Every Knee Shall Bow (Your Catholic Evangelization Podcast)

It’s hard to start proclaiming the kerygma, “God loves you and has a plan for your life”, when someone doesn’t believe in God. Dave “All Thriller No Filler” VanVickle and I wade into the world of apologetics as we address a listener's question about how to evangelize an atheist. Our faith is rational. Don’t fear questions about what we believe, because at some point over the past two thousand years, that question has already been asked and answered. We just have to find it. We want to hear from you! Email us at eksb@ascensionpress.com with your story, question, or comment—or if you’ve got a new nickname for Dave. Snippet from the Show “Catholic students need to understand that faith is not irrational. We don’t leave our minds at the door. That’s the Catholic tradition, it’s OK to question.” SHOWNOTES Christianity has reasons for its beliefs. Start with Jesus as a man, his birth and resurrection. Pray and ask others to pray with you for conversion. Ask: What is your moral absolute? What do you base your mora

There’s good news and bad news. Bad news: Gomer is out today, so no fun nicknames. Good news: this episode is all about equipping you for spiritual warfare and fighting the kingdom of evil. Spiritual warfare and evangelization go hand-in-hand. Turns out the devil doesn’t like it when you try to win souls for Christ. Acknowledging the reality of spiritual warfare is an important first step. Once we realize that we’re fighting battles everyday, we can use these principles to guide the way. Snippet from the Show “Spiritual warfare is more than a metaphor for the spiritual life, it’s a reality ... We’re all at war with the world, the flesh, and the devil.” 10 Practical Principles of Spiritual Warfare 1. By his passion and death, Christ won a definitive victory over Satan and the kingdom of darkness and any personal victory we have is a participation in the victory Jesus won and gave to his church. 2. The devil and the fallen angels play a mysterious role in the drama of salvation. The battle that they wage again

Today Dave “Open Book, Closed Heart” VanVickle and I talk about extraordinary and ordinary means of fighting the devil, which leads (naturally) into a conversation on evangelization and how to lead when you’re not in charge. Snippet from the Show “One person can bring about dramatic change at a parish.” We want to hear from you! Email us at eksb@ascensionpress.com with your story, question, or comment—or if you’ve got a new nickname for Dave. SHOWNOTES How do you lead when you are not in a leadership position? * Try to be close friends with the current staff on evangelization teams. * Try to win the front of “what is the truth” and make sure everyone is on the same page on what they believe. * Give talks on what the life of catechists and parish workers should look like. * Encourage the use of Scripture and the new Catechism for formation. * Give talks on how to have a personal relationship with Jesus in the context of the Catholic Church. * Offer a talk on the history of the Catholic Church in America since

We need leaders in the Church. If you want ministries at your parish, that aren’t happening (or aren’t going very well) this may be your que to step up as a leader in evangelization. In this episode, we talk about how priests, lay employees, and volunteers can be leaders in their own right, and you don’t have to wait for someone to formally empower you to lead others. We want to hear from you! Email us at eksb@ascensionpress.com with your story, question, or comment—or if you’ve got a new nickname for Dave. Snippet from the Show “The word ‘leader’ can be intimidating, but the Holy Spirit is the primary agent of evangelization. You’re just the lead follower of the Holy Spirit.” SHOWNOTES Priests * The homily needs to be kerygmatic. * Give a call to action every homily. * Win your staff. * Make sure your staff is on board with the mission. * The parish priests need to be available to the people, especially for sacraments. * Try to imitate St. John Vianney. Lay Employees * It is poor form to give a class or work

Dave “Thunderdome” Van Vickle and I are talking about the importance of digital evangelization. If we are trying to meet people where they are, we need to be online. We cover best practices for parishes and individuals to spread the Word on the web, as well as examples of things we’ve seen work really well (like this podcast). We want to hear from you! Email us at eksb@ascensionpress.com with your story, question, or comment—or if you’ve got a new nickname for Dave. Check out the shownotes and resources at ascensionpress.com/everykneeshallbow

We have a great show today. Not that we don’t usually, but today is especially good. We start with a question from a parish leader about intercessory prayer groups (Dave’s group is #goals). Then we cover what individuals and parishes can do for the newly converted and what tools we have for someone after their initial “yes” to Jesus. We want to hear from you! Email us at eksb@ascensionpress.com with your story, question, or comment—or if you’ve got a new nickname for Dave. Snippet from the Show “Walking alone is the greatest way for the devil to destroy your newfound faith.” SHOWNOTES Questions from our listeners: How do you start an intercessory prayer group? What resources are there? 1. Start by finding the people who are already praying. 2. Give each intercessor a job description (example: one Memorare a week, holy hour a month). 3. Add fasting and prayer days with sign-ups (daily, weekly, monthly). 4. Plan a monthly holy hour where we pray for the parish. 5. Boost prayer life through monthly conferences.

Hallelujah! It's the Easter Octave and I for one am glad Christ rose from the dead. This week it's just me, Mike "Gomer" Gormley, your humble co-host of EKSB. I wanted to offer you fine folks an Easter message on discipleship and the Resurrection. Our regular show will return next week! Happy Easter!

Calling all DREs, catechists, youth ministers, and parish volunteers! Have we got a show for you. (Yes, that was a VeggieTales reference.) We start off today answering some tough questions about the kerygma, and then pivot to ways you can infuse evangelization into programs your parish already has like baptism prep, marriage prep, and religious education. Our advice isn’t the only way to do it, but it is a (pretty darn good) way to do it. How do you evangelize at your parish? We want to hear from you! Email us at eksb@ascensionpress.com with your story, question, or comment—or if you’ve got a new nickname for Dave. Snippet from the Show “People aren’t going to surrender their life to Christ if we’re hitting them over the head with moral issues and their failure … but there is no gospel without repentance.” Check out this episode at ascensionpress.com/everykneeshallbow (https://media.ascensionpress.com/category/everykneeshallbow/) for shownotes and resources from the show.

You’ve got frequently asked questions, we’ve got infrequently given answers. We tackle questions about what to do when you encounter someone purchasing the Plan B pill, what to do when people (especially family members) give dumb reasons for why they don’t go to church, the role of Mary in evangelization, and talking to family members about having a sacramental wedding when they’re angry with the Church and you’re long distance. (Whew.) We want to hear from you! Email us at eksb@ascensionpress.com with your story, question, or comment—or if you’ve got a new nickname for Dave. _Snippet from the Show “We so desire the conversion of our friends and relatives and neighbors that we feel disappointed when the outcomes haven’t happened. But the success is in the evangelizing. The conversion is up to Jesus. One sows the seed, the other waters, God alone gives the growth.”_ Check out the show on ascensionpress.com/everykneeshallbow to browse the resources from the show.

We’re talking to the one and only Jeff Cavins, Catholic speaker and author of the new book, The Activated Disciple. We’re pumped to interview him about discipleship and sharing the Faith (and so are our moms). Jeff’s book really gets to the heart of discipleship. It gives us a practical roadmap to a path of discipleship and explains what it actually means to be a disciple. We also get Jeff to give us his practical tips for evangelization. You can get Jeff's book at ascensionpress.com. We want to hear from you! Email us at eksb@ascensionpress.com with your story, question, or comment—or if you’ve got a new nickname for Dave. _Snippet from the Show “There’s a difference between having a branch named Jesus on your vine vs. realizing that you are a branch on the true vine that is Christ.”_

The New Evangelization invites baptized Catholics to renew their relationship with Jesus Christ and his Church (according to the USCCB). Started by Popes Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI, it’s a call for the Church (aka, you and me) to reach out to fallen away Catholics and bring them back to the sacraments. We want to talk about how to bring this movement to your parish and community. Starting with Carole Brown’s Gems for the New Evangelization: Shamelessly Pilfered from Various Treasuries of Church Teaching, we then add some additional points that we’ve discovered along the way. There are a lot of different things you can do, but the important thing is to start. Snippet from the Show “My favorite thing is to take every part of the Catechism and tie it back to the Cross and resurrection, because you can do it with everything.” We want to hear from you! Email us at eksb@ascensionpress.com with your story, question, or comment—or if you’ve got a new nickname for Dave. SHOWNOTES The Five Points for the

We tackle the biggest, most complicated, stickiest moral issues–contraception and same-sex attraction. How is a Catholic evangelist to approach such a minefield when proclaiming the gospel? In John 14:15, Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” So we know that we have to tell people about moral issues, but we need to make sure we’re doing it in a way that actually helps. We talk about when, how, and why to bring these issues up, and examples of times these strategies have actually worked (we promise we’re not using you as guinea pigs). We want to hear from you! Email us at eksb@ascensionpress.com with your story, question, or comment–or if you’ve got a new nickname for Dave. Snippet from the Show Holiness and happiness are coterminous in God. Me seeking my own happiness is what God made holiness to be–seeking union with him forever in Christ Jesus.

Mike and Dave give practical advice about how to get over that awkward feeling and share the Faith BOLDLY. Telling someone the good news about Jesus isn’t hard ... if you really, truly believe it. You’re not imposing your arbitrary morality and spirituality on someone, you are proposing to them the truth of God’s love for them and their elevated status as creatures made in the image and likeness of God. Like Mike says, “If you discovered the cure to cancer, and you kept it to yourself–you would be a monster ...We have even greater news, but so often we keep it quiet.” Mike also gives solid advice to a listener who asks about how to talk to her husband, who is a Muslim, about Christianity. Check out the shownotes at ascensionpress.com/everykneeshallbow to see practical tips on how to be BOLD when you share the Faith.

Mike and Dave answer your questions about how to get programs going at your parish, how to share the gospel with fallen-away family members, and how to invest in Catholic evangelism as well as catechesis when funds are short. Snippet from the Show “You have a mission as a layperson ... To not proclaim Jesus Christ and just wait for a priest to do it is a fundamental corruption to your baptismal dignity. Christ is inviting you on this mission. You don’t need anyone else’s permission.” Listener Questions: 1. “My priest isn’t into evangelization, what do I do?” 2. “I have three children, none are truly evangelized, except my oldest daughter who is now evangelical, but ‘at least she has Jesus.’” 3. “I am a DRE who got caught up in the catechesis game. I now want to invest in evangelism, but am at a poor parish.” Resources mentioned: * Christifideles Laici, Chapter 3 * The Great Adventure Bible Studies * No Greater Love by Edward Sri * The Life of Christ by Rev. Fulton Sheen * To Know Christ Jesus by Frank Sheed *

What does it mean to be in the world but not of the world and how does this affect evangelization? Many people assume there are two ways to approach this notion. On one side is the thought of Christ against culture—that to be loyal to Jesus or the Church I need to run completely away from the world. On the other side is the Christ of culture—that Jesus is the peak and pinnacle of all culture’s greatest desires, aspirations, and hopes. Which one is right? What balance should we strike? Today, Mike and Dave take these two basic concepts and break them down into practical, real life situations. They explain what we should do in regards to the world around us and stress the importance of finding the distinctive Christ element that sets your life apart. We walk a delicate line being in the world and not of it, but Mike and Dave make this line a bit easier to see. Snippet from the Show: “We as Christians have to present some difference from the culture at large, the culture of the world. There has to be something

Spiritual warfare is more than just an analogy. It is a reality. Quite literally, it is a struggle between two kingdoms—a battle between man and that which draws man away from God. This fighting and resisting evil is a common experience, yet many don’t believe they are at war. Therefore they come unprepared to fight the battle. Today Mike and Dave approach this topic from the viewpoint of evangelists. They discuss the Church Fathers’ understanding of spiritual warfare, the context behind the Church’s teachings on the subject, and practical ways you can resist evil and equip yourself with the best possible resources. Snippet from the Show “This is a battle. This isn’t an analogy, it’s not an allegory … We are actually at war.” Two mistakes we assume about spiritual warfare: 1) Looking at it as a personal faith issue, that the victory comes from you. 2) That this is just a small part of the Faith. Resources mentioned in the show Gaudium et Spes 1 Peter 8 Anima Christi 5 Practical Tips: 1) Pray the St. Michae

Do you want to evangelize in a post-Christian society? There are a few things you need to know. We all proclaim the same gospel, but we all need to use different methods. The methods that St. Paul used in Athens or Rome and the approach of a missionary in India, Southeast Asia, or parts of Africa will be different than someone who lives in a post-Christian society. There are, however, universal principles that stand the test of time. Today, Mike and David go through three ages of evangelization, explain how to overcome four hurdles in evangelizing, and also three different types of evangelizing. Snippet from the Show: “No matter how opposed someone is to Christianity, you have to understand that deep down, it is what they want. It is what they most desire. It is the answer to all their questions.” SHOWNOTES: *5 Practical Takeaways: * 1) Read Evangelii Nuntiandi 2) Fast for someone at your parish 3) Pray and reflect on St. Augustine’s Prayer to the Holy Spirit 4) Read 2 Timothy 4 5) Write down and reflect on

Church teaching is an important part of our Catholic Faith. Today, Mike and Dave are going to show you how to incorporate the church into the kerygma. They explain how fellowship is not socializing and why the Church comes before the individual in the plan of God. “Our love for Jesus and for our neighbor impels us to speak to others about our faith. Each believer is thus a link in the great chain of believers. I cannot believe without being carried by the faith of others, and by my faith I help support others in the faith.” (CCC 166) Snippet from the Show: You have not given yourself faith as you have not given yourself life. The believer has received faith from others and should hand it on to others. (CCC 166) 5 Practical Tips 1) Meet someone at your parish that you have never met before. It can be as simple as introducing yourself. 2) Read 2Timothy 2. 3) Read CCC 176-184. 4) Pray for the staff of your parish all week long. 5) Look at the four steps of the kerygma below and compare them to your personal test

When evangelizing, there comes a moment in time when you will invite someone to completely give their life over to Christ and begin living a Christian life. How do you know what moment is right? What does the invitation look like? Why is an invitation to Christian life so important? Using Scripture, contemporary faith formation tools, and personal experience, Mike and Dave explain the sometimes subtle art of inviting someone to live a fully authentic Christian life. For more information visit ascensionpress.com/everykneeshallbow (https://media.ascensionpress.com/category/ascension-podcasts/everykneeshallbow/) Snippet from the Show: “If you read the Gospels, you are going to see constantly that the one man who could have demanded, is constantly instead inviting.” Tips on Invitation: 1) Invitation should be gradual 2) Invitation should be compelling but not forceful 3) Invitation should be loving and gentle 5 Practical Tips: 1) Create one gathering of friends doing some activity. Invite someone who is on the

Mike and Dave, the hosts of Every Knee Shall Bow, take time to answer your questions and respond to your reviews. They also provide resource recommendations such as Alpha, Sherry Weddell, SEEK, and more! At the end of the podcast, they also provide five easy ways to observe effective evangelization in action! Snippet from the Show: The beautiful thing about our Catholic faith is that when you conform yourself to a celebrity...you lose yourself. But what Christ wants in conforming to him, instead of losing yourself, you actually gain yourself back, and become who you truly are called to be. Resources Mentioned on this Show: 1) Alpha the Catholic Program 2) Sherry Weddell and the Catherine of Siena Institute 3) Divine Renovation a book by Fr. Mallon and Ron Huntley 4) SEEK 2019 5) Culture Making: Recovering our Creative Calling a book by Andy Crouch 6) The Rubin Report: “A Bishop and a Rabbi Discuss Religion”, a YouTube video 5 Practical Tips 1) Open up your computer and see what churches or movements in your