Today is the conclusion of my series inspired by a conversation with Everett Fritz, author of the recently released book, The Art of Forming Young Disciples: Why Youth Ministries Aren’t Working And What To Do About It. Everett had just shared with me the methodology of “think small, to grow big” and although I understood why, I was wondering whether this process has proven to be effective. Instead of responding with a yes or no, Everett shared with me the story of Jan Tyranowski. Jan was a tailor in Poland in the beginning of the twentieth century. As a young […]
leadership
16 posts
Today I continue sharing insights from a conversation that I recently had with Everett Fritz, author of the recently released book, The Art of Forming Young Disciples: Why Youth Ministries Aren’t Working And What To Do About It. After our discussion about the realities present in ministry today, how the current models of youth ministry in the Church are not meeting the needs of youth, and the shift in mentality necessary in order to be open to doing things differently, my next question to Everett was “What’s the first step if you decide you want to try and change how […]
Today I continue sharing insights from a conversation that I recently had with Everett Fritz, author of the recently released book, The Art of Forming Young Disciples: Why Youth Ministries Aren’t Working And What To Do About It. Everett and I had spoken about the reality occurring in the Church regarding the loss of young adults, and why that was happening—primarily, because the pastoral needs of young people are not being met within the current structures and practices of the Church, especially in how the Good News is being shared in youth ministry and catechetical programs. Religious education-based ministries—like a […]
Yesterday, I began sharing parts of a conversation that I was privileged to have with Everett Fritz, author of the recently released book, The Art of Forming Young Disciples: Why Youth Ministries Aren’t Working And What To Do About It. Today, I will focus upon an aspect of our conversation that I myself have intuitively known, and have been searching to find an answer for how to do it, when Everett said, “You can’t instruct people into lifelong discipleship.” Because my own experience of working with youth and adults has reflected that exact reality, I immediately asked Everett what he […]
Recently, I had the privilege of speaking with Everett Fritz, author of the recently released book, The Art of Forming Young Disciples: Why Youth Ministries Aren’t Working And What To Do About It. As we began our conversation, I asked Everett what had prompted him to write his book. “I felt that it was important that someone speak the truth about why we are losing young people (from practicing the Catholic faith), and to offer suggestions about what needs to be done. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised that a Catholic publisher (Sophia Institute Press) was willing to publish it […]
There is a lot of guidance about what being a leader is out there, but my post tonight is to share some thoughts about several characteristics that are unique to Christian leadership. First, and almost a duh, is that a Christian leader, one needs to be a Christian. I am not referring to the state of believing and accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Rather, being a Christian only occurs by authentically living out the life Christ calls you to live in the world–by being the loving presence of Christ to others. If a Christian leader is not […]