Ablaze 5 Essential Paradigm Shifts For Parish Renewal

If the leaders in a parish want to see renewal and growth, they must be willing to change paradigms . . .

Our Catholic faith teaches that we should experience new life, abundant joy, and exuberant hope. Yet sadly, many of our parishes lack any of these. Drawing from decades of experience and service to over a hundred parishes, Deacon Keith Strohm breaks down the often complex and overwhelming task of parish renewal using a simple-to-understand framework that can help put your community on the path to vitality. Whether you’ve just begun the journey toward parish renewal or your parish is well on its way toward new life and mission, this book will provide critical insights and tools to help you on the way. “Ablaze gets to the heart of the matter in challenging parish and diocesan leadership to step up and, in spite of the cost, lead a transformation of the culture of their organizations.” —from the foreword by FR. JAMES MALLON, author of Divine Renovation: Bringing Your Parish from Maintenance to Mission

Are you restless and looking for more out of life? Do you desire a deeper experience of God’s love and mercy? Have you been searching for freedom, peace, fulfillment, and joy? You can find all of these things in the story of Jesus Christ. But be aware—it’s nothing like you’re expecting. In Jesus: The Story You Thought You Knew, Deacon Keith Strohm invites you not just to read about Jesus, but to have a transformative encounter with him. This isn’t a book of theology, or an abstract story with little impact on your real life. It is the story that can and will transform you if you’re open to it. In these pages, you will discover who you truly are and what you were created for. You will meet Jesus, not simply as an historical figure, but as our living and present Savior and friend. Encounter – again, or for the first time – Jesus Christ, who lives ... and changes lives. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Deacon Keith Strohm is a deacon for the Archdiocese of Chicago and the former Director of the Office for the New Evangelization in Chicago. A well-known international speaker and conference keynote, he has helped tens of thousands of men and women hear the Gospel message and encounter the mercy, love, and power of Jesus Christ. Deacon Keith has extensive experience in creating and sustaining processes and programs of evangelization and formation at the group, parish, and diocesan level that focus on the making, maturation, and missioning of disciples of Jesus Christ. He is also a long-time teacher and collaborator with the Catherine of Siena Institute. He is a co-author, along with six other collaborators, with Sherry Weddell for the book Becoming a Parish of Intentional Disciples—a follow up to the bestselling book, Forming Intentional Disciples.

Four volumes containing the approved Contemporary English Version translation. Volumes for Year A, Year B and Year C contain the readings, responsorial psalms, gospel acclamations and gospels for Sundays and major feast days. Weekday volume contains texts needed for weekday Masses, including selections for each season and for special occasions. Weekday volume may be used every year. Quantities are limited, order today!

Over the centuries God has touched the earth with revival, lifting men and women into his presence in extraordinary ways. And in some epochs the divine hand seems to have rested on us longer and to have caused more profound changes in the church and the culture. Authors Towns and Porter have studied revival eras throughout history in order to identify the ten which seem to have been the greatest of all time. If you want to understand revival and if you long to see revival in our day, this book will speak to both your mind and your heart.

Jesus died to set us free, yet we all experience thoughts from the enemy that lead us away from Christ and his truth. Popular author and speaker Deacon Keith Strohm shines Gods light on ten of the most common lies that Satan uses to bind our hearts and prevent us from experiencing the fullness of Gods love. Not only does Deacon Strohm help us gain clarity to the ways in which these lies take hold and imprison us, he also shows us that through the use of Scripture and the spiritual traditions of the Church, we can break the power and authority those lies have in our lives. We all want to be drawn closer in our relationship with Jesus Christ and more secure in our identities as sons and daughters of God, so we can never be too vigilant in battling the lies of the enemy. This book offers valuable wisdom for any Christianthose just beginning to follow Christ and those who are more mature in their faith.

As human beings we are constantly engaging and disengaging in everything we do. We engage and disengage at work, in marriage, as parents, in our quest for health and well-being, in personal finances, environmentally, politically, and, of course, we engage or disengage spiritually. If you walk into any Catholic church next Sunday and look around, you will discover that some people are highly engaged, others are massively disengaged, and the majority are somewhere in between. Why? What is the difference between highly engaged Catholics and disengaged Catholics? Answering this question is essential to the future of the Catholic Church. If we truly want to engage Catholics and reinvigorate parish life, we must first discover what drives engagement among Catholics. Matthew Kelly explores this question in his groundbreaking new book, and the simplicity of what he discovers will amaze you. Four things make the difference between highly engaged Catholics and disengaged Catholics: the four signs of a Dynamic Catholic. Whether you are ready to let God take your spiritual life to the next level or want to help reinvigorate your parish, The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic promises to take you on a journey that will help you live out the genius of Catholicism in your everyday life.

Author and speaker Tim Glemkowski offers four keys to a radical change in parish culture, and outlines a simple strategy for evangelization that every parish can use. It is a must-read for Catholic clergy, lay parish staff, anyone working in ministry, and any dedicated parishioner who is passionate about renewing the Church.