah. But when when you say evangelization, though, um evangelization means knocking on every door in my neighborhood and standing on a street corner and screaming at people, right? Is that what evangelization is?
00:20:56
Speaker
That is what some people think of when they think of evangelization. Oh, okay. Sometimes we as Catholics kind of get this, an allergic reaction, break out knives when we hear evangelization, because I think that's what we think of. People think of their negative experiences of people knocking on their doors or someone preaching on the street corner.
00:21:13
Speaker
And they're like, well, I don't want to be that, right? I don't want to be that annoying, obnoxious person. So, but that's what they think of when they hear evangelization. So they're like, wait, so you say evangelize and I have to go start knocking on doors and preach on the street corner.
00:21:26
Speaker
Not necessarily, right? ah Yes. So I don't want to be weird in public. However, the love of Christ compels me and I cannot keep it to myself. So what do I do?
00:21:40
Speaker
Mm-hmm. It's a great question, right? So if I don't want to be weird, what do I do?
Evangelization Through Personal Stories
00:21:45
Speaker
ah Again, we'll be talking more about evangelization in future episodes, but I think a way we can think about evangelizing um is through kind of three simple things.
00:21:55
Speaker
Yeah. think my story, God's story, and your story, right? So evangelization is simply to share the news of Jesus Christ, right? But we don't necessarily have to do that through knocking on doors or preaching on a street corner. Some may be called to that, but not necessarily.
00:22:10
Speaker
So I think if you think my story, God's story, your story. So first, my story, right? um So each person has a story of how God has worked in their life. Now,
00:22:21
Speaker
It doesn't have to be dramatic. You know, I know sometimes when I was younger, I'd go to a speaker and there'd be someone who would share this really intense, profound conversion story of how they were like super into drugs and gangs and their life was awful and terrible. And then God like broke into their life in this really dramatic way and really intense.
00:22:38
Speaker
And now they're this on fire Christian, right? And there's certainly, it's certainly a beautiful and inspiring story. And some people do have that story to share, right? But I know sometimes for myself, I thought, well, My story is kind of boring. very similar of that You know, i don't have that the big drama like that or something hugely traumatic that happened in my life that God broke into.
00:22:57
Speaker
So I guess I don't really have much of a story to share. But I learned contraire to think about. But God has worked in my life. Right. And. and And so sometimes it's okay we don't have a big dramatic story because a lot of people don't have those kinds of experiences. So sharing just the ways God works in our life and the seemingly ordinary can be helpful. So a simple way we can think about it is what is my story? As in where has God worked in my life? One simple way to think about it is um every adult right now who goes to church, every mass attending adult who's listening to this podcast right now, at some point you...
00:23:38
Speaker
Stopped going to mass because your parents were making you and you made a choice to go on your own. Right. So clearly something happened when you decided that God is important enough to go on your own or this faith or, you know, so something happened there where you would now go by your own free will and volition to mass.
00:23:56
Speaker
So what happened? Right. And there's your story. Right. It's as simple as that. Why? What is it about God? Why is this matter to me that I make the choice to go? Right. I'm not being dragged by my parents anymore, but I have still chosen to continue to go to mass.
00:24:11
Speaker
um To reflect on that and think about at some point you decided that God matters. Why? Right. And that is a very simple introduction to your story. Right.
00:24:22
Speaker
It can be as simple as that. Well, this is why I choose to go to mass on Sunday and sharing that, that you know, that in and of itself could be your story. Right. Right now, i'm thinking I'm thinking all the way back to um when I was a sophomore at UNI and went to St. Stephen the Witness Catholic Student Center and the people that were around me, the the friends that invited me and that I invited.
00:24:45
Speaker
And um I could sit there for half an hour and just kind of reflect and have those memories come pouring back. So I hope you as a listener, after you you ah push pause or finish this episode, that you reflect back on Why did you, why does God matter to you?
00:25:00
Speaker
When did you start to make that choice on your own? And the cool thing about everyone's story, just like you are a special guest, every single person's story is going to be different in some way.
00:25:11
Speaker
And I think there's a lot of value in that. Yeah. And so we call that the sharing of my story. That's simply, we call that witness or testimony. And the great thing about it is people can't argue with their story, right? You simply share your story and that's your experience and people can receive it, you know?
00:25:29
Speaker
So you don't have to worry about Sometimes, again, people hear evangelize and they think they have to have the answer to every single single theological objection to our faith on hand. And they're like, well, I don't. So I got nothing to say, right?
00:25:41
Speaker
But just share what God has done in your life. And so reflect on that. So, yes, I also I encourage our listeners to think about that. So my story and then secondly, God's story.
00:25:52
Speaker
Right. So this is simply this does go a little deeper, but essentially kind of building on why does God matter? Right. We know the basic gist of, you know, there's something about the story of.
00:26:03
Speaker
of God, right? The good news of Jesus Christ. Why is Jesus Christ good news for anybody, right? This guy who came on the earth 2,000 years ago, well, whoop-de-doo, who cares, right?
00:26:14
Speaker
Well, that is what we're sharing about God's story, right? Articulating the gospel, the basic gospel, right? that That we are sinners in need of salvation. God came into the world. He suffered, died, and resurrected for us to save us, right?
00:26:28
Speaker
And to to to transform our lives by his grace and lead us to eternal life. Well, that's all well and good, right? But how would you articulate that? Again, how would you tell someone else why they should care about God or faith or Jesus or why this matters, right?
00:26:43
Speaker
So first, my story, I share what God, what difference God has made to me. Why does God matter to me? But then secondly, God's story, articulating in your own words, what is the good news of the gospel, right? What is the good news of Jesus Christ, right?
00:26:57
Speaker
You probably have some instinct in that, but think about that. Well, what would you basically say in your own words? Now, I know Father Jacob, sometimes when I was in school, we'd like learn a lesson and our teacher wanted us to integrate it. So they'd say, okay, now present this chapter or whatever in your own words, which usually led to us just reading out of the book anyways, summarizing our own words, right?
00:27:18
Speaker
in our own words. but But that's the idea of it. It's meant to not not just to repeat certain talking points, to but to really think about it in an integrated way. How would I share the story of God with others, right?
00:27:31
Speaker
So that's kind of my story and then God's story leading into your story, which I'll talk about in a second. But do you have any thoughts on that, Father Jacob? Oh, yeah.
00:27:43
Speaker
When you said um you don't have to have all the answers when you're talking to someone, it really struck me as, could you imagine someone saying, I love my wife and my kids?
00:27:54
Speaker
And then if someone on the street corner said, well, why though? Like, give me like x actual proof as to why your child and your your wife are worthy of love. And all you'd have to do is pull out a picture and say, well, just look at them.
00:28:09
Speaker
um And I think that that can be the same type of ah emotional storytelling that resonates with people rather than just facts or reading out of a book. Not that the catechism and the Bible aren't helpful.
00:28:23
Speaker
And yet, your experience is is the thing that is uniquely your own And that is a gift from the Lord and that is something that can be used.
00:28:35
Speaker
What is your story? What's that part of this whole metric? So we're linking this into your story being the person we're talking to. Right. So the whole idea also of evangelization is that we don't merely beat people over the head with the Bible.
00:28:50
Speaker
Right. But we accompany people in life. Right. We listen to them. We love them. We sit with them and they're suffering. Right. And in doing so, and through those relationships, we can help them to see God at work in their life, right?
00:29:04
Speaker
That doesn't mean we we start by preaching to them right away, right? But we but when we show we love and care, right, they're open then to receiving our story, right? Because we've valued them enough to receive their story, right?
00:29:18
Speaker
Whatever it is. And so that opens it up to hear their story. Like, um because it's it's a very different thing. And that's why I think people are turned off by a random person who knocks on their door or a preacher on the street corner.
00:29:29
Speaker
It's like, I don't have any relationship with you. I have no reason to believe that you actually care about me as a human being, right? But... If there's someone in my life who's been with me in my ups and downs, who sits with me with my suffering, who takes time to listen to me, that shows I'm truly loved and valued as a human being, and then they tell me about this beautiful thing that God has done in their life, and maybe helps me see maybe how God is working in my life, I'm going to be much more open to receiving that.
00:29:56
Speaker
So this idea is like my story, God's story, and your story is are kind of these interconnected things, right? I will admit this idea of my story, God's story, your story, I got from another ministry that I help with called a Youth for Christ as ah that I volunteer with. But they have ah kind of three, their image is kind of three interlinked rings, right, that are interconnected, right?
00:30:21
Speaker
And so so that yeah that's the idea of taking time to spend time with people and hear it their story, that is your story. um And you know within that context, I share my story, I share God's story, and I help them to see how those connect, this particular God's story connects to their own life by sharing in their story.
00:30:40
Speaker
So does that make sense? It does. I was just about to ask, how did we get so lucky to have such a brilliant guest who came up with that ring model for Avengers Racing? Yeah. but I see that it has been borrowed and shared and yeah evangelized to many other people. And now you, the listener, get to hear this and try it out.
00:31:00
Speaker
who Who should we, who should, if someone was, ah wanted to practice this, this three ring, my story, God's story, your story, who'd you suggest they start with?
00:31:12
Speaker
ah Maybe just start with someone you know and love, right? I mean, I think just taking time, even with a fellow believer Catholic, just to take time to share my story. Like, like I said, taking time to reflect on why do I go to mass on Sunday and being able to articulate to someone who, you know, and trust, um, that can be a place to start.
00:31:33
Speaker
Right. Um, and, and starting there. So you figure out just how to articulate it to someone who, you know, will receive you well. Um, just so you can start figuring out for yourself. Because I think sometimes we just don't take time to think about it.
00:31:47
Speaker
And I think even just within, between fellow believers, fellow Catholic Christians, building a culture of simply sharing what God has done in my life, I mean, even that, I think, would go a long ways.
00:32:00
Speaker
If we just start becoming more comfortable with fellow Catholics in the pews and say, hey, I want to share with you what God has done in my life, you know? So you don't have to start with the angry atheist on the street, right? Like maybe start with just a fellow believer and share with them, hey, this is what God has done in my life.
00:32:18
Speaker
um And then, you know, and encouraging others to also share and ask them, why do you go to church on Sundays, you know? Or why did you start going? Why did you stop? Why did you continue to go to church after your parents stopped making you?
00:32:32
Speaker
Right. And and that and of itself could probably spark some good conversations. And to tie back to the beginning that your story, as we've established, is unique. Maybe it's not as, quote, exciting as someone else's. But I mean, think about the Blessed Virgin Mary.
00:32:48
Speaker
ah Her story is growing up in a faithful Jewish household and then an angel just showing up. Like she's always depicted as either doing some sort of housework or reading or prayers or menial task that right in the middle of her ordinary life, someone showed up.
00:33:05
Speaker
And the same thing is true for John the Baptist. He just grew up and then wandered out in the desert and then came back again. So your story is ah among those great stories that we read in Scripture and we read of the saints as well.
00:33:21
Speaker
Wow.
Reflecting on Cultural Changes
00:33:22
Speaker
Well, this ah model for evangelization, honestly, when if someone were to look at the Journey in Faith website, which I will put in the description, um and look at all the FAQs, the frequently asked questions, all the vision, the mission, everything, it can seem kind of overwhelming. But honestly, you've done a really good job of ah walking us through the why, the what, and then how they all connect. And this makes a lot of sense.
00:33:47
Speaker
Yeah, thank you. Yeah. um Well, as you already articulated, all my best and most brilliant ideas are really just stolen from people wiser than me. so So there you go. Great way to live.
00:34:00
Speaker
encourage you to go to, yeah, check those out and and pray with these things, right? Pray and reflect. And we just wanted to lay out, as especially as listeners are going to be hearing more about... you know, parish structures and pastoral planning and all that stuff to understand what is the why behind it. And we're really, the focus is we are building a culture of missionaries.
00:34:19
Speaker
So like we said in the vision, we are an engaged archdiocese and community of joyful missionary disciples who, centered our Eucharist relationship Jesus Christ and united through our legacy of faith. So this is all meant to help us to live, again, not just as a in maintenance mode of managed decline, but a movement towards a truly missionary mindset. And so in that sense, like, yes, there's going to be some challenging things in the future.
00:34:47
Speaker
But if you really look at where is it we're going? I mean, it is an invitation to a grand adventure. And I find that so exciting. You know, like, yes, there's going to be some challenges. There's to be some changes. Right.
00:35:00
Speaker
But it's this idea that Christ calls us forth to great adventure. Right. um And I might end with the image of what I like to call Father Jacob Rouse, the Hobbit Syndrome.
00:35:12
Speaker
So for any listeners who may or may not be familiar with the novel The Hobbit, right, the whole idea is that Bilbo Baggins is invited by Gandalf to go on this great quest, this great adventure along with the dwarves, right?
00:35:24
Speaker
And being hobbits, hobbits are these little, you know, half- sized little people creatures who um very much love all the good comforts and conveniences of home right they're very homely domestic creatures who love their comforts and good foods and and things like the the comfortable things of life right uh and yet he's then called on this great adventure and adventures involve sometimes leaving some of those comfortable things it involves a kind of uncomfortable journey and uh and yet there's this there's this tension in bilbo of like
00:35:57
Speaker
while yes, he wants to kind of stay in his comfy home, then there's also this this, not just an invitation, but there's something in him, this this desire for this great adventure, right? That there's something that like beckons him forth and that is exciting for him and that bat tugs on his heart that he eventually says yes to go, right? Even though he kind of grumbles along the way sometimes, like he finally gets going and then he realizes he forgot his handkerchief. and Oh, what a woeful thing. and But anyways, but so too for us, you know, I think our status is we're kind of like those hobbits. We want to stay in the the comfortable, the things we know.
00:36:34
Speaker
And there's this great call to adventure, right? Which is beautiful and exciting and beautiful things on the other side.
00:36:43
Speaker
And so let's respond to Christ's great call to adventure. Well, I don't think I could have said it any better. So thank you everyone for joining us for this episode. um Let's get messy. Let's get uncomfortable and let's evangelize.
00:36:59
Speaker
I'll see in the Eucharist.