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 eksb@ascensionpress.com with your story, question, or comment—or if you’ve got a new nickname for Dave.

Snippet from the Show

“There’s a difference between having a branch named Jesus on your vine vs. realizing that you are a branch on the true vine that is Christ.”

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SHOWNOTES

Activated Disciple by Jeff Cavins

• This book is a thoroughly Catholic guide on how to be a disciple.
• It shows us how to have personal disciplines along with church practices.

How do we balance overly intellectual formation with other disciplines of the disciple?

• We should not confuse accumulating knowledge with the practice of faith.
• We as Catholics can have a fear of sharing our faith and may hide in “training.”

How do we know when we are ready to share our faith?

• Sharing about Christ is more relational than it is knowledge.
• Set a goal for sharing Christ in your life.

Jeff’s 5 Practical Tips

1. Get to know the 7 points of the basic proclamation of the Gospel (the Kerygma)
   1. God Loves you and has a plan for your life.
   2. Sin will destroy you and ruin God’s plan for your life.
   3. Christ Jesus died for you and for your sins.
   4. God wants us to respond to this message by repenting (radically reorient your life to Jesus).
   5. Be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit.
   6. Abide in Christ and his body the Church.
   7. Go make disciples.
   8. Mark 16:20 – “And they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it. Amen.”
      1. You are not alone, the Holy Spirit will confirm the message.
2. Find your way of conveying the message.
3. Practice situational awareness and look for opportunities around you.
4. Ask questions.
5. Suggest your next step or next get together with that person.

2 Practical Tips

1. Buy Activated Disciple
2. Do the 40 Day Challenge

Resources from the Show

• Jeff Cavins – The Activated Disciple: Taking Your Faith to the Next Level
• The Kerygma Card
• The Activated Disciple Challenge
• Michael Gormley – Radical Communities
• Douglas Hyde – I Believed
• Jeff Cavins’ Podcast

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Meet Your Hosts

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Michael “Gomer” Gormley

Michael has been leading evangelization and ministry efforts for the past ten years, both as a full-time parish staff member and as a speaker and consultant for parishes, dioceses, and Catholic campus ministries.

He is also the founder and creative director of LayEvangelist.com, and the producer and cohost of a Catholic young adult podcast Catching Foxes, which discusses the collision of Faith and Culture.

He is married to his college sweetheart, Shannon. Together they have about 1,000 children and get about 3 hours of sleep a night, which is alright by him.

David “Dave” VanVickle

Dave VanVickle fell in love with the Lord at the age of fourteen. Since then, he has dedicated his life to bringing others into a radical relationship with Christ.

He is a speaker and retreat leader. His programs focuses on proclaiming the universal call to holiness, authentic Catholic spirituality, spiritual warfare and deliverance. Additionally, Dave has over ten years of experience assisting Priests with their ministries of exorcism and deliverance.

Dave resides in Pittsburgh with his wife Amber and their five children: Sam, Max, Judah, Josie and Louisa.