Taylor shares his ministry story on the YM Transfer Podcast

It was an honor to join one of my youth ministry heroes, Chris Wesley, on his YM Transfer Podcast. We talked about my journey into ministry and the lessons learned in the process over the last 11 years. We talk about how it all led to his work with Forte Catholic and as a missionary with Ablaze Ministries. Tune in, especially if you work in ministry.

Ministry Madness Bracket 2017

The first ever Ministry Madness bracket is here! Have you ever wondered who would win in a boxing championship among Catholic ministry leaders from across the United States? I sure have. While it will most likely not ever going to happen in real life, we can always vote on who would win if it did.

Below is the bracket(If it is not loading click here). The winner is decided by you the voter. THIS IS NOT A POPULARITY CONTEST. This is literally picking who would win in a legal boxing match. The results and winner will be aired and discussed live on the Forte Catholic Radio Show on April 25th so you have two weeks to vote, share with your friends and argue in the comments. 

For more information about the bracket and an in depth look at the matchups, including some interviews with contenders, tune in to the this episode of the Forte Catholic podcast while you fill out your bracket.

If you enjoy the show or the bracket, I would love if you would consider heading over to the newly created Forte Catholic Patreon page. This is a great way to join the Forte Catholic community, support the work of the ministry, and get some cool rewards for doing so! 

Bracket Descriptions:
Top Left Division-Youth Ministers
Bottom Left Division-Clergy/Media/Apologists
Top Right Division-Musicians
Bottom Right Division-Women in Ministry

Sign up at the bottom of the page to get an email when the results are final. Have fun!

The Lying Minister Epidemic

Honesty

Being honest is something we are taught to do from a very young age. There is so much importance in telling the truth and we learn very quickly that people can see through lies. As kids, when we tried to lie, our parents knew it instantly about 99% of the time.

This was very true for me in Kindergarten(that's a very hard word to spell for me...let alone 5 year olds). I was a compulsive liar at 5 years old. My teacher would write me up and send me home with a note for my parents informing them that I had lied. It happened so often throughout the school year that my mom told me that if I lied again, I would not be able to go to the concert of my then favorite artist, James Taylor. 

The last day of school came around and I'll bet you can guess what I did. Yep, I lied. My teacher wrote me a note to give to my parents. I knew the consequences so I.......gave it to my parents? Nope. I threw it away in a trashcan on my way out of class. Now I wasn’t just a bad liar, I also wasn’t a smart criminal. My teacher saw me throw it away, called my parents and there was no James Taylor concert in my future. I had learned my lesson.....or so I thought.

James Taylor

Molded To Lie

I began my journey in ministry in 2008. I was often taught, either explicitly or by example of ministry leaders, to always bring your A-game to ministry, no matter what. Never show any weakness. Always look happy. Always make it look like you have it all figured out so that others will look at your perfect life and be inspired to live holy lives. There are two problems with that. First, who doesn't have any weaknesses, is always happy and lives a perfect life? Second, why are we lying to people, including ourselves? All those years of being told not to lie and now, out of what I thought were good intentions, I was doing it again in ministry. I was being taught to lie and probably should have had a letter sent home to my parents :)

A Solution Is Found

Last fall, the Ablaze Ministries staff went to National Youth Workers Convention. In a room full of approximately 3000 people in ministry, one of the speakers addressed this issue head on. He made it clear that while we think we are protecting our image or helping people in their faith life by acting perfect, we are actually turning them off to growth in faith. Most people who see someone whose life looks perfect and they have it all together will NOT be inspired to live like them, they will quit trying to grow in faith because they know they don't have what it takes to be perfect. The effect that those in ministry desire by acting this way brings about the exact opposite response more often than not. 

So what are we to do as people in ministry?(which is all of us...thanks Baptism!) We don't want to add scandal by revealing all of the details of our past and present sin but we also need to be honest that we are sinners as well. As I was reflecting on this recently, two statements of Paul in the New Testament stood out. They seem to give parameters so that we don't swing too far on either side of the pendulum, but are somewhere right in the middle.

In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul says, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” This is boldness that inspires. As people in ministry, we should want to lead lives that can be imitated to follow Christ. This is one of the basic tenets of discipleship. But we can’t stop there. We have to also remember the first few lines of Paul's letter to Timothy when he says, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am the foremost.” We can see in example of Paul, the greatest evangelist of all time, that we do not have to pick whether we are a good role model or a sinner. We can be both and be honest about both. We should all seek to root sin out of our lives but we should be examples of how to do that, walking the journey with those our faith community.

As I challenge you to examine how these verses apply to you, I’ll leave you with this. “If we say, ‘We have not sinned,’ we make (God) a liar, and his word is not in us.”(1 John 1:10) I, for one, don’t want to be liar anymore. 

In Christ,
Taylor Schroll/Forte Catholic

Go Forth I Will Be With You (Audio)

Over the past few weeks, God has placed a burning desire on my heart to minister to youth ministers. I have been amazed at the opportunities God has put in my path to do just that. All those who work in ministry or know people that do, know that it can get tough at times. My goal is to encourage you by reminding you of the call and promises that God has given you.

This is a recording of a sending forth for those who work or volunteer in ministry. We walk through the stories in Scripture of many who were called and sent to share the good news of the Father. We also look at the beginning of Ad Gentes, the Vatican II document on missionary activity and what it means for those called and sent by God into ministry. We end with the overwhelming list of the promises of God that He is always with us.

If you need some encouragement in your ministry, give this a listen. If you know someone in ministry, share this with them. We can all use the encouragement.

In Christ,
Taylor Schroll/Forte Catholic