The EquipCast

We are back with our monthly Skill Demo! This time, Chris Sommers, Director of Human Resources, gives us practical advice on how to handle performance issues. I know many of you are not managers, but much of her advice is still applicable to those situations where we have to give feedback to a volunteer, friend, or family member. A Production of the Archdiocese of Omaha

Have you ever struggled to pass on your faith to your children? I know I'm not alone when I say that talking about the faith in an age appropriate way to my children is hard. When they are young, just getting the threenages to sit still at mass is difficult. And when they are older...well...nothing I do impresses the teenagers. While I'm not an expert in religious education, I am a father. So I in...

Sometimes the idea of discerning God’s will can daunting. Sifting through the emotions, desires, and the high and low points of each day, and then listening for God’s voice in the midst of it all, can at times be an intimidating task. Now add to this task of discernment, the dynamics of a team. When you have multiple people who bring their thoughts and feelings to the table, discernment can get me...

Preparation for the sacrament of marriage used to happen at the dinner table. The best preparation came from the family that you grew up in. Unfortunately, with the changes in our culture, including the very high divorce rate, couples often receive this sacrament without ever seeing a healthy marriage relationship. Today's marriage prep process, while trying to provide what couples are lacking, ha...

A very real obstacle to changing culture and building a missional church is my own ability to stay organized. I can set all of the lofty goals that I want, but if I never revisit them, I am very likely to never achieve them. In this month's Skill Demo, I outline my favorite method of staying organized, the Weekly Review. It's a time where you can gather all of your thoughts and processes, review t...

Have you noticed? Talking to your neighbor about faith has gotten harder over the past few decades. For our grandparents, it was enough that they taught daily devotions to their children by example. And our experience of education, the law, government, and art supported our beliefs. Now, the culture is in direct opposition to our faith. We find ourselves, to quote Pope Francis, in a "change of age...

“And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph 4:11-12) Today, I invited an old friend and biblical scholar to unpack the meaning or this verse. Here are just a few of his gems of wisdom: Our leaders, the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and...

Happy Easter! I pray that you receive all the graces God has on offer during this season. As St. Paul says, "if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain". And so, I want Easter to have lasting meaning to each of our lives. Thus today, I give you a moment to pause and reflect.  For this EquipCast, we invited Fr. Taylor Leffler to reflect on the resurr...

This episode is a Skill Demo, videoed and produced for our Equip website. We've cut and posted it here on our podcast, but if you'd like to see the presenter’s delightful face or access the resources, head over to Equip. Archomaha.org. Beth Carlson takes us through a practical demonstration of how to lead group lectio using ARRR.

When I hear the word stewardship, I think of money...and I bet most of you do as well. But stewardship is more than fundraising and fundraisers. A good steward connections people with the mission and ministries of the Church.  Today, I talk with our Stewardship and Development Office, and they challenge us to stop selling magazines and start selling the mission. Fundraisers are transactional,...

How well do you know your neighbors? Do you want them to know Jesus and be his disciples? The Thresholds of Evangelization give us a mental framework to approach our neighbors and to engage them in conversations about faith, but at the level they are comfortable with. Today, I want to share with you a conversation that I had with some old friends. Aaron and Brooke Keller have committed themselves...

Have you ever been on a mission trip? Chances are, if you have, that you went to a different state or even a different country. On today’s EquipCast, I talk with Hope of the Poor. While they do have a ministry to the poor in Mexico, their mission is first to evangelize. Yes, they bring Jesus to the poor that they serve, but more than that, they also help the Americans that they bring to Mexico to...

I've been on many teams throughout my career with FOCUS and at the Archdiocese. One thing I've learned is that for a team to be truly collaborative, it must have prayer as a foundation. This foundation of prayer not only leads to greater trust among team members, it also keeps our team goals focused on God's mission for us. Effective team prayer offers the opportunity for teams to grow and discern...

Have you ever wondered about the difference between a ministry and an apostolate? Until recently, I hadn’t. These words seem like synonyms, and talking about their differences feels a bit like quibbling or semantics. However, because we’ve forgotten the difference, most of the energy in our parishes goes toward building up ministries. But without the apostolate of the laity, the Church becomes a c...

Do you meet resistance when you talk about your pro-life beliefs? Do you find it hard to understand why anyone would be in favor of abortion? The truth about abortion seems so obvious, and yet, so many of our family and friends don’t agree with us. The fact is since the passing of Roe vs. Wade, our American culture has changed considerably, and we must be willing to reframe the debate in order to...

Have you ever had something important happen in your life and had no one to share it with? Did you know that the average American hasn’t made a friend in the last five years? As Catholics, we know that community is integral to the faith, and yet, so many in the Body of Christ feel disconnected and alone. I’d like to propose a solution: small groups. Small groups give us the opportunity to enter in...

Part 2 of our talk with Michael Gormley. This time he talks about the parish as a school of discipleship and how all evangelization must prioritize people. A Production of the Archdiocese of Omaha Editor: Taylor Schroll (ForteCatholic.com) Special Guest: Michael Gormley.

Michael Gormley of Catching Foxes fame gives us his thoughts on adult evangelization and how parishes should prioritize the kerygma. A Production of the Archdiocese of Omaha Editor: Taylor Schroll (ForteCatholic.com) Special Guests: Jodi Meyer and Michael Gormley.

Jim and Fr. Lorig discuss an outsider friendly event, an opportunity for parishioners to introduce those they care about to the idea of faith without jumping straight to bringing them to mass. Hopefully, the lessons learned can inspire something similar in your own parishes and ministries.

With Thanksgiving upon us, I wanted to give you the chance to reflect on the ways gratitude can lead us to "live mercy". In today's episode, I sit down with Dcn. Tim McNeil, the Chancellor for the Archdiocese, as he talks about how knowing Jesus requires us to respond. "I have met this person named Jesus, and he has changed me. I’m so aware of what He has done for my life that I cannot help b...

A few years ago, the Archbishop’s Listening Sessions revealed that most of his people desired unity for the Archdiocese. This was so beautiful to hear because we know that unity is always the desire of God’s heart. One of Jesus’s last prayers on earth was “Father, I pray that they may all be one as you an I are one…so that the world may know that you sent me.” (John 17:21) This means that our unit...

As a leader, have you ever had this experience: The Lord places something important on your heart and you are ready to run the race for Him, but no one around you has developed the personal vision and conviction to run with you? Often, we grow and develop personally and then are surprised when no one else has. This process can take years for ourselves, and yet we expect it to take moments for othe...

Did you know that the leading edge of the baby boomers will turn 75 next year? If the majority of our population is now retired and in their twilight years, what does this mean for our parishes? Did you know that 1/3 of the population experiences a bout of poverty in a 3 year period? This means, even parishes in affluent parts of town have people in their pews facing poverty. What does this mean f...

This week, we went more in-depth on The Big Goal by asking Fr. Scott Hastings to break down the 3 Key Characteristics of a Missional Community: Collaborative Leadership, a Clear Path to Discipleship, and a Culture of Generosity. Special Guest: Fr. Scott Hastings.

Two years ago we rolled out the Vision and Priorities for the Archdiocese of Omaha. One Church: Encountering Jesus, Equipping Disciples, and Living Mercy. In the words of Archbishop Lucas, “The vision is not a project so much as a hope, of the kind of church we can be, the people that we are called to be in Jesus Christ and in our time.” Then, with COVID came the opportunity and grace to pause and...