ShareJesus Archives - Redeemed Online

The solution: It’s time to do something different.

September 10, 2018 by Andy Lesnefsky 21 Comments

Over the past few days, we’ve been talking about the “crisis” we face in the church.

I’ve loved reading each one of your responses whether they were:

personal reply emails
comments on the blog
messages via Facebook or
comments on Youtube and Facebook.

Thanks for being a part of a great conversation.

From the variety of comments, it seems pretty clear that most if not all agree there is some sort of problem.

There is the personal frustration of parents, the collective frustration of teachers and catechists, and perhaps the overwhelming frustration of church workers trying help lead the charge of rebuilding the local church.

A friend of mine who works in the church put it like this:

I wish the minimum requirement of people who worked in religious education, evangelization, etc was simply one thing: they have evangelized one person in their life and led them to a relationship with God.

We have to stop trying to give what we don’t have. This, however, doesn’t mean we need to give up, it means we need a new way to help people.

We need to re-energize parents, catechists, and everyday Catholics who want to share faith with others but feel lost.

I’ve just put the finishing touches on a new course that will:

Help people grow in their relationship with God and understanding of their own faith.
Give people tools to help practically share faith with others
Deliver the course in a way that’s easy for people to watch and implement in their lives

It’s called Sharing Faith.

It will be available to purchase tomorrow, Wednesday, Sept 12 at 9:00 am EST.

I’ll be sending you all the details in the morning…

Keep an eye out for that email…

See you tomorrow.

Andy

P.S. A quick action item for you: I would love to pray for you today. Shoot me an email (andy(at)redeemedonline.com) and I will remember your prayer request in my prayers today. Thanks for reading to the bottom of this post. 😀👊

Is this insanity? We have a “crisis” in the church

September 9, 2018 by Andy Lesnefsky 32 Comments

It doesn’t work but we keep doing it.

It was fun this summer at the beach to watch my 2-year-old son keep trying to take a bucket of water from the ocean and carry it back to our sand castle. He would spill every drop out accidentally before making it back. He kept trying anyway to no avail. This was cute to watch.

It’s not so cute when we keep metaphorically doing this in our parishes.

We know things aren’t working but we keep on keeping on.

If you ask the majority of pastors, church workers, and people in the pews, “is our current religious education model effective at making disciples and evangelizing?”

I know most would begrudgingly tell you “no.”

Here’s the more intriguing question, why do we keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result?

Today’s video is about pondering that question and looking even deeper at the crisis this has caused in the church. I would love to hear your thoughts. Please join in the conversation below or shoot me a message.

A quick note, I recorded this series before the McCarrick scandal and the PA grand jury report came to light. In the video when I speak of “crisis” I am not directly referring to the sex abuse crisis, but feel these videos are even more important today. The scandal we face is a direct result of sick people doing reprehensible acts. We have to stop pretending everything is okay. We can no longer enable terrible pretenders to be wolves in sheep’s clothing. We need to make disciples and root out evil in our church. Our current scandal needs accountability and justice to happen, but we also need to go back to the gospel. We need to give our lives to ensure that people are being formed in the love of Jesus, encountering Jesus and turning from sin towards holiness. The church needs you. Christ is calling you to be a saint.

What am I doing with my life?

September 8, 2018 by Andy Lesnefsky 41 Comments

What am I doing with my life?”

There was a point in my life where I used to ask that question almost every Sunday. I would wake up with a sense of dread.

I was anxious. It was the day that I was “working” my hardest to share faith with the kids at my church.

I was trying to do something great for God but I didn’t feel so great. I could see some of the great things God was doing in our ministry, but feared ultimately I wasn’t making a big difference.

Something seemed like it wasn’t right. It was a crisis moment for me in ministry and my life.

I don’t know if you can relate, but I think we’ve all been there.

I would love to hear what difficulties you are facing in sharing your faith with your friends, family, and/or those you work within a ministry context. Share in the conversation below.

You need to be selfish

September 6, 2018 by Andy Lesnefsky 30 Comments

You need to be selfish.

It feels strange writing those words, but I feel like this was an important video to make.

YOU are important. You are LOVED by God.

While we want to put others before us as Christians, nothing should get in your way of making time for your relationship with God.

WATCH THIS VIDEO and let me know what you think.

What’s distracting you in your relationship with God right now? How have you made an effort to put Jesus first in your life and overcome distractions? I can’t wait to hear from you.

Tips to Prepare for Mass

August 30, 2018 by Lauren Gates 4 Comments

Question for you today: When does Mass begin?

In the Eastern Catholic Church, there is a tradition that Mass begins when we start to prepare. That is, when we start to get ready and travel to Mass. That is the moment when we should start to turn our minds and hearts towards God.

Here are a few suggestions to help you prepare for Mass:

On the way to Mass, think about what you are thankful for
Think about something or someone you want to pray for at Mass
Read the readings beforehand, or listen to them on the USCCB Podcast. (Click here)

What other ways can we prepare our minds and hearts for Mass? If you have any tips, share them in the comments below!

I would love to connect with you.