Evangelization
-
The fourth sign of a Dynamic Catholic is Evangelization
- The world is the way it is today because of human behavior. The world is constantly changing, for better or for worse. What makes it better or worse tomorrow? The way we live our lives today.
- Imagine all of the misery that could be avoided if we all just lived by the life-giving wisdom found in the Ten Commandments. Think for a moment on all the suffering that is caused because humanity has been unwilling to adopt a pattern of behavior and a social structure that celebrate the wisdom of the Ten.
- Every great civilization has concerned itself with this question: How is the best way to live? The rigor with which a person or culture approaches this question is very telling. It is of disturbing importance to note that the present culture has virtually no interest in pursuing this question. Today we are more interested in how we want to live than we are in discovering the best way to live.
- In our quest to discover the best way to live, we discover three universal principles:
- You are here to become the best version of yourself.
- Virtue is the ultimate organizing principle, whether it is in a person’ life, one’s marriage, or the life of a nation.
- It is better to live with self-control than without it.
- Jesus’s answer to how the best way to live was, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind . . . and love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 26:37-39)
- God wants to win you with his love and wisdom; God wants to build you up spiritually so that you have the knowledge and habits to live in his love and walk in his ways; and God wants to send you out into the world to share his love with others. Win. Build. Send.
- There are three ways people are won: through truth, beauty, and goodness.
- Among the highly engaged Catholics who were interviewed as part of this research, 89% described a conversion experience- an event in their life that won them to a more engaged relationship with God.
- God wants to build in you a dynamic spirituality. He wants our parishes to help people of all ages build a spiritual life so that through our regular spiritual routines he can build and refine us in his image. It is not enough for us to hope that this happens. We need process and intentionality. These are two of the key ingredients of effective evangelization. It isn’t just going to happen. We need a plan.
- Friendship is the most natural and effective way to share the faith with others.
- People don’t fail because they want to fail. They fail because they don’t know how to succeed.
- Throughout the win and build stages, one of the things that happens to people is that they start to feel good about being Catholic. We don’t talk anywhere near enough about this. In the context of a theological discussion or Church governance this might seem a little soft, but it is absolutely essential to the life and growth of the Church. Highly engaged Catholics feel good about being Catholic. They are inspired Catholics.
- The research surrounding the fourth sign of a Dynamic Catholic unveiled some interesting findings. Even among highly engaged Catholics, Evangelization is the weakest link in the chain. When asked to rate themselves between 1 and 10 for each of the four signs, the 7% rated themselves at 6.8 or higher for Prayer, Study, and Generosity, but at just 4.9 for Evangelization.
- When Dynamic Catholics were asked what they did to try to share the faith with others, their top six answers were:
- Pass books and CDs around
- Invite people to Catholic events
- Bring a godly perspective to conversations
- Learn the Catholic teachings on certain issues and be able to articulate them when the Church is attacked over those issues in social settings.
- Help people discover answers to the questions that cause them to doubt the Catholic faith.
- Demonstrate the love of God through faithful and generous friendship.
- Astoundingly, when asked if anyone had ever taught them how to evangelize, 99.4% of respondents said no.
- Evangelization is to the Church what breathing is to a person.
- Try to do one thing each week to share the faith with someone who crosses your path.