The Cordial Catholic

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my friend and Eyram Klu, a Black Protestant convert to Catholicism, who joins me to share his amazing conversion journey.  Raised with some Catholic background, Eyram became a passionate Evangelical Christian, deeply involved in campus ministry as a young adult. It was an encounter with his future wife, a Catholic, on a secular dating app...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Father Sammie Maletta, author and long-time pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish in St. John, Indiana to talk about making Catholics into intentional disciples of Christ.  With decades of experience in pastoral ministry, Fr. Maletta brings a wealth of experience and knowledge on why some parishes and parishioners are filled with the S...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined once again by my friend and world renown researched and bibliophile Gary Michuta to talk about the Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by Christ.  Geared towards defending our Catholic Christian faith, Gary's new work, diving deep into the prophecies fulfilled by Jesus, is meant to equip the reader (and listener) with some incredible kno...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Dr. Robert Collins to talk about his incredible journey from non-believing skeptic to an absolutely on-fire Catholic!  From death bed conversions, miraculous answers to pray, incredible spiritual insights, and an absolutely Holy Spirit soaked life is the topic of discussion this week on the show as Dr. Robert Collins, a renown oncologist...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my friend Dr. Andrew Swafford to talk about C.S. Lewis' masterpiece The Great Divorce and how this Protestant book creates so many questions and so many conversions to Catholicism with its incredible picture of purgatory. We talk about the Catholic understanding of purgatory, participation with Christ, suffering, and how C.S. Lewis p...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by author Traci Rhoades to talk about her remarkable faith journey into the Catholic Church.  Traci is a brilliant and insightful writer who I first met as someone exploring the different roots of Christian traditions. When I heard that Traci had, in fact, become Catholic I knew I needed to have her on the show!  Traci's story is a fant...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Catholic evangelist, missionary, and Bible teacher Meg Hunter-Kilmer to talk about two of the most widely spread misconceptions about Catholics: that Catholics don't read their Bibles and that Catholics don't have a personal relationship with Jesus.  We dig into the places where Catholics hear Scripture, why the Catholic-Protest...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Paul McCusker, the Peabody Award-winning creator of Adventures in Odyssey and the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre to discuss his incredible conversion to Catholicism.  McCusker's worked defined generations of Evangelical Christians and as someone steeped in the Protestant, sometimes anti-Catholic world, we find out, in this episode...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Father Matthew Hawkins, a former Agnostic and a convert to the Catholic faith from a long line of ministers in the American Methodist Episcopal Church. Father Matthew's story is an incredible one and he's a wonderful storytellers. From early touchstones and experiences of Catholicism to a deep and abiding love of Scripture to a...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined for an absolutely astounding conversation with Dr. Jennifer Bryson, a scholar, a military analyst and lecturer, a former Guantanamo Bay interrogator, and a Catholic convert to talk about the incredible life she's lived – and her amazing conversion to Catholicism! This episode is absolutely packed. Dr. Byrson begins talking a bit about t...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Peter Carter from the Catholic Sacred Music Project and the author, with Cardinal Robert Sarah, of The Song of the Lamb, a wonderful new book from Ignatius Press which explores the idea of the sacred Mass and all its beauty. We talk about the idea of creating the sacred space appropriate for Mass, the evangelistic opportunities present in...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my friend Justin Hibbard. Justin is a former Baptist pastor, a convert to the Catholic faith, and the host of the Why Catholic Podcast and Instagram profile – and he's here this week to share his incredible conversion story with us!  As a pastor and worship leader, Justin had decades of evangelical church experience under his belt wh...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by two of the best experts on the Canon of the Bible, my friends Matthew Mark McWhorter and Gary Michuta. Together, we'll dig into exactly why Protestant Bibles are smaller than Catholic Bibles – what happened to the missing books and the unfounded theories that led to them being removed. We look at modern evidence which proves that the...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by one of the most dynamic Catholic theologians alive today and Jewish convert to Catholicism Dr. Lawrence Feingold. Dr. Feingold joins us to answer the question, "What are Protestants missing by missing out on the Eucharist?" and his answer is nothing short of astounding. Using the Old and New Testaments, church history, the Early...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by David L. Gray to talk about the Mass, the Liturgy, from his perspective as a Catholic convert – and how we can explain it to other converts, draw them in, and demonstrate the incredible truth and beauty of how and why Catholics worship through the Mass. This is a great conversation! With David as our guide, we dig deeply into what's...

This week on the show I'm joined by my friend Nate Cline to talk about his amazing journey from Evangelical Christianity into the Catholic Church.  Nate's story is one of a passionate Evangelical Christian, honestly and wholeheartedly seeking after Christ through a variety of churches, church plants, church splits, and serious soul searching to find Christ, ultimately, in the last place...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my friend and Early Church scholar Dr. Thomas Scheck to talk about his latest work, a translation of St. John Fisher's refutation of Martin Luther.  The importance of this discussion can't be understated as we unpack one of those Catholic writers, theologians, and bishops who wrote against Martin Luther, and the Reformers, at th...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Bible scholar Dr. Stephen Boyce to tell the story of his conversion from Baptist to Anglican and, ultimately, into the Catholic Church.  Stephen's story begins in independent Baptist churches, up through his PhD in a Baptist seminary, and through teaching and pastoring, researching the Early Church, and ultimately coming to the concl...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Claire Noel, a convert to Catholicism, with an absolutely compelling story to tell.  While almost impossible to summarize Claire's story is one that needs to be heard to be appreciated.  From Christianity to a major deconstruction and years in the New Age movement. Claire's story is punctuated by twist after turn including encou...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my new friend Deacon Patrick Lappert, MD a double-board certified Naval surgeon with what must be one of the wildest Catholic conversion stories you'll ever here. Seriously, buckle up for this one.  Deacon Patrick's story is one of God relentlessly pursuing someone in love. Raised Jewish, Deacon Patrick spent most of his life as...

No new episode this week but Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We'll be back next week with an amazing new conversion story! Send your feedback to cordialcatholic@gmail.com. Sign up for our newsletter for my reflections on  episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive contests. To watch this and other episodes please visit (and subscribe to!) our YouTube channel . Please consider fina...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by my friend Jeff Lukich, author and revert to the Catholic faith, to talk about his miraculous Christmas Eve return to the Catholic Church, all of the factors and facets that led up to that experience, and how others can follow in his footsteps.  Jeff's written a fantastic book – The Long Way Home – featuring not only his story but his...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Father Tony Stephens, a Rector of Our Lady of Champion Shrine, the site of the first and only approved Marian apparition in the United States, to talk about Mary's miraculous appearances, the miracles associated with her intercession, and how to charitably help our Protestant brothers and sisters understand the role of our Blessed Mo...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Aaron Gunsaulus, the anti-Catholic, Calvinist pastor who became Catholic – although with 17 of his friends from the church he pastored!  This is an amazing story. Aaron is a good friend of another good friend of the show, former Protestant Pastor Keith Nester, and the way their stories are connected is incredible.  Aaron tells that story...

In this episode of The Cordial Catholic, I'm joined by Professor of Philosophy, Dr. Christopher Kaczor, to discuss his new work on the reasonableness of belief in God and some of the most popular challenges – and changes – with how we approach this fundamental topic.  What can we make of the shifting landscape of belief? Catholic conversions are on the rise! How do we address the perennial pr...