June 10, 2015

By Kristina Dean
Staff writer

POTSDAM  - Calling himself a “raging extrovert” Deacon Keith Strohm used his sense of humor in sharing methods of evangelizing with approximately 250 people at the Forming Intentional Disciples Conference May 30.
Organized by Marika Donders, diocesan director of the Office of New Evangelization; and Deacon Patrick Donahue, coordinator of the diocesan Formation for Ministry Program, the event was held at SUNY Potsdam’s Barrington Student Union Center.

Participants came from throughout the diocese and from as far away as Albany, Syracuse, Ottawa, Montreal and Alexandria-Cornwall.

Deacon Strohm is the Director of Evangelization and Faith Formation from Queen of the Rosary Parish in Chicago, and a contributing author of “Becoming a Parish of Intentional Disciples.”

“The best thing we can do is to form a relationship with people, love them and then be open to them,” he said. “This is what the Lord has asked of the church.

“The door opens and God moves through you,” he said. “You are not on your own. He is giving us gifts and the grace to get it done. He loves you, has called you and has gifted you.”

Crisis of discipleship
There is no vocation crisis in the church, Deacon Strohm said, but there is a crisis of discipleship.

“Christ is still calling to people,” he said. “Disciples long to hear the voice of the good shepherd. People long to hear the voice of Christ. But it’s easy for the voice to be drowned out.

“We deal at the parish level with the symptoms of the crisis,” he said, “and we haven’t done a really good job at calling our own.”

Most parishes have only a small percentage of people living as intentional disciples, Deacon Strohm said, and joked that years ago his own parish was “The Church of the Living Dead.”

“We are called to care for those suffering and reach out to them with the love of Jesus Christ and to be an agent of redemption by cooperating with grace to transform whomever we encounter,” he said. “Most Catholics don’t have that identity. Many see themselves as a recipients of the ordained.”

Pastors often have tremendous demands on their time and are unable to reach everyone, he said and Catholics also tend to believe they are unworthy of the priests’ time.

Culture of silence
Many Catholics don’t talk about their faith because they don’t want to be seen as a “crazy Jesus person” or as someone aspiring to be a saint, Deacon Strohm said.

This contributes to a culture of silence, he said.

People are unable to openly ask questions, haven’t seen answered prayers, don’t understand the Gospel at a deeper level, and haven’t seen authentic models of discipleship in their parishes, the deacon said.

As a result, 53 percent of adults in the United States have left the faith of their childhood, and 65 percent of Catholic converts leave within the first year.

To combat this, the deacon identified progressive levels of spiritual development prior to becoming an intentional disciple. Most Catechism programs occur for those in the later stages of this spiritual journey, he said, and not at the beginning levels that contain 80-90 percent of people.

“We must meet them where they’re at. One size does not fit all,” he said.

Bridges of trust
Deacon Strohm cited the need to build bridges of trust with them and invite discussion.

One suggestion was for churches to hold practical events to draw in the public. The deacon suggested offering oil changes on Mother’s Day, where conversation could take place over refreshments while mothers waited.

He also stressed avoiding reactions such as defensiveness, avoiding, judging or arguing.

“They need us to listen,” he said, “and this can happen at weird times.They have to trust that we won’t judge them.

“When they begin to ask questions, we need to foster curiosity about the person of Jesus at the center of our faith,” he said. “Those who are disdainful of Christ don’t know much about Jesus.”

Deacon Strohm suggested using Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as a time to evangelize.

“Most people don’t have silence in their life,” he said. “God will do amazing things. Have them encounter Jesus in the silence. Jesus is a much better youth minister than I am.”

Do not be too attached to outcomes, he said and reminded listeners that God is in control of conversions.

“It is the work of the Holy Spirit in that person’s life,” he said. “Christ is responsible for the fruit.

“Don’t make it about you, and not about God,” the deacon said. “Even Jesus lost people. Let God take care of it.”
Ms. Donders was pleased with the event.

“One aspect I really enjoyed is that participants used the breaks for discussion and networking, as I had hoped they would,” she said. “The talks sparked conversation and made people want to share stores and ideas.

“I hope this continues and that this conference will be a springboard for starting regional and parish-based discussions about how we can reach others in our parishes who are not yet disciples and help them grow,” the evangelization director said.