Patrick Lencioni speaks at an Amazing Parish event. COURTESY OF THE AMAZING PARISH
A simple way to evangelize
BY DR. JEFF ANDRINI, OFFICE OF EVANGELIZATION AND DISCIPLESHIP
I recently watched a webinar by one of my favorite business mentors, Patrick Lencioni. He consults for Fortune 500 companies like Boeing, Chick-fil-A and Southwest Airlines, and has authored more than a dozen bestselling business books over the past 25 years. Turns out, he’s Catholic! Ten years ago, he co-founded The Amazing Parish, a training and consulting ministry for Catholic parishes. Check it out at amazingparish.org!
The webinar was titled “The Simple Discipline of Evangelization.” It was indeed simple, but it might make some Catholics a little uncomfortable. Why? Evangelization seems like a Protestant practice and Catholics don’t do this, right? Additionally, telling someone about Jesus can seem a little intrusive as we often keep our faith to ourselves and try to live our faith and not necessarily talk about it, for various reasons. But this webinar offered one practice that all Catholics can do each day. It will transform how Catholics share their faith and will plant seeds of faith all over our communities.
Adults often overcomplicate evangelization. Kids look at situations and see simple, straightforward solutions, and adults often overthink things and may end up not acting. When it comes to evangelization, we build a committee or host a program – and this can be good – but there is no silver bullet. Instead, we need to model and practice living our faith in Jesus each day.
This simple practice will transform your home, workplace, and parish. It will help you to grow as a missionary disciple by being open to the Holy Spirit and trusting that God will put you in places to communicate God’s love and care. Are you ready? It is super simple and a little uncomfortable. The natural fear might be that one will get rejected or feel insecure, but when one pushes through these initial 10 seconds, God will surprise you in how these conversations will go. Practice at home, try it with friends and challenge your Catholic friends to try it too.
Okay, here it is. Ask this question to your spouse, to a coworker, to a friend, and even to strangers:
“What is going on in your life and how can I pray for you?”
And then, if the situation allows, ask if you could say a prayer with them right now.
We have been practicing this at the McRaith Catholic Center, the pastoral center of the Diocese of Owensboro. We pray with one another almost every day. We talk about things in our lives and families that need prayer, and we pray for, support, and follow-up with one another to ensure that we know each other cares, and that we keep putting our needs before God and trusting that God will provide.
This practice is so simple, and the conversations will surprise you. Your faith will grow, and others will know that you, and God, care for them.
Want more? Listen to the webinar at: https://vimeo.com/742811795/1df224fe4c, and start evangelizing today!
Peace in Christ,
Jeff
Dr. Jeff Andrini is the director of the Office of Evangelization and Discipleship. Please send comments and questions to [email protected].
Originally printed in the October 2022 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
