Looking for a Dead Jesus

A major theme in my newly developing vision for ministry is to carry an expectation that God will move in visible and powerful ways, and to invite that movement of God. My own faith was strengthened recently in seeing people receive physical healing, emotional healing, spiritual gifting, and personal words from God in prayer. As I witness more of this, I think, "Man, this is exciting stuff!" This is very quickly followed by, "Why don't we see more of this?" As I pondered this latter question, the story of Mary Magdalene in John 20 came to mind.

In Preaching, Truth Is Not Enough

One of my favorite sources of inspiration is the Fresh Life Church sermon podcast. In addition to the great content itself, Pastor Levi Lusko provides a great example of what the heart of a pastor should look like in his preaching. What I love about Pastor Levi's approach is that he recognized that not everybody will respond to the same message in the same way. In other words, it was not enough for him to simply be speaking truth, he needed to account for the variety of responses that his message might be provoking.

Practical Ways to Invite Faith

What follows are six guidelines to keep in mind when inviting people to make an act of faith based on the uniquely Catholic perspective that I have been exploring throughout this series. (Post 8/8 on "Inviting the Act of Faith")

EvangelizationJim SchusterApril 26, 2014conversion, encounter, evangelization, faith, freedom, page 2 Comments

A Major Lacuna in Catholic Ministry

In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis states that "in preaching the Gospel a fitting sense of proportion has to be maintained. This would be seen in the frequency with which certain themes are brought up and in the emphasis given to them in preaching" (38). I believe that a fitting sense of emphasis is lacking within Catholic ministry efforts when it comes to the fundamental act of faith on which the entire Christian edifice is built. (Post 7/8 on "Inviting the Act of Faith")

What Does Rescue Look Like?

In my last post I asked what kind of encounter is needed for someone to go "all in" with God and came to the conclusion that the heart of such an encounter is the experience of rescue. It's easy to imagine what rescue may look like for the hardened sinner or the person who hits rock bottom, but what about for someone who's always played by the rules, who's always gone to church, always tried their best to do their Christian duty? (Post 6/8 on "Inviting the Act of Faith")

EvangelizationJim SchusterMarch 29, 2014abundant life, child of god, conversion, encounter, evangelization, healing, new evangelization, rescue, page 2Comment