A few months ago I wrote of the emphasis many Christians, both Catholic and Protestant, give to “having a relationship with Jesus.” My point was that overemphasizing one aspect of Christian discipleship to the neglect of other important aspects...
Recently a priest on Twitter argued that parents should never take their kids out of Mass, even if they are making a racket. He said, “Children are never a distraction.” His intention was to be welcoming—he didn’t want anyone, including young...
Last week I wrote about the importance of all-boys clubs. My jumping-off point was the decision of the Boy Scouts to drop “Boy” from the name and to open the group to girls. But the push to include girls in all-boy groups isn’t confined to...
In my quarter-century of Catholic evangelization efforts, I’ve been asked many questions. But one of the most common is: “Do you have a system for evangelization I can follow?” I can understand the intention behind this question. A lot of...
Last week the USCCB announced that over 30,000 people would be entering the Catholic Church this Easter. Among Catholics, this news was received with much joy. As someone who entered the Church at Easter twenty-five years ago, I too was rejoicing...
When I was first investigating Catholicism, a Catholic friend was explaining to me the importance of the four marks of the Church—that, as the Nicene Creed tells us, the Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. As an Evangelical Protestant...
What do you call a Calvinist who attends Mass whenever he’s traveling? That’s my friend Andrew. We’ve been friends since high school, back when we were both Protestant. Now I’m Catholic but he’s still a committed Calvinist, although he’s not only...
“Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?” If you have ever moved in Evangelical Protestant circles, you’ve probably been asked this question. A fundamental presupposition of Evangelical theology is that each person is called to a...
If you’re over forty, picture life when you were a child: no cell phones, no email, no Alexa…and self-driving cars were on The Jetsons, not the nightly news. Even those who grew up this century have seen incredible changes in their lifetimes...
What happens when proclaiming the gospel is considered offensive? How do Catholics evangelize in a PC culture? Catholicism has always had teachings that are offensive to some ears. St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that “we preach Christ...
A few years ago I was at a softball tournament with one of my daughters. While there I saw a sign recruiting girls for a new travel-ball team. The organizers made clear that girls who joined this team would be making a major commitment: many...
Last week I wrote an article criticizing the Protestant character of some “New Evangelization” programs. I gave a few brief suggestions for true Catholic evangelization, and a number of people contacted me subsequently requesting more practical...
