Every Knee Shall Bow (Your Catholic Evangelization Podcast)

How Do You Evangelize an Atheist?

June 5th, 2019  |  36 mins 58 secs

apologetics, atheist, catholic, catholic teachers, catholicism, dave vanvickle, evangelize, evangelizing atheists, mike gormley, ministry, proving god's existence, religion teachers, teaching catholicism

It’s hard to start proclaiming the kerygma, “God loves you and has a plan for your life”, when someone doesn’t believe in God. Dave “All Thriller No Filler” VanVickle and I wade into the world of apologetics as we address a listener's question about how to evangelize an atheist. Our faith is rational. Don’t fear questions about what we believe, because at some point over the past two thousand years, that question has already been asked and answered. We just have to find it.
We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with your story, question, or comment—or if you’ve got a new nickname for Dave.

10 Principles of Spiritual Warfare

May 29th, 2019  |  22 mins 26 secs

angels, catholic, catholic community, catholic parish, catholic youth ministry, dave vanvickle, demons, devil, dre, evangelization, gomer, ministry, parish, religious education, spiritual warfare, spiritual warrior

There’s good news and bad news. Bad news: Gomer is out today, so no fun nicknames. Good news: this episode is all about equipping you for spiritual warfare and fighting the kingdom of evil. Spiritual warfare and evangelization go hand-in-hand. Turns out the devil doesn’t like it when you try to win souls for Christ. Acknowledging the reality of spiritual warfare is an important first step. Once we realize that we’re fighting battles everyday, we can use these principles to guide the way.

Leading When Not in Charge

May 22nd, 2019  |  36 mins 25 secs

catholic, catholic church, catholic evangelists, catholic parish, dave vanvickle, disciples, evangelize, gomer, gospel, kerygma, leadership, leading, michael gormley, ministry, parish

Today Dave “Open Book, Closed Heart” VanVickle and I talk about extraordinary and ordinary means of fighting the devil, which leads (naturally) into a conversation on evangelization and how to lead when you’re not in charge. Have a question or comment for us? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with your story, question, or comment—or if you’ve got a new nickname for Dave.

Being a Leader in Evangelization

May 15th, 2019  |  50 mins

advice for priests, catholic, catholic evangelization, catholic leaders, catholic ministry, catholic parish, evangelization, evangelize, how to be a leader, leadership, parish, parish life, priest, spread the gospel

We need leaders in the Church. If you want ministries at your parish, that aren’t happening (or aren’t going very well) this may be your que to step up as a leader in evangelization. In this episode, we talk about how priests, lay employees, and volunteers can be leaders in their own right, and you don’t have to wait for someone to formally empower you to lead others.

Digital Evangelization

May 8th, 2019  |  43 mins 8 secs

catching foxes, catholic, catholic media, catholic online, catholic parish, catholic social media, dave vanvickle, digital evangelization, gomer, mike gormley, parish

Dave “Thunderdome” Van Vickle and I are talking about the importance of digital evangelization. If we are trying to meet people where they are, we need to be online. We cover best practices for parishes and individuals to spread the Word on the web, as well as examples of things we’ve seen work really well (like this podcast). We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with your story, question, or comment—or if you’ve got a new nickname for Dave.

Tools for the Newly Converted

May 1st, 2019  |  39 mins 17 secs

catholic, catholic conversion, catholic converts, catholic prayer, catholicism, christian conversion, conversion, converts, evangelist, how to pray, intercessory prayer, prayer, prayer groups, rcia, teach prayer, teaching prayer

We have a great show today. Not that we don’t usually, but today is especially good. We start with a question from a parish leader about intercessory prayer groups (Dave’s group is #goals). Then we cover what individuals and parishes can do for the newly converted and what tools we have for someone after their initial “yes” to Jesus.

Easter, Discipleship, and the Resurrection

April 24th, 2019  |  8 mins 52 secs

catholic, catholic church, catholicism, disciple, discipleship, easter, easter 2019, easter reflection, evangelization, evangelize, evangelizing, jesus christ, resurrection, what it means to be a disciple

Hallelujah! It's the Easter Octave and I for one am glad Christ rose from the dead. This week it's just me, Mike "Gomer" Gormley, your humble co-host of EKSB. I wanted to offer you fine folks an Easter message on discipleship and the Resurrection. Our regular show will return next week! Happy Easter!

Kerygma and Parish Touch Points

April 17th, 2019  |  39 mins 3 secs

apologetics, catechists, catholic, catholic church, catholic education, catholicism, dave vanvickle, evangelization, evangelize, evangelizing, kerygma, mike gormley, parish, parish volunteeers, religious education, spreading the faith, youth minister

Calling all DREs, catechists, youth ministers, and parish volunteers! Have we got a show for you. (Yes, that was a VeggieTales reference.) We start off today answering some tough questions about the kerygma, and then pivot to ways you can infuse evangelization into programs your parish already has like baptism prep, marriage prep, and religious education. Our advice isn’t the only way to do it, but it is a (pretty darn good) way to do it. How do you evangelize at your parish? We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with your story, question, or comment—or if you’ve got a new nickname for Dave.

Evangelization FAQ’s: Plan B, Skipping Mass, and Non-Catholic Family Weddings

April 10th, 2019  |  44 mins 52 secs

apologetics, catholic, conversion, evangelist, excuses for skipping mass, mary, mass, morning after pill, noncatholic wedding, plan b, sacraments, skipping church, skipping mass, wedding, weddings

You’ve got frequently asked questions, we’ve got infrequently given answers. We tackle questions about what to do when you encounter someone purchasing the Plan B pill, what to do when people (especially family members) give dumb reasons for why they don’t go to church, the role of Mary in evangelization, and talking to family members about having a sacramental wedding when they’re angry with the Church and you’re long distance. (Whew.)

Becoming an Activated Disciple (with Jeff Cavins)

April 3rd, 2019  |  38 mins 23 secs

activated disciple, catechism, catholic, catholic church, catholicism, christ, disciple, discipleship, evangelize, evangelizing, faith formation, god, gomer, jeff cavins, jesus, ministry, parish, practical advice

We’re talking to the one and only Jeff Cavins, Catholic speaker and author of the new book, The Activated Disciple. We’re pumped to interview him about discipleship and sharing the Faith (and so are our moms). Jeff’s book really gets to the heart of discipleship. It gives us a practical roadmap to a path of discipleship and explains what it actually means to be a disciple. We also get Jeff to give us his practical tips for evangelization. We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with your story, question, or comment—or if you’ve got a new nickname for Dave.

Bringing the New Evangelization to Your Parish

March 27th, 2019  |  30 mins 55 secs

benedict xvi, catechism, catholic, christian, dre, evangelize, faith, god, gospel, jesus, john paul ii, jpii, kerygma, ministry, new evangelization, parish, paul vi, pope, the church, witness to faith

The New Evangelization invites baptized Catholics to renew their relationship with Jesus Christ and his Church (according to the USCCB). Started by Popes Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI, it’s a call for the Church (aka, you and me) to reach out to fallen away Catholics and bring them back to the sacraments.

We want to talk about how to bring this movement to your parish and community. Starting with Carole Brown’s Gems for the New Evangelization: Shamelessly Pilfered from Various Treasuries of Church Teaching, we then add some additional points that we’ve discovered along the way.

There are a lot of different things you can do, but the important thing is to start.

Evangelizing and Morality: Birth Control and Same-Sex Attraction

March 20th, 2019  |  42 mins 16 secs

abortion, bible, birth control, catholic, christ, contraception, evangelization, gospel, gospel message, holy, jesus, mike and dave, moral issues, moral living, morality, prolife, same-sex attraction, scripture, talking about god

We tackle the biggest, most complicated, stickiest moral issues–contraception and same-sex attraction. How is a Catholic evangelist to approach such a minefield when proclaiming the gospel? In John 14:15, Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” So we know that we have to tell people about moral issues, but we need to make sure we’re doing it in a way that actually helps. We talk about when, how, and why to bring these issues up, and examples of times these strategies have actually worked (we promise we’re not using you as guinea pigs).
We want to hear from you! Email us at [email protected] with your story, question, or comment–or if you’ve got a new nickname for Dave.

How to Share the Faith BOLDLY

March 13th, 2019  |  38 mins 35 secs

be bold, be brave, catholic, catholic church, christianity, christians, evangelization, faith, gospel message, gospel truth, how to be bold, mike and dave, share the faith, spread the good news

Mike and Dave give practical advice about how to get over that awkward feeling and share the Faith BOLDLY. Telling someone the good news about Jesus isn’t hard ... if you really, truly believe it. You’re not imposing your arbitrary morality and spirituality on someone, you are proposing to them the truth of God’s love for them and their elevated status as creatures made in the image and likeness of God. Like Mike says, “If you discovered the cure to cancer, and you kept it to yourself–you would be a monster ...We have even greater news, but so often we keep it quiet.” Mike also gives solid advice to a listener who asks about how to talk to her husband, who is a Muslim, about Christianity.

Ask a Catholic Evangelist: How Can I Share the Gospel with My Family, Parish, and Community?

March 6th, 2019  |  36 mins 16 secs

ask a catholic, catechesis, catholic, catholic evangelism, community, dre, evangelist, fallen-away catholics, family, jesus christ, parish, share the gospel, working at a parish

Mike and Dave answer your questions about how to get programs going at your parish, how to share the gospel with fallen-away family members, and how to invest in Catholic evangelism as well as catechesis when funds are short.

Christ and Culture: How to Be in the World but Not of the World

February 27th, 2019  |  44 mins 49 secs

ascension press, be in the world but not of the world verse, christ and culture, christian community, christian life, evangelization, evangelization podcast, every knee shall bow podcast, john 17:16-26, richard niebuhr

What does it mean to be in the world but not of the world and how does this affect evangelization?

Many people assume there are two ways to approach this notion.

On one side is the thought of Christ against culture—that to be loyal to Jesus or the Church I need to run completely away from the world.
On the other side is the Christ of culture—that Jesus is the peak and pinnacle of all culture’s greatest desires, aspirations, and hopes.

Which one is right? What balance should we strike?

Today, Mike and Dave take these two basic concepts and break them down into practical, real life situations. They explain what we should do in regards to the world around us and stress the importance of finding the distinctive Christ element that sets your life apart. We walk a delicate line being in the world and not of it, but Mike and Dave make this line a bit easier to see.

Spiritual Warfare in Everyday Christian Life

February 20th, 2019  |  40 mins 28 secs

angels and demons, evangelization, every knee shall bow, guardian angels, spiritual battles, spiritual warfare, st. michael the archangel

Spiritual warfare is more than just an analogy.

It is a reality.

Quite literally, it is a struggle between two kingdoms—a battle between man and that which draws man away from God.

This fighting and resisting evil is a common experience, yet many don’t believe they are at war. Therefore they come unprepared to fight the battle.

Today Mike and Dave approach this topic from the viewpoint of evangelists. They discuss the Church Fathers’ understanding of spiritual warfare, the context behind the Church’s teachings on the subject, and practical ways you can resist evil and equip yourself with the best possible resources.